Oil passes $100 a barrel again and shares slide as Middle East conflict escalates
Posted on Thursday July 23, 2026

Sharp rise in oil price reflects fears Houthi militias could strangle Saudi exports as US-Iran fighting intensifies

• How the Bab al-Mandab blockade threat pushed oil back above $100

The oil price broke above $100 a barrel for the first time in two months as a fresh escalation of the Middle East conflict threatens to compound disruption to global oil supplies.

The benchmark oil price rose sharply on Thursday, from $95 the day before, amid fears that Yemen’s Houthi militia could strangle Saudi oil exports through the Red Sea while US-Iran tensions over oil flows through the strait of Hormuz intensify.

Read more...

Business rates cut for pubs, clubs and music venues in England only ‘a small move’, say critics
Posted on Thursday July 23, 2026

Hospitality businesses call on Andy Burnham to cut VAT and extend help to hotels and restaurants

Pubs, clubs and live music venues in England will receive a 20% discount on their business rates bills as part of a £100m aid package but Andy Burnham has immediately faced calls to be more ambitious.

The prime minister said the measure, aimed at supporting the high street and easing cost of living pressures, would be fully funded, including through a review of relief for businesses deemed not to make a positive contribution to communities, such as vape shops.

Read more...

‘Customers prefer AI chatbots,’ says British Gas owner as 1,300 call centre jobs axed
Posted on Thursday July 23, 2026

CEO Chris O’Shea defends Centrica’s plans as it reports rise in retail profits following focus on bigger margins

The owner of British Gas has claimed that most households would rather speak with an AI chatbot than deal with the company’s staff as it prepares to cut 1,300 jobs from its call centres.

Centrica, the supplier’s FTSE 100 owner, plans to cut 800 jobs as the company carries out a “targeted deployment of AI tools”, on top of the 500 cuts it confirmed last month.

Read more...

UK households free to install plug-in balcony solar panels from end of August
Posted on Thursday July 23, 2026

Law change means renters and flat owners may be able to cut bills as energy costs soar amid Iran war

British households will be able to buy plug-in solar panels later this summer after the government changed the law so the UK’s biggest retailers could bring them to market for the first time.

People across the country will be able to join the millions across Europe generating their own electricity using “balcony solar panels” from 27 August, according to legislation passed last week.

Read more...

EU fines Google €890m for competition breaches over search and apps
Posted on Thursday July 23, 2026

Firm told to treat third-party services that appear in its results in ‘fair and non-discriminatory manner’

Google has been fined a total of €890m (£760m) by the EU for breaches of online competition laws by its search and app store services.

The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, said Google had broken the Digital Markets Act by giving priority to its own services, such as shopping and hotel deals, in search results over those of its rivals.

Read more...

Personal and banking details among customer data stolen in Origin Energy hack
Posted on Thursday July 23, 2026

Hackers access Australian customers’ names, addresses, dates of birth, phone numbers and some bank account details, company says

• Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates

• Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast

Origin Energy customers’ addresses, phone numbers and partial bank account data have been accessed in a hack, the company has confirmed.

The firm has 4.8m customer accounts in Australia, providing electricity, fossil gas, LPG and internet services to homes and businesses.

Read more...

Commonwealth Games 2026: opening ceremony in Glasgow – live
Posted on Thursday July 23, 2026

• Glasgow’s Hydro hosts ceremony at 8pm BST/5am AEST

• Bookmark the medal table | The last hurrah? | Mail Daniel

Admittedly I’ve been fasting since last evening – it’s what Jews call Tisha B’Av – but all this talk of Glasgow has me chaleshing for a deep fried Mars bar. A deep fried anything, really, I’m not fussy, but I’d take a Mars all day long.

It’s not just athletics, though. I’m really looking forward to the netball, which should be an Olympic sport but isn’t, and also the swimming. We’re missing Summer McIntosh, but we’ve got Chad le Clos, looking to break the Commonwealth medals record, and Mollie O’Callaghan – among others,

Read more...

Tour de France worries emerge for Tadej Pogacar after illness sweeps through team
Posted on Thursday July 23, 2026

• Richard Carapaz roars clear of breakaway to win stage 18

• McNulty abandons, Wellens and Vermeersch struggle

Richard Carapaz won stage 18 of the Tour de France after a breakaway group of six riders duelled their way to the winter sports station at Orcières-Merlette, but uncertainty surrounds the health of race leader Tadej Pogacar’s UAE Team Emirates XRG, which has been swept by a virus since Monday’s rest day.

After Adam Yates’s stage-long calvary on the road to Voiron, Pogacar’s team was further weakened by the abandonment of his American colleague, Brandon McNulty, who quit the Tour with 21km of Thursday’s stage remaining.

Read more...