Atom is prematurely split in the ‘golden age’ transatlantic partnership | Nils Pratley

It had all been so harmonious two months ago. “Together with the US, we’re building a golden age of nuclear that puts both countries at the forefront of global innovation and investment,” purred the prime minister about the new “landmark” UK-US nuclear partnership.Now there’s an atomic split over the first significant decision. The UK has allocated Wylfa on the island of Anglesey, or Ynys Môn, to host three small modular reactors (SMRs) to be built by the British developer Rolls-Royce SMR. The US ambassador, Warren Stephens, says his country is “extremely disappointed”: he wanted Westinghouse, a US company, to get the gig for a large-scale reactor

Ineos to cut hundreds of jobs as carmaker struggles with debts

The carmaker owned by the billionaire industrialist Jim Ratcliffe will make hundreds of job cuts across the company’s global workforce as his heavily indebted empire comes under increasing pressure.Ineos Automotive did not specify an exact number of losses from its 1,700-strong workforce, saying only that it would shed “several hundred” head office staff across multiple locations, including the UK and parts of Europe.The company owned by Ratcliffe, who also co-owns Manchester United, said the “strategic measures to structure its business” would help to simplify its head office and improve efficiency.The Guardian understands that the cuts are unlikely to affect the company’s automotive plant in Hambach, France, which is building the Ineos Grenadier, an off-road vehicle that pays homage to the discontinued Land Rover Defender.Ratcliffe has struggled to turn his vision into a profitable business after a string of problems at the French factory, which led the company to recall more than 7,000 of its Grenadier vehicles in the US over faulty doors

‘Whatever it takes’: Starbucks workers launch US strike and call for boycott

More than a thousand Starbucks workers have commenced a strike in more than 40 cities across the US on Thursday amid stagnant negotiations with the world’s largest coffee chain over a first union contract.On the company’s annual “red cup day”, hailing the start of the lucrative holiday season, Starbucks Workers United is launching an unfair labor practice (ULP) strike, with rallies planned in locations including New York City; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Chicago, Illinois; Columbus, Ohio; and Anaheim, California.About 65 stores are initially affected. Organizers plan to expand the strike to more locations should executives hold firm – and want customers to steer clear of the chain as part of a campaign dubbed “no contract, no coffee”.Starbucks said it was “disappointed” that Workers United had voted to strike, rather than continue bargaining, but insisted the “vast majority” of stores would be unaffected by the action

UK exports to US hit lowest level since January 2022 as tariffs bite, and economy shrinks – as it happened

UK exports to the US have fallen to their lowest level since January 2022, as Donald Trump’s trade war has hit demand for British goods.New trade data from the Office for National Statistics this morning shows that the value of UK exports to the US, including precious metals, fell by £500m or 11.4% in September.The ONS says:The value of goods exports to the United States in September 2025 were at their lowest level since January 2022 and have remained relatively low since the introduction of tariffs in April.This drop in trade comes despite the deal agreed by Donald Trump and Keir Starmer this summer, under which the UK aerospace sector faces no tariffs at all from the US, while the auto industry now has 10% tariffs, down from 25%

Liberty Steel being investigated in Romania for embezzlement

Sanjeev Gupta’s Liberty Steel is under investigation in Romania for embezzlement and tax evasion, adding to the metals tycoon’s difficulties after the loss of his key British operation.Romania’s prosecutor’s office said in a statement last week that they raided seven homes and the registered office of an unnamed company.Liberty Steel and its parent organisation, the Gupta Family Group (GFG) Alliance, said the company would “vigorously defend itself against the unfounded allegations directed at the company”.Gupta, who is Indian-born and UK-educated, was once known as the “saviour of steel” for his plans to turn around struggling metalworks. However, his empire, previously stretching through the UK, eastern Europe and Australia, has unravelled in the years since the collapse of the lender Greensill Capital in 2021

Scotland plans to issue £1.5bn of its own bonds – ‘kilts’ rather than gilts

The Scottish first minister John Swinney has said Edinburgh is on track to issue its own government bonds, nicknamed “kilts”, after the country was given the same credit rating as the UK.Two ratings agencies Moody’s and S&P Global gave Scotland a score of Aa3 and AA respectively, echoing their judgment for the UK as a whole.The jokey name for the new financial instruments is a play on gilts, as UK government bonds are known.In a statement, Moody’s said its rating was “supported by the well-established devolution framework” that Scotland operated under, “with a requirement to maintain a balanced budget and predictable grant allocation”. The ratings agency added that the Scottish National party (SNP) government had “demonstrated prudent fiscal management”

