‘Mother of all deals’: EU and India sign free trade agreement

India and the EU have finalised a landmark free trade agreement, which the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, hailed as the “mother of all deals”.The agreement comes after almost two decades of on-off negotiations between India and the EU, which vastly accelerated in the past six months and were finally concluded late on Monday night.The deal is expected to open up India’s vast and traditionally tightly guarded market to the 27 nations in the bloc, with a focus on manufacturing and the services sector. It will ease market access for key European products, including cars and wine, in return for easier exports of textiles, gems and pharmaceuticals.The agreement is expected to double EU exports to India by 2032 by eliminating or cutting tariffs in 96

Here’s how Europe can file for divorce from Donald Trump | Phillip Inman

There is a way to file for divorce from Donald Trump and Europe needs to grab the opportunity.To the public it will look as if nothing has changed. But behind the scenes the EU and the UK could close the joint bank account and cut up the credit cards, or at least set in motion a form of financial separation that limits the power of a controlling former partner.It won’t be easy to walk away and it won’t be quick. But a degree of separation is necessary and, crucially, achievable

Customer complaints over water bills surge by 50% in England and Wales

Complaints about water companies in England and Wales to an independent monitor surged by more than 50% last year, as customers bristled at steep bill increases.More than 16,000 complaints were lodged in 2025 with the Consumer Council for Water (CCW), a government-sponsored body that represents customers’ interests.That was up from 10,600 in 2024, with the flow of objections well above the level of the prior year in every month from March onwards.Water companies have faced huge public anger in recent years over the amount of sewage flowing into Britain’s rivers and seas. However, the extent of the outrage increased sharply last year when water companies were allowed to increase bills to pay for upgrades after decades of underinvestment

U-turn on pubs has not solved the government’s mess on business rates | Nils Pratley

Will the chancellor’s inevitable U-turn on business rates for pubs be enough to quieten the developing riot behind the taps? Possibly, a bit. After two months of damaging headlines, Rachel Reeves has granted pubs a 15% discount on bills, worth £1,650 on average in the next tax year, then a two-year freeze in real terms, with the promise of a change in methodology in time for the next revaluation in 2029. Live music venues get the same deal. The package is not insignificant, especially as it was the year-three escalation in bills that was causing the most angst.Yet it would be a mistake to think the government’s troubles on business rates end there

Hobbycraft issues full recall of asbestos-tainted children’s play sand

Hobbycraft has issued a full recall of children’s coloured play sand after confirming some bottles contained asbestos, presenting “a risk to health”.The Guardian revealed at the weekend that the craft retailer had stopped selling the kit after being alerted to the risk but had stopped short of alerting customers who had already bought the item.The asbestos was discovered by a customer whose children had played with the sand at a party. The parent, who did not wish to be named, recognised it from reports of a recall in Australia and New Zealand and paid for a lab test.She alerted Hobbycraft when three of the five bottles in its Giant Box of Craft set were found to contain fibrous tremolite asbestos

Treasury announces business rate support package worth more than £80m a year – as it happened

The Treasury has unveiled a support package worth more than £80m a year for pubs and live music venues in England and Wales, in a climbdown that follows a fierce backlash against plans to overhaul business rates.Trade bodies had warned that Rachel Reeves’s changes to business rates, announced at the chancellor’s November budget, would trigger widespread closures and job losses in the hospitality sector, particularly in pubs.On Tuesday, the government announced financial support to mitigate the effect of the rates shake-up, after officials admitted that they had not foreseen its total financial impact.The package, final details of which were still being hammered out on Monday night, is expected to be worth more than £80m a year, over three years, for pubs and gig venues.Dan Tomlinson, the exchequer secretary to the Treasury, said every pub in England and Wales would get 15% off its new business rates bill from 1 April, worth an average of £1,650 for each