Valentine’s Day proves a gift for UK retailers, as consumers hold back on big-ticket items

An increase in Valentine’s Day gift-buying brought relief for retailers last month amid February’s “grey days”, as consumers held back from spending on big-ticket items, according to industry figures.Jewellery purchases linked to Valentine’s Day were one of the highlights of an otherwise lacklustre month when sales inched ahead, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said.The enduring demand for health and beauty products and technology, including tablets, computers and mobile phones, offset falls in clothing and footwear, the industry body said.Total UK retail sales increased by 1.1% year on year in February, above the 12-month average growth of 0

Global stock markets register heavy falls as White House tries to talk up Trump tariffs

Global stock markets have continued to fall amid fears that a wide-ranging trade war could dent US economic growth and result in a recession, even as the White House has denied that Trump’s trade policies are causing lasting chaos.The S&P 500 fell 2.7%, the Dow Jones dropped 2%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 4% on Monday as investors sold shares in the so-called “magnificent seven” – Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Meta, Nvidia and Tesla. Tesla’s shares had their worst day since September 2020, falling 15%.In Asia, stocks took their cue from Wall Street and fell sharply on Tuesday, with Japan’s Nikkei and Taiwan stocks sliding about 3%, hitting their lowest level since September

Elon Musk claims ‘massive cyber-attack’ caused X outages

Elon Musk claimed on Monday afternoon that X was targeted in a “massive cyber-attack” that resulted in the intermittent service outages that had brought down his social network throughout the day. The platform, formerly known as Twitter, had been unresponsive for many users as posts failed to load.“We get attacked every day, but this was done with a lot of resources,” the platform’s CEO posted. “Either a large, coordinated group and/or a country is involved.”Downdetector, a website that monitors outages on various sites and platforms, showed thousands of reports of outages that initially spiked at about 5

The making of Elon Musk: how did his childhood in apartheid South Africa shape him?

The billionaire and now Trump adviser grew up amid the collapse of white rule, attending an all-white school and then a more liberal oneWith an imposing double-winged redbrick main building, and school songs lifted directly from Harrow’s songbook, Pretoria boys high school is every inch the South African mirror of the English private schools it was founded in 1901 to imitate.Elon Musk, who has rapidly become one of the most powerful people in US politics, spent his final school years in the 1980s as a day pupil on the lush, tree-filled campus in South Africa’s capital, close to his father’s large detached home in Waterkloof, a wealthy Pretoria suburb shaded by purple jacaranda blossoms in spring.South Africa was rocked by uprisings as apartheid entered its dying years. In 1984, black townships across the country revolted. By 1986, the white minority government had imposed a state of emergency

New Orleans Pelicans to bring NBA basketball to Australia with two games in Melbourne

NBA franchise the New Orleans Pelicans are the latest American sports team to agree to play in Australia, after officials locked in a two-match exhibition series against NBL sides Melbourne United and South East Melbourne Phoenix in October.Organisers are hoping to sell out the matches at 14,000-capacity Rod Laver Arena, held on the weekend following the AFL grand final, as well as draw a large crowd to two open training sessions to be held at Melbourne Park.The Pelicans have pledged to bring a full-strength side, including former No 1 draft pick Zion Williamson, to Australia for what will be a pre-season trip ahead of the 2025-26 season starting in late October.NBL owner Larry Kestelman said he wanted it to be the first of many similar visits and it was going to be a “celebration” of Australian basketball. “I do believe this is the first, but not the last

Australian Winter Olympian Belle Brockhoff airlifted to hospital after horror crash

Belle Brockhoff is “in good spirits” in a Greek hospital after a horror crash at a Snowboard Cross World Cup race in Georgia over the weekend left her with a serious back injury.The 32-year-old, who has represented Australia at three Winter Olympics, was airlifted off the slopes of Gudauri after tumbling at relatively high speed on her last race of the day and landing on her coccyx on Saturday.Brockhoff was taken to a hospital in Tbilisi where scans revealed a fracture of the L1 vertebrae, with no neurological damage.She was then evacuated to Greece to undergo surgery. A member of the Olympic Winter Institute of Australia medical team has joined her in Greece, while her partner has also flown out to be with her