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 [...]
Netanyahu attacks Starmer for siding with ‘mass murderers’ May 23, 2025 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused the UK, France, and Canada of being “on the wrong side of humanity” and claimed that their recent statements criticising Israel suggest “they want Hamas to remain in power.” Netanyahu also claimed Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Canadian leader Mark Carney have taken the [...]
The Elizabeth Line has clocked enough miles for 45 round trips to the moon May 23, 2025 The Elizabeth Line has clocked up enough miles in its first three years to reach the moon and back 45 times, it has been revealed. More than 600m passenger journeys have been made on the UK’s single busiest railway service since operations began in 2022, according to Transport for London (TfL). That means London’s ‘Lizzie [...]
Consumer confidence improves in early sign that ‘the worst has passed’ May 23, 2025 Three major measures of consumer confidence all found an improvement in Brits’ economic sentiment in May, promoted by easing trade tensions and a cut in interest rates. GfK’s long-running Consumer Confidence Index increased by three points to -20 in May after dropping in ‘Awful April’ on inflation fears. “The measure for personal finances looking ahead [...]
Labour and Tories fight for credit on lowering migration May 22, 2025 Long-term net migration to the UK was halved in 2024, official data by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed, triggering a battle between the Labour government and the previous Conservative administration to claim credit for the fall. Total net migration fell from 860,000 in 2023 to 431,000 in 2024, the report found. The data [...]
Qinetiq shares soar after £1.5bn extension to Ministry of Defence deal May 22, 2025 Qinetiq, the FTSE 250 defence contractor, has announced a £1.5bn extension to its partnership deal with the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD). The Farnborough-based firm said on Thursday it will extend its Long Term Partnering Agreement (LTPA) with the government by five years to 2033. Qinetiq’s LTPA contract provides UK armed forces with test and [...]
Rio Tinto: Chief executive of FTSE 100 giant to step down May 22, 2025 Rio Tinto’s chief executive Jakob Stausholm will step down after more than four years leading the FTSE 100 mining giant, it has been announced. The London-listed firm said a “rigorous selection process” had already begun, with Stausholm remaining in the top job until a successor is found. No reason for the exit has been given. [...]
