Labour’s new green rules for big companies face resistance in the City

When Keir Starmer launched the Labour party’s 142-page manifesto in June, the future prime minister was dubbed a man of no surprises. But alongside much-trailed pledges to kickstart economic growth and cut NHS waiting lists were newly adopted plans for new environmental regulations for London’s largest listed companies.“Labour will make the UK the green finance capital of the world,” the manifesto said. And to get there, the party pledged to ensure that FTSE 100 companies – as well the City’s banks, asset managers, insurers and pension funds – adopt “credible” climate transition plans in line with the Paris agreement’s pledge to limit the rise in global temperatures to 1.5C

China’s plan to boost flagging growth is the very definition of economic insanity | George Magnus

China’s leaders seem to have invoked the definition of insanity, attributed, perhaps wrongly, to Einstein: doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results.For the fourth time in 16 years, Beijing has been spooked by faltering growth into adopting an array of economic stimulus measures designed to reset the economy. It didn’t work for long in 2008, 2015 or 2021, and the “bazooka” measures announced recently will also most likely come up short.These programmes have failed in the past because the government’s focus is mainly on the cyclical – or short-term – outlook. It thinks quick palliatives are the answer to systemic problems such as high youth unemployment, the real estate bust, weak productivity and deflation

Opt out: how to protect your baby’s photos on the internet

Tech companies aren’t transparent about what they do with our photos – we asked experts about best baby-pic practicesWelcome to Opt Out, a semi-regular column in which we help you navigate your online privacy and show you how to say no to surveillance. If you’d like to skip to a section about a particular risk you’re trying to protect your child against, click the “Jump to” menu at the top of this article. Last week’s column covered how to opt yourself out of tech companies using your posts to train artificial intelligence.You’ve got the cutest baby ever, and you want the world to know it. But you’re also worried about what might happen to your baby’s picture once you release it into the nebulous world of the internet

California police department debuts ‘first police Cybertruck in the nation’ to impress kids

A police department in California has purchased a flashy new piece of equipment to impress local children: a $150,000 Tesla Cybertruck.In a Facebook video featuring lightning graphics, the Irvine police department said it believed the vehicle to be “the first police cybertruck in the nation”. It’s unlikely to be in any high-speed chases: police say it will mostly be used by officers for school programs, though it is able to respond to emergencies.#IRVINEPDPIO - We are excited to unveil what we believe is the first police Tesla Cybertruck in the nation. The truck will support our Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program and community outreach efforts

Australia beat India to reach 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup semi-finals – as it happened

Righto, that’s enough from me. Thanks for your company, the OBO will return…Four from four. See you in the semis!#T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/uK0TzmpijhThat was an impressive performance from Australia who were up against it with injuries

Harlequins savour rare derby victory over lacklustre Saracens

It began with two England front-­rowers clashing in the tunnel, endured a shocking injury that left both sides visibly shaken and there were times the home faithful turned on one of their former players – this was a feisty London derby that went the way of Harlequins, who basked in the glory of finally beating Saracens at the ninth time of trying.Admittedly, the “clash” between Joe Marler and Jamie George was entirely in jest and you would have to go some to find a more polite chorus of boos than that from the Harlequins supporters but this was a keenly fought derby that had the ultras of suburbia off their feet and roaring with delight at the final whistle.For there is no little animosity between these sides and a first win for Harlequins over Saracens since ­January 2020 felt long overdue for the home crowd. That it was thoroughly deserved, on the back of tries from Fin Baxter and ­Lennox Anyanwu and owing every­thing to their defensive defiance, will make it all the more sweet. It was a feather in the cap for Harlequins’ defence coach, Jason Gilmore, with Jack Kenningham and Dino Lamb excelling and some way to round off the Premiership’s derby weekend