Denmark welcomes Trump ruling out force to take Greenland, before ‘future deal’ framework announced – as it happened

Denmark’s foreign minister has said Donald Trump’s statement that he would not use force to take Greenland was positive, even though the US president hasn’t dropped his ambitions to acquire the islandLars Lokke Rasmussen told reporters (Bloomberg reports):“What is clear after this speech is that the president’s ambition [to own Greenland] remains intact.“It is, in isolation, positive that it is being said that military force will not be used, but that does not make the problem go away. The challenge is still there.”Big breaking news tonight from Davos: Donald Trump has announced that he and Nato chief Mark Rutte have agreed the framework of a “future deal” over Greenland.It’s not clear what the details are – Trump says the proposed solution would be a great one for the US, and all NATO NationsAnd significantly, Trump says he won’t impose the 10% tariffs threatened on eight European countries including the UK

Why is the UK investing in £6.45bn Kraken when it doesn’t need public money? | Nils Pratley

The state-owned multi-tentacled British Business Bank has never been a simple organisation to understand, but at least one could vaguely grasp its intended role in life. “Our mission is to drive economic growth by helping smaller businesses get the finance they need to start, scale and stay in the UK,” declares its website.Jolly good. For decades, complaints have been heard about gaps in the financing ecosystem for startups and for promising young UK companies, particularly those in tech-related and life science fields, or those spinning out of universities. So one can applaud the existence of a large and distinctly British source of capital to “crowd in”, as politicians like to say, private venture funds

Archive: Davos – hot air in a cold climate

The Observer, 3 January 1971The cult of the management seminar is growing. So is the cost. Anyone with a finely developed sense of the ridiculous will welcome the news that in Davos, Switzerland, later this month 500 of Europe’s top businessmen will each pay about £700 to sit and learn at the feet of such mighty gurus as Herman Kahn and John Kenneth Galbraith.The first European Management Symposium, organised by the Geneva business school, Centre d’Etudes Industrielles, to celebrate its 25th anniversary, will cost each visitor £500 in registration fees, £100 for accommodation, plus travel (£53 fare from London). You can, of course, add a few pounds here and there for drinks and other sundries which businessmen require when they are away from home

UK inflation rises for first time in five months to 3.4% in December

Inflation in the UK rose for the first time in five months to 3.4% in December, pushed up by higher air fares and tobacco prices.The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the annual inflation rate increased from 3.2% in November after falling in October and flatlining in the previous three months. The figure overshot City economists’s forecasts of a modest rise to 3

Wall Street sees worst day since October after Trump tariff threats

Stock markets fell on both sides of the Atlantic on Tuesday, with Wall Street suffering its worst day since October, as investor concerns persisted over the fallout from Donald Trump’s push for US control of Greenland.The sell-off hit US stocks on the first day of trading in New York since Trump threatened new tariffs on eight European countries, after the market was closed for a public holiday on Monday. The S&P 500 closed down 2.1% while the Dow Jones finished down 1.8%

The government’s retreat from Carillion audit reforms is feeble | Nils Pratley

The wait for the “long-awaited” government bill to reform the audit market is over. It is not because ministers have decided it’s embarrassing that eight years have passed since the collapse of Carillion, the massive corporate failure that reminded everybody that auditing is boring until it matters greatly that outsiders can trust the published numbers. Rather, it is because the government has given up on a reform bill. It would rather give another airing of its “pro-growth” refrain.“While the planned reforms would be beneficial, some would increase costs on business, and it would not be right to prioritise these over more deregulatory measures,” the minister for small business, Blair McDougall, formally told the business select committee

Water winners: who will gain from the industry’s spending spree in England and Wales?

When a sluice gate failed 24 metres below the water’s surface at Thames Water’s Queen Mother reservoir near London’s Heathrow airport, there were no easy fixes available. Emptying 37m cubic metres (1,307m cu ft) of water was not an option, meaning that helmeted divers were limited to 98-minute stints in the high-pressure environment.The risky project required a team on a floating platform with a crane to cut out the broken equipment with thermal lances, bolt a plate on to the reservoir wall, and install the new equipment. It took more than a year until last October to complete, according to Glenfield Invicta, the contractor that carried out the work for Thames Water.Water companies across Britain are gearing up for more of these repairs and upgrades than ever this year, as the industry undertakes the biggest spending spree in its history until 2030

