The UK economy experienced a sluggish end to 2025, growing by a lower-than-expected 0.1% in the final quarter, while in Bangladesh, voters cast ballots in a pivotal election following a 2024 uprising. Meanwhile, in the US, the House of Representatives voted to block tariffs imposed on Canada, and Spanish farmers protested against a trade agreement in Madrid.
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the UK's modest economic growth in the last quarter of 2025 was driven by an increase in manufacturing, as the crucial services sector saw no growth for the first time in over two years. The construction sector suffered its worst quarterly performance in four years, the ONS added. For the whole of 2025, the economy grew by an estimated 1.3%, a slight increase from the 1.1% growth the previous year, but below the Bank of England's expectation of 1.4%.
In Bangladesh, voters participated in an election considered crucial for the nation's future. The election, the first since the 2024 ousting of longtime premier Sheikh Hasina in a Gen Z-led uprising, saw key candidates casting their ballots in Dhaka. The contest pitted the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) against a Jamaat-e-Islami-led coalition. The election was seen as pivotal as the country sought to chart a democratic course following the uprising that resulted in hundreds of deaths.
Across the Atlantic, the US House of Representatives took a rare bipartisan step, voting to block tariffs that Donald Trump had imposed on Canada last year. The resolution, which passed 219 to 211, was a rebuke of the White House's trade policy.
In Madrid, hundreds of tractors and thousands of farmers protested against the EU-Mercosur free trade agreement with Latin American countries. The protest, which took place on Wednesday, caused traffic disruptions as farmers drove approximately 500 tractors toward the Ministry of Agriculture. The farmers are demanding immediate action to protect Spanish food security, citing rising costs and strict regulations that are squeezing their earnings.
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