Author: INDEPENDENT

Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planetGet our free Climate emailGet our free Climate emailOil prices held above $100 a barrel on Thursday as Iran seized two container ships in the Strait of Hormuz and peace talks with the United States remained deadlocked, even as Asian stock markets tracked Wall Street to record highs on strong corporate earnings.Brent crude fell 15 cents to $101.76 a barrel after settling above $100 for the first time in more than two weeks on Wednesday, when both benchmarks closed more than $3 higher following larger-than-expected draws…

Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planetGet our free Climate emailGet our free Climate emailOil prices held near $100 a barrel on Wednesday after US president Donald Trump announced an indefinite extension of the ceasefire with Iran just hours before it was due to expire.The Strait of Hormuz remained closed and it was unclear whether Iran or Israel had agreed to the new arrangement.Brent crude slipped 0.17 per cent to $98.27 a barrel and US West Texas Intermediate fell 0.42 per cent to $89.29, swinging between gains and losses as markets weighed…

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture emailGet the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter I’m a natural optimist… but that’s taken a pounding,” says Mark Gatiss. That might not be surprising given he’s spent the past few weeks preparing to play Adolf Hitler. Well, not technically Hitler. Gatiss, the writer and actor known for TV favourites including Sherlock, Doctor Who and The League of Gentlemen, is donning a toothbrush moustache for a revival of The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui –…

Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planetGet our free Climate emailGet our free Climate emailOil prices fell and Asian stocks rose on Tuesday as markets bet that the US and Iran would resume negotiations before their fragile two-week ceasefire expired, even as Tehran remained uncommitted to attending fresh talks and both sides traded accusations of violating the truce.Brent crude slipped 0.4 per cent to $95.09 a barrel and US West Texas Intermediate fell 1.7 per cent to $88.07, pulling back after both benchmarks surged more than $5 a barrel in the previous…

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsThe offshore energy industry will hold an exercise to test its response to simulated threats involving suspicious vessels, drones and cyber attacks.Ahead of a conference taking place in Aberdeen this week, “exercise Granite Resolve” will gauge how the industry, police and other agencies deal with a complex emergency situation.While the desktop exercise does not specify the origin of the potential threat, it comes after the UK and allies…

Get the inside track from Roisin O’Connor with our free weekly music newsletter Now Hear ThisGet our free music newsletter Now Hear ThisGet our free music newsletter Now Hear ThisIt’s February 2016. Backstage at Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, Chris Martin is doing vocal exercises with a Bristolian woman in her seventies. Minutes from now, Coldplay will headline the Super Bowl 50 halftime show before an audience of 115 million.Martin, his nerves humming like a live wire, has flown out his vocal coach from London just for this. Not, one imagines, that he needed the training. After all, he’s Chris Martin!…

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture emailGet the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Think back to the turn of the century. Political correctness had “gone mad”, so it was said, and the cutting edge of comedy was a battleground for the busting of new taboos. Gen-Xers, weaned on the ironic, pop-culture-literature nectar of The Simpsons, were making their own stabs at transgression. It was an era that gave us Family Guy, South Park, and, on stage, Avenue Q, a musical…

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsThe UK’s biggest mobile providers have been outperformed by smaller rivals in an annual customer service survey by watchdog Which?Three, O2 and Lycamobile were the lowest performing networks in the survey of more than 5,000 mobile users, receiving customer scores of 65%, 67% and 68% respectively.Three received a two-star rating in every category including network reliability and technical support, the consumer group found.O2 received just two stars for…

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emails Asian stocks were lower Friday even after Wall Street set another record, as investors watched for signs of more U.S.-Iran talks and an extension of the ceasefire of the Iran war that is expiring next week.Oil prices fell Friday, while U.S. futures edged up modestly.Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 fell 1% to 58,930.87 after reaching an all-time high on Thursday. South Korea’s Kospi was 0.6% lower at 6,191.19. Hong…

Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planetGet our free Climate emailGet our free Climate emailOil prices fell to around $94 on Thursday morning and Asian stocks climbed as optimism over a potential deal to end the Iran war and strong corporate earnings lifted markets across the region.Brent ‌crude opened 0.4 per cent lower at $94.55 a barrel after reports that Iran could consider allowing ships to sail freely through the Omani side of the Strait of Hormuz without risk of attack as part of proposals offered in negotiations with the United States.…