UK law firms consider action on behalf of women who developed brain tumours after using contraceptive

UK law firms are considering legal action on behalf of women who developed brain tumours after using the contraceptive injection Depo-Provera.Depo-Provera is a high-dose synthetic progesterone, prescribed for contraception and other menstrual symptoms, administered via injection every three months. According to UN calculations, 74 million women worldwide and 3.1% of UK women aged 15-49 use injectable contraception.Multiple studies have shown that women who take Depo-Provera have a much higher relative risk of developing meningiomas, though the overall risk remains low

Wake up Labour MPs: the price of electricity is a crisis for industry and growth | Nils Pratley

The price of electricity is less entertaining than a bout of leadership plotting but Labour MPs, if they lifted their gaze, could note that the boss of one of our largest energy companies made a significant prediction this week. British electricity prices in 2030 would be higher than they were in 2022 after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, said Chris O’Shea, the chief executive of British Gas-owning Centrica. If he’s right, the implications may matter more for those MPs’ re-election prospects than if or when the prime minister goes.O’Shea was not making a point about net zero. He was merely saying all options for the necessary upgrade of the country’s energy infrastructure were expensive

Is it possible to develop AI without the US?

Hello, and welcome to TechScape. Today in tech, we’re discussing the Persian Gulf countries making a play for sovereignty over their own artificial intelligence in response to an unstable United States. That, and US tech giants’ plans to spend more than $600bn this year alone.I spent most of last week in Doha at the Web Summit Qatar, the Gulf’s new version of the popular annual tech conference. One theme stood out among the speeches I watched and the conversations I had: sovereignty

Apple and Google pledge not to discriminate against third-party apps in UK deal

Apple and Google have committed to avoid discriminating against apps that compete with their own products under an agreement with the UK’s competition watchdog, as they avoided legally binding measures for their mobile platforms.The US tech companies have vowed to be more transparent about vetting third-party apps before letting them on their app stores and not discriminate against third-party apps in app search rankings.They have also agreed not to use data from third-party apps unfairly, such as using information about app updates to tweak their own offerings.Apple has also committed to giving app developers an easier means of requesting use of its features such as the digital wallet, and live translation for AirPod users.The commitments have been secured as part of a new regulatory regime overseen by the Competition and Markets Authority, (CMA), which has the power to impose changes on how Apple and Google operate their mobile platforms after deciding last year that they had “substantial, entrenched” market power

Winter Olympics 2026: France beat USA to figure skating gold as GB’s wait for medal goes on – as it happened

That’s our day.Franjo von Allman won the Super-G gold for SwitzerlandNorway, unsurprisingly, won the Nordic combined event, with ski jumping and cross-country racing, via Jens Luraas OftebroThe controversial Julia Simon won the biathlon after France’s Olympic association was accused of cooking her suspension so she could competeUSA went one-two in the women’s moguls, via Elizabeth Lemley and Jaelin KaufAnother American gold in the 1000m speed skating, Jordan Stolz winning after a controversial collision hampered Dutch champ Joep WennemarsItaly doubled up in the double luge, winning the men’s and women’s medalsSweden are leading Italy 3-2 in the men’s hockey group game, the medals are about to be awarded for the ice dance, Norway is leading the overall table that you can check below, and I am out of here. Until tomorrow.Laurent Beaudry Fournier and Guillame Cizeron collapse in elation and relief. There was a review of one of his early moves, where he was downgraded for coming out of a turn early

Jordan Stolz crushes Olympic 1000m record to begin four-gold pursuit after reskate

Jordan Stolz had to wait a little longer than expected on Wednesday night. But when confirmation finally came, the 21-year-old American could celebrate his first Olympic gold medal – and the opening chapter of what could become one of the defining campaigns of the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.Skating in the second-to-last group, Stolz powered to an Olympic record time of 1min 6.28sec in the men’s 1000 metres, using a devastating final lap to deliver in his signature event and launch his pursuit of a potential four-gold haul across these Games.His time ultimately stood after a brief period of uncertainty triggered by a late-race judging decision that granted a reskate to Joep Wennemars – who ended Stolz’s two-year world championship reign at the distance last March – after it was ruled that the Dutch skater had been hindered earlier in the competition