Trump sanctions have swift impact but will world stop buying Russian oil and gas?

Donald Trump’s stated mission to broker peace in Ukraine could come down to this simple question: can the US president convince the world to stop buying Russia’s fossil fuels?Last week, Trump imposed sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, in an effort to damage Moscow’s ability to fund its war machine.Tom Keatinge, the founding director of the Centre for Finance and Security (CFS) at the defence thinktank Rusi, said: “The US has been more effective in 24 hours than the EU has been in the last six months. Trump is willing to say what many others are too timid or too diplomatic to say out loud. For the longest time people have been calling for Trump to pull out the sanctions hammer. It could be very significant

Peer trying to derail UK smoking ban discussed bill with relative at tobacco firm

A member of the House of Lords who is trying to derail the generational ban on tobacco sales discussed the legislation with a family member who is “very high up” at British American Tobacco (BAT).Lord Strathcarron is proposing amendments that would scrap the central provision of the tobacco and vapes bill, originally proposed by Rishi Sunak’s government.If the bill is passed in its original form, the UK would become only the second country to implement a so-called generational smoking ban, making it illegal to sell tobacco to anyone born after 2008.Strathcarron’s proposal is to simply raise the legal purchase age from 18 to 21.The change proposed by the peer, who in a recent speech in the Lords described cigars as “harmless”, mirrors BAT’s lobbying position

Fare game: what the battle between taxis and Uber means for your airport trip in Sydney and Melbourne

By the time you’ve exited the plane, edged through passport control and endured the baggage claim wait, your only thought may be of home or a hotel bed. But passengers at Australia’s major airports have recently noticed some changes as they contemplate the final leg of their journey.Since Friday, in a bid to deter illegal touts, a new taxi booking trial at Melbourne airport has allowed some passengers to pay a fixed fare upfront. And next month, Sydney airport will begin its own one-year trial of a $60 flat fare for the 13km journey to the CBD.The changes, supported by the taxi industry, are a sign of its struggle to remain competitive with the rideshare companies – especially Uber

Amazon strategised about keeping its datacentres’ full water use secret, leaked document shows

Executives at world’s biggest datacenter owner grappled with disclosing information about water used to help power facilitiesAmazon strategised about keeping the public in the dark over the true extent of its datacentres’ water use, a leaked internal document reveals.The biggest owner of datacentres in the world, Amazon dwarfs competitors Microsoft and Google and is planning a huge increase in capacity as part of a push into artificial intelligence. The Seattle firm operates hundreds of active facilities, with many more in development despite concerns over how much water is being used to cool their vast arrays of circuitry.Amazon defends its approach and has taken steps to manage how efficient its water use is, but it has faced criticism over transparency. Microsoft and Google regularly publish figures for their water consumption, but Amazon has never publicly disclosed how much water its server farms consume

Pat Cummins ruled out of first Ashes Test, with Steve Smith to captain Australia

Pat Cummins is officially out of the first Ashes Test as he continues his recovery from a stress injury in his back, with Steve Smith to reassume the captaincy of Australia in the series opener against England next month.Cummins has not bowled since Australia’s 3-0 series defeat of West Indies in July and had been in serious doubt for the match in Perth on 21 November. After months of speculation over whether he would recover in time, Cricket Australia on Monday finally confirmed that the quick would have to sit out the game at Optus Stadium.The 32-year-old’s acumen with the ball in hand and his presence as a leader on the field will be sorely missed, and with uncertainty remaining over when he will be able to feature again, his absence comes as a blow to Australia’s hopes of retaining the Ashes urn.The 32-year-old has resumed running and “expects to return to bowling shortly”, CA said on Monday, although an exact date has not been put on any return to full fitness

Mexico Grand Prix: Norris claims dominant win to lead drivers’ standings – as it happened

Giles Richards has filed his report on a hugely important race – and result – in the battle for the drivers’ championship:Max Verstappen also speaks to TV:“It was very hectic at the beginning of the race for me. I almost crashed. Everyone around me was on soft tyres and we were on medium, so it was a bit of a struggle. It was about surviving the first stint. Once we bolted on the softs I think we were a little bit more competitive and happier