Doctors say survey shows need for morning-after pill to be available at corner shops, petrol stations and supermarkets
Almost half of the UK population believe it would be difficult to access emergency contraception on a Sunday, while nearly two-thirds think they would struggle after 10pm, according to a survey.
The research, carried out by YouGov, found that only 7% of people believe it would be difficult to access emergency contraception during the daytime on a weekday.
Continue reading...Acquisition by Axel Springer ends three years of uncertainty over ownership of 171-year-old titles
The European media group Axel Springer has completed its £575m takeover of the Telegraph, ending three tumultuous years of uncertainty over the future ownership of the 171-year-old titles.
The Germany-headquartered company, which gazumped the owner of the Daily Mail by tabling a blockbuster offer at the 11th hour, said it had now received all regulatory approvals in the UK, Ireland and Austria to take full control of Telegraph Media Group (TMG).
Continue reading...Two men – including one who worked for EY – appear in court after being charged over accessing restricted data
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An employee at one of Australia’s big four accounting firms has been sacked after he and another man allegedly accessed the prime minister Anthony Albanese’s personal banking account.
The men, aged 21 and 25, faced court on Tuesday over the breach, which Australian federal police alleged occurred when the EY graduate was on secondment at the Commonwealth Bank.
Continue reading...Thinktank finds 43% of the public would support a move by Labour to raise taxes on adult gaming centres
All-night slot machine shops and casinos could face a £460m tax rise if Andy Burnham acts on his concerns about the gambling industry as prime minister, after an influential thinktank found the policy would have public support.
Known by some in the gambling sector as “slot sheds”, adult gaming centres (AGCs) have flooded UK high streets in recent years, disproportionately targeting economically deprived areas.
Continue reading...Resolution Foundation calls for extra funding for apprenticeships and increase in number of youth support grants
Ministers should reject calls to reverse employment tax increases as a way to boost jobs for young people in favour of extra funding for apprenticeships and increasing the number of youth support grants, according to a leading thinktank.
The Resolution Foundation said an in-depth study showed a cut in employers’ national insurance contributions (NICs) and a reduction in the minimum wage for under-21s – measures demanded by business groups – would do little to promote the chances of younger workers finding a job.
Continue reading...Value of some chip manufacturers have tripled, or more, driving Asia Pacific stock markets sharply higher
Shares in chipmakers have surged in the first half of this year as investors piled into companies that make the hardware underpinning the AI boom, according to analysis.
Investors have driven up the value of semiconductor and memory chip manufacturers, whose profits have soared during 2026, at the expense of some large software companies, which have fallen out of favour this year.
Continue reading...Quarterly Ofgem price cap rises to equivalent of £1,862 a year from 1 July amid growing consumer energy debt
Ministers are facing growing pressure to lower energy costs as households in Great Britain face the steepest rise in summer bills in four years this week.
The quarterly cap on gas and electricity charges will rise by 13% from Wednesday to the equivalent of £1,862 a year for an average household, just days after figures revealed that consumer energy debt had reached record highs.
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Big tech not cooperating ‘as much as we’d like them to’: Watt
Federal cabinet minister Murray Watt, says the government knows it’s needed to take more action to ensure social media giants are complying with a ban for under 16s that came into effect in December.
These laws were brand new, never developed anywhere in the world. And what we’ve learned is that the powers that the safety commissioner has do need to be beefed up, also to give her powers across things like age assurance tools. So things that sit outside the social media platforms themselves, but compelling them to provide information so that she can do her job even better.
The pace of change is accelerating, the global and generational pressures are intensifying, and people have got legitimate concerns about where they fit in that, and then we’ve got the anger industry, and parties of the populist right trying to make that worse rather than trying to make that better.
It is a difficult time around the world to be an incumbent government, from our point of view. We are using the power of incumbency to take real action, to deliver cost-of-living help, to deliver real change. The best antidote to anger is action … The Albanese Labour government has chosen to address those concerns rather than dismiss them.
Continue reading...US president says levy would be imposed immediately and supersede pre-existing trade deals with the country
Donald Trump has threatened to place a 100% import tariff on any European country that imposes a tax on digital services from US companies.
Writing on Truth Social on Friday, the US president said that “numerous European countries” had been discussing putting a digital services tax on American companies and that “some of these countries are close to actually doing this”.
Continue reading...RJ Scaringe says firms focused on selling fossil fuel engines risk being ‘woefully behind’ on technology by end of decade
Carmakers that focus on selling fossil fuel engines are at risk of being “woefully behind” on technology by the end of the decade, according to the boss of Rivian, an Amazon-backed US electric carmaker.
RJ Scaringe, Rivian’s founder and chief executive, said the car industry has reached a “fork in the road” in the choice between short-term profits and the heavy investments, particularly in software, that will be required to survive.
