Kevin Hollinrake says party would ‘potentially’ set up returns agreement with country as he says deportation plan is ‘far more comprehensive’ than Reform’s The Conservatives could “potentially” strike a deal with Afghanistan over migration, the party’s chair has said. Asked directly if the Tories would set up a returns agreement with the Taliban-run country, Kevin Hollinrake told Times Radio: “Well, potentially, yes.” UK companies spent up to £65m last year on licences to export food and agricultural products to the EU – costs that the government is promising to eliminate as part of a new deal to be agreed by 2027. Government figures released on Tuesday showed it issued 328,727 such licences last year, at a cost of between £113 and £200 each. That would put the total cost to business at somewhere between £37m and £65m. The cost of UK government borrowing has jumped to near a 27-year high, piling pressure on Rachel Reeves to reveal how she will tackle the deficit in the public finances before the autumn budget. The yield, or interest rate, on the UK’s 30-year bond rose by eight basis points (0.08 of a percentage point) on Tuesday to 5.62%. Ministers have approved plans to help a further 30 students leave Gaza to take up places at UK universities next month but their evacuation remains uncertain and dependent on Israel’s approval. It takes the total to 39, after a government commitment last week to work to secure the evacuation from Gaza of nine Chevening scholars with places at some of the UK’s leading universities. Energy costs will rise for millions of British households this autumn after the price cap for a typical annual dual-fuel bill increased by 2% to £1,755. The energy regulator for Great Britain, Ofgem, will raise the cap on gas and electricity charges from October by the equivalent of just over £35 a year for the average home, following a rise in European gas prices. Continue reading...

A commercial instinct created her brand, a market sustains it and mainstream businesses profit. It’s a tale of very capitalist times, says Guardian columnist Gaby Hinsliff

VATICAN CITY—Saying this should be a time for the siblings to connect with one another and grieve, the late Pope Francis’ children issued a statement Tuesday asking for privacy following their father’...