Car finance compensation scheme faces challenge and delay
A consumer group is planning a legal challenge to a scheme designed to compensate millions of drivers who were mis-sold motor finance agreements. Consumer Voice said the City regulator’s scheme, which is expected to cost lenders a total of £9.1bn, left “too many people short-changed”. Payouts averaging £829 per person
Trump buys time for Iran deal after frantic day of diplomacy
Tuesday began as a frantic day of diplomacy in Washington, with Air Force Two ready to fly Vice President JD Vance to Islamabad for another round of peace talks between the US and Iran. Several hours later, Air Force Two hadn’t taken off and the negotiations were postponed. President Donald
No cartels involved – but Mexico’s pyramid attack prompts new concerns
The authorities in Mexico are still piecing together how a typical morning at the ancient pyramid complex of Teotihuacán, one of the country’s foremost tourist destinations, descended into terrifying gun violence on Monday. The video footage is disturbing. A gunman stands atop the imposing Pyramid of the Moon and opens
The ‘dumb machine’ promising a clean energy breakthrough
“I remember a few people said that the place where Proxima is today was impossible,” says Francesco Sciortino, the co-founder and CEO of Proxima Fusion. Being accused of attempting the impossible is not unusual for the scientists and engineers working on nuclear fusion projects around the world. After all, they are attempting
Liverpool’s Woodman on life as third-choice keeper
“Did I ever think I was going to be playing for Liverpool in the Premier League? Probably not, but when I’m called upon, I just wanted to do my best.” This time last season, Freddie Woodman was sidelined with injury for Preston North End as they narrowly avoided relegation from the Championship.
Smoking ban for people born after 2008 in the UK agreed
Children aged 17 or younger will face a lifelong ban on buying cigarettes, as the Tobacco and Vapes Bill clears Parliament. Both the Commons and Lords have settled on a final draft of the “landmark” legislation that aims to stop anyone born after 1 January 2009 from taking up smoking to create
Unemployment rate unexpectedly falls as fewer students look for work
The UK’s unemployment rate has fallen unexpectedly, partly due to fewer students looking for work while they study. Unemployment fell to 4.9% in the three months to February, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, despite predictions it would remain unchanged at 5.2%. The drop has been driven by a
How will Apple change under ‘product guy’ John Ternus?
Apple will have been planning this succession for a long time. Rumours were circulating for a while that 65-year-old Tim Cook was thinking about stepping down, and while a few potential replacements popped up, the name which stuck was the firm’s vice president of hardware, 51-year-old John Ternus. I had
Key evidence from sacked official at heart of Mandelson vetting row
Sir Olly Robbins, the former top civil servant at the Foreign Office, has been giving evidence to MPs on the foreign affairs committee about his role in vetting Lord Mandelson to be the UK’s ambassador to the US. It comes after Sir Olly was effectively sacked last week after it
Zelensky says failure of US envoys to visit Kyiv is ‘disrespectful’
President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he considered visits by US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Moscow but not Kyiv “disrespectful”. The pair visited the Russian capital late last year as ceasefire talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine gained pace, and again in January. Witkoff, who has