‘Doubling down on meat’: is the UK’s love affair with vegetarian food over?

McDonald’s, Wagamama and others scale back plant-based choices in the UK in favour of ‘high-margin’ meat-led dishesIn 2021, vegetarianism and veganism were booming and menus reflected it. Restaurants and fast-food chains rapidly expanded their meat-free offerings, racing to meet growing demand from diners. McDonald’s launched its first plant-based burger, joining a wave of operators embracing non-meat options.Fast forward to 2026 and the landscape looks markedly different. Last month, the fast food chain announced it was axing most of its vegetarian range – sparing only its McPlant burger – owing to weak sales

Stock markets rally and US dollar dips after supreme court rules against Trump’s sweeping tariffs; Hat-trick of good UK economic news – as it happened

Stock market investors are welcoming the supreme court’s rejection of Donald Trump’s global tariffs.The Dow Jones industrial average, of 30 large US companies, is up 0.3% or 138 points at 49,533 points, having dipped slightly in early trading before the ruling was announced.The S&P 500 share index, which had opened flat, is now up 0.32%

Amazon’s cloud ‘hit by two outages caused by AI tools last year’

Amazon’s huge cloud computing arm reportedly experienced at least two outages caused by its own artificial intelligence tools, raising questions about the company’s embrace of AI as it lays off human employees.A 13-hour interruption to Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) operations in December was caused by an AI agent, Kiro, autonomously choosing to “delete and then recreate” a part of its environment, the Financial Times reported.AWS, which provides vital infrastructure for much of the internet, suffered several outages last year.One incident, in October, downed dozens of sites for hours and prompted discussion over the concentration of online services on infrastructure owned by a few massive companies. AWS has won 189 UK government contracts worth £1

‘It’s survival of the fittest’: the UK kebab chain seeking an edge with robot slicers

They are already packing our groceries and delivering shopping. Now robots are coming to the kebab shop, alongside self-service screens and loyalty apps, as takeaways look for ways to tackle rising costs.German Doner Kebab (GDK), a perhaps surprisingly British-owned chain that has been springing up across the country, has turned to technology to keep its fast food business buzzing in the face of rising costs and tough times on the high street.With households cooking at home more often to save money, and restaurants facing increases in energy bills, business rates, national insurance and hourly pay, profits are under pressure despite rising prices at the till.“It is survival of the fittest,” says Simon Wallis, the CEO of the brand, which operates via dozens of franchise partners running 155 outlets in the UK and nearly 40 more overseas including in the US, Dubai, Ireland and Sweden

Winter Olympics 2026: bobsleigh delayed by Austria crash, ski cross and more on day 15 – live

Men’s 50km mass start: Nyenget powers up the hill. But he can’t shake Klæbo off. They tuck into position down the hill with 2.2km to go.Men’s 50km mass start: can Nyenget hold Klæbo off? Klæbo nestles comfortably on his shoulder, confident of his better finish

India beat Australia by 17 runs in third women’s T20 international – as it happened

India put themselves on the front foot in this multi-format series with a 2-1 win in the T20 series. They batted very well and set a strong total to put the pressure on Australia, setting a very tricky chase for the home team. However, Australia are a team that are capable of chasing big totals, so the bowling also had to be good to secure the win.Shreyanka Patil was incredibly impressive, taking the wickets of Voll, Perry and Sutherland to halt the chase in its tracks and keep on amping up the pressure for Australia. Aside from Gardner, none of the Australians managed a big score and Litchfield losing her wicket going for the switch hit two balls in a row stands out as a turning point of the match in hindsight