Annual energy bills set to rise £35 in October, Trump slaps 50% tariff on India – as it happened

The energy regulator for Britain, Ofgem, has said it will increase the cap on energy bills from October by 2%, the equivalent of a £35 rise in annual bills for the average home.Here’s more details of the energy price cap just announced, from Ofgem.If you are on a standard variable tariff (default tariff) and pay for your electricity by Direct Debit, you will pay on average 26.35p pence per kilowatt hour (kWh). The daily standing charge is 53

Woolworths struggles to win back ‘price trust’ from customers – and investors – as Coles’ value rises

Woolworths has shed more than $5bn in market value as it struggles to regain customer “price trust” and stretches product availability.Australia’s biggest supermarket chain on Wednesday reported sales rose 3% in the year to June and 2% in July and August compared to the year before, while profits in 2024-25 fell by a fifth, to nearly $1.4bn.Its market value slipped from more than $40bn to less than $35bn on Wednesday, while Coles rose to a record value of $31bn.Coles has attracted a greater share of sales, recording faster growth of 4% in the year to June and 5% in July and August on the year before, lifting annual profits to more than $1bn

Half of UK adults worry that AI will take or alter their job, poll finds

Half of adults in the UK are concerned about the impact of artificial intelligence on their job, according to a poll, as union leaders call for a “step change” in the country’s approach to new technologies.Job losses or changes to terms and conditions were the biggest worries for the 51% of 2,600 adults surveyed for the Trades Union Congress who said they were concerned about the technology.AI is a particular concern for workers aged between 25 and 34, with nearly two-thirds (62%) of those surveyed reporting such worries.The TUC poll was released as a string of large employers – including BT, Amazon , and Microsoft – have said in recent months that advances in AI could lead them to cut jobs.Britain’s job market is slowing amid a cooling economy, with the UK’s official jobless rate at a four-year high of 4

Five current and ex-Microsoft workers arrested at sit-in over Israeli military ties

At least two current and three former Microsoft employees – as well as two other tech workers – were arrested at the company’s headquarters after staging a sit-in demonstration at the company president’s office urging that Microsoft cut ties with the Israeli government.Police placed the protesters in full-body harnesses and carried them out of the building, according to Abdo Mohamed, a former Microsoft worker and who helped organize the demonstration. “No arrests, no violence, will deter us from continuing to speak up,” he said.In addition to the protesters who staged a sit-in at Microsoft president Brad Smith’s office, other employees, former staff and supporters had gathered outside the headquarters.The demonstration on Tuesday was part of a series of actions organized by current and former staff over Microsoft’s cloud contracts with the Israeli government

F1 race to the title: Norris and Piastri go toe-to-toe as Hamilton and Verstappen seek uplift

Returning from the summer break and with 10 races to go, there are plenty of targets remaining across the paddock besides McLaren’s shootoutRevitalised after the summer break, 10 races remain between this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix and the finale in Abu Dhabi in December – and it will be Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris going head to head for the title.Only nine points separate the McLaren duo, who are in a two-horse race for the team’s first drivers’ championship since Lewis Hamilton’s triumph in 2008. The advantage has swung between them, at times from one race to the next, in the first part of the season, often with little to choose between the two. Neither driver has been able to definitively claim the upper hand entering the championship run-in. It looks set to remain a nip-and-tuck fight to the wire

Hundred to drop draft in favour of IPL-style auction as new owners’ influence grows

The Hundred will adopt a new system of player recruitment next season, with the draft to be dropped in favour of an open auction that gives franchises the chance to make direct signings on multi-year deals.The Guardian has learned that after discussions between the new ownership groups, the new investors have agreed to adopt a hybrid model similar to that used in the Indian Premier League, where franchises are permitted to offer contracts of up to three years that are negotiated directly with the incoming player.The recruitment system will be one of the main items on the agenda when the new Hundred board meets for the first time on Monday, with formal signoff of the updated regulations expected in October and the first auction planned for next February.The England and Wales Cricket Board introduced the draft before the Hundred’s planned launch in 2020, which was delayed by 12 months due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with each franchise permitted to sign two players each from seven fixed salary bands, ranging from £30,000 to £125,000 for the men’s competition.While the top men’s salary has increased to £200,000 and other minor changes have been made – such as introducing 10 retained player slots and allowing each franchise to make one direct overseas signing for the first time this summer – the draft has largely remained unchanged