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Europe
BBC Business

Is Burnham promising a new dawn for North Sea oil and gas?

Image source, PA MediaByKevin KeaneScotland energy correspondentPublished19 July 2026, 08:58 BSTUpdated 1 hour agoThe final weekend before Andy Burnham enters Downing Street is being dominated by suggestions he'll announce plans for new drilling in the North Sea. On Saturday, the BBC reported the in-coming prime minister would stick to the party's 2024 manifesto pledge to issue no new oil and gas licences but would honour existing ones. That line has been confirmed as the hours count down to the Burnham premiership. Speaking on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Labour's deputy leader Lucy Powell said Burnham would stick to the party's manifesto commitments, but there would be a "change of emphasis" on North Sea oil and gas. "We've been really clear that the way to achieve in the long term energy security and lower bills is by ensuring that we do have our own homegrown, clean, much cheaper energy," she said. "But we've been absolutely clear that North Sea gas and oil is an important part of that transition. "It's an important part of the mix, and I think what Andy's talking about is taking a more pragmatic approach and working with the industry to make sure that it can contribute to that [energy] transition and to the mix that is needed over the long term." Just how all this is squared up will, hopefully, become clear in the coming days and weeks. There is one thing we can be confident about now - the new prime minister won't be confirming approval for the controversial Rosebank and Jackdaw fields on day one in the job. The operators of those fields were given the go-ahead by the previous Conservative government but those decisions are having to be reconsidered because of a successful legal challenge. Environmental groups Greenpeace and Uplift argued that ministers had not considered the full climate impact from burning fossil fuels which the fields would produce. Despite both sites having production facilities in place, a lengthy process is still underway by the Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning (Opred).

Is Burnham promising a new dawn for North Sea oil and gas?
Europe
The Guardian

How Trump’s ‘original oil guy’ boosted US-Israel ties and played down risks of Iran war

Harold Hamm, co-founder and chairman of Continental Resources, speaks in Gyeongju, South Korea, in October last year. Photograph: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg/Getty ImagesView image in fullscreenHarold Hamm, co-founder and chairman of Continental Resources, speaks in Gyeongju, South Korea, in October last year. Photograph: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg/Getty ImagesUS newsHow Trump’s ‘original oil guy’ boosted US-Israel ties and played down risks of Iran warFracking billionaire Harold Hamm is co-chair of a non-profit that has aggressively pushed for US energy dominance Tycoon Harold Hamm is one of the US’s most successful oilmen, the son of Oklahoma sharecroppers who hit it rich as a “wildcatter” and pioneered fracking techniques that drove the shale boom in 2008 that reversed declining US oil production. Donald Trump describes him as a “long time” friend and is said to have called him his “original oil guy” behind closed doors. The Continental Resources founder has also faced scrutiny from climate advocates and groups and some Democratic lawmakers over his influence on Trump and role in pushing him to go all in on planet-heating fossil fuels and gut climate rules. While Hamm was a key figure behind the lifting of the 40-year-old US crude oil export ban in 2015, a lucrative move for his company, in recent years advocates have mostly tracked Hamm’s influence at home. For instance, the 80-year-old helped organize the infamous Mar-a-Lago private fundraiser in 2024 at which Trump is reported to have asked oil executives for $1bn to help him get back into the White House. Hamm has donated more than $2m to Trump’s three presidential campaigns and an untold amount to help finance his new ballroom project. But less attention has been paid to Hamm’s hardline views on Israel, Iran and US energy markets, which Trump echoed while justifying the war on Iran he launched in February and to downplay its impact on US oil and gasoline prices. Hamm has been warning for years that Iran poses a threat to Israel and the US, championing the importance of US oil production in the context of the Middle East, while helping strengthen US ties with Israel. In a 2018 essay he co-wrote for the National Review, Hamm argued that “Iran perpetuates the virulent rhetoric that has fueled” antisemitism and that “Iran must pay for its constant attempts to destabilize the Middle East.” In the essay he also predicted the US would be “capable of providing enough oil to help stabilize the global market, no matter what happens in countries such as Iran” and that “[n]o longer is it the case that the flow of oil to the United States will be stifled if the Strait of Hormuz is shut down.” Central to Hamm’s foreign policy push has been the Council for a Secure America (CSA), a Reagan-era non-profit he relaunched in 2012 and of which he remains co-chair. View image in fullscreenVessels in the strait of Hormuz near the beach of Bandar Abbas, Iran, on 30 June 2026. Photograph: Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA/ReutersThe New York City-based non-profit, which declared Iran a “looming existential threat” in its founding mission statement is made up of US oil executives, former Israeli officials and former White House officials, including an intellectual architect of the Iraq war. CSA’s founding statement also argues: “America can be energy dominant, and when that takes place, our national security will be strengthened, freeing ourselves of foreign energy dependence.” Registered as a public charity, CSA is legally barred from devoting a substantial part of its activities to lobbying or from campaigning for a candidate. It has described its purpose as educating “key audiences on the importance of domestic energy production and technologies to American and Israeli mutual national security interests”. CSA’s annual reports show that in the 30 months between Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack on Israel and the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran, the council held at least 300 briefings with lawmakers of both parties and their staff.

