Magnum to Marmite consumer goods group plans productivity programme to save £684m
Unilever is to cut 7,500 jobs globally as part of an overhaul aimed at saving about €800m (£684m) over the next three years.
The consumer goods company, whose brands range from Marmite and Hellmann’s mayonnaise to Dove soap, Lynx deodorant and Domestos bleach, employs 128,000 people worldwide, including 6,000 in the UK.
Continue reading...Wealthy are willing to pay more than double the standard price of £170,000, says luxury carmaker
The luxury carmaker Bentley is cashing in as more of the world’s richest people opt to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds on “levels of personalisation that we’ve never seen before”, the company has said.
While households all over the world struggle with inflation and the continued impact of the global energy crisis, its chief executive, Adrian Hallmark, said that “our customers can still afford our cars”, even if some were hesitating before committing.
Continue reading...Little action has been taken on issue at one of UK’s most notorious jails, Independent Monitoring Board says
Black prisoners are disproportionately subjected to the use of force inside one of Britain’s most notorious jails, a report has found.
The annual report of the Independent Monitoring Board, a statutory body that monitors the treatment of prisoners, found that from June 2022 to May 2023, black prisoners in Wormwood Scrubs were subjected to 43% of use-of-force incidents although they formed just 27% of the prison population.
Continue reading...Getty Images flags second royal photo days after storm over image of Princess of Wales
A second photograph of members of the royal family has been flagged by a global picture agency after it was discovered to have been “digitally enhanced at source”.
Earlier this month, five international picture agencies that initially distributed an image of the Princess of Wales to mark Mother’s Day issued so-called “kill” notices to withdraw it, sparking a huge wave of commentary, speculation and even conspiracy theories.
Continue reading...Families say they were promised details of relatives’ whereabouts after contacting people they thought were linked to NGO in Spain
Families of people who disappeared on the perilous journey from Africa to Europe have said they were asked to pay hundreds of euros in exchange for information about what had happened to their loved ones.
In interviews with the Guardian, three families recounted how, as part of their searches for missing relatives that had gone on for years, they had made contact with people they believed to be connected to an NGO in southern Spain who said they were able to help them.
Continue reading...Former US president understood to have discussed AI and other subjects with PM on informal ‘courtesy’ visit
Barack Obama has held talks with Rishi Sunak as the former US president paid a “courtesy visit” to Downing Street during a trip to London.
The pair are understood to have discussed a range of subjects during an hour-long meeting, including one of the prime minister’s favourite topics, artificial intelligence.
Continue reading...Libertarian faction of Conservatives expected to stage a rebellion but measure has widespread support
Rishi Sunak’s public health policy banning the next generation from being able to buy cigarettes is to be introduced in parliament this week, with officials braced for a backlash from Conservative rebels.
While the policy commands considerable support in Conservative ranks, the scale of an expected rebellion by libertarian Tories – whose ranks includeLiz Truss – has yet to become clear.
Continue reading...One site tweeted of monarch’s purported demise only to later concede: ‘Most likely, the information is fake’
The news broke in the Russian media on Monday afternoon. King Charles III was dead. He was not, but no one really had time to check the details. The saga of the royal family finally had its latest twist: a viral Russian disinformation angle.
The rumour went into overdrive when it was shared on a Telegram channel used by Vedomosti, once Russia’s most respected business newspaper. There was a photo of Charles in ceremonial military uniform and the curt caption: “British King Charles III has died.” It made it through Russian internet channels, including Readovka, a pro-Kremlin Telegram channel with more than 2.35 million subscribers.
Continue reading...Nikesh Mistry, 34, caused serious injuries after using his BMW to try to force the motorbike off the road
A man has been jailed for ramming a motorcyclist off a Buckinghamshire bridge in what police described as an act of “extreme” road rage.
Nikesh Mistry, 34, repeatedly tried to force the motorcyclist off the road, which resulted in him sustaining serious injuries, police said.
Continue reading...Allies of Commons leader say other future candidates for top job are trying to make her look disloyal
Penny Mordaunt’s rivals in a future Conservative leadership contest have been blamed for briefing coup rumours meant to ruin her chances of eventually taking over from Rishi Sunak, the Guardian has been told.
The Commons leader, who came a close third in the leadership contest won by Liz Truss in 2022, has in recent days been at the centre of speculation over an alleged plot to try to oust the prime minister to avert a general election disaster for the Conservatives.
Continue reading...Senior detective warns children are accessing extreme material as a result of lockdowns, after a 20-year-old was jailed on Monday
A senior counter-terrorism officer has warned that children and young people are increasingly being radicalised online after spending long periods on the internet during the pandemic.
Det Supt Andy Meeks said a growing number of vulnerable people were accessing extreme material after spending hours unsupervised online.