Oversupply of oil could create glut of 4m barrels a day, says energy watchdog

The world is producing more oil than it needs and by next year there could be a glut of 4m excess barrels a day entering the market, according to the global energy watchdog.The International Energy Agency said the surplus in 2026 was likely to be larger than previously forecast, despite a decision from the biggest oil producers to pause their plan to increase crude exports.The Paris-based agency, which was set up after the 1973 oil crisis to monitor global supplies, pointed to a slower-than-usual growth in the world’s oil demand to explain the growing glut.“Global oil market balances are looking increasingly lopsided, as world oil supply is forging ahead while oil demand growth remains modest by historical standards,” the IEA said.The warning of a looming oversupply has emerged in the same week that the agency published its energy outlook report, including a controversial scenario in which global oil demand would continue to grow until 2050

Burberry bosses urge Rachel Reeves to reinstate tax-free shopping for tourists

Bosses at Burberry have urged Rachel Reeves to reinstate a tax-free shopping scheme for tourists in the budget to “unlock further growth” and increase tourist spending.Executives at the British luxury brand called on the chancellor to pursue “progressive policies” to boost shopping sprees from tourists, pointing specifically to a value-added tax (VAT) refund programme for foreigners that was scrapped five years ago.Tax-free shopping was abolished at the end of 2020. The policy made a brief return under Liz Truss’s short-lived government in 2022 but was scrapped again weeks later by her successor as prime minister, Rishi Sunak.Burberry said the UK had been losing out ever since, with shoppers from the US, Middle East and Asia apparently flocking to Paris and Milan rather than London for luxury goods

Amid disappointing UK growth, how can Rachel Reeves escape the doom loop?

Rachel Reeves’s autumn budget is not simple: Britain’s economy is misfiring and things need turning around fast. Yet a fiscal consolidation on the scale the chancellor is expected to require could push in exactly the opposite direction.The latest figures from the economy are hardly encouraging. Growth slowed from 0.3% in the second quarter to just 0

UK economy grew by just 0.1% in third quarter after hit from JLR cyber-attack

The UK economy expanded by just 0.1% in the quarter from July to September as the crippling cyber-attack on Jaguar Land Rover hit manufacturing.The latest official figures, issued as Rachel Reeves prepares for a crunch budget on 26 November, show gross domestic product fell by 0.1% in September as car production was dragged to a 73-year low by the fallout from the hack.The Office for National Statistics (ONS) highlighted the influence of the cyber-attack, saying: “Production fell by 2

‘I’d do it all again,’ says Dutch minister at heart of car chip standoff with China

A bitter battle over the future of a Chinese-owned chipmaker in the Netherlands that threatened to cripple the global car industry is a “wake-up call to Europe and the west”, the minister at the heart of the row has warned.The six-week standoff between the EU and Beijing over Nexperia and its vital supplies of automotive semiconductors has served up a sobering lesson to world leaders over their dependency on China, says Vincent Karremans.The Dutch economy minister says he has no regrets about the tussle and would not change his actions even with the benefit of hindsight. “There’s a lot of interest in exactly what happened,” he says. “It’s like an economic thriller

Hybrid working could help get more disabled people into work, peers say

Ministers could encourage employers to allow more hybrid and remote working to help get greater numbers of disabled people and carers into the workplace, according to a House of Lords committee.A report by a cross-party committee says the government should set out whether it has considered including remote and hybrid working in back-to-work initiatives to offer more working flexibility to people with disabilities and long-term health conditions.The home-based working committee was set up in January to investigate how the rise of remote and hybrid working has affected employers, employees and the wider British economy. It heard evidence that remote and hybrid working made it easier for disabled people to manage their condition, partly through avoiding the commute.“Many disabled people, parents and carers may have an improved experience of work or may even be able to work where this would otherwise not be possible,” the committee found

Jimi Famurewa’s recipe for puff-puff pancakes

Efteling is a fairytale-themed, 73-year-old amusement park in the south of the Netherlands that, after two consecutive years of visits, has become an acute obsession among my family. We love the vaguely folk-horror animatronic trees, witches and giant sea monsters lurking within a labyrinthine real forest. We love the anthropomorphised talking bins that plead (in a haunting, perpetual sing-song) for crumpled pieces of paper to be shoved into their suction-powered mouths. We love the inventive rides that, variously, judder along rattling wooden tracks, plunge cursed pirate ships into water, or nudge gondolas serenely through sylvan scenes of bum-flashing goblins showering beneath waterfalls.But our very favourite thing about the place might well be the poffertjes stand, a perennially busy kiosk where exhausted families gather for dinky paper boats filled with these yeast-puffed and sugar-dusted miniature buckwheat pancakes that are a Dutch institution