How Trump’s ‘original oil guy’ boosted US-Israel ties and played down risks of Iran war
Europe
The Guardian

Democrats allege Trump administration stalled US-Canada bridge opening as a favor to billionaire donor

The Gordie Howe international bridge, will link Detroit, Michigan, with Windsor, Ontario. Photograph: Dax Melmer/ReutersView image in fullscreenThe Gordie Howe international bridge, will link Detroit, Michigan, with Windsor, Ontario. Photograph: Dax Melmer/ReutersBusinessDemocrats allege Trump administration stalled US-Canada bridge opening as a favor to billionaire donorDelay seen as move to protect interests of Matthew Moroun, the owner of nearby Ambassador Bridge and a Trump donor The Trump administration for months blocked a $4.7bn publicly owned bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, a move critics allege is a quid pro quo for a billionaire Donald Trump donor. A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Gordie Howe international bridge connecting Detroit and Windsor was initially scheduled for early June but was abruptly cancelled amid dispute between US and Canadian officials. On 10 July, Canada announced it reached a deal with the US, and the bridge will open on 27 July. The delay was heavily scrutinized by Democrats, including Rashida Tlaib, a US representative, who said the Trump administration blocked the bridge’s opening as a favor to a donor who owns a nearby bridge. Canada paid for the Howe’s construction, and it will be jointly owned and operated by Michigan and the Canadian government. It was first set to open earlier this year after eight years of construction. The new deal requires US government approval if toll fees are lowered below regional averages, according to media reports. Previously, the Canadian government set toll prices, but the Trump administration seemed set on protecting a nearby bridge owned by Matthew Moroun, a son of the late transportation and real estate scion Manuel Moroun. The younger Moroun owns the nearby Ambassador Bridge, which is North America’s busiest international crossing, and has for decades fiercely opposed plans for the new bridge because he stands to lose business. As many as 3m trucks cross the Detroit River via the Ambassador bridge annually, and Moroun collects up to $100 on each. But the 93-year-old bridge is often heavily congested with truck traffic that causes extremely long delays that slow and frustrate businesses conducting international trade. The delays have gotten so bad that many truckers and others use a nearby tunnel, or a bridge in Port Huron an hour to the north. The bridge has also been cited for safety violations in recent decades and its narrow lanes are considered a danger for first responders. The Howe was envisioned as a symbol of the US and Canada’s close bond, but instead has become a representation of US foreign relations dysfunction. Moroun has capitalized; over the last two decades, his family has mounted multi-prong attacks against the new plans, and is a prolific campaign donor at the state and federal level. Moroun donated $1m to a Trump political action committee (Pac) in January, and in February received a meeting with Howard Lutnick, the US commerce secretary. Hours later, Trump on Truth Social threatened not to open the Howe. June’s deadlines for an opening passed. The appearance of a political favor has drawn bi-partisan criticism and an investigation from the House oversight committee members Robert Garcia and Tlaib, whose district includes south-west Detroit, where both bridges sit. A letter the Congress members sent to Moroun accuses him of trying to “derail the project”.

