Author: INDEPENDENT

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 emailsA mothballed carbon dioxide plant is to be reopened with a Government grant of up to £100 million amid fears of shortages caused by the Iran war.Business Secretary Peter Kyle signed off the grant to reopen the Ensus plant on Teesside, according to the Financial Times.It is understood the grant will pay to get the plant up and running again for an initial three-month period.The plant was mothballed…

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 emailsFresh figures are expected to show that UK inflation remained steady last month but households could face another “twist” to the cost-of-living story in the months ahead due to war in the Middle East, according to experts.The rate of Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation has been gradually easing back towards the Bank of England’s 2% target level since last summer.Some analysts are expecting CPI to have held relatively…

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 Trainspotting: The Musical, adapted from the best-selling novel by Irvine Welsh, will make its West End debut this summer, it has been announced.Scottish author Welsh wrote the cult novel in 1993, which was later adapted into a 1996 hit film starring Ewan McGregor, Jonny Lee Miller and Robert Carlyle.Scottish actor Robbie Scott will take the stage in London this summer to star in the musical as Mark…

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 emailsNew homes will be built with solar panels and heat pumps, while plug-in solar will be in shops “within months” for existing homeowners, the Government has announced.Ministers also unveiled plans for energy companies to offer discounted bills to people living in areas with wind farms on windy days when operators would otherwise be paid to turn off due to network constraints.It is the latest in a series of…

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 emailsA major beauty brand is enticing all its UK employees to earn a cut of any sales they drive on TikTok Shop in a bid to cash in on the rapid rise of the influencer-led beauty market.MAC Cosmetics is kitting out shops with mini studios for its makeup artists to host live shopping shows when it launches on TikTok Shop on April 2.It says it is the first…

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 emailsHousehold energy bills could jump by £332 a year in July as recent sharp increases in wholesale prices are set to feed through into Ofgem’s price cap, according to the latest forecasts.Analysts Cornwall Insight said forecasts for the watchdog’s price cap from July to September had surged to £1,973 a year for a typical dual fuel households – an increase of £332 or 20% on April’s cap.This marks…

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 American actor Rachel Zegler has lauded her balcony performance in the musical Evita as “amazing” and “innovative”. The 24-year-old made her West End debut in Sir Tim Rice and Lord Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s production in 2025, captivating large outdoor audiences as she sang the show’s most popular number, “Don’t Cry For Me, Argentina”, from an external balcony.”I thought it was the most amazing, innovative thing that’s ever happened.…

On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondentsGet a weekly dispatch from our international correspondentsGet a weekly international news dispatchBritain is to “step up” defensive support for Gulf states after Iran attacked energy sites across the region in a “serious escalation” of the war that could push up inflation and interest rates. The price of Brent crude climbed as high as $119 a barrel and European gas prices briefly surged by 35 per cent after Iran pounded Qatar’s Ras Laffan energy hub and other Middle Eastern oil and gas infrastructure with missiles.Interest rates were held at…

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 emailsEnergy firms have been warned not to rip off businesses as the Middle East crisis forces prices up.Regulator Ofgem and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband have written to business suppliers to demand “maximum flexibility” in contracts for small firms.Mr Miliband said pricing needs to be “fair, transparent and fully justifiable”.The letter to business suppliers from Mr Miliband and Ofgem’s interim CEO Tim Jarvis calls for a “fair and supportive…

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 emailsPetrol prices are now 10p higher than before the Iran war escalated, and diesel costs have shot up by 20p a litre, according to new figures.The RAC said prices at the pump were “really starting to hurt drivers” as they continue to rise amid the conflict in the Middle East.The average price of unleaded petrol at UK forecourts was 142.3p a litre on Tuesday, up 7.1% since February…