The foreign ministers of France and Germany are to meet Syria’s de facto leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, in Damascus in the highest-level visit by major western powers since rebels toppled the regime of President Bashar al-Assad last month. Jean-Noël Barrot and Annalena Baerbock, who arrived separately in the Syrian capital on Friday, would hold talks with…
Laura Ashley has been acquired by New York-based Marquee Brands, the owner of 17 businesses including Ben Sherman and Martha Stewart. The clothing and home furnishings brand, best known for its floaty floral frocks, has been sold by Gordon Brothers. Gordon Brothers has owned Laura Ashley since 2020, when the US restructuring specialist bought the…
Heavy snow fell across northern Japan on Thursday, with the prefectures of Hokkaido, Aomori, Yamagata and Niigata particularly affected. Accumulations of 20-30cm over a 24-hour period were recorded across the affected areas, with local totals of more than 30cm near Aomori City. The snowfall was a result of heavy showers generated by a cold airmass…
Profits at the hedge fund co-founded by the GB News and Spectator owner Sir Paul Marshall plunged by almost two-thirds last year, resulting in significantly reduced payouts for its partners. Marshall Wace, one of London’s most successful hedge funds, has declared profits of £192m in the year to the end of February 2024, a sharp…
Share Squawk Box Asia Christine Li of Knight Frank expects to see an increase in property buyers to the Singapore housing market when SORA rates move below 2.5%. She adds that any additional property cooling measures by the government is likely to be incremental and will not impact first-time buyers. 03:17 2 hours ago Source:…
Bulcamp Drift, Suffolk In 2001, two agricultural barns were refashioned into two homes, with separate entrances, but one connecting internal door. Whitehouse Barns has been run as holiday lets (planning restrictions mean it has to be unoccupied for 45 days a year between January and March) but could form one large, eight-bedroom lateral home. They…
Residential 19th century style residential buildings in historic center of Paris, France. Kolderal | Moment | Getty Images Europe’s real estate sector is poised for further recovery in 2025, as investment activity picks up and growth returns across key market segments, analysts have predicted. A gradual uptick in transactions in 2024 looks set to gain…
Venezuelan authorities have announced a $100,000 reward for information leading to the capture of exiled opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia, who insists he beat President Nicolás Maduro at the polls. Police published on social media a photo of the previously little-known ex-diplomat with the word “wanted” under the image. He fled to Spain in September…
An apparently grieving killer whale who swam more than 1,000 miles (1,600km) pushing the body of her dead newborn has lost another calf and is again carrying the body, a development researchers say is a “devastating” loss for the ailing population. The Washington state-based Center for Whale Research said the orca, known as Tahlequah, or…
CFOTO | Future Publishing | Getty Images Noted short seller Hindenburg Research disclosed a bet against Carvana on Thursday, claiming the online used-car retailer’s recent turnaround is a “mirage” that is being propped up by unstable loans and accounting manipulation. The report, called “Carvana: A Father-Son Accounting Grift For The Ages,” centers on Carvana’s practice…
