
-
US says tech tariff exemptions may be short-lived
-
'I love this club' - Van Dijk hints at Liverpool stay
-
Trump's doctor finds US president in 'excellent health' after physical
-
King of the cobbles van der Poel wins third straight Paris-Roubaix
-
McIlroy aims for Masters win and career Slam but DeChambeau threatens
-
Liverpool within touching distance of title, Wolves add to Spurs woe
-
Van Dijk's late winner edges Liverpool towards Premier League title
-
Alcaraz caps 'difficult week' with first Monte Carlo Masters title
-
China calls on US to 'completely cancel' reciprocal tariffs
-
Russian strike on city centre of Ukraine's Sumy kills 32
-
Atalanta beat Bologna to relaunch Champions League bid
-
Alcaraz sees off Musetti to win Monte Carlo Masters
-
Barca's Balde to miss key games with hamstring injury
-
Russian strike on Ukraine's Sumy kills 31, including two children
-
Erased identity: Post-war adoptee seeks German roots
-
Struggling Sevilla sack Garcia Pimienta
-
Japan qualify for BJK Cup finals with win over Canada
-
Iran says talks with US to focus solely on nuclear issue, lifting sanctions
-
Members of Hong Kong's Democratic Party approve plan to disband
-
Russian strike on city centre in Ukraine's Sumy kills 21
-
Green Day, Charli XCX and... Bernie Sanders helm Coachella day two
-
Hirpa and Biwott triumph at Paris Marathon
-
China's Xi courts Southeast Asia as Trump tariffs bite
-
Gaza hospital hit as Israel intensifies assault
-
Myanmar quake victims mark new year camped in ruins
-
Australian schoolboy Gout Gout scorches to 19.84sec over 200m
-
Bernie Sanders fights apathy on American left
-
Scottish rowing brothers aim for record-breaking Pacific crossing
-
Ennis downs Stanionis to unify IBF, WBA welterweight belts
-
Bernie Sanders thrills Coachella crowd with surprise appearance
-
Bulgarian border city hails Schengen tourism boom
-
Algeria protests after consular official indicted in France
-
Indonesia palm oil firms eye new markets as US trade war casts shadow
-
Indonesia's horror movie industry rises from the grave
-
Myanmar marks new year festival mourning quake losses
-
Death toll in Dominican nightclub roof collapse hits 226
-
Blues go back to forwards to turn around Super Rugby form
-
Harvey Weinstein sex crimes retrial to begin Tuesday in NY
-
Hip hop trio Kneecap has Coachella rapping in Irish
-
Day: McIlroy worthy of Tiger and Jack if he wins Masters
-
Ecuador votes in razor-close presidential runoff
-
DeChambeau surges late to line up Masters showdown with McIlroy
-
McIlroy eyes Masters win and Slam - 'I'll be able to handle it'
-
World Expo opens in Japan in rocky times
-
McIlroy leads by two heading into Masters final round
-
No.1 Scheffler grinds out level par on tough day at Masters
-
Ecuador's presidential hopefuls face toxic brew of crime, unemployment
-
Over 100 feared dead in Sudan paramilitary attacks in Darfur: UN
-
Ex-ministers charged as probe into deadly club fire broadens
-
Magisterial McIlroy leads midway through Masters third round

UK nearly doubles energy price cap in cost-of-living crisis
Britain announced Friday a vast 80-percent hike in electricity and gas bills, in a dramatic worsening of the cost-of-living crisis before winter as the UK awaits a new leader.
Regulator Ofgem said its energy price cap, which sets prices for consumers who are not on a fixed deal with their supplier, will in October increase to an average £3,549 ($4,197) per year from the current £1,971, blaming soaring wholesale gas costs after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
"The increase (in the cap) reflects the continued rise in global wholesale gas prices, which began to surge as the world unlocked from the Covid pandemic and have been driven still higher to record levels by Russia slowly switching off gas supplies to Europe," Ofgem said in a statement.
The news sparked outcry from charities who said families faced one of the "bleakest Christmases" for years, with UK inflation already in double-digits and forecast to strike 13 percent in the coming months due to runaway energy bills.
The near-doubling in the cap will likely tip millions into fuel poverty, forced to choose between heating or eating, according to anti-poverty experts.
Britain is already suffering from its highest inflation rate since 1982 and is predicted to enter recession later this year.
"We know the massive impact this price cap increase will have on households across Britain and the difficult decisions consumers will now have to make," added Ofgem boss Jonathan Brearley on Friday.
"I talk to customers regularly and I know that today's news will be very worrying for many."
- 'Zombie' government -
Britain's rampant cost-of-living has dominated the race to succeed Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson, with political opponents accusing him of leading a zombie government as inflation escalates.
Both front-runner Liz Truss and rival leadership contender Rishi Sunak are grappling with how to address the crisis.
Gas comprises a major part of Britain's energy mix, with tens of millions of homes relying on gas-powered boilers for their heating.
Household and business consumers, energy suppliers and opposition politicians are clamouring for urgent government action to do more to avoid putting the most vulnerable in desperate situations.
The University of York has estimated 58 percent of UK households are at risk of fuel poverty by next year.
The crisis is forecast to worsen from next January, when average bills could top £5,000 according to some projections as Ofgem updates the cap every three months, rather than the previous norm of twice a year.
The leader of the main opposition Labour party, Keir Starmer, has called for a freeze in energy bills at the current cap level.
Outgoing premier Johnson has vowed to leave major fiscal decisions to his successor, who will be announced on September 5 following a summer-long leadership contest.
M.Ouellet--BTB