Continue reading...French capital hails ‘landmark decision’ against oil firm relating to disclosure of emissions from oil and gas products
A Paris court has ruled that the French oil company TotalEnergies must disclose the climate risks linked to emissions from its oil and gas products and set out plans to address them in a high-stakes case brought by NGOs and the city of Paris.
The ruling on Thursday is a partial victory for climate change NGOs seeking to apply France’s 2017 corporate duty of vigilance law to the climate crisis. However, the court stopped short of ordering specific measures such as limiting overseas exploration and production or setting binding emissions reduction targets.
Continue reading...PM says: ‘I love this country, I want this country to thrive, and I shall do everything I can to make sure it’s a success and thrives’
In her Q&A this morning Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, confirmed that she wants the government to approve the licences for the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas fields in the North Sea.
She said:
I’ve been very clear that I think that the North Sea is a crucial asset for the UK, and that oil and gas will be an important part of our energy mix for years to come. And I’m very keen to make sure that we use that resource, to ensure our energy security.
There are decisions to be made shortly on both Rosebank and Jackdaw. Those are quasi-judicial decisions. But in our manifesto two years ago, we committed to honour existing licences, and I hope that we do.
Continue reading...Airports CEO says letting non-EU passengers skip entry-exit system would be only way to avoid peak season travel chaos
Rome’s airports will have to suspend the EU’s new digital border system for non-EU citizens to avoid a “disaster” during the peak tourism summer months, according to the head of the airports company.
Marco Troncone said that allowing passengers to skip the biometric entry-exit system (EES) was the only way of avoiding travel chaos over the summer amid warnings from other European airport officials.
Continue reading...Stock markets on both sides of Atlantic up as concerns ease over prospect of another inflationary shock
Oil prices have fallen to pre-Iran war levels as more oil tankers exited the strait of Hormuz.
Brent crude, the global benchmark, fell to a low of $72.24 a barrel on Thursday, slightly lower than the day before the US and Israel launched missile attacks on Tehran on 28 February. Prices have fallen more than 20% this month.
Continue reading...Fund manager Geoff Wilson says he did not watch full video and deleted it after ‘inappropriate associations were identified’
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The fund manager Geoff Wilson, a prominent public critic of the government’s tax changes, has deleted an inflammatory AI-generated video he reposted from a rightwing nationalist account portraying Anthony Albanese and Jim Chalmers taking money from white Australians and giving it to recently arrived migrants wearing Islamic face coverings.
Wilson said he had not watched the full video before sharing it or examined other accounts, some of whose content he reposted on Wednesday morning – which included content relating to the QAnon conspiracy theory – and deleted his posts after being contacted by Guardian Australia.
Continue reading...FTSE 100 firm says Prologis all-share proposal turned down as it falls long way short of its own views on value
The UK warehouse landlord Segro is at the centre of the latest transatlantic takeover battle after rejecting a £12.6bn takeover approach from the US rival Prologis.
Prologis has gone public with its offer for the FTSE 100 company after it was “unequivocally rejected” by Segro’s board on Tuesday despite valuing the company at almost 25% more than its market value at that day’s close.
Continue reading...Neso issues rare summer warning for Wednesday evening, as households turn on fans and air conditioning
Great Britain’s grid operator has released a rare summer power supply warning for Wednesday evening as the heatwave is expected to get more intense, putting pressure on the energy system.
The National Energy System Operator (Neso) issued an electricity margin notice late on Tuesday, asking power plant owners to provide any extra electricity, as the buffer between supply and expected demand comes under pressure.
Continue reading...Great Britain has paid at least six times the normal price for imported power as millions turn on air conditioning and windfarm output sags
The heatwave has prompted a sharp rise in electricity prices across European markets as millions turn to air conditioners and electric fans to battle record high temperatures, which have also caused a string of power plant outages across the continent.
Great Britain imported electricity from Europe at more than six times the normal price on Tuesday as the high-pressure heat dome has slowed wind speeds, hitting renewable energy generation, and led to outages at multiple gas plants across the country.
Continue reading...Martin Seidenberg, chief executive of parent company IDS, handed payouts after takeover of UK postal service
The boss of Royal Mail’s parent company received almost £7m in pay and bonuses last year – more than triple the previous figure – despite group profits slumping by a fifth.
Martin Seidenberg, group chief executive of International Distribution Services (IDS), took home £6.9m in pay, bonus and long-term incentive scheme awards in the year to 31 March, compared with £2.1m the previous year.
Continue reading...At age 24, workers born in the late 1990s are paid more than any cohort since those born in the 1950s
Gen Z’s early careers are more financially rewarding than those of millennials, research suggests.
Those typically born between 1997 to 2012 are experiencing a mini-rebound in pay packets, according to the research by the Resolution Foundation, in a seeming contrast to how the previous generation entered the job market.
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