Gold rises as markets await US tariffs; Heathrow airport was warned about power supply in days before closure – as it happened

The sell-off in European stock markets has gathered pace, and pharmaceutical stocks are among the biggest fallers ahead of Donald Trump’s tariff announcement later today.The Stoxx 600 healthcare index fell as much as 2.5% to its lowest level since December.Analysts said US tariffs this time round could focus on the pharmaceutical sector.Germany’s Bayer and France’s Sanofi dropped by 4

You never know what you’re gonna get: Australians will have to wait until after the election to see if there’s an interest rate cut | Greg Jericho

“Life is like a box of chocolates,” said Forrest Gump, who had clearly never looked at the label descriptions on the box. “You never know what you’re gonna get.” And so it was for the RBA on Tuesday when they announced that it was keeping the cash rate steady at 4.1%.Not the actual decision – we all knew they were not going to cut rates

Roblox gives parents more power over children’s activity on gaming platform

Parents can now block their children from communicating with specific friends or playing certain games on Roblox, an online gaming platform popular with children.The changes form part of a suite of safety updates intended to give parents more control over their child’s experience on the platform.From Wednesday, parents and caregivers who identify themselves with an ID or credit card will have access to three new tools. The friend management tool means they can block anyone on their child’s friends list, preventing their child from exchanging direct messages with that account, and report people they believe are violating Roblox policies.They can also review and change the content maturity level for their child’s account, determining which games their child can access, and obtain detailed screen-time insights

UK needs to relax AI laws or risk transatlantic ties, thinktank warns

Tony Blair’s thinktank has urged the UK to relax copyright laws in order to let artificial intelligence firms build new products, as it warned a tougher approach could strain the transatlantic relationship.The Tony Blair Institute said enforcing firm copyright measures would strain ties with the US, which is poised to announce tariffs on UK goods on Wednesday.Warning that geopolitical considerations require “urgent and adequate attention” while AI policy is being drafted, TBI said: “Without similar provisions in the United States, it would be hard for the UK government to enforce strict copyright laws without straining the transatlantic relationship it has so far sought to nurture.”The thinktank has said that if the UK went down the route of demanding licensing of all UK content used in AI models, it would simply push that development work to other territories where there are less strict copyright laws. To enforce a strict licensing model, the UK would also need to restrict access to models that have been trained on such content, which could include US-owned AI systems

Lions set to face Japan-based All Blacks in Anzac clash but Folau’s hopes over

The British & Irish Lions are set to face a number of former All Blacks with Rugby Australia’s chief executive, Phil Waugh, confident players based in Japan can be recruited for the Anzac fixture in July. Waugh also confirmed that players who have represented Australia and New Zealand but subsequently switched nationality will not be considered, ending Israel Folau’s hopes of appearing in another Lions series and ruling out Charles Piutau.The Lions will lock horns with an invitational Australia and New Zealand side for the first time since 1989. When the fixture was announced in 2023, the then Australia head coach, Eddie Jones, turned his nose up, saying: “I don’t want to be involved with the Kiwis.” With the former All Blacks head coach Ian Foster leading the combined side, Waugh believes the fixture in Adelaide will have star appeal

Grand National gets taps turned on to ensure safe ground after long dry spell

Jon Pullin, the acting clerk of the course at Aintree, said on Wednesday that he will do whatever it takes to ensure the Grand National meeting opens ton Thursday on good-to-soft groundThis will be despite unusually low levels of rainfall in the weeks running up to one of jump racing’s showpiece events.March was one of the sunniest on record for much of the UK and watering of the track is likely to continue overnight once racing is under way to ensure the going is as safe as possible for horses that will be taking off and landing at least eight times in every race.“We’ve been watering since the week beginning 17th March and we’re now up to an average of 60-65mm across the track, with some areas having had more and some a little less,” Pullin said.“We’re watering again today and it’s a warm and breezy afternoon with a similar forecast, if not a degree or two warmer, for tomorrow. So we’re hoping to certainly start with good-to-soft as the lead description and then we’ll reassess after racing as to what we may or may not need to do