New rules could see housebuilders who leave sites unfinished stripped of land May 24, 2025 Housebuilders who leave vital development sites unfinished for years could face losing their land to local councils under new Government rules. For the first time, developers will have to commit to delivery time frames before they get planning permission. They will also have to submit annual reports showing their progress to councils to keep them [...]
X down as thousands report issues with social media platform May 24, 2025 The social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, experienced an outage on Saturday as users reported issues with the site. According to service monitoring site Downdetector, thousands of users in the UK experienced problems accessing the app and website. The site, which tracks user experiences and outages across different websites, showed that the issue [...]
NHS to open more ‘mental health A&Es’ to relieve pressure on hospitals May 24, 2025 The NHS will open more mental health crisis centres across England in a bid to keep those patients out of “crowded A&Es”, the head of NHS England has said. The new service, staffed by specialist doctors and nurses, will be open to patients who present symptoms of a mental health crisis, such as suicidal thoughts [...]
EU trade chief calls for ‘mutual respect’ after Trump tariff threats May 24, 2025 The EU’s trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic said the bloc will secure a trade deal with the US in “good faith” guided by “mutual respect, not threats”. US President Donald Trump has threatened to slap 50 per cent tariffs on all EU goods sent to the United States. After a call with US trade representative Jamieson [...]
UK retail sales boost as Brits enjoy warm weather May 23, 2025 Sales rose for UK retailers last month as warmer weather helped drive stronger demand for food and drink, according to official figures. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said overall retail sales volumes rose by 1.2 per cent in April. This compared with a 0.1 per cent rise in March, which was revised down from [...]
Hercules PLC: Powering Britain’s infrastructure ambitions May 21, 2025 The UK stands on the cusp of an unprecedented infrastructure revolution. With governmental commitments indicating significant investment (plans previously cited at £700bn-£750bn), the nation is poised to transform its transport networks, energy systems, and digital infrastructure. This undertaking will not only require capital but also a large, skilled workforce that can adapt to the nation’s [...]
Labour to back use of ChatGPT and AI in schools May 19, 2025 The UK will back international guidelines on using generative AI such as ChatGPT in schools, the Education Secretary is set to announce. In a speech to the Education World Forum in London on Monday, Bridget Phillipson will aim to put Britain at the forefront of a “revolution” in education technology. As well as funding efforts [...]
Elton John slams government as ‘losers’ over AI copyright row May 18, 2025 Sir Elton John described the Government as “absolute losers” and said he felt “incredibly betrayed” after calls by peers to amend the Data (Use and Access) Bill to include greater copyright protections against artificial intelligence (AI) were resisted. Earlier this week, the House of Lords supported an amendment designed to ensure copyright holders would have [...]
Tesco and Waitrose back King’s challenge to tackle hunger issues May 18, 2025 Four UK supermarkets are launching a joint campaign to tackle hunger, following a challenge from the King. Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Waitrose will take part in the Let’s Make A Meal Of It campaign, which encourages customers to donate to charity FareShare either online or by rounding up their bills in store. The campaign is [...]
UK-EU trade talks in ‘final hours’ ahead of landmark summit May 18, 2025 Talks on a UK-EU deal are in their “final hours” ahead of a major summit with the bloc, the minister in charge of negotiations has said. Sir Keir Starmer is expected to announce a deal with the EU when he meets European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa in [...]
