Author: Olivia Carter

A cargo ship cruises toward the Strait of Hormuz off the shores of Khasab in Oman on Jan. 15, 2011.Marwan Naamani | Afp | Getty ImagesBEIJING — The recent flare-up in Middle East tensions isn’t denting Chinese business optimism about opportunities in the region.Chinese shipments to Dubai’s logistics hub have risen by 20% this month from a year ago, as locals stock up on batteries and daily necessities, according to estimates from Bear Huo, China general manager at FundPark, a fintech startup that lends money to small Chinese businesses selling overseas via internet platforms.”Overall, Chinese merchants are relatively optimistic,” he…

In the bottle processing plant in Reidsville, North Carolina, drifts of plastic particles, like snow banks, are piled in every nook of the machinery that chops the bottles into flake. When I ask our tour guide, a floor manager, if he worries about breathing it in, he says he doesn’t. “We do a good job of cleaning it up,” he says, adding that the bags of dust that are vacuumed up are sold off, and the wastewater is filtered.But I’m concerned. A 2023 study of a UK plastics recycling plant found that even after the installation of state-of-the-art filters, around…

More than 500 directors, actors and other notable movie fans — including Julianne Moore and Pedro Almodóvar, Mel Brooks and Barry Jenkins — submitted their ballots for the Best Movies of the 21st Century. Now it’s your turn to vote.In the space below, please list up to 10 titles that you consider to be the best films released since Jan. 1, 2000. Each movie should be feature length and released commercially. If you need a starting point, we have compiled our critics’ favorites from the last 25 years on one handy page. But you’re not limited to those and you…

Spectacular views of distant galaxies, giant dust clouds and hurtling asteroids have been revealed in the first images captured by a groundbreaking telescope that is embarking on a 10-year survey of the cosmos.The stunning pictures from the $810m (£595m) Vera C Rubin observatory in Chile mark the start of what astronomers believe will be a gamechanging period of discovery as the telescope sets about compiling the best view yet of the universe in action.In about 10 hours of observations, the observatory spotted 2,104 previously unspotted asteroids in our solar system, including seven near-Earth asteroids, which were said to pose no…

A Liverpool pet products company, Boss Pets, has been told to take down its website after the fashion house Hugo Boss said its name was infringing its trademark.“Boss” is a commonly used slang word in Merseyside, used to mean something is great or excellent. Ben McDonald, from Bootle, set up the online pet health supplies business in February, the BBC reported.McDonald, who describes himself as “just a lad from Bootle” who had spent “every spare penny” launching the business, said his “whole world collapsed” when he received a letter from the brand demanding he stop using the word. He was…

A British man has told of his fears for his family who are trapped in Iran after winning the right to reunite in the UK, because the Home Office has appealed against the decision.After news broke in the early hours of Sunday morning that the US had bombed three nuclear sites in Iran, fears for the safety of the man’s parents and sister, currently stranded in Tehran, are mounting.The man, whom the Guardian is not naming to protect his family, said: “It breaks my heart knowing the difficulties that my parents and sister are having. The daily worry and coordination…

Goldman Sachs warns Brent crude could rise over $100 per barrel if Strait of Hormuz is disruptedAlthough the oil price’s early spike last night didn’t last, economists predict energy prices would soar if there was significant disruption to supplies from the Middle East.Goldman Sachs have predicted that disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz could push the price of Brent crude over $100 per barrel.That would be its highest level since August 2022, and almost a third higher than its current level of $77/barrel, pushing up transport costs, lifting inflation and hurting growth. Photograph: Goldman SachsBloomberg explains: If oil…

Fabricio Bloisi, chief executive officer of Prosus NV, during an interview in London, UK, on Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. Bloisi took the reins of South Africa’s Naspers Ltd. and its investment arm Prosus NV in July with a plan to double the value of the 110-year-old group within the next four years. Jose Sarmento Matos | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesIndia will produce a $100 billion tech company in the coming years, the CEO of Prosus told CNBC on Monday, as the firm bets on the country for its next big investment win.Prosus, which is majority owned by South African company…

A festival was halted after a drummer collapsed on stage after suffering a cardiac arrest while performing in front of thousands of fans.The Christians’ Lionel Duke fell ill while the band were supporting Sting during the On The Waterfront festival at Liverpool’s Pier Head on Sunday night.The Liverpool band’s manager said the 58-year-old had been put in an “induced coma” after an operation at the city’s Heart and Chest Hospital.The band asked fans to “please send positive vibes his way” and they praised the “phenomenal team of medics” from the festival who “stepped in so swiftly to help our poor…

When it comes to women’s rights, few regions are more advanced than Scandinavia. As she builds Teurn Studios, Anna Teurnell, whose default is for a kind of solutions-based uniform dressing that borrows heavily from menswear, is discovering that fashion occupies a different realm, one where most collections for women are designed by men, and where buyers are continually asking her for more dresses.This got the designer wondering, “What is feminism?”—or perhaps more specifically, are feminism and the feminine aesthetically conflated? “I love so much clothes from men’s wardrobes, I like the attitude of wearing almost the same thing every day,”…