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MSF says Israel is weaponising water access in Gaza
Israeli authorities are systematically depriving people in Gaza of the water they need to live, Doctors Without Borders warned on Tuesday, decrying a campaign of "collective punishment" against Palestinians. The extensive destruction of civilian water infrastructure in Gaza coupled with obstruction of access constitutes "an integral part of Israel's genocide", said the medical charity, which goes by its French acronym MSF (Médecins sans Frontières). In a report entitled "Water as a Weapon", MSF said the "engineered scarcity" was occurring alongside "direct killing of civilians, the devastation of health facilities, (and) the destruction of homes". Together, this amounted to "the deliberate infliction of destructive and inhumane conditions of life on the Palestinian population in Gaza", warned the report, based on testimonies and data MSF collected in 2024 and 2025. France 24, April 28

US being ‘humiliated’ by Iran, says German Chancellor Friedrich Merz
Friedrich Merz said the US was “being humiliated” by Iran, as the German chancellor warned that he saw “no exit strategy” to end the Middle Eastern conflict any time soon. The comments from a staunch Atlanticist leader underscore growing irritation in Europe as the US-Israel war on the regime in Tehran hurts growth, disrupts global oil and gas supplies and strains transatlantic relations. Speaking during a school visit in western Germany on Monday, Merz said Washington “quite obviously went into this war without any strategy” and had “no truly convincing strategy in the negotiations either”. The Iranians were “obviously negotiating very skilfully — or simply very skilfully not negotiating”, he added. “A whole nation is being humiliated by the Iranian leadership.” After initially justifying the US-Israeli attacks on Iran - and saying it was “not the time to lecture” Washington - Merz has grown more critical of the conflict in recent weeks, as its economic fallout has spilled over into a full-blown domestic crisis. Financial Times, April 27

BP profits double to $3.2bn on higher crude prices
Volatile energy prices have handed a windfall to BP in an early boost to efforts by its new boss to restore confidence in the oil major. Underlying profits for the first quarter more than doubled to $3.2 billion, exceeding a forecast of $2.7 billion from City analysts. Performance was lifted by an “exceptional” performance from its oil traders, cashing in on volatile crude prices due to the Middle East conflict and Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Oil and gas prices have risen sharply since the strait, which carries about a fifth of the world’s energy supplies, was effectively closed. Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, averaged $81.13 a barrel during the first three months of the year, up from $63.73 a barrel in the fourth quarter of last year. However, price lags built into some of BP’s contracts meant that it did not feed through to the average price at which it sold oil and gas in the quarter. The Times, April 28

Russian superyacht sails through Strait of Hormuz despite blockade
A superyacht linked to one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's key allies has sailed through the Strait of Hormuz, despite the ongoing blockade of the critical shipping channel. The 142m-long (465 feet) Nord luxury boat, linked to sanctioned Russian billionaire Alexey Mordashov, travelled from Dubai to Muscat, Oman over the weekend, one of a few private vessels to transit through the strait in recent months. Iran has engaged with Russia in high-level talks this week as its standoff with the US over the strait's re-opening continues. Approximately one-fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas supplies normally pass through the waterway. BBC news, April 28

London landlord sues John Lewis in click-and-collect dispute
John Lewis is being sued by the owner of London’s Brent Cross shopping centre over claims that the retailer owes it a cut of online sales collected from its store, despite the lease being agreed decades before the rise of ecommerce. Property company Hammerson and Standard Life Investments, the current and former owners of Brent Cross respectively, are seeking a declaration from the High Court that click-and-collect sales should be included in the calculation that determines the rent payable. The case revolves around the “turnover rent” provision in the lease, which was agreed in 1979. John Lewis must pay Hammerson additional rent once the north London store’s annual takings hit certain levels, in addition to a base rent of £30,000 a year. Lawyers and property advisers say these kinds of contracts are often contested and that there is no consensus on whether click-and-collect sales should be included in turnover rent deals. Financial Times, April 28

China warns EU over ‘Made in Europe’ plan, vows countermeasures
Beijing slammed on Monday an EU plan aimed to bolster the bloc's industries against fierce competition from China, vowing countermeasures if it is enacted. The EU unveiled in March new "Made in Europe" rules for companies trying to access public funds in strategic sectors, including cars, green tech and steel, obliging firms to meet minimum thresholds for EU-made parts. The proposal, held up for months by wrangling over the measures, is a key part of a European Union drive to regain its competitive edge, reduce its industrial decline and stave off hundreds of thousands of job losses. Beijing's commerce ministry said on Monday that it had submitted comments to the European Commission on Friday, expressing China's "serious concerns" regarding the act it called "systemic discrimination". France 24, April 27

