NatWest faces £140m hit from Iran war as UK growth slows and inflation rises

NatWest said the economic fallout from the conflict in the Middle East could cost it £140m amid slowing growth and rising inflation even as it reported profits ahead of expectations.Overall, the FTSE 100 lender booked a £283m impairment charge and said that almost half of that was because of a reassessment of its economic forecast to “reflect increased geopolitical risk and weaker equity markets”.The bank said it expected its base case for UK gross domestic product growth to be only 0.4% this year, half that forecast by the International Monetary Fund earlier this month.NatWest reported a 12% year-on-year increase in operating profits to £2bn in the first three months of the year, up from £1

UK house prices jump despite impact of Middle East conflict

House price growth in the UK has surprised estate agents and economists by jumping in April at the fastest annual pace in 11 months, according to Nationwide.The UK’s biggest building society said its mortgage data showed that house prices unexpectedly rose by 3% in April on a year earlier, from 2.2% in March, leaving the typical UK property worth £278,880.House prices also rose for the fourth consecutive month, increasing by 0.4% in April after a 0

Chess: England fail to win senior team world medals for first time in five years

England finished out of the medals for the first time in five years in this week’s world senior team championships for over-50s and over-65s, played at Durres, Albania, as the US, fielding a largely former USSR squad, retained the over-50 gold medals, while a nominally German team, which also included a former Soviet star, won the over-65s event.The US victory was clear but had a controversial aspect in the team’s use of package deals, which are forbidden in Olympiads but still allowed in senior events.Fide World Senior Teams Championships ran from 19-28 April in Durres, AlbaniaAge 50+1 USA 1 – 15 match points (25.5 game points)2 Italy – 15 (23)3 Kazakhstan – 14 (27)4 England 1 – 13 (24)5 Iceland – 12 (23.5)6 Hungary – 11 (21

When it comes to wines, it pays to look beyond the fashionable

The sommelier Honey Spencer, of Sune in east London, struck a real chord on Instagram earlier this year: “I’m so fucking sick of expensive wine,” she lamented. There followed an angry plaint about the “unrelenting rise” in the cost of bottles from “artisans making wine properly … and FORGET BURGUNDY”. In a difficult climate, this is “one of the hardest pills to swallow” for the restaurateur.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link

Martha’s rule may have saved more than 500 lives in England since 2024

More than 500 people have received potentially life-saving care thanks to Martha’s rule, which gives hospital patients the right to seek a second opinion about their health.They were moved to intensive care or a specialist unit after they, a loved one or a member of NHS staff triggered the patient safety mechanism, which the NHS in England began using in 2024.Martha’s rule lets patients, relatives and staff call a helpline run by the hospital if they are worried about the person’s condition or treatment and ask for a “rapid review” of their care.In the 18 months between September 2024 and February 2026, a total of 524 adults and children about whom concerns had been raised were moved to an intensive care or high-dependency unit, a specialist hospital or a specialist ward at the hospital where they were already an inpatient.Wes Streeting, the health secretary, said the figures proved that Martha’s rule is “already having a life-saving impact”

Solicitors report late flood of no-fault evictions before ban in England

Solicitors say they have been inundated with requests to serve last-minute section 21 no-fault eviction notices before they are banned when the Renters’ Rights Act comes into force in England on Friday.The legislation, which has been hailed as the biggest change to renting in a generation, bans no-fault evictions, limits rent increases and abolishes fixed-term tenancies.On the eve of the new rules, solicitors said they were working long hours to keep up with the sudden demand for eviction notices, while Citizens Advice said thousands of people facing a no-fault eviction had approached it for help in the last month.In March, the service helped 2,335 people dealing with a no-fault eviction, up 16% on the same time last year, as well as more than 1,800 people dealing with disrepair such as damp and mould, and more than 1,000 with rent increases.Thackray Williams, a London- and Kent-based law firm, said it had received a wave of last-minute instructions from landlords looking to evict their tenants and sell their properties because of the legislation