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French far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen has sought to soften a campaign pledge to ban women from wearing the Islamic headscarf in public ahead of a run-off round of voting against Emmanuel Macron on Sunday. The shift comes after both candidates encountered women wearing headscarves on the campaign trail, reigniting a longstanding debate in

Uber’s UK pension provider is to redraw its new workforce scheme within months of its launch after a union complained the lack of a sharia-compliant investment option effectively excluded much of the ride-hailing app’s Muslim-majority workforce. Auto-enrolment in a workplace pension scheme was one of the main practical benefits to drivers of Uber’s decision last

After retaining his world title in 2021, Magnus Carlsen declared that he was only interested in future challenges from much younger players. That comment highlighted the status of Alireza Firouzja, the ex-Iranian turned French prodigy. The 18-year-old jumped to world No2 last autumn and is now among the favourites for the eight-player Candidates at Madrid in

Blackstone has struck a $13bn deal to acquire one of the biggest portfolios of student housing in the US, extending a streak of real estate transactions that has already made the private equity company one of the biggest owners of inner-city apartment blocks and suburban homes. The purchase of American Campus Communities will give Blackstone

Disrupter of disrupters? Or swan song of the special purpose acquisition company? European investors are making that call over a deal involving music streaming service Deezer. The French group has reached terms with cash shell I2PO to list on Euronext Paris at a pre-money value of €1bn. Bringing together billionaires François-Henri Pinault and Leonard Blavatnik,

The UK plans to strip Russia’s stock exchange of a status that allows investors to claim tax relief on trades, in a move aimed at further isolating Moscow from global financial markets. HM Revenue & Customs said on Tuesday that it intended to revoke the Moscow Exchange’s status as a recognised exchange, removing investors’ ability

Some international airlines have dropped a requirement for passengers to wear masks on flights to and from America after a US judge threw out a Biden administration mandate. Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, a Donald Trump appointee who sits on the federal bench in Florida, deemed the public transport mask mandate unlawful on Monday, ruling that

Kirkbi of Denmark has an appropriately Nordic model. Its portfolio, anchored by a 75 per cent stake in toymaker Lego, funds philanthropic endeavours, renewable energy — and adds to the wealth of the controlling Kirk Kristiansen family. Last year profits quadrupled to DKr27bn ($3.92bn), and were 60 per cent up on pre-pandemic 2019. Fittingly, Lego

Stanley Gibbons expects stamp and coin enthusiasts to benefit from rising prices for their collections, as inflationary pressures push investors to hedge against inflation. Graham Shircore, chief executive of the collectibles dealer, said on Tuesday there was “some evidence that real assets tend to do reasonably well during periods of heightened inflation . . . stamps and coins have

We will “roll up our sleeves” and “deliver real change”. We are “progressive, modern, caring”. Sinn Féin’s pitch ahead of May’s Northern Ireland assembly elections could almost have come from a manifesto anywhere. But it is significant as much for what it does not say as for what it does. Irish reunification — the fundamental

Robinhood has agreed to buy UK crypto company Ziglu, as the US retail brokerage steps up its expansion beyond share trading and makes a second attempt to push into Britain. The Californian company said on Tuesday that London-based Ziglu’s “impressive team of deeply experienced financial services and crypto experts [will help] accelerate our global expansion

The global economy will suffer a hit to growth and higher inflation this year as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the IMF said on Tuesday. In its World Economic Outlook, the fund said prospects had “worsened significantly” with countries closest to the war likely to be hardest hit. But it warned that risks

China has signed a security deal with the Solomon Islands just days ahead of a visit by US government officials to the South Pacific country, exacerbating western fears over Beijing’s growing influence in the region. Wang Yi, China’s foreign minister, and his Solomon Islands counterpart Jeremiah Manele signed the deal “in recent days”, the Chinese foreign

Voters hear the chord, not the individual notes. Policies that poll well on their own terms can seem rash or even extreme when combined in great number. Americans want better roads, cheaper healthcare and more cash for climate change abatement. They even like the idea of funding these projects with higher taxes on the rich.

In the deserted central square in Slovyansk in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, a few elderly residents are trying to find a way out of the city while they still can. “Where are the evacuation buses?” asks Nadyezhda Ivanovna, 78, as artillery fire booms in the distance. “I want to leave now,” she said. “There will

Russia plans to take legal steps to recover $300bn of its foreign currency reserves frozen by western governments in a bid to overturn one of the most painful measures imposed on Moscow in response to its invasion of Ukraine. The pledge to mount a legal challenge against the measure was announced by the head of

Part-scores skirmishes are the primary battleground at Duplicate bridge, but if similar principles are applied to social bridge, the game becomes increasingly interesting. BiddingDealer: SouthGame: All North East South West — — 1C NB 2C NB NB Dbl 3C Where North-South were allowed to play in 2C, they made it. On the principle that if

In 2002 Fiona Fox, head of the newly founded UK Science Media Centre visited Wellcome, the research charity. When she started to say why she was there, a horrified receptionist put a finger to her lips and whispered: “We don’t mention the A word.” A stood for animals, whose use in research at the time

Gunvor has reported a more than doubling of its full-year profits, becoming the latest commodity trader to reveal bumper earnings for 2021 when it cashed in on rising demand for energy as lockdown restrictions eased. The Geneva-based company controlled by billionaire Torbjorn Tornqvist said on Tuesday its net income hit $726mn in the year to

The yen is making history, but in a bad way. Tuesday marks the 13th straight day Japan’s currency fell against the dollar. It is the currency’s longest losing streak in at least five decades. Record short bets on the yen normally mean a boost for local exporters. They now spell trouble. The yen has hit