Democrats allege Trump administration stalled US-Canada bridge opening as a favor to billionaire donor
Europe
BBC Business

New EU border system tripling time at passport control, airport boss says

The EU's new border system has nearly tripled the time it's taking for Brits to get through passport control even after improvements have been made, a boss at Rome's main airport has said. It comes as Ryanair has warned passengers travelling to Europe this summer to prepare for extended waits. Border police at Portugal's Faro airport also told the BBC the Entry Exit System technology suffered from bugs, but insisted any queues there would go down quickly. The European Commission (EC) has said in most EU airports disruption is limited, and added that it will continue to support member states in the system's implementation. The digital Entry Exit System (EES) requires non-EU citizens entering the Schengen area - made up of 29 European countries - to register fingerprints and a photo when they arrive. The information is checked as they leave. It's often done using standalone, automated machines known as "kiosks" and sometimes with border officers - for example, for children under 12. The new process and machines have been phased in since October. Some European airports have seen hours-long queues at passport control. Passengers have even reported missing flights home. This week, Ryanair said "the failed EES rollout" was causing unnecessary delays and long queues. The airline said UK passengers should "allow extra time for their journey and be prepared for extended waits at passport control." In Rome, a perennially popular destination for tourists from the UK and around the globe, everyone we spoke to in the Piazza di Spagna had an EES story. "It was two hours queuing, from getting off the plane to getting through with children. I knew it was going to be bad, but not as bad as that." David, visiting from the US with his wife Marlo, said the queue took about an hour. "We actually missed our car, our driver."

New EU border system tripling time at passport control, airport boss says
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

India continues Olympiad streak; sweeps all gold at Chemistry Olympiad

Indian STEM students continue their victory streak in Olympiads this year with standout performance by India in both Chemistry and Biology Olympiads that concluded on July 19. A team of four Indian students have all bagged gold medals in the 58th International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO) 2026 held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan from July 10-19, 2026. This was India’s best performance in IChO with the first-ever all-gold haul. India was placed at the first position, jointly with China, Vietnam and others. This year’s IChO had 363 students from 93 countries, making it the biggest IChO till date. Similarly, at the 37th International Biology Olympiad (IBO) 2026 held in Vilnius, Lithuania from 12-19 July, 2026, the Indian team of four students won 1 Gold and 3 Silver. What stands out is the truly diverse profile of the winners who come beyond India’s metros. India’s track record at the Chemistry Olympiad has been improving over years with the last ten appearances having a strike rate of 43 per cent gold and 53 per cent silver medals, HBCSE said. This was India’s 27th appearance of India at the IChO. In all these years, 32 per cent of our students have got gold medals, 51 per cent silver and 17 per cent bronze. In case of the Biology challenge, this was India’s 26th appearance at the IBO. Of the 104 students so far, 17 have received gold medals, 69 silver, 17 bronze and 1 honourable mention. In the last ten years, the gold and silver strike rates have been 25 per cent and 68 per cent, respectively. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also took to social media to congratulate both contingents for the stand-out performance. “Their brilliance, dedication and passion for science have made the entire nation proud. It will also motivate countless young minds to study and excel in Chemistry,” he said in a post on X about the IChO winners. The the theory paper covered advanced chemistry topics drawn from real-world and research contexts such as identifying the composition of a blue solution from plant extracts and a yellow mineral from a coal deposit and estimating the mass of uranium used to extinguish the Urtabulak natural gas fire in 1966, among others. Students also completed three hands-on laboratory exercises. In Biology, the testing pushed the boundaries of secondary school biology through exams designed by the Vilnius University Life Sciences Centre. These lasted six hours in total and required students to tackle complex, hands-on experimental tasks across highly specialised domains. Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.

India continues Olympiad streak; sweeps all gold at Chemistry Olympiad
Europe
BBC Business

