Laverne Cox honoured as first transgender Barbie

Transgender actress and activist Laverne Cox has been recognised with her own Barbie – a first for the storied, and controversial, doll. It goes on sale for $40 (£32) ahead of her 50th birthday. The star, who rose to fame in the Netflix prison comedy Orange is the New Black, said she hoped the new […]

What Didi’s US exit tells us about China and Wall

By Mariko Oi Asia business correspondent Less than a year after its US market debut, Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Global is set to leave Wall Street. A majority of shareholders voted on Monday to stop trading the firm’s shares via the New York Stock Exchange. The company says the delisting is key to completing a […]

Russian McDonald’s buyer to rebrand restaurants

Russia-Ukraine war McDonald’s has found a local buyer for its Russian business, after the war in Ukraine pushed it to quit the country. Alexander Govor, who currently operates 25 McDonald’s restaurants in Siberia, will take on the firm’s restaurants and staff, operating them under a new brand, the fast food giant said. It did not […]

US warns over risk of hiring North Korea IT workers

By Annabelle Liang Business reporter The US has warned that IT workers from North Korea are trying to get remote working jobs by hiding their true identities for the purpose of stealing money for Pyongyang. Many of them pretend to be from other parts of Asia, according to three US government agencies. They are allegedly […]

Northern Ireland: Could the EU and UK face a trade

By Dharshini David Global trade correspondent, BBC News NI election 2022   An escalating dispute over the post-Brexit trading arrangements for Northern Ireland risks seeing the government scrapping parts of that deal. In that event, could it trigger a trade war that could see households and businesses paying an unwelcome price? European Union officials have […]

Ukraine war: Global wheat prices jump after India export ban

By Peter Hoskins Business reporter   Russia-Ukraine war   The price of wheat has jumped on international markets after India banned the export of the staple cereal. The benchmark wheat index rose as much as 5.9% in Chicago, the highest it has been in two months. The export ban comes as a heatwave has hit […]

No choice but to raise sales tax: Sri Lanka finance

By Archana Shukla BBC Business     Sri Lanka’s finance minister has told the BBC he has no choice but to hike the country’s sales tax as it faces its worst ever economic crisis. In an exclusive interview, Ali Sabry conceded the government made a mistake when it almost halved the rate of value added […]

German energy firm Uniper ready to meet Russian pay demand

By Daniel Thomas Business reporter, BBC News Russia-Ukraine war   One of Germany’s biggest energy firms has said it is preparing to buy Russian gas using a payment system that critics say will undermine EU sanctions. Uniper says it will pay in euros which will be converted into roubles, meeting a Kremlin demand for all […]

Whisky and visas could be part of a UK-India trade

By Dharshini David Global trade correspondent, BBC News Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he wants a free trade deal with India by November. But as he prepares to meet his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, it’s too soon to toast the prospects of a deal that may well prove hard to agree. No other nation drinks […]

How reliant is the world on Russia for oil and

By Jake Horton, Daniele Palumbo & Tim Bowler BBC Reality Check Russia-Ukraine war   The amount of Russian oil sold to other countries has fallen, although gas continues to flow into Europe. After the invasion of Ukraine, the US, EU, and UK announced restrictions on Russian imports. What sanctions are there on Russian oil and […]