Poundland to shut 68 stores in restructuring that puts 2,000 jobs at risk

Poundland is to shut 68 shops and two distribution centres and aims to close at least 80 more stores, putting more than 2,000 jobs at risk.The British company, which was sold last week to the US investment group Gordon Brothers for £1, has more than 800 outlets in the UK and the Republic of Ireland, employing about 16,000 people. It said it planned to reduce this eventually to no more than 650 outlets.It also wants landlords to cut rents to zero on up to 180 stores – putting the future of those outlets in doubt – while also seeking rent reductions of between 15% and 75% on dozens more stores as part of a restructuring process that it will put to creditors in August.Poundland is also stopping selling online, ditching its Perks loyalty app, ceasing to sell frozen foods and reducing its range of chilled foods to items that make up its £3 meal deals – such as sandwiches – and essentials including milk

‘Vital’ that British steel gets Trump tariff deal after UK-US trade pact, say unions

Steel trade unions have said it is “absolutely vital” that the UK rapidly secures a deal to protect the sector from Donald Trump’s tariffs, after the industry was excluded from an initial UK-US pact signed on Monday night.Keir Starmer and Trump signed off a UK-US trade deal at the G7 summit in Canada, with the US president saying Britain would have protection against future tariffs “because I like them”.The car industry was relieved that tariffs on the sector will be reduced to 10% from 27.5%. The UK aerospace sector will face no tariffs at all from the US after deal, which followed an initial agreement made in May

Meta sacrifices a heap of money at the altar of AI

Mark Zuckerberg announced in April that the company would make huge capital expenditures in the coming year to keep up in the race to develop cutting-edge artificial intelligence. He made good on that promise last week with a $15bn “AI superintelligence” team that would feature reported nine-figure salaries and a 49% investment in Scale AI. Meta also hired Scale’s 28-year-old founder, Alexandr Wang, a former roommate of OpenAI’s Sam Altman.Before Meta’s investment, Scale counted most of the major players in AI among its clients, and some of them were less than thrilled with the development. Bloomberg puts it succinctly: Scale AI’s Wang Brings to Meta Knowledge of What Everyone Else is Doing

Makers of air fryers and smart speakers told to respect users’ right to privacy

Makers of air fryers, smart speakers, fertility trackers and smart TVs have been told to respect people’s rights to privacy by the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).People have reported feeling powerless to control how data is gathered, used and shared in their own homes and on their bodies.After reports of air fryers designed to listen in to their surroundings and public concerns that digitised devices collect an excessive amount of personal information, the data protection regulator has issued its first guidance on how people’s personal information should be handled.It is demanding that manufacturers and data handlers ensure data security, are transparent with consumers and ensure the regular deletion of collected information.Stephen Almond, the executive director for regulatory risk at the ICO, said: “Smart products know a lot about us: who we live with, what music we like, what medication we are taking and much more

Tendulkar v Anderson: two master craftsmen who gave more than anyone to Test cricket | Andy Bull

Spring 2006 and India are batting against England at the Wankhede in Mumbai. The series is all square, one Test each with one to play. England, batting first, have made an even 400, thanks in large part to a century by Andrew Strauss and 88 from his Middlesex teammate Owais Shah, who is making his debut.It is just past tea on the second day and India’s openers are already gone, bounced out by Matthew Hoggard. Sachin Tendulkar is at No 4 and England’s captain, Andrew Flintoff, has just thrown the ball to his first-change bowler, Jimmy Anderson

Stars align as Raducanu pairs up with Alcaraz at US Open mixed doubles

There will be a sprinkling of stardust at the US Open mixed doubles with Carlos Alcaraz partnering the British women’s No 1, Emma Raducanu, in an event many top players have decided to give a try for the first time. Jannik Sinner will be with the world No 9, Emma Navarro, while the British men’s No 1, Jack Draper, will partner the Olympic women’s singles champion, Zheng Qinwen. Novak Djokovic has agreed to play with his Serbian compatriot Olga Danilovic.The rush of big names comes after the US Open moved the mixed doubles to the qualifying week, with matches being played on Arthur Ashe and Louis Armstrong courts on 19 August and 20 August.The scoring system has been changed, with sets being played to four games