The hidden cost of the night shift and how to sleep it off

ByPallab GhoshScience CorrespondentIt is four in the morning, and the ward is quiet. A resident doctor has been on her feet for nine hours. She is tired, her muscles are sore and her eyes are straining, but when her shift ends at six in the morning and she finally gets home, she struggles to sleep. Her internal clock, built over millions of years of evolution to tune human biology to the rising and setting of the Sun, is insisting it is morning. Time to wake up. Time to be alert. No amount of darkness, earplugs or blackout blinds can entirely silence it. This is not a personal failing. It is a collision between the demands of her job and some of the deepest machinery in the human body. This is playing out, invisibly, in the lives of millions of shift workers. Among them are the nurses, paramedics, engineers, lorry drivers and factory workers, who keep the country running while everyone else sleeps. And the scientific evidence about what this relentless battle with our own internal clocks and modern living costs them - in heart attacks, strokes, cancer, mental illness, and quite possibly their precious memories - is increasingly difficult to ignore. Now scientists are beginning to explore whether changing how we sleep can play a role in mitigating the toll of night shifts, and potentially alleviate the ill-effects of disrupted nights. Their studies are also testing a surprising theory: that splitting sleep into two separate blocks - rather than attempting to force one long stretch during the day - may in fact be the most effective sleep pattern for people working through the night. To understand what shift work does to the body, it's worth looking at what emerging research suggests about sleep itself. Sleep does far more than give the brain and body a rest. When we are asleep, our brain consolidates the memories of the day, processes emotions, and solves problems that defied it in the waking hours. It also strengthens immune defences and repairs muscle tissue. Prof Russell Foster is a sleep scientist at Oxford University, who has spent a career studying the biology of the sleeping brain. "Sleep is a pillar of our health," he says, "in the same way we think about diet and exercise. We have to take control of it." In that light, the strain of shift work becomes easier to see: it's not solely about being tired, but potentially about repeatedly disrupting a system that's doing far more behind the scenes than many people realise. One of the most remarkable discoveries of recent years is that while we sleep, the brain cleans itself. Deep within the grey matter is plumbing called the glymphatic system. Fluid runs along tiny channels beside the brain's blood vessels, washing away the waste products that accumulate during waking hours. Prof Hugh Markus, a neurologist who leads the stroke medicine group at the University of Cambridge, has begun to answer this question.

The hidden cost of the night shift and how to sleep it off
North America
Yahoo Finance

DIA’s 10-Year Shortfall: How a 186.7% Return Masks a $128K Hidden Cost

If you bought SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (NYSE:DIA) a decade ago because “the Dow” sounded like the safe, blue-chip way to own America, the fund’s own returns tell a quieter story. Over the past ten years, DIA has gained 186.7%. The same money in a plain S&P 500 tracker gained 314.79%. That gap is the hidden cost, and it did not show up on any fact sheet. You can see the compounding in the return record. Over the past five years, DIA returned 50.77% while VOO returned 86%. Year to date through July 10, 2026, DIA is up 9.41% against VOO’s 11.32%, and over the trailing year DIA delivered 17.76% to VOO’s 22.04%. That reflects a persistent, structural shortfall in the index design. DIA’s real hidden cost is its underlying index. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is price-weighted, meaning a $500 stock moves the index more than a $50 stock regardless of company size. You end up with a 30-stock portfolio where a mid-sized industrial can outweigh a trillion-dollar tech giant. That single design choice explains why DIA has trailed cap-weighted S&P 500 funds so consistently: it under-owns the mega-cap winners that did the heavy lifting of the last decade. Then there’s the tax bill you may not have noticed. DIA distributes dividends on a monthly schedule, 12 payments per year, and the amounts swing widely, from about $0.14 to more than $1.40 per share. The trailing 12-month total sits near $7.21 per share. In a taxable account, that means 12 separate 1099-DIV entries a year and 12 reinvestment moments where cash sits idle waiting to redeploy. VOO and SPY distribute quarterly. Same asset class, one-third the taxable events, and predictable reinvestment dates you can actually plan around. If your reason for owning DIA is “large-cap American blue chips,” VOO and SPY hold all 30 Dow names inside a broader 500-stock basket at a fraction of the fee. SPY’s top 10 alone, led by NVIDIA at 7.58% and Apple at 6.66%, capture the mega-cap growth engine DIA structurally under-weights. The trade-off is real: you take on more technology exposure and less of the industrial tilt Dow purists prefer. But you pay 0.03% versus DIA’s higher fee, receive quarterly distributions, and, based on the last decade of net-of-fee returns, you have not been giving up performance to get there. For readers who want the Dow’s defensive character without the price-weighted quirk, equal-weight large-cap and quality-dividend ETFs offer a similar blue-chip feel with fees well below DIA’s. The exposure is close. The cost is not. The question worth asking before your next contribution: are you buying DIA because you specifically want those 30 companies weighted by share price, or because “the Dow” feels like a synonym for America’s biggest businesses? If it’s the second, the same exposure is available for pennies on the dollar, with fewer taxable events and a decade of stronger net returns behind it.