Bessent urges Europe not to retaliate against Trump’s Greenland tariffs

The US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, has urged European countries not to retaliate against the US’s trade tariffs announced over the Greenland crisis.Speaking in Davos during the World Economic Forum, Bessent said countries and companies should pause and “let things play out” after Donald Trump threatened a 25% tariff on a slew of European countries in his pursuit of the autonomous Danish territory.As global stock markets fell amid political uncertainty, Bessent indicated that retaliatory tariffs would be unwise, citing last year’s tit-for-tat tariff war that broke out between the US and China.Last April, Trump’s “liberation day” tariff announcement caused turmoil in global stock markets before some countries agreed trade deals and markets recovered to reach record highs later in the year, fuelled in part by the AI boom.Bessent told a press conference at the annual meeting of global leaders: “I would say this is the same kind of hysteria that we heard on 2 April

New City & Guilds owners tripled bosses’ pay amid £22m cost-cutting drive

The new owners of the vocational training body City & Guilds appear to have more than tripled the pay of its top six executives right at the moment the company is cutting £22m of costs and shrinking its UK workforce.The large increases to salary and bonuses have emerged during a scandal over the sale of the qualification awards business by its former owner, the UK charity City & Guilds London Institute (CGLI), to the international certification company PeopleCert.Last week, Kirstie Donnelly and Abid Ismail, respectively the chief executive and finance director of City & Guilds (C&G), were put on leave as PeopleCert launched an investigation into how it came to acquire the training and awards business from CGLI.The sale had already triggered a statutory inquiry by the Charity Commission, after the Guardian revealed that Donnelly and Ismail were handed million-pound bonuses after the privatisation.The Guardian now understands that, since C&G became a private business, the cumulative pay of the qualification body’s top six executives has risen by about 240% in the current financial year to about £6

World would be a ‘better place’ if US took over Greenland, says Nigel Farage

The world would be a “better, more secure place” if America took over Greenland, Nigel Farage said at Davos, while insisting that he still believed in the sovereignty of nation states.During a panel at the World Economic Forum’s “America House” in the Swiss ski resort on Wednesday, the Reform UK leader said he had “no doubt” that the world would be safer if a “strong America” was in Greenland “because of the geopolitics of the high north, because of the retreating ice caps and because of the continued expansionism of Russian icebreakers, of Chinese investment”.Speaking just after Donald Trump appeared to rule out taking possession of Greenland by force, while doubling down on his demand to annex the “big, beautiful piece of ice”, Farage insisted that while he “agreed strategically” with Trump he believed in “nation states … not globalist structures”.“[I]f you believe in the nation state and not globalist structures, you believe in sovereignty,” he said. “And if you believe in sovereignty, you believe in the principle of national self-determination

Next buyout saves footwear brand Russell & Bromley but 400 jobs likely to be lost

Next has rescued the footwear retailer Russell & Bromley out of administration for £3.8m but about 400 jobs are likely to go at 33 shops not included in the deal.The British brand, founded in 1879 in Eastbourne, East Sussex, trades from 36 stores and nine concessions across the UK and Ireland. Next will take on only three stores – in Chelsea, Mayfair and the Bluewater shopping centre – and about 48 store staff, it is understood.The rescue deal, which includes Russell & Bromley’s brand and other assets including £1

Davos: Reeves urges leaders to keep cool heads over tariff threat in free trade call – business live

Rachel Reeves, the UK chancellor of the exchequer, is now speaking at a Bloomberg session just outside the WEF congress centre.Asked about the tariff threats from the US, Reeves says that she would urge everyone to keep cool heads.The chancellor cites the trade deal between the US and UK which has brought down tariffs (although Trump is threatening to put them up again, and that deal was actually frozen in December).She also points to other trade deals either signed off or under negotiation, such as with India and South Korea.Reeves tells her audience:I believe in free and fair trade

Kenji Morimoto’s recipe for miso leek custard tart with fennel slaw

This savoury custard tart celebrates some of my favourite flavours (and dishes): jammy miso leeks, savoury-sweet chawanmushi (a Japanese steamed custard flavoured with dashi) and toasty sesame seeds, all enveloped in flaky pastry. It feels decadent, so it’s best served with a simple fennel salad, zingy with apple cider vinegar and mustard. It’s excellent eaten while still warm from the oven (be patient!), but even better as leftovers, because I have a soft spot for cold eggy tarts.Shop-bought pastry can, of course, be used, but making it from scratch is what makes this dish that much more special.Prep 30 min Chill 1 hr 15 min+Cook 45 min Serves 6-8For the pastry185g plain flour, plus extra for dusting 1 tsp salt 100g cold unsalted butter, cubedFor the leeks2 tbsp vegetable oil 350g leeks, trimmed, halved lengthways and cut into 3cm segments Salt 2 tbsp red miso 2 tbsp honeyFor the egg mixture 5 eggs 150ml whole milk 1 tbsp dashi granules 1 tbsp sesame seeds Chives, thinly sliced, to garnishChilli oil, for servingFor the slaw300g fennel, trimmed and thinly sliced or cut using a mandoline 2 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley, tender stems and leaves chopped 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar 1 tsp dijon mustardFirst make the pastry: in a food processor, blitz the flour, salt and butter into a breadcrumb-like consistency