Continue reading...Former defence secretary tells colleagues there is no alternative to Rishi Sunak and to ‘get on with’ preparing for an election. This live blog is closed
Ofcom has ruled today that GB News broke impartiality rules on five occasions by using Tory MPs as news presenters.
But it has not imposed sanctions on the broadaster. It says these count as first offence, and that there may be sanctions if it happens again.
Under the Broadcasting Code, news, in whatever form, must be presented with due impartiality. Additionally, a politician cannot be a newsreader, news interviewer or news reporter unless, exceptionally, there is editorial justification.
In line with the right to freedom of expression, broadcasters have editorial freedom to offer audiences a wide range of programme formats, including using politicians to present current affairs or other non-news programmes. Politicians may also appear in broadcast news content as an interviewee or any other type of guest.
These are the first breaches of Rules 5.1 and 5.3 recorded against GB News. Since opening these investigations, there has only been one further programme which has raised issues warranting investigation under these rules. We are clear, however, that GB News is put on notice that any repeated breaches of Rules 5.1 and 5.3 may result in the imposition of a statutory sanction.
Continue reading...Sinn Féin members pay tribute to Dugdale, who was also involved in 1974 art heist and police station attack using hijacked helicopter
Rose Dugdale, who went from a background of wealth and privilege in England to become an IRA militant and bomb maker, has died in a Dublin nursing home aged 83.
Dugdale was presented as a 17-year-old to Queen Elizabeth as part of the 1958 summer debutante season. Years later, in 1974, Dugdale was given a nine-year prison sentence, in part for her role in the theft of 19 paintings from the home of a wealthy British politician.
Continue reading...Actor and his childhood friend planning development on Sherbro to be a public-private partnership
Idris Elba has shared details of his “dream” to turn an island off the coast of Sierra Leone, the country where his father was born, into an environmentallyfriendly smart city.
The actor is working with his childhood friend to develop Sherbro, which is roughly the size of the Isle of Man, after the island was given enough autonomy by the west African nation’s government to allow the work to go ahead.
Continue reading...Data from property website Rightmove finds average asking price has reached almost £370,000
An increase in buyer demand and stronger house sales during March have combined to push the average UK home’s asking price up by a further £5,279 to almost £370,000, as the market picks up after a “muted 2023”.
According to the UK’s biggest property website, Rightmove, this month’s 1.5% price growth is notably higher than the historical March average of 1%, and is the biggest monthly increase for 10 months.
Continue reading...Healthcare delays in deprived communities mean greater need for expensive emergency treatment, research finds
People living in poverty find it harder to live a healthy life and face barriers to accessing timely treatment, new research suggests.
A report by the King’s Fund, commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, finds that the delays people living in deprived communities face for healthcare mean they are more likely to need expensive emergency treatment.
Continue reading...PET scans can examine entire bowel before and during treatment, avoiding risks associated with taking tissue samples
Researchers in Glasgow have identified a new means of diagnosing and treating bowel cancer with imaging technology, avoiding the need for biopsies.
Biopsies require an invasive procedure with a number of health risks, such as infection, and are limited in what they can capture within a patient’s bowel.
Continue reading...Researchers at Nottingham Trent University hope device used at home will improve tracking of tumours
Scientists are developing a device that fits inside a bra and could monitor whether a breast cancer tumour is growing.
Researchers hope the device will provide a new non-invasive method of detecting tumour growth that patients can use “in the comfort of their own homes”.
Continue reading...Company founder Felix Barrett says Viola’s Room, written by Daisy Johnson, will be an audio-driven production perfect for date nights
Punchdrunk’s last immersive production, The Burnt City, drew more than 600 masked theatregoers each night to spend three hours venturing around a sprawling saga based on Greek myths. Their next show, announced on Monday, will invite them to take off their shoes and socks for a slumber party.
“This whole thing is a bedtime story,” said the company’s founder, Felix Barrett, of Viola’s Room, which will open in May at their headquarters in Woolwich, south-east London. Audiences will wear headphones rather than masks and follow what Barrett called an audio-driven “linear story” rather than explore the “open world” of Punchdrunk’s trademark shows, which let you roam freely around the space. Theatregoers will, according to publicity material, “feel their way through a maze-like installation as an unseen narrator guides them on a sensory journey”.
Continue reading...A five-mile stretch of the London orbital motorway had been closed since Friday night to demolish a bridge
The M25 in Surrey reopened eight hours ahead of schedule on Sunday after the first planned daytime closure of the motorway.
The five-mile stretch of the motorway between junctions 10 and 11 had been closed in both directions at 9pm on Friday and was scheduled to remain inaccessible until 5.30am, in order to demolish a bridge and install “a huge gantry”.
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