Starmer says ‘every lever’ will be explored to ease rising costs of living from Iran conflict

Keir Starmer has promised to look at using “every lever that’s available to the government” to help people cope with the impact on the cost of living of the US-Israel war against Iran, as he prepares for an emergency meeting with senior ministers.The prime minister will chair a meeting of the Cobra committee to discuss possible contingency measures on Monday afternoon, joining Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank of England, Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, and Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary.Speaking to reporters during a visit to a school in London, Starmer said he wanted to reassure Britons that everything was being done to mitigate the economic effects of the conflict, which has resulted in energy prices soaring and the cost of government borrowing also rising.“Cobra is the opportunity at the highest level to bring people together on matters of real, significant national importance,” Starmer said.“Obviously, Cobras are usually used for military considerations, consular considerations, but I think with the Iran war, most people are very concerned now, not only what they’re seeing on their screens in relation to the conflict itself, but also that question of ‘How is it going to affect me and my family?’“And so today we’re looking at the economic impact, and I am asking for every lever that’s available to the government to deal with the cost of living to be discussed at Cobra

Idris Elba-backed firm Huel bought by Danone in €1bn deal

Huel, the protein shake maker which counts the actor Idris Elba among its investors, has agreed to be acquired by the French consumer goods group Danone in a deal worth about €1bn (£870m).The British company, which makes food powders, snack bars and meals from a blend of plant-based ingredients and fortified with vitamins, started out selling its powders online. It is now available in more than 25,000 stores around the world.The Huel co-founder Julian Hearn will make about £400m from the deal, according to filings at Companies House.He started the business in 2015 with the nutrition specialist James Collier, and remains one of the biggest shareholders in the business

iPhone 17e review: Apple upgrades its cheapest new smartphone

The cheapest new iPhone has been upgraded for this year with a faster chip, double the storage, automatic portraits and MagSafe, providing even more of the core Apple smartphone experience for less.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.The iPhone 17e is an upgraded version of the mid-range “e” line launched last year with the first iPhone 16e and is the latest member of the iPhone 17 family

Campaign groups rail against Palantir, but the UK contracts keep coming

Palantir’s latest UK contract takes the AI and data analytics company into the heart of one of Britain’s biggest industries: financial services, which accounts for 9% of the economy.The Miami-based company embedded its technology in the NHS in 2023, the police in 2024 and the military in 2025. Land and expand, they say in the tech industry. Palantir has followed the script, building contracts worth more than £500m.Now in 2026, its deal with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to dive into the terabytes of information it gathers gives it yet another unparalleled view of the inner workings of the British authorities

Hull FC turn tide and tame Leeds before era-defining moment for Super League

It may seem slightly churlish to suggest the pressure is rising in the lower reaches of Super League when the clocks haven’t even gone forward yet and the season is still in its early stages.But if there were any doubting clubs across the competition are feeling the heat despite there being no automatic relegation to the Championship, the news that filtered out from Huddersfield Giants on Sunday lunchtime that Luke Robinson had been relieved of his head coaching duties after a winless start to 2026 hammered the message home.The side that finishes bottom may not automatically drop to the second tier these days owing to the IMG-devised gradings method that selects Super League’s elite teams, but the reality is clubs are spending more than ever on wages. That, in turn, means club owners are putting more of their own cash in to plug increasingly large financial black holes.All of this is happening too at a time when NRL investment into Super League appears imminent

Resilient Korda stuns Alcaraz in Miami Open after almost letting advantage slip

An hour after his first catastrophic attempt at snuffing out the best player in the world, Sebastian Korda stepped up to the baseline to serve for his rollercoaster third-round match against Carlos Alcaraz once again.It would have been reasonable for the American to feel his tension even more profoundly, to collapse even more dramatically, but his determination won through. In front of his home crowd in his home state, Korda kept his head and held his nerve to close out the greatest upset of the ATP season and his career, defeating the top seed Alcaraz 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 in the third round of the Miami Open.This was a seismic upset secured by a supreme performance from Korda, the 32nd seed. For an hour, he played as well as he could