How to make mapo tofu – recipe | Felicity Cloake's Masterclass

Mapo tofu is a Chengdu favourite typical of the “spicy generosity” of Sichuan food, Fuchsia Dunlop explains, though it’s perhaps better not translated as “pock-marked old woman’s tofu”. It may even convert you to the joys of tofu itself, should you still be on the fence about the stuff, because its creamy softness is the perfect foil for the intensely savoury, tingly seasoning involved here. It’s also ready in mere minutes.Prep 10 min Cook 7 min Serves 22 garlic cloves 1 small knob fresh root ginger 4 spring onions Salt 250g plain tofu (I like a soft one, but see step 3)2 tsp cornflour, or potato or tapioca starch 1 tbsp Sichuan peppercorns 2 tbsp neutral oil 40g pork mince, or beef mince, or a plant-based alternative1 heaped tbsp Sichuan chilli bean paste (also called spicy doubanjiang or toban djan, see step 8)½ tbsp fermented black beans, drained1 tsp chilli flakes, drained if in oil (drizzle this on top, if you prefer)85ml waterIf serving this with rice, which is how it’s generally eaten (though you could have it with noodles instead), put that on to cook. It’s also nice with some steamed green vegetables or a cucumber salad on the side

Not keen on feeble nolo wine? Try these instead

Are you a lover of oaky rioja, or maybe zingy Kiwi sauvignon blanc, and looking to find a non-alcoholic lookalike? To put it bluntly, I’m afraid you’re out of luck. Alcohol does much more than make you tipsy; it is the magic ingredient that gives so much of wine’s wondrous complexity, character and charm. Not only does it carry volatile compounds that make up wine’s endlessly fascinating combinations of scents and tastes, along with a sensation of warmth, it also creates that viscous body and texture – what’s rather grossly known in the trade as “mouthfeel” – of the liquid in your mouth, and the overall balance of all these factors in the wine.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link

How to make penne all’arrabbiata – recipe | Felicity Cloake's Masterclass

Pasta all’arrabbiata is the perfect dish for January. Not only is it quick, vegan and made from ingredients you might conceivably have in the cupboard already, but the name, which means angry, could be said to suit my mood now that the last of the Christmas festivities are over. Happily, a big plate of rich, tomatoey pasta can always be relied upon to lift the spirits.Prep 5 min Cook 25 min Serves 22 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus a little more to finish1 tsp chilli flakes 2 garlic cloves 400g good tinned tomatoes, or passata 200g penne (see step 1)Salt and black pepper ¼ tsp red-wine vinegar 1 handful basil leaves, or flat-leaf parsleyThis dish is traditionally made with penne, but any shape that traps chunky pieces of sauce will give maximum enjoyment. Caz Hildebrand and Jacob Kenedy’s book The Geometry of Pasta suggests no fewer than 14 alternatives, including farfalle, pappardelle and tagliatelle, while I’d recommend rigatoni, fusilli, conchiglie or, indeed, anything that looks vaguely like them

Rukmini Iyer’s quick and easy recipe for harissa-spiked orzo with chickpeas and pine nuts | Quick and easy

This is my favourite store-cupboard dinner when faced with the pre-shop complaints that “there’s nothing in the fridge”. The cherry tomatoes provide a welcome fresh note, but otherwise it’s a happy cupboard raid. An old Nigel Slater recipe first put me on to the idea of using yoghurt to finish a pasta dish, and it works brilliantly here to balance the harissa. Excellent for a work-from-home lunch, too.Prep 10 min Cook 15 min Serves 230g pine nutsFlaky sea salt 200g orzo 1 tbsp olive oil 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely grated200g cherry tomatoes, halved400g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed (see my review for the best brands)2 heaped tbsp jarred rose harissa paste (I like Belazu)Juice of ½ lemon2 heaped tbsp Greek yoghurt, to serveFresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped to finish (optional)Put a large frying pan on a medium heat, then add the pine nuts, turn down the heat and toast, stirring and watching constantly, for three to four minutes, until evenly golden brown all over – do not leave the pan unattended, because they will burn

My week avoiding ultra-processed foods: ‘Why is it this hard?’

