European Union leaders have discussed their fears that the “immense pressure” President Trump’s policies are putting on Nato could lead to its break-up. Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, painted a bleak picture of the Trump administration at a dinner last night. - The Times Theresa May has issued a stark warning to EU leaders that their citizens’ lives will be at risk if they fail to show more flexibility on Brexit, as she struggled to regain the initiative at a bad-tempered summit in Brussels. The prime minister had earlier faced pointed criticism from a succession of leaders as they arrived at the European council meeting, in which they highlighted division and indecision at Westminster. - Guardian European leaders papered over the divisions on migration with a promise that some EU countries would take in migrants rescued from the Mediterranean sea. Announcing the end of tense summit talks shortly before dawn, the head of the European Council, Donald Tusk, tweeted that EU leaders had reached an agreement, including on migration. - Guardian The tobacco industry suffered a setback in attempts to halt the rising tide of regulation after the World Trade Organisation upheld a landmark ruling on plain tobacco packaging. The panel yesterday ruled that the law in Australia contributed to improving public health by reducing the use and exposure to tobacco products. Health experts said that the ruling was likely to lead to plain packaging being introduced around the world. - The Times One of the UK’s biggest tobacco manufacturers is seeking to diversify from the under-pressure cigarette market by taking a stake in a start-up researching medical uses of cannabis. Imperial Brands, the FTSE 100 company behind Winston and Gauloises cigarettes, is investing in Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies, which is thought to be the first time that a Big Tobacco company has invested in cannabis research in the UK. - The Times Margaret Thatcher’s favourite free-market thinktank has called on the government to legalise cannabis, arguing that the move could generate more than £1bn in extra tax revenues every year, as well as savings in health and other public services. Britain’s black market in cannabis is worth £2.6bn annually, with 255 tonnes sold to more than 3 million people last year, according to the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA). - Guardian BAE Systems has won a £20bn contract to build frigates that will form the backbone of the Australian navy, beating off rival proposals from Italian and Spanish groups for the biggest naval defence deal of the past decade. The contract win will see BAE supply nine vessels based on the Type 26 frigate design currently under construction for the Royal Navy. - Telegraph The number of restaurants in the UK has fallen for the first time in eight years as sales stagnate and costs rise. On average, two restaurants a week closed in the year to the end of March, including casual dining chains, as well as upmarket and independent establishments, according to the latest data from analysts CGA and corporate advisory firm AlixPartners. - Guardian House price growth in London has slowed to a nine-year low, while prices in Edinburgh and Manchester are rising faster than in any other major UK city, according to a survey. The latest UK Cities House Price Index, from the property research firm Hometrack, shows that Aberdeen and Cambridge were the only two out of 20 major cities where house prices were falling over the past 12 months, by 5.7% and 0.9% respectively. - Guardian Deutsche Bank's US division has failed its first public Federal Reserve's stress test, while a raft of others, including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, have had to revise their payout plans. Deutsche Bank's US holding company had already been put on the Fed's list of troubled lenders but the central bank said it had now failed the stress test on qualitative grounds, citing concerns over the company's ability to "effectively determine its capital needs on a forward-looking basis". - Telegraph Pension firms are ripping off over-55s using the Government’s pension freedoms, the City watchdog has warned, as it threatened to impose a price cap. A two-year investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority found savers accessing their money via the most expensive arrangements were being charged four times as much as those in the cheapest deals. - Telegraph Crumpets are the latest victims of a shortage of carbon dioxide that has affected food and drink production across the UK. Warburtons said it had been forced to suspend crumpet production at two of its four bakeries, in Enfield in London and Burnley in Lancashire, because it did not have enough gas for use in packaging designed to keep the products fresh. - Guardian The UK’s population increased to more than 66 million for the first time last year with immigration helping to raise numbers by almost 400,000. Official figures published today show, however, that the rate of growth slowed in the first year after the EU referendum and was at its lowest since 2004 when migrants from eight eastern European countries including Poland were given full access to the labour market. - The Times Young shoppers may offer a lifeline for struggling town centres, according to new research highlighting a generational divide in shopping habits. The polling from YouGov and Colliers International found that over three quarters of 18-24 year olds find shopping in their closest town or city centre appealing, compared to just 54pc of people over 55. - Telegraph MPs have threatened to block the next high profile appointment at the Bank of England unless it hires more women, according to a warning issued by the Treasury Select Committee. Serious “progress on this [gender] matter” needed to be made at Threadneedle Street before the next appointment of a senior policymaker, the statement said. - Telegraph Britain's ATMs are disappearing at a rate of 300 per month across the UK, leaving consumers struggling to access cash, a Which? study has found. According to the consumers body the number shutting down increased six-fold in anticipation of a fee change by Britain's cash point network Link, rising from around 50 closures in 2015. - Telegraph Boeing is working on a hypersonic passenger plane to fly around the world at almost five times the speed of sound. The American aviation giant has unveiled a design for an aircraft with top speeds of more than 3,800mph, while sound travels at 767mph. - The Times Lafarge, the French cement group, was yesterday charged with crimes against humanity for funding Islamic State in Syria. The company was informed by magistrates that it had been placed under formal investigation for financing a terrorist enterprise, endangering life and aiding and abetting crimes against humanity, which is the equivalent of charging a suspect in the UK. - The Times Ministers are considering a £100 million plan to lay the groundwork for a British global satellite navigation system to replace the EU’s Galileo project. Greg Clark, the business secretary, this week asked the Treasury to fund a two-year feasibility study. Philip Hammond, the chancellor, has expressed support for a British satellite system should the EU continue to insist that the UK will have only limited access to Galileo after Brexit. - The Times |