
-
Syria says deadly Israeli strikes a 'blatant violation'
-
Financial markets tumble after Trump tariff announcement
-
Starbucks faces new hot spill lawsuits weeks after $50mn ruling
-
Europe riled, but plans cool-headed response to Trump's tariffs
-
'Shenmue' voted most influential video game ever in UK poll
-
New coal capacity hit 20-year low in 2024: report
-
Revealed: Why monkeys are better at yodelling than humans
-
Key details on Trump's market-shaking tariffs
-
'A little tough love': Top quotes from Trump tariff talk
-
US business groups voice dismay at Trump's new tariffs
-
Grealish dedicates Man City goal to late brother
-
US tariffs take aim everywhere, including uninhabited islands
-
Trump sparks trade war with sweeping global tariffs
-
Israeli strikes hit Damascus, central Syria; monitor says 4 dead
-
Slot 'hates' offside rule that gave Liverpool win over Everton
-
US stocks end up, but volatility ahead after latest Trump tariffs
-
Barca oust Atletico to set up Clasico Copa del Rey final
-
Mourinho grabs Galatasaray coach's face after losing Istanbul derby
-
Grealish strikes early as Man City move up to fourth in Premier League
-
Reims edge out fourth-tier Cannes to set up PSG French Cup final
-
Liverpool beat Everton as title looms, Man City win without Haaland
-
Jota wins bad-tempered derby as Liverpool move 12 points clear
-
Inter and Milan level in derby Italian Cup semi
-
Stuttgart beat Leipzig to reach German Cup final
-
Trump unveils sweeping global tariffs
-
Italian director Nanni Moretti in hospital after heart attack: media
-
LIV Golf stars playing at Doral with Masters on their minds
-
Trump unveils sweeping 'Liberation Day' tariffs
-
Most deadly 2024 hurricane names retired from use: UN agency
-
Boeing chief reports progress to Senate panel after 'serious missteps'
-
Is Musk's political career descending to Earth?
-
On Mexico-US border, Trump's 'Liberation Day' brings fears for future
-
Starbucks faces new hot spill lawsuit weeks after $50mn ruling
-
Ally of Pope Francis elected France's top bishop
-
'Determined' Buttler leads Gujarat to IPL win over Bengaluru
-
US judge dismisses corruption case against New York mayor
-
Left-wing party pulls ahead in Greenland municipal elections
-
Blistering Buttler leads Gujarat to IPL win over Bengaluru
-
Tesla sales slump as pressure piles on Musk
-
Amazon makes last-minute bid for TikTok: report
-
Canada Conservative leader warns Trump could break future trade deal
-
British band Muse cancels planned Istanbul gig
-
'I'll be back' vows Haaland after injury blow
-
Trump to unveil 'Liberation Day' tariffs as world braces
-
New coach Edwards adamant England can win women's cricket World Cup
-
Military confrontation 'almost inevitable' if Iran nuclear talks fail: French FM
-
US stocks advance ahead of looming Trump tariffs
-
Scramble for food aid in Myanmar city near quake epicentre
-
American Neilson Powless fools Visma to win Across Flanders
-
NATO chief says alliance with US 'there to stay'

UK govt, health unions agree pay deal in bid to end strikes
The UK government and unions representing various health workers in England said Thursday they have agreed a deal to increase pay by 5 percent in the next financial year, potentially ending damaging strikes.
The package, impacting around one million National Health Service (NHS) staff, will also include a further 2.0 percent rise to this year's salaries and a one-off bonus worth at least £1,250 ($1,510) per person.
It follows months of unprecedented industrial action by nurses, paramedics, emergency call handlers, midwives and others, which was paused to allow for two weeks of formal negotiations with ministers.
The main unions -- including the Royal College of Nursing, which staged its first ever walk-out in December -- said they will recommend accepting the offer, which also covers working conditions.
"Members took the hardest of decisions to go on strike and I believe they have been vindicated today," RCN General Secretary Pat Cullen said in a statement.
"It is not a panacea, but it is real tangible progress and the RCN's member leaders are asking fellow nursing staff to support what our negotiations have secured."
But Sharon Graham, who heads the smaller Unite union representing around 100,000 NHS workers, said it was not backing the deal, although the offer would still be put to members.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak hailed the agreement as "affordable for the taxpayer" and allowing his government "to deliver on my promise to halve inflation".
- Soaring inflation -
"We have taken a reasonable approach throughout," he added, in the face of criticism from opposition parties and unions that "dither and delay" had led to many days of avoidable strikes.
They have further strained the crisis-plagued NHS, which is still reeling from the pandemic and has seen waiting times soar for everything from doctors' appointments to routine surgery.
Sunak took power in October with the UK grappling with decades-high inflation, and insisted the country could not afford hefty public sector pay rises.
His ministers initially maintained that pay deals for the current fiscal year ending next month could not be revisited.
But with inflation above 9.0 percent for a year -- and climbing above 11 percent in October -- NHS workers and others across both the public and private sector have staged regular stoppages demanding immediate increases.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay, who led negotiations with the unions, said the pay rises were "fair".
In interviews with broadcasters, he would not detail exactly how they would be funded but insisted it would not come from cuts to "patient-facing" services.
The agreement does not cover junior doctors, who this week held a three-day strike to pressure the government to agree to an inflation-busting salary hike.
The doctors say years of below-inflation increases mean they have effectively had a 26 percent pay cut since 2008.
D.Sawyer--AMWN