European stock markets fall and oil and gas prices jump as strait of Hormuz ‘chaos’ worries investors – as it happened

European stock markets have dropped at the start of trading, as last Friday’s optimism about a Middle East peace deal evaporates.In London, the FTSE 100 has dropped by 42 points, or 0.4%, to 10,626 points, away from a six-week high at the end of last week.Germany’s DAX has fallen by 1.3%, and Italy’s FTSE Mib is down 1

Victoria Beckham ties up with Gap as retailer hopes luxe push will drive comeback

From the 80s through to the early noughties it was the go-to high street store for casual hoodies and jeans, before falling out of favour. Now almost 30 years after its heyday, Gap is hoping to turn things around. Key to its comeback strategy? A pivot to more premium fashion.On Friday the retailer will unveil a collection with the luxury fashion designer Victoria Beckham. The collaboration is the next step in the luxification of Gap being led by Richard Dickson, who joined Gap Inc as its president and chief executive from Mattel, the US toymaker, in 2023

How a fiery attack on Sam Altman’s home unfolded

In the early hours of 10 April, a man approached the gate of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s house in San Francisco and hurled a molotov cocktail at the building before fleeing. The suspect, 20-year-old Daniel Moreno-Gama, was arrested less than two hours later while allegedly attempting to break into the headquarters of OpenAI with a jug of kerosene, a lighter and an anti-AI manifesto.Federal and California state authorities have charged Moreno-Gama with a range of crimes including attempted arson and attempted murder. His parents issued a statement this week saying that their son had recently suffered a mental health crisis. Moreno-Gama, who has not yet entered a plea, faces up to life in prison if convicted

Kenyan firm sacks more than 1,000 workers after losing Meta contract

More than 1,000 low-paid workers in Kenya have been abruptly sacked by an outsourcing company contracted by Meta, in what activists said was a shocking move exposing the precariousness of tech jobs in the global south.Sama, a company based in Nairobi to which Meta outsourced content moderation and AI training work, announced on Thursday that the workers were being laid off after Meta terminated a contract.Last month reports said some Kenyan workers involved in data annotation were asked to view content filmed using Meta’s AI smart glasses showing wearers using the toilet or having sex.The sacked workers, many involved in AI training, have been given six days’ notice, according to the Oversight Lab, an organisation that advocates for fair regulation and deployment of technology across Africa. It said it was advising the workers on legal options

Why time is not on big-spending Joorabchian’s side in make-or-break season

There was an unexpected, jarring moment in the winner’s enclosure at Newmarket last week as Kevin Philippart de Foy, the principal trainer for the football super-agent Kia Joorabchian’s Amo Racing operation, prepared to discuss his win with Sovereign Spell in the opening race on Craven Stakes day.The familiar “huddle” of reporters was ready to hear what might come next for the three-year-old, but first, the trainer had a question of his own: was anyone there to report for the Racing Post? Amo Racing and the British turf’s trade paper, it seems, are not currently on speaking terms, for reasons best known to themselves.Welcome back to the latest run of the compelling and highly unpredictable docudrama in which Joorabchian attempts to buy his way to racing’s top table. What better moment to catch up on some of the twists and turns in the story arc so far?Back in 2024, long-time viewers will recall, Joorabchian launched a full-frontal assault on the Book 1 sale at Tattersalls in October, going toe-to-toe with the biggest beasts in the game to recruit 22.9m gns (£24m) of yearlings to race in Amo’s purple colours

Brian McDermott to be named new England rugby league head coach this week

The former Leeds Rhinos coach Brian McDermott will be named as Shaun Wane’s successor as head coach of the England men’s national team later this week.McDermott, the most successful coach in Super League history having guided Leeds Rhinos to eight major honours during his time with the club, has seen off interest from the likes of Sam Burgess and the current Rhinos coach, Brad Arthur, to land the honour of taking England to this autumn’s Rugby League World Cup in Australia.The 56-year-old is currently working in the NRL as an assistant coach at Newcastle Knights. However, he has been identified by the Rugby Football League (RFL) as the ideal man to succeed Wane, who parted company with the national team at the start of this year after a series whitewash at the hands of the Kangaroos in last year’s Ashes.McDermott was on a five-man shortlist who were interviewed for the role last week by the governing body