Polpa position: budget tinned tomatoes score well in Choice taste test

Consumer advocacy group Choice has taste-tested 18 brands of chopped and diced tomatoes, finding three cheaper cans outranked many more expensive brands.Four judges ranked tinned tomatoes from Australian supermarkets and retailers, assessing them on flavour, texture, appearance and aroma – with flavour accounting for the biggest percentage of overall scores.Italian brand Mutti’s Polpa Organic chopped tomatoes, costing $2.95 for a 400g tin, was awarded the highest score of 80%. It was the most expensive product tested, described by judge Fiona Mair (who also judges at the Sydney Royal Fine Food Show) as having “an earthy fresh tomato aroma, really rich juice and flesh”

Three plant-based chocolate mousse recipes by Philip Khoury

Mousse au chocolat is one of the most exquisite ways to enjoy chocolate – so here are three recipes that offer it in different textures and levels of chocolate intensity. Each one works beautifully with dark chocolate containing 65-80% cocoa solids. Blends with no specific origin can be further rounded out with one teaspoon of vanilla paste or the seeds from a vanilla bean.Once the mousses have been prepared, they can be frozen and gently defrosted in the refrigerator. Top with chocolate shavings, cocoa nibs or a dusting of unsweetened cocoa powder for texture and contrast

Don’t pour that olive brine down the drain – it’s a flavour bomb | Waste not

When I taste-tested olives for the food filter column a few months ago, it reminded me that the brine is an ingredient in its own right. This intensely savoury liquid adds umami depth to whatever it touches, and, beyond seasoning soups and stews, it can also be used to make salamoia, the aromatic brine that’s traditionally used to top focaccia and create that perfect salty crust.Pouring olive brine down the sink is like washing pure flavour down the drain. Instead, save it to supercharge your focaccia, creating a beautifully flavoured, salted crust that elevates an ordinary loaf into something extraordinary. While I’m partial to rosemary and olives as toppings, this focaccia delivers heaps of flavour even when kept completely plain and simple

Jelly’s back! Here are three worth making – and three that should wobble off to the bin

Jelly has a dowdy reputation, but it may well be the perfect food for the Instagram age: when it works, it’s incredibly photogenic, so who cares what it tastes like?There can be no other explanation for recent claims that savoury jellies – the most lurid and off-putting of dishes, reminiscent of the worst culinary efforts of the 1950s – are suddenly fashionable. This resurgence comes, according to the New York Times, “at a time when chefs are feeling pressure to produce viral visuals and molecular gastronomy is old hat”.The notion that jelly is having a moment is actually a perennial threat: this time last year it was reported that supermarket jelly cube sales were rising sharply, while vintage jelly moulds were experiencing a five-fold increase in online sales. And it was 15 years ago that the high-end “jellymongers” Bompas & Parr – known for their elaborate architectural creations – first published their book on the subject.People who are sceptical about jelly are often put off by its origins

Australian supermarket wheat crackers taste test: ‘All the reviewers knew which one was the real deal’

Nicholas Jordan risks it for the biscuits, sampling 19 wheat crackers in the driest taste test yetIf you value our independent journalism, we hope you’ll consider supporting us todayGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailI’ve been wanting to write this article for over a year but I’ve been too intimidated and confused to start. There are several hundred supermarket products that could be called a cracker. Imagine a taste test with 100 versions of the same thing. Do I have the stomach space or mental bandwidth to process that much? Otherwise, how do I decide what’s in or out? Even if I did, how do I rule what is a cracker or not? How do you determine the criteria for tasting something rarely eaten on its own? Do you rate the crackers for deliciousness or compatibility? Are those two things even that different?Then there’s the anxiety of spending several days agonising over all that, and conducting a taste test only to arrive at the conclusion that Jatz are great. Do people want to read an article about why Sir Donald Bradman is better than whoever the second-best-ever cricketer is?Instead of answering all those questions, I could just have a lovely afternoon making my way through 17 kinds of chocolate or many iced coffees

