Social media to be banned in UK for under-16s, Starmer announces
UK prime minister says move will bring ‘real change for our children’ amid growing concerns over harmful online content
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Banknote imagery expert panel minutes – 24 April 2026
Time: 10am to 1pm | Location: Bank of England, Threadneedle Street, London, EC2R 8AH and MS teams
Banknote imagery expert panel minutes – 10 March 2026
The Chair opened the meeting, highlighting the importance of the decisions to be made in selecting a shortlist of wildlife, thanking panel members for their involvement, and asking them to introduce themselves.
Banknote imagery advisory group minutes – 29 April 2026
Time: 4pm to 5pm | Location: Bank of England, Threadneedle Street, London, EC2R 8AH and MS teams
Investment fraud in UK soared to more than £220m lost last year, trade body says
Increasingly elaborate investment scams involving gold, cryptocurrencies and wine have soared in the past year with more than £220m lost to the fraud, according to a report.
Mike Ashley’s Frasers follows Hugo Boss bid with offer for Australia’s Accent
UK billionaire’s fashion group offers £166m for takeover of 77.1% of shares in shoe firm it does not already own
Australia’s Sigma drops out of talks to buy UK’s Boots
The Australian pharmaceutical group Sigma Healthcare has dropped its pursuit of the UK retail chain Boots, abandoning a takeover estimated to be worth $10bn (£7bn).
Gina Rinehart makes ‘significant investment’ in Elon Musk’s SpaceX
Australian billionaire says investment reflects her confidence in world’s first trillionaire after his record-breaking IPO
Britain ‘faces deindustrialisation’ without relief from high energy prices, survey warns
Make UK says manufacturers’ feedback shows sector at risk of collapse as it calls on Treasury to take action
Europe is starting to break up with US big tech. But it’s still abiding by the Silicon Valley rulebook | Max von Thun
The European Commission has unveiled its plans for digital sovereignty. Its proposals betray a disappointing lack of vision
Oil price falls to three-month low and markets rally after US-Iran peace deal – business live
Whilst the deal is very good news for markets it looks like tough conversations will have occur in the 60-day window to ensure the peace is sustainable. As an example, the Senate needs to approve any extensive sanction …
Oil prices tumble amid hopes strait of Hormuz will soon reopen
US-Iran peace deal sparks immediate drop for Brent crude but analysts warn complex negotiations lie ahead, potentially halting further significant drops
A £350 swimming pool fee ruined our easyJet holiday
My partner and I paid £2,150 for a week’s all-inclusive break in Marrakech with easyJet Holidays.
Why I sold my business to my staff
Staff at Softstar Shoes in Oregon have discovered a newfound enthusiasm for eking out resources and growing profits.
Ministers could give billions raised by business rates to England’s regions
Exclusive: devolving tax is part of plans to give local areas more power in areas including justice, health and education
Welcome to California: land of plunder and hypocrisy | Mark Arax
From gold to water, California’s wealth was built on extraction. The AI boom is reviving an old question: who pays the price?
UFC to pay White House fighters in crypto issued by Trump company
Some fighters will receive bonuses in ‘stablecoins’ issued by Trump family business World Liberty Financial
Starmer to announce ‘Australia plus’ ban on social media for under-16s
Keir Starmer will ban under-16s from major social media apps such as TikTok, Instagram and X in sweeping restrictions described as “Australia plus”, the Guardian understands.
‘People start connecting the dots’: why an investment fund is rewilding a North Yorkshire estate
From a high point on the hill, the North Yorkshire landscape unrolls below. The moorland above gives way to grassland, trees and then pasture, divided by the region’s traditional dry stone walls.
‘Labour had their chance – they flopped.’ Two days in Makerfield show me the scale of Burnham’s task | John Harris
Keir Starmer teeters. The defence secretary exits, and thereby seems to confirm the prime minister’s demise. Andy Burnham scents a final, belated breakthrough, while most of the national talk is of violence, a country i…
British armed forces intercept Russian shadow fleet oil tanker in Channel
Keir Starmer says operation involving UK armed forces has delivered ‘yet another blow’ to Russia and Putin
‘Have I been influenced, or is this actually me?’ How personal taste fell out of fashion
What are you into? What floats your boat? What music, films, clothes, art, books – anything, really – do you actually like? Do you find these questions more difficult to answer than you would have done 10 years ago? How…
Jamaican beach access campaigners go to court to fight privatisation of coast
Activists are challenging colonial-era law and demanding ‘free, legal, unfettered, forever rights’ to use beaches
Elon Musk and co may relish march of the robots but there must be AI boundaries in the workplace | Heather Stewart
While D4YRL’s tricks were exemplary, the august organisation decided “he” did not engage the audience’s emotions as a flesh-and-blood performer would.