- Ten Hag bemoans Man Utd's lack of killer instinct in Palace stalemate
- France's Macron appoints new government in shift to right
- Cheika proud of Leicester grit after winning start as boss
- Profligate Man Utd pay price in 0-0 draw at Palace
- Kane, Olise run riot as Bayern thump Bremen
- Diaz fires Liverpool top of Premier League, Man Utd held at Palace
- LIV champion Rahm out of LIV Team semis with severe flu
- Slot surprised by tearful Nunez's moment of magic
- Title rivals Norris, Verstappen on 'cool' front row for Singapore GP
- Biden talks China with 'Quad' leaders in hometown summit
- Juve and Napoli play out goalless draw in early Serie A title tussle
- Alcaraz fears tennis tour grind will 'kill us'
- Carey sparks recovery as Australia thrash England in 2nd ODI
- Leclerc, Sainz lament 'disappointing' Saturday in Singapore
- Bottega Veneta holds investors' aces as Madonna pops into D&G
- Beirut digs for victims at building flattened in Israeli strike
- Verstappen stages protest over 'ridiculous' swearing punishment
- Bayern boss Kompany lauds 'special talent' Olise
- Diaz fires Liverpool top of Premier League, Spurs bounce back
- Heavy fire over Israel-Lebanon border after deadly Beirut strike
- Ramos guides unbeaten Toulouse to Montpellier win despite Hogg scuffle
- Myanmar flood death toll jumps to 384
- Chelsea owners 'happy' with win at West Ham amid rift report
- Kane and Olise run riot as Bayern thump Bremen
- Ramos guides unbeaten Toulouse to Montpellier win
- Norris pips Verstappen to dramatic Singapore pole after Sainz crash
- Carey takes Australia to 270 in 2nd ODI against England after collapse
- Two Hezbollah leaders killed in Israel's Beirut strike
- Hungary Danube waters reach decade high after Storm Boris
- Bagnaia cuts Martin's MotoGP lead with Emilia-Romagna sprint win
- Jackson double fires Chelsea to victory at woeful West Ham
- Fiji beat Japan to lift Pacific Nations Cup
- Kasatkina to face Haddad Maia in Korea Open final
- S.Africa snowfall closes roads, strands motorists overnight
- Lawyers of women alleging Al-Fayed sex abuse receive over 150 new enquiries
- President Museveni's son backs Ugandan strongman for 7th term
- Norris quickest as Verstappen bounces back in Singapore practice
- Wallabies lament All Blacks' fast start
- Germany's Oktoberfest opens under tight security after attacks
- Environmental protesters block French cruise liner port
- Hezbollah in disarray after Israeli strike kills top commanders
- No place like home: Biden hosts 'Quad' leaders
- One dead, 7 missing as heavy rains trigger floods in central Japan
- Zelensky says no UK, US go-ahead to use long-range missiles
- New Zealand edge Australia 31-28 in Bledisloe Cup thriller
- Japan orders evacuations as heavy rains trigger floods in quake-hit area
- New Zealand pilot freed in Indonesia after 19 months in rebel captivity
- Hezbollah in disarray after Israeli air strike kills top commanders
- Leading climate activist released from Vietnam jail
- Ethiopians struggle with bitter pill of currency reform
UK inflation strikes 30-year high
Britain's annual inflation rate soared to the highest level in three decades last month as energy prices rocket, official data showed Wednesday, worsening a cost-of-living crisis.
Inflation surged to 7.0 percent in March from 6.2 percent in February, the Office for National Statistics said in a statement.
"Broad-based price rises saw annual inflation increase sharply again in March," said ONS chief economist Grant Fitzner.
"Amongst the largest increases were petrol costs."
Prices of restaurant meals and hotel rooms also rose steeply last month after falling a year earlier during a pandemic lockdown in the UK.
Costs are surging worldwide as economies reopen from pandemic lockdowns and on fallout from the war in Ukraine.
US inflation rose by a huge 8.5 percent over the 12 months to March, the biggest jump in four decades, official data showed Tuesday.
Sharp price rises across the board are forcing central banks around the world to hike interest rates, curbing economic growth recovery.
European Central Bank governors meet Thursday to ponder record-high inflation in the eurozone and fresh economic uncertainty caused by the war in Ukraine, with policymakers signalling a willingness to take action sooner rather than later.
The US Federal Reserve and the Bank of England have already announced their first rate hikes to combat price pressures, leaving the ECB looking out of step.
- 'Worrying time' -
The Bank of England has predicted that UK annual inflation could reach double figures by the end of the year.
"We're seeing rising costs caused by global pressures in our supply chains and energy markets which could be exacerbated further by Russian aggression in Ukraine," Britain's finance minister Rishi Sunak said Wednesday.
"I know this is a worrying time for many families," added the embattled chancellor of the exchequer.
Sunak, along with Prime Minister Boris Johnson, confirmed Tuesday that they had been fined for breaching Covid-19 lockdown laws.
British cost-of-living is set to soar even higher owing to an April tax hike on UK workers and businesses and a fresh surge in domestic energy bills that kicked in this month.
"Soaring energy and fuel prices were the main drivers of the rise in (UK) inflation in March, but we are paying more for everything," Myron Jobson, senior personal finance analyst at Interactive Investor, said following Wednesday's data.
"Supply shortages and production bottlenecks owing to the pandemic have forced firms to raise their prices of late," while Russia's invasion of Ukraine "has made the outlook for inflation worse", he added.
M.Furrer--BTB