Competition and Markets Authority to look at how ‘dynamic pricing’ may have been used to increase prices
The competition watchdog has launched an investigation into the Oasis ticket sales fiasco.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will investigate Ticketmaster’s handling of sales for the band’s forthcoming tour, including how “dynamic pricing” may have been used to adjust the price.
Continue reading...Also signed by the EU, US and Israel, the declaration aims to mitigate the threats that AI may pose to human rights, democracy and the rule of law
The UK government has signed the first international treaty on artificial intelligence in a move that aims to prevent misuses of the technology, such as spreading misinformation or using biased data to make decisions.
Under the legally binding agreement, states must implement safeguards against any threats posed by AI to human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The treaty, called the framework convention on artificial intelligence, was drawn up by the Council of Europe, an international human rights organisation, and was signed on Thursday by the EU, UK, US and Israel.
Continue reading...Shoppers can use technology to advise them on outfit choices based on their body shape and style preferences
Marks & Spencer is using artificial intelligence to advise shoppers on their outfit choices based on their body shape and style preferences, as part of efforts to increase online sales.
The 130-year-old retailer is using the technology to personalise consumers’ online experience, and suggest items to buy.
Continue reading...Platform will ensure algorithms do not keep pushing similar content to young viewers, even though it does not breach guidelines
YouTube is to stop recommending videos to teenagers that idealise specific fitness levels, body weights or physical features, after experts warned such content could be harmful if viewed repeatedly.
The platform will still allow 13- to 17-year-olds to view the videos, but its algorithms will not push young users down related content “rabbit holes” afterwards.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Ken Ludwig gives Shakespeare Birthplace Trust largest private donation in its 177-year history
The charity that cares for historic Shakespeare sites in Stratford-upon-Avon has received an unprecedented donation of £1m from the Olivier award-winning US playwright Ken Ludwig.
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust (SBT) can now pay for crucial conservation work on Hall’s Croft, the home of Shakespeare’s daughter Susanna and her physician husband, John Hall, who is believed to have advised his father-in-law on medical matters.
Continue reading...Increasing amounts spent on educating pupils outside mainstream ‘where quality and safety is less guaranteed’
Suspensions and exclusions from schools in England went up by more than a fifth in the past year, according to analysis of live attendance data in a new report that raises concerns about children being shifted out of mainstream education into alternative provision.
Research by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) found that cash-strapped councils are spending increasing amounts on educating pupils outside the mainstream schools “where quality and safety is less guaranteed”.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Lord chancellor says she wants to ‘inject energy’ into stalling efforts to set up Nuremberg-style trial
The new Labour government wants to inject renewed energy into the two-year-long international effort to set up a special tribunal with the authority to try Russia’s leadership for the crime of aggression, the lord chancellor, Shabana Mahmood, has said.
Discussions have been dogged by disputes over the appropriate body to set up the special tribunal, and fears in the US that if an organisation were empowered to strip the Russian leadership of immunity from prosecution in a foreign court, western leaders might face the threat of legal action in the future.
Continue reading...The 2017 Grenfell Tower fire in London was the result of ‘decades of failure’ by central government, the public inquiry into the catastrophe has found. The Guardian’s John Harris looks at the findings of the report with the social affairs leader writer Susanna Rustin. And, as Labour continues to warn ‘things will get worse before they get better’, we are joined by the economists James Meadway and Ann Pettifor to discuss whether a painful period of austerity-lite is the only way through the storm
Continue reading...British papers hone in on push for criminal charges after inquiry blames 2017 disaster on government failures and dishonesty of companies
UK papers on Thursday focused on the seven-year public inquiry into the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire, which concluded that the deaths of 72 people were avoidable and blamed “decades of failure” by central government to stop the spread of combustible cladding combined with the “systematic dishonesty” of the multimillion-dollar companies producing it.
The Guardian headlined its story “Grenfell: a disaster caused by ‘dishonesty and greed’”. It reported that police are now “under pressure to accelerate the criminal investigation” into the blaze, although it could be another 12 to 18 months before police can send files to prosecutors to consider charges.
Continue reading...Belongings and tents removed, and residents bussed away, as part of official policy to deter coastal encampments
French police have cleared a camp believed to have been used by some of the dozen people, including six children, who died after their dinghy ripped apart in the Channel.
