Author: Eka Gerona

The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen said EU and India were pushing to get a free trade agreement during this year.”I am well aware it will not be easy. But I also know that timing and determination counts,” von der Leyen said in Delhi, adding that such an agreement would be the largest deal of this kind anywhere in the world. The EU Commission chief is in India accompanied by the entire College of Commissioners – the first such visit after the European parliamentary elections in June 2024. She met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday.…

Hundreds of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) staff have been laid off in the latest development in the Trump’s administration’s efforts to slash the federal workforce.Around 880 workers – including weather forecasters – have had their jobs terminated on Thursday, the BBC’s US partner CBS News reported.The cuts come as Elon Musk, as the head of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), continues a push to reduce spending through funding cuts and firings.An NOAA spokesman said the agency would not comment on internal personnel matters.Prior to Thursday’s cuts, the NOAA had about 12,000 staffers across the world, including…

Sean CoughlanRoyal correspondentBen KingBusiness reporterGetty ImagesPrince Andrew has been under pressure to find funding for his home in WindsorA deal to take over the Duke of York’s former start-up business network now seems to be in doubt, sources close to the negotiations have told the BBC.Dutch company Startupbootcamp (SBC) had held talks about buying Prince Andrew’s Pitch@Palace network, a sale that could have provided him with a multi-million pound financial lifeline.But sources close to SBC say despite an announcement of an intended takeover, and talk of possible funding from Bahrain, nothing has been signed and no transactions have been carried…

Getty ImagesThe US-UK trade deal warmly suggested by President Donald Trump should help insulate the UK from the direct impact of global trade tensions.It signals that the White House has accepted the statistical logic that the US and UK have a balanced trade position.Essentially each country roughly exports the same amount of goods to one another. Indeed, rather helpfully, according to the US numbers it exports more.There is no general case that the UK is, in the words and logic of the president, “ripping off” or “screwing” the US, as he has suggested of many other countries and the EU.So…

A California judge has said the mass firings of probationary employees by the Trump administration were likely unlawful. The ruling said the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) had told thousands of employees across a handful of federal agencies they were fired using authority the agency does not have, US District Judge William Alsup ruled.”[OPM] does not have any authority whatsoever, under any statute in the history of the universe, to hire and fire employees at another agency,” he said. “They can hire and fire their own employees.”In court the government argued OPM asked, not ordered, the agencies to fire these…

Skype has announced it is closing from May.The internet chat and phone service, which is owned by Microsoft, made the announcement on X.It said: “Starting in May 2025, Skype will no longer be available. “Over the coming days you can sign in to Microsoft Teams Free with your Skype account to stay connected with all your chats and contacts. “Thank you for being part of Skype.”Microsoft made no immediate comment when contacted by BBC News.Skype was released in 2003 and was then bought by Microsoft in 2011 for $8.5bn (£6.1bn).The video calling service was once one of the most popular…

Qatar Airways says an internal review has found that its crew “acted quickly, appropriately and professionally” when they placed the body of a woman who died mid-flight next to an Australian couple.The airline issued the statement to the BBC on Friday, after the couple told Australia’s Channel Nine that they were traumatised by the experience on the Melbourne to Doha flight.Qatar Airways had apologised in a previous statement for “any inconvenience or distress this incident may have caused”.The incident sparked debate over procedures on dealing with deaths aboard planes.Mitchell Ring and Jennifer Colin, who were travelling to Venice for a…

A trade deal between the US and UK could happen “very quickly”, President Donald Trump said at a joint press conference with Sir Keir Starmer.Speaking during the prime minister’s visit to the White House, Trump envisaged “a real trade deal” which could see the UK avoid the kind of tariffs the president has been threatening on some of the US’s other trading partners. The trip had been seen as a key moment in Sir Keir’s premiership as he sought to influence Trump’s decisions on topics including Ukraine, as well as trade. Sir Keir kicked off his White House visit by…

Getty ImagesDonald Trump said he planned to hit goods from China with a new 10% tariff, the latest salvo in the US president’s steadily escalating trade fights. Imports from China already face taxes at the border of at least 10%, after a Trump tariff order that went into effect earlier this month. Trump also said on Thursday he intended to move forward with a threatened 25% tax on imports from Canada and Mexico, which are set to come into effect on 4 March.His comments came as officials from Mexico and Canada were in Washington for discussions aimed at heading off…

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced a $1bn (£792m) plan to help US farmers combat a raging bird flu epidemic that has required them to kill millions of chickens and pushed the cost of eggs to an all-time high.Officials said they will budget $500m for biosecurity measures, roughly $100m for vaccine research and development, and $400m for farmer financial relief programs.More than 35 million birds have been killed in response to bird flu outbreaks in commercial flocks this year, according to USDA data.The bird culling has caused the average price for a dozen eggs in the US to…