Kit clash farce looms as France set to wear special pale blue shirt against England

England’s Six Nations finale in Paris on Saturday could descend into farce with France poised to wear a special edition pale blue kit that threatens to clash with the white strip worn by Steve Borthwick’s side.Fabian Galthié’s team have confirmed they will don the anniversary kit, which is significantly lighter than their traditional blue strip, for a match that marks 120 years of rivalry between France and England. It is understood, however, that England will still wear their white kit despite the potential for a clash. Match officials are also understood to have given both kits the green light.Six Nations organisers have been wary of issues with kits in the past and no longer permit Wales and Ireland to wear predominantly red and green strips respectively because of the difficulty colour-blind spectators have in differentiating between the two sets of players

For many of us, the Covid pandemic still isn’t over | Brief letters

I was surprised to see that your article (The Covid-19 inquiry is sounding a clear warning. If it’s not heeded, yet more lives will be lost, 5 March) speaks of those who suffered during the pandemic in the past tense, and does not mention the hundreds of thousands, like myself, who still suffer from long Covid. It is a devastating condition that is too often forgotten when the pandemic is discussed. Meanwhile, long Covid clinics are underfunded and many have closed. To many, the pandemic must feel like a nightmare that is thankfully in the past

UK companies struggling to hire young people amid cost pressures, MPs told

British companies are struggling to afford to hire young people after a long period of rising costs that have hit profit margins and derailed recruitment plans, business leaders say.Rising labour costs including increases to the minimum wage and employer’s national insurance by the government have put young people at the back of the queue when employers consider recruitment, business lobby groups told MPs.They added that the Employment Rights Act threatened to make the situation worse if it discouraged employers “from taking the risk” of hiring young people with fewer skills, or without a long track record in the workplace.The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) expects the unemployment rate to rise to 5.5% this year and said young people would be “disproportionately affected”

Oil price tops $100 again as Iran strikes economic targets across Middle East

Oil prices again topped $100 a barrel on Thursday as widespread Iranian attacks on Middle Eastern energy facilities overshadowed a vast release of government reserves.As Donald Trump vowed to “finish the job” and press ahead with the US-Israel war on Iran, the country’s regime stepped up retaliatory strikes on economic targets across the region.Several merchant ships were struck in and around the strait of Hormuz, one of the most important arteries in global trade. Three crew members aboard one of the ships – the Thai-registered Mayuree Naree – were “believed to be trapped”, the vessel’s owner said.Meanwhile, Iraq halted all operations at its oil ports after an attack on two nearby oil tankers

How will Australians’ flights to Europe be affected, and at what cost, as the Iran war rages on?

Australians planning to fly to Europe in the northern summer face uncertainty over routes, insurance and even safety, as well as rising prices, as a result of the Middle East war.Major airlines operating through the region – including Emirates and Qatar, both popular choices for Australians heading to Europe – are still reeling amid the war between Israel, the US and Iran. Both carriers are only operating limited flights as they work to alleviate a backlog of passengers stuck in Dubai or Doha.But with European summer on the horizon, Australians are questioning how they may get overseas, and what it might cost.Zara Zarezadeh, a lecturer in tourism at Griffith University, says any international event, whether it be a conflict, political instability or a pandemic, would influence tourist behaviour in both the short and long term

Binance sues Wall Street Journal over reporting on Iranian sanctions

The US government is investigating Binance over allegations that Iran used the crypto exchange to evade sanctions and illegally move funds, according to a Wall Street Journal report published Wednesday.Binance has denied these claims and even sued the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday for defamation.The Journal reported in late February that Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, shut down an internal investigation into more than $1bn in transactions with a network funding Iran-backed terror groups; Binance fired employees for looking into the matter and allowed the network to remain active, according to both the Journal and the New York Times.A Binance spokesperson said in an emailed statement: “Binance categorically did not dismantle any compliance investigation. The WSJ continues to report the same falsities