Author: Eka Gerona

Groups representing federal employees sued over Elon Musk’s latest actions, after the entire workforce received an email instructing them to explain their work or face being fired.The suit, filed by unions and advocacy groups, alleges that the email violates laws regarding federal workforce and that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which sent the email, does not have the authority to make the demand.Employees found the email in their inbox on Friday. It asked them to provide a list of five accomplishments for the past week, without revealing classified information.The message sparked confusion and alarm among workers, particularly after several…

Apple plans to invest more than $500bn (£396bn) in the US over the next four years, starting with a new advanced manufacturing factory in Texas. The tech giant said it expected to create 20,000 new jobs over that time, with the “vast majority” of roles in research and development, software and artificial intelligence (AI).It is not clear to what extent the spending is an acceleration of the company’s current activities. Apple said the sum included everything from spending on suppliers to Apple TV+ productions. The announcement comes days after Apple boss Tim Cook met with President Donald Trump, who has…

India and the UK have restarted free trade talks, nearly a year after negotiations were paused ahead of general elections in both countries.Jonathan Reynolds, the UK’s business and trade secretary, met his Indian counterpart Piyush Goyal in Delhi on Monday and kicked off the two-day discussions.The talks focused on “advancing” the negotiations and ensuring that the deal was “balanced, ambitious and mutually beneficial”, Goyal wrote on X. The countries have held more than a dozen rounds of negotiations since 2022, but an agreement has remained out of reach.Sticking points include high tariffs in India on Scotch whisky and relaxing fees…

Keena Al-WahaidiBusiness reporterMaple3Canadian brand Maple3 makes still, sparkling and flavoured maple waterWhile drinking tree sap does not immediately sound appealing, Canadian producers are hoping that it will be the next must-try soft drink around the world.We have all heard of maple syrup, which is made by boiling down the sap of maple trees to produce a thick, sweet, golden-to-brown coloured syrup that is typically poured over pancakes.What is far less well known is that you can drink the sap itself, which is called maple water. Clear in colour, it contains just 2% natural sugars, so it is only slightly sweet.A…

Officials at multiple US government departments offered staff conflicting guidance on how to respond to a Saturday email touted by Trump adviser Elon Musk requesting they list their accomplishments from the past week.The guidance marks notable public disagreement between Trump appointees who manage thousands of bureaucrats and Musk who – as the head of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) – has been leading an outside effort to aggressively reduce government spending.Some heads of agencies encouraged staff to comply while others requested employees wait for further guidance on how to appropriately respond.President Donald Trump has yet to comment on…

The Trump administration is cutting more than 11,000 jobs at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Pentagon, as part of its sweeping efforts to shrink the size of the federal workforce.Around 6,000 layoffs at the IRS began on Thursday, coming in the middle of tax season as millions of Americans file their returns.The defence department plans to axe more than 5,000 jobs next week as part of a goal to reduce its nearly million-strong civilian workforce by 5 to 8%, the Pentagon said on Friday. It will also put a hiring freeze in place.The Trump administration has appointed Elon…

Wearing a black “Make America Great Again” hat and dark sunglasses, Elon Musk – the multi-billionaire tasked by Donald Trump with taking a metaphorical chainsaw to the federal government – received a rock-star welcome as he took the stage at a right-wing gathering on Thursday.He even had a literal chainsaw.As the crowd of several thousand cheered, Argentine President Javier Milei, also a favourite at the annual Cpac event, emerged from backstage. He handed Musk a shiny chainsaw with “viva la Libertad carajo! – Spanish for “Long live liberty, damn it!”- emblazoned on the blade.Musk waved the power tool high, shouting:…

BMW has confirmed it is delaying the reintroduction of electric vehicle production at its Oxford Mini plant.The vehicle manufacturer said “multiple uncertainties facing the automotive industry” had led to its decision decision to pause work on the £600m upgrade of its plant in Cowley.It said it had decided not to accept a related £60m grant from the government but remained in “close dialogue”.The UK automotive industry has been in a long-running debate with the government over its targets for electric vehicle production.Car makers have argued that the number of electric vehicles they are expected to sell in this and coming…

Federal workers received an email Saturday afternoon asking them to list their accomplishments from the past week or resign – the latest development in the Trump administration’s efforts targeting the federal workforce. The emails came after billionaire and Trump confidante Elon Musk tweeted Saturday that workers would “shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week”. “Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation,” he wrote.Musk has been leading an outside effort to aggressively curtail government spending through aggressive funding cuts and firings.The email arrived in inboxes shortly after President Trump spoke at the Conservative…

A Frenchman has appealed to two thieves who used his stolen credit card to purchase a jackpot-winning scratch card to come forward, promising to split the €500,000 (£413,664) prize with them. Introducing himself as Jean-David E, the man told RTL radio that since the money would otherwise be seized by the authorities, he is looking to strike a deal with them. “Without me, they would not have won, but without them, I would not have bought this ticket. I want to offer them to share the winnings,” the Toulouse resident said.No-one has so far come forward with the winning ticket,…