Same sheet, different dish: how to use up excess lasagne sheets

I’ve accidentally bought too many boxes of dried lasagne sheets. How can I use them up? Jemma, by email This is sounding all too familiar to Jordon Ezra King, the man behind the A Curious Cook newsletter. “It’s funny Jemma asks this,” he says, “because I was in this exact same situation earlier this year after over-catering for a client dinner.” The first thing to say is there’s no immediate rush, he adds: “It sounds obvious, but you can keep the boxes for a long time.” Fortunately for Jemma and her shopping mishap, however, lasagne sheets are also flexible, and their shape doesn’t have to dictate what you do with them

Rukmini Iyer’s quick and easy recipe for chilli crisp topped noodles with tofu and cabbage | Quick and easy

I make variations of stir-fried mushrooms and tofu with noodles (or rice) all the time, but this one, topped with a homemade peanut chilli crisp oil, has gone straight to the top of my repertoire. And the chilli oil couldn’t be easier to make, plus there’s enough to stash in the fridge for the week to come – spoon over eggy crumpets, fried rice or cheese on toast.Prep 20 min Cook 15 min Serves 2-32 tbsp sesame oil5cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely grated2 spring onions, trimmed and thinly sliced150g shiitake mushrooms, roughly chopped280g firm tofu (I like Tofoo), cut into 1cm cubes15ml soy sauce½ sweetheart cabbage, roughly chopped 200g straight-to-wok udon noodles Sea salt, to tasteFor the chilli crisp oil50ml neutral oil – I use mild olive oil5g chilli flakes 50g salted peanuts, left wholePut a large frying pan or wok on a medium heat, then add one tablespoon of the sesame oil. Stir-fry the ginger, garlic and spring onions for 30 seconds, then add the mushrooms and fry, stirring, for two minutes more. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil, then stir in the tofu and fry for two minutes on each side

The nut secret: 14 easy, delicious ways to eat more of these life-changing superfoods

A handful of nuts a day can help manage obesity and reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and some kinds of cancer. Yet most of us don’t get enough. Here’s a no-fuss guide to getting your 30g a dayThe Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more

How to make the perfect beer cheese soup – recipe | Felicity Cloake's How to make the perfect …

Beer and cheese, two ingredients that don’t immediately scream soup to much of the world, are the cornerstones of one such midwestern speciality, particularly beloved in Wisconsin, with its prominent dairy and brewing industries. Beer soups are also found from Alsace to Russia (and, indeed, Wisconsin has a significant northern European heritage population). The cheese, however, appears to be an inspired American addition (though, seeing as Germany boasts both beer and cheese soups, I’m prepared to stand corrected), playing off the bittersweetness of the beer to produce a richly flavoured dish that’s perfectly suited to harsh midwestern winters. That said, it’s a treat on a cold day wherever you are.(Note: this is not to be confused with German obatzda, while a thicker version is a popular hot dip in Kentucky, in particular

Lilibet’s, London W1: ‘Pure joy, high drama, camp as heck’ – restaurant review | Grace Dent on restaurants

My new favourite restaurantUntil last week, Punk Royale was easily the strangest restaurant I’ve been to all year. “We’re all wacky here!” cried those Scandinavian punks with pans, as covered in my review here a month or so ago. But they’ve already been usurped by a spot in a repurposed office block less than half a mile away.The fabulously bizarre Lilibet’s opened her doors with little or no fanfare in mid-September, beckoning us into her world of strange. Behold the antique fireplaces, the floral chairs and wallpaper, the multitude of gilt-framed, 18th-century French paintings, the pretty etched glassware, the monogrammed napkins, the tall dinner candles

Helen Goh’s recipe for pear, chocolate and hazelnut torte | The sweet spot

Unlike lighter, flour-based cakes, tortes are traditionally rich and dense. Often made with ground nuts instead of flour, this gives them a fudgy, moist texture. Here, ripe pears sink gently into a dark chocolate and hazelnut batter, with the flavours of vanilla, almond and cardamom subtly enhancing the depth of the chocolate and teasing out the fruit’s perfume.Prep 10 min Cook 1 hr 15 min, plus cooling Serves 8-10150g blanched hazelnuts 200g dark chocolate (about 70% cocoa), roughly chopped150g unsalted butter, cubed150g soft brown sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract ½ tsp almond extract 4 large eggs, separated¼ tsp fine sea salt ¾ tsp ground cardamom (from the seeds of 12-18 pods)2 small ripe pears (conference, williams), peeled, quartered and cored To finishIcing sugar, for dusting Creme fraiche or ice-cream, to serveHeat the oven to 190C (170C fan)/375F/gas 5, and line the base and sides of a 23cm springform cake tin with baking paper.Put the hazelnuts on a small baking tray and toast in the oven for five to eight minutes, until light golden and fragrant