China blocks Meta’s $2bn purchase of Manus
China has blocked Meta’s $2bn acquisition of artificial intelligence platform Manus, after regulators reviewed whether the deal violated Beijing’s investment rules. Chinese regulators said in a statement on Monday they had told the parties involved to cancel the acquisition. Manus was founded in China but last year moved its headquarters and core team to Singapore and was subsequently bought by Meta. Since then Chinese regulators have mobilised across multiple agencies to review the transaction, drawing in bodies including the National Development and Reform Commission, the commerce ministry and China’s antitrust watchdog, the FT reported this month. Officials had been examining the deal using a range of tools, from export control rules to foreign investment and competition laws, the people said. In March, Beijing restricted two co-founders of Manus from leaving the country as the deal was reviewed. Financial Times, April 27

Large UK companies in the dark about how their data is used overseas by AI
Most large UK companies are not aware of how their sensitive data is used when it is processed by AI systems overseas, according to research that highlights risks from the rapidly advancing technology. The survey of senior technology and data leaders at UK companies with revenues above £100mn found 61 per cent lack a full understanding of how data is handled abroad, adding it is a problem mainly for corporate boards. Nearly three-quarters of respondents to the survey by research group Harbr Data said data is transferred out of the UK through AI systems at least weekly, with a third reporting daily flows. In less serious cases, a lack of clarity over where and how data is processed could create regulatory and compliance risks, particularly regarding data privacy and residency rules, as well as security. More seriously, it could result in data leaks or malicious use. “People seem to have very little idea of how the data governance works,” said Matthew Hodgson, chief executive and co-founder of Element, a UK secure communications platform. Financial Times, April 27

People in UK spend fewer years in good health than a decade ago, study finds
People in the UK are spending fewer years in good health than a decade ago, prompting concern that the population’s health is “going backwards”. The sharp decline in Britain’s healthy life expectancy, the amount of time someone spends free of illness or disability, is in sharp contrast to its recent rise in most other rich countries globally. The UK population’s health is poor, getting worse and not undergoing the same steady improvement seen in countries such as Japan, Norway and Spain, according to a new analysis of healthy life expectancy in 21 countries by the Health Foundation thinktank. It went up by an average of four-tenths of a year across the 20 other comparable countries. Healthy life expectancy for men in the UK has fallen from 62.9 years in the 2012-14 period to 60.7 years in 2022-24 and from 63.7 to 60.9 years for women over the same timeframe, it found. It means that the proportion of life a man spends in good health is down from 79% to 77% and, for a woman, from 77% to 73%, the analysis by the Office for National Statistics showed. The Guardian, April 27

UK's biggest ever environmental pollution claim reaches High Court
One of the UK's largest chicken producers and a water company will be in the High Court on Monday accused of polluting the rivers Wye, Lugg and Usk. More than 4,500 people who live or work near the rivers along the Welsh-English border have signed up to take part in what's being seen as a landmark case against Avara Foods and Welsh Water. Their lawyers say it's the biggest case ever brought in the UK over environmental pollution in terms of the number of claimants and its geographical spread. Avara, which dominates chicken farming in the area, and Welsh Water, have respectively called the claims "misconceived" and "misguided". The River Wye is one of the UK's longest and most celebrated rivers. But in recent years those living nearby have complained that it regularly turns green in the summer and has become smelly and slimy. The group's legal claim blames the spreading of chicken manure on farmers' fields, and also sewage spills. It demands that action be taken to improve the state of the rivers, and compensation be paid to those whose lives and businesses have been affected. BBC news, April 27

Sabastian Sawe wins London Marathon in first sub-two-hour time
Sabastian Sawe’s marathon world record defied analogy but was undoubtedly one of sport’s most astonishing reality checks. The parameters of the impossible had been stretched in one hour 59 minutes and 30 seconds. The 31-year-old Kenyan has rocketed from star turn in a niche area to the owner of one of the most remarkable feats in pan-sporting history. That it will earn him a million dollars in bonuses from his sponsors and the London Marathon seemed almost irrelevant. “A day to remember,” he said, with some understatement. The Times, April 26