In the early hours of Wednesday, belongings and tents were removed and tens of people were bussed away from an unofficial refugee settlement near Calais known locally as the “BMX site”.
Continue reading...Former home secretary finishes behind Mel Stride after only securing 14 votes
PMQs is starting soon. Here is the list of MPs down to ask a question.
Kemi Badenoch is the clear favourite of Conservative members for next leader, and will be very hard to beat if she makes it into the final ballot of two, according to a survey by ConservativeHome.
Continue reading...Scheme helping people in England connect with nature led to better mental health, report finds
A major scheme helping people in England connect with nature led to big improvements in mental health, a report has found.
The prescribing of activities in nature to tackle mental ill health has benefited thousands of people across England, a government-backed project has shown.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Case of Sia Kasparis, who has dementia, had been highlighted in Guardian investigation into unpaid care
An 86-year-old woman with advanced dementia has been told by the government she no longer has to repay a £13,000 benefit debt after her case was highlighted by the Guardian.
Sia Kasparis, who is partially blind and has been bed-bound for two years, was ordered to repay the huge sum after officials said she had failed to notify them her son had taken up caring duties.
Continue reading...Prime minister says country failed its most fundamental duty to protect those affected by fire as he apologises to families affected. This live blog is closed
Sir Martin Moore-Bick will be giving a statement as the final inquiry report is published at 11am. You can watch the inquiry’s chair give the address here …
We will bring you the key lines that emerge.
Continue reading...FCA gives detailed guidance to lenders after hearing lack of access could lead to ‘significant harm’ for individuals
The City regulator has warned UK banks over denying accounts for sex workers, after hearing that a lack of access to business banking could lead to “significant harm” for individuals.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said that while banks said they were able to provide accounts for the adult entertainment industry in theory, they were often denying or shutting down business accounts in practice.
Continue reading...Former home secretary got two fewer votes than Mel Stride, while Robert Jenrick leads race to succeed Rishi Sunak
Priti Patel has been knocked out of the race to succeed Rishi Sunak as Conservative party leader in the first round of voting by Tory MPs.
The former home secretary received 14 votes from her colleagues, leaving her two behind the fifth-placed candidate, Mel Stride.
Continue reading...James Kirby was among seven WCK staff killed when an Israeli airstrike targeted their marked vehicle in April
The family of James Kirby, a World Central Kitchen aid worker killed in Gaza, have called for an independent investigation into his death and said neither British nor Israeli diplomats had been in touch, even though an internal Israeli inquiry said his death had been a tragic accident.
Kirby was among seven aid workers, including Britons John Chapman and James Henderson, who were killed when an Israeli airstrike targeted their clearly marked vehicle on 1 April. The Israeli inquiry led to the dismissal of two officers.
Continue reading...Rapidly falling number of family doctors will harm ‘continuity and quality’ of care according to new research
The NHS in England is heading towards a “tipping point” after which GPs will no longer provide the majority of appointments because their numbers are falling so fast.
That is the conclusion of an extensive piece of new research that also shows one in five surgeries has shut and the number of patients each family doctor looks after has soared over the last decade.
1,625 GP surgeries closed between 2013 and 2023 – a fall of 20% or 178 a year – reducing the total number from 8,044 to 6,419.
The average number of patients on each surgery’s books rose by 40% – or 291 a year – over the same period, from 6,967 to 9,724.
Total patient numbers have grown from 56 million to 62.4 million.
Although the overall number of GPs working in the NHS rose, after taking changes in working hours into account those working the equivalent of full-time fell from 27,948 to 27,321.
Continue reading...Survey of 24 city authorities finds two in five plan to sell off assets and reduce services
Local authority leaders say they are having to drain their financial reserves to keep services afloat and avoid effective bankruptcy.
A survey of the mid-tier group of English city councils, which includes Southampton, Hull, Sunderland and Norwich, found that many that had previously avoided financial difficulties during periods of austerity were close to running out of funds.
Continue reading...Research shows ‘alarming’ rise in essential living costs during retirement, with low-paid workers worst affected
The average pension pot needed for a “basic” retirement has risen by almost 60% in three years, according to research that highlights how the UK cost of living crisis has left many workers fearing they will never be able to retire.
The study from the Resolution Foundation thinktank and the Living Wage Foundation found that a number of price rises across housing, energy, food and transport had helped “significantly” increase the cost of securing an adequate income in retirement.
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