DIA’s 10-Year Shortfall: How a 186.7% Return Masks a $128K Hidden Cost
Europe
The Guardian

Brazil vows to retaliate if US imposes 25% tariffs on some of its products

People hold signs during an August 2025 protest against US tariff policy towards Brazil in São Paulo. Photograph: Nelson Almeida/AFP/Getty ImagesView image in fullscreenPeople hold signs during an August 2025 protest against US tariff policy towards Brazil in São Paulo. Photograph: Nelson Almeida/AFP/Getty ImagesTrump tariffsBrazil vows to retaliate if US imposes 25% tariffs on some of its productsPresident Lula’s office says US move is result of pressure on White House by family of predecessor Jair Bolsonaro Brazil has vowed to retaliate against Washington’s decision to impose 25% tariffs on imports of some Brazilian products. The office of the president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, described the tariffs as “a regrettable milestone” in the history of relations between the two countries and said they were the result of pressure exerted on the White House by the family of the far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro. The new tariffs are scheduled to take effect on 22 July. Once that happens, Brazil – which has historically run a trade deficit with the US – will become the second most heavily tariffed country by Washington after China. The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) confirmed the tariffs, which had first been proposed last month, late on Wednesday, citing what it described as Brazil’s “unreasonable acts, policies, and practices” that had “harmed US commerce”. Brazil, however, says it repeatedly sought to present data refuting the allegations and sees the decision primarily as political. Politicians from Lula’s party also view it as an attempt by Donald Trump to influence Brazil’s upcoming elections. Lula, whose relationship with Trump has been marked by ups and downs and is currently at a low point, is seeking re-election in October. His main challenger will be one of Bolsonaro’s sons, the far-right senator Flávio Bolsonaro, who was chosen to run after the former president was convicted for attempting to overturn the 2022 election, which he lost to Lula. View image in fullscreenThe Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and his government ‘have not negotiated with the US in good faith’, said Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state. Photograph: André Borges/EPAThe USTR investigation began in July last year. At the time, Trump cited Bolsonaro’s ongoing trial as one of the reasons for launching it, saying it “should not be happening”. “It is a witch-hunt that must end IMMEDIATELY!” the US president wrote. At the time, another of Bolsonaro’s sons, the then-congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro, claimed credit for encouraging Trump – a longstanding ally of his father’s – to take retaliatory measures against Brazil. He was later stripped of his seat after moving to the US, where he remains. Lula’s office said on Wednesday that the tariffs were the result of “a narrative constructed with the active collaboration of the Bolsonaro family”. “They are false patriots who plotted and publicly defended actions against our country, driven by electoral objectives,” it said. The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, who had meetings with Bolsonaro’s sons in Washington, posted that there should be no confusion about why the US had imposed the tariffs.

Brazil vows to retaliate if US imposes 25% tariffs on some of its products
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

Tiruppur cluster abuzz with ‘Jana Nayagan’ frenzy as merchandise order surges

With the much-awaited movie Jana Nayagan starring Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay set to release on July 23, Tiruppur’s knitwear industry is witnessing a sharp spike in demand for customized T-shirts bearing the film’s title and the actor-politician’s name and picture. More than 1,000 micro, small and medium garment units across the textile hub have swung into action, with thousands of workers, including a large number of women tailors, engaged in producing the merchandise since the release date was announced last week. “It is like a festival in Tiruppur. Jana Nayagan T-shirts are being printed everywhere,” said Balu, who runs a small garment manufacturing unit. Chandira Kumar, President of Sentinel Clothing, Tiruppur, said the company has already dispatched around 20,000 ‘Jana Nayagan’ T-shirts to customers across Tamil Nadu and neighbouring Karnataka. “We are receiving nearly 1,000 online orders every day. The ex-factory price is around ₹500 per T-shirt, including courier charges,” Kumar told businessline. Tiruppur industry sources said ministers and functionaries of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) are among the major bulk buyers, placing large orders for distribution across districts as excitement builds for the release of Vijay’s first film after assuming office as Chief Minister. They estimate that around five lakh Jana Nayagan T-shirts will be manufactured over the next 10 days. Retail prices are expected to range between ₹200 and ₹500, depending on the fabric quality and design. Kumar expects overall production to touch around five lakh pieces within 10 days as demand continues to build ahead of the film’s release. Jana Nayagan is one of the biggest Tamil film releases of 2026 and is the last film worked on by actor Vijay before he stepped away from acting to devote himself full-time to politics. The title translates to “People’s Leader,” and the buzz also stems from the fact that the plot mirrors his own rise in politics. The film was originally expected to release during Pongal 2026, but production delays and the extensive post-production work pushed the release. Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.

Tiruppur cluster abuzz with ‘Jana Nayagan’ frenzy as merchandise order surges