Labour MPs urge Thames Water to recover £2.5m paid to executives in April

Thames Water should claw back £2.5m in bonuses that were paid to executives in April, 27 Labour MPs representing constituencies served by the utility have urged.The MPs said it was “disgusting” that the company was hiking water bills “to pay for executives’ failings when those same executives were receiving multimillion-pound bonuses”.In a letter to Thames Water’s director of corporate finance, Fred Maroudas, they called for the company to scrap its next planned round of bonuses in September and reinvest the money into water infrastructure.The letter from 27 Labour MPs in areas served by Thames Water, coordinated by Yuan Yang, the MP for Earley and Woodley, set out demands for the company, including resolving the most severe cases of pollution and failure highlighted by their constituents

US adds just 73,000 jobs in July amid pressure from trade war and ‘increasing signs of fragility’ in labor market

The US economy added 73,000 jobs in July, far lower than expected, amid ongoing concerns with Donald Trump’s escalating trade war.Forecasters surveyed by Bloomberg had predicted the July jobs report would show a drop in added jobs to around 109,000. The unemployment rate rose to 4.2% from 4.1% in June

Amazon fails to calm tariff worries with worse-than-expected financial outlook

Amazon failed to quiet concerns over how Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs would affect its e-commerce business as it reported its latest quarterly results on Thursday. Wall Street’s affinity for the tech giant faltered in response.The top line numbers from Amazon’s second quarter earnings report exceeded Wall Street’s projections. The tech company beat expectations with its revenue up 13.3% year over year to $167

How will Australia’s under-16s social media ban be enforced, and which platforms will be exempt?

Australians using a range of social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat and X will need to have their age checked to ensure they are 16 or older when the social media ban comes into effect from early December.Sign up: AU Breaking News emailHow will it work? And what information will people need to hand over?From 10 December, new laws will apply to platforms that meet the government’s definition of an “age-restricted social media platform”, which has the sole or significant purpose of enabling social interaction with two or more users, and which allows users to post material on the service.The government has not specified by name any platforms that will be included in the ban, meaning any site that meets the above definition could be included except if they meet the exemptions released on Wednesday.The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has said that the covered platforms include – but are not limited to – Facebook, Instagram, X, Snapchat, and YouTube.The communications minister, Anika Wells, said these platforms would be expected to take reasonable steps to deactivate accounts for users under 16, prevent children registering new accounts, check ages, and also prevent workarounds to bypass the restrictions

England v India: fifth men’s cricket Test, day two – live

Weather updateThe Sky commentators are suggesting light rain could linger for around an hour. That’s bad news for England, who want to bowl as many overs as possible before the close. The more they bowl tonight, the less likely they are to need a long spell from Joe Root and/or Jacob Bethell tomorrow.In case you missed it earlier48th over: England 242-8 (Brook 48, Tongue 0) Harry Brook lap-sweeps Siraj for six, a bonkers shot played while falling over towards the off side like Rishabh Pant. That’s left half the ground agape

Lottie Woad’s second-round charge at Women’s Open undone by triple bogey

Seaside golf can meddle with the most patient of characters. Lottie Woad had played herself firmly into the second-round mix at this Women’s Open at five under par, but the 16th at Royal Porthcawl was to bite back at English golf’s golden girl.Woad’s second shot found trouble – it took Lydia Ko, Woad’s playing partner, to find the ball – with her third swing barely causing any movement whatsoever. Woad called for a referee, plus a second opinion, in her belief that her ball was now embedded and worthy of free relief. With the claims refused, she had to declare the ball unplayable