Housing market in England and Wales ‘showing tentative signs of recovery’

There are “tentative signs” that the housing market in England and Wales is recovering from a months-long slowdown after uncertainty around the autumn budget and economic pressures, estate agents and surveyors have reported.The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) said its members were feeling more optimistic about the year ahead than at any time since December 2024, as inquiries from new buyers, agreed sales and house prices became less negative in January.A monthly survey of chartered surveyors in England and Wales showed a net balance of 35% of Rics members expect an increase in house sales over the next 12 months. The index measures the difference between the share of agents reporting rising and falling optimism.Demand from new buyers was still down, however, with a net balance of -15% of respondents saying they had seen a further decrease in inquiries in January, but Rics said this figure showed “diminished negativity”, after a reading of -21% in December and -29% in November

Starmer tells Jim Ratcliffe to apologise for saying UK ‘colonised’ by immigrants

Keir Starmer has said Manchester United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe should apologise for his comments that the UK is being “colonised” by immigrants.In an interview with Sky News on Wednesday, Britain’s seventh-richest man, who moved to tax-free Monaco in 2020, took aim at people receiving state support and immigrants.“You can’t afford … you can’t have an economy with 9 million people on benefits and huge levels of immigrants coming in,” he said. “The UK is being colonised by immigrants, really, isn’t it?“I mean, the population of the UK was 58 million in 2020, now it’s 70 million. That’s 12 million people

Instagram CEO dismisses idea of social media addiction in landmark trial

Instagram’s CEO dismissed the idea that users can be addicted to social media at a landmark California trial on Wednesday.“I think it’s important to differentiate between clinical addiction and problematic use,” Adam Mosseri said on the witness stand. Psychologists do not classify social media addiction as an official diagnosis. Researchers have documented the harmful consequences of compulsive use among young people, and lawmakers around the world are worried about its addictive potential.Mosseri is the first executive to testify in a series of trials in which hundreds of families and school districts have sued Meta, Snap, TikTok and YouTube, alleging the companies knowingly created addictive products that harm young people’s mental health

The big AI job swap: why white-collar workers are ditching their careers

As AI job losses rise in the professional sector, many are switching to more traditional trades. But how do they feel about accepting lower pay – and, in some cases, giving up their vocation?California-based Jacqueline Bowman had been dead set on becoming a writer since she was a child. At 14 she got her first internship at her local newspaper, and later she studied journalism at university. Though she hadn’t been able to make a full-time living from her favourite pastime – fiction writing – post-university, she consistently got writing work (mostly content marketing, some journalism) and went freelance full-time when she was 26. Sure, content marketing wasn’t exactly the dream, but she was writing every day, and it was paying the bills – she was happy enough

Australia’s upward trajectory slips off course as Winter Olympics medal search goes on | Jack Snape

Jakara Anthony looked invincible until she wasn’t, as the cruel format of the freestyle moguls final left the outstanding skier in the field off the podium in Milano Cortina.The razor-sharp margin between success and failure on the rock-hard ice and snow of the Winter Olympics triggered the demise of the defending gold medallist on Thursday morning, a symbol of Australia’s struggle in the Italian Alps as the team is still searching for a medal after almost a week of competition.The 27-year-old was top in qualifying, and recorded the event’s highest score in the final’s first round. But that didn’t count for anything when Anthony couldn’t stay on course in the all-or-nothing ultimate run.The sentiments of Australia’s downcast flag-bearer afterwards, that she was “bummed”, might easily apply to much of the team over the Winter Games’ opening days

Fear and Gibson suffer nightmare on ice as GB Winter Olympic medal drought goes on

Lewis Gibson did his best to smile, but the pained pinch on the face of his partner, Lilah Fear, as they twirled around the Milan Ice Skating Arena gave the game away. The Team GB pair had dreamed of becoming the first British Olympic skating medallists since Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean in 1992. Instead, they endured a nightmare on ice.Their chances went barely a minute into their free dance routine. The crowd had just started to clap boisterously along to the Proclaimers’ hit I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles), when Fear stumbled and lost her balance through the twizzle sequence