I’ve been eating ultra-processed foods (UPFs) all my life. Breakfast as a child was often Coco Pops, Rice Bubbles or white toast slathered in spreadable butter. Dinners usually involved processed sauces, such as Chicken Tonight or Dolmio, and my lunchboxes always contained flavoured chippies or plasticky cheese.I don’t blame my parents for this. Now I’m a parent too, I have cartons of juice and flavoured yoghurt as part of my parenting arsenal

Eleven quick and easy summer weekday dinners, from pasta to Maggi goreng – recipes

(Pictured above)Rukmini Iyer’s recipe contains a microwave method for cooking rice, but I’ve successfully made basmati in a rice cooker countless times – just pop the whole garlic clove in with the rice grains. After that, it’s only a matter of stir-frying the cashews, broccoli and tofu. If you need more convincing, Iyer says this recipe was “an absolute hit with my children”. My own children happily mainline tofu and rice, and can be persuaded to have broccoli if I tell them they’re actually eating mini Christmas trees, so I believe her.There are many ways to level up your instant noodles, and this recipe follows a familiar formula: add greens for health and a fried egg for protein

January tips if you’re cooking for one | Kitchen aide

I really struggle with cooking for one, so what can I make in January that’s interesting but easy and, most importantly, warming?Jane, via email “There’s an art to the perfect solo meal,” says Bonnie Chung, author of Miso: From Japanese Classics to Everyday Umami, “and that’s balancing decadence with ease.” For Chung, that means good-quality ingredients (“tinned anchovies, jarred beans”), a dish that can be cooked in one pan (“a night alone must be maximised with minimal washing-up”) and eaten with a single piece of cutlery, “preferably in front of the telly and out of a bowl nestling in your lap”. Happily, she says, all of those requirements are met by miso udon carbonara: “It has all the rich and creamy nirvana of a cheesy pasta, but with a delicious, mochi-like chew that is incredibly satisfying.” Not only that, but you can knock it up in less than 10 minutes. “Melt cheese, milk and miso in a pan to make the sauce base, then add frozen udon that have been soaked in hot water

Cheesy celeriac souffle and citrus salad: Thomasina Miers’ recipes to brighten a dark winter’s day

There is a skill in not wasting food and it’s all about good, old-fashioned housekeeping. If you learn how to store ingredients properly (cool, dark places are handy for spuds, for example) and keep tabs on what’s in your fridge/freezer, you can use everything up before it goes off – and make delicious things in the process. This golden, cheese-crusted souffle uses up the celeriac and spuds left after the festive season, plus any odds and ends of cheeses. It is spectacularly good, especially paired with a sparkling citrus salad.Sweet onions, soft roots and lots of cheese rise into a light, golden souffle with none of the fuss of making a bechamel

Martino’s, London SW1: ‘Beautiful bedlam’ – restaurant review | Grace Dent on restaurants

Does central London really need another fancy Italian restaurant? Well, yes, apparently it does …Does the area around Sloane Square in central London really need another fancy, Italian-leaning restaurant that serves up tortellini in brodo and veal Milanese? Well, yes, apparently it does. One Saturday lunchtime late last year at Martino’s was hectic even in the delightful reception area, where we were waiting to check in a coat with the elegantly uniformed front-of-house ladies. All the tables in this hot new all-day brasserie were booked and busy, and plenty of walk-ins were champing at the bit for cancellations.Actually, “delightful reception” is not a phrase I’ve often uttered, or even thought, but this is a Martin Kuczmarski restaurant, so the small things tend to add up to a larger picture – this cocoon-like holding pen keeps would-be queuers away from the diners. Why was I so charmed by this weird, crisply officiated bends chamber that operates as a liminal space between the real grubby world outside and the glitzy, sexy, mock-Italian trattoria inside? Well, it turns out that’s because it solved a problem that I didn’t even realise I had

Helen Goh’s recipe for baked apples with lemon and tahini | The sweet spot

After the excesses of December, these baked apples are a light, refreshing vegan pudding. The filling makes good use of any dried fruit lingering still from Christmas, and is brightened with lemon and bound with nutty tahini. As the apples bake, they turn yielding and fragrant, while the sesame oat topping crisps to a golden crown. Serve warm with a splash of cream, yoghurt or ice-cream (dairy or otherwise), and you have comfort that feels wholesome and indulgent.If need be, you can make these vegan and/or dairy-free with a few simple tweaks

Mark Hix’s recipe for roast pumpkin and pickled walnut salad

I try to grow a few varieties of squash every season, but in the past couple of years the results have more or less failed me. I originally put that down to the lack of time and attention I’d given those poor plants, but I’m now starting to wonder if the soil in my raised garden beds overlooking Lyme Bay in Dorset is actually right for them.I’m not giving up just yet, though, and this year I’ll be trying different varieties in a different bed that I’ve prepared and composted over the winter with seaweed mulch. As luck would have it, however, my friend Rob Corbett came to the rescue a couple of weeks ago by giving me several specimens when he delivered some wine from his Castlewood vineyard a few miles away in east Devon. If you know your gourds even a little, you will also know that squashes keep for months, which is handy, because they ideally need to cure and ripen before use