UK sleepwalking into joblessness epidemic, Tesco boss warns

The UK is “sleepwalking into a quiet epidemic” of joblessness with millions of people out of work and on benefits, the boss of the nation’s biggest supermarket chain has warned.Ashwin Prasad, who runs the UK arm of Tesco, said he believed far fewer people were in work than should be and that taxpayers were spending “an ever increasing proportion of our national income on out-of-work benefits”.The rate of unemployment sat at a four-year high of 5.1%, according to official data released last month.Prasad, who took the role of UK chief executive last year, said there had been a “clear, gradual change” over the last decade of people falling out of work

Barclays boss ‘shocked’ by Epstein revelations; BP annual profits slump 16% – as it happened

The chief executive of Barclays has said he is “deeply dismayed and shocked” at the “depravity and the corruption” revealed in the Epstein files, as the bank deals with the fallout of its ex-boss Jes Staley’s ties to the convicted child sex offender.In his first public comments on the matter since the US Department of Justice began publishing documents related to Jeffrey Epstein in December, CS Venkatakrishnan said his thoughts went out to the victims of Epstein, who died in jail in 2019 while awaiting child sex trafficking charges. He said:I’m very, very deeply dismayed and shocked by the moral depravity and the corruption that you’re reading about in the latest set of instalments. You know, my heart really goes out to victims of this scandal and these crimes.However, the Barclays boss – speaking as the bank reported annual profits – stopped short of commenting directly on allegations against his predecessor, Staley

Beats Powerbeats Fit review: Apple’s compact workout earbuds revamped

Apple’s revamped compact workout Beats earbuds stick to a winning formula, while slimming down and improving comfort.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.The new Powerbeats Fit are the direct successors to 2022’s popular Beats Fit Pro, costing £200 (€230/$200/A$330)

EU threatens to act over Meta blocking rival AI chatbots from WhatsApp

The EU has threatened to take action against the social media company Meta, arguing it has blocked rival chatbots from using its WhatsApp messaging platform.The European Commission said on Monday that WhatsApp Business – which is designed to be used by businesses to interact with customers – appears to be in breach of EU antitrust rules.An upgrade to the messaging platform last October means the only AI assistant available to use on WhatsApp is Meta AI, the agent developed by the US tech group, which also owns Facebook and Instagram.The European Commission said Meta was the dominant player for messaging in the EU market and was “abusing” this position by “refusing access to WhatsApp to other businesses”.That position may cause “serious and irreparable harm on the market”, the commission added

Ukraine racer defies IOC ban by wearing ‘helmet of memory’ as anger grows

Ukrainian athletes have stepped up their defiance of International Olympic Committee rules banning them from protesting against the Russian invasion while in competition, amid growing anger over a decision to ban a “helmet of memory” for the ­country’s war dead.On Tuesday evening the ­skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych revealed that he had continued to use the helmet, which shows athletes killed during the war, during his practice runs in Italy in defiance of the IOC.Earlier the luge athlete Olena Smaha also displayed the words “remembrance is not a violation” on her glove while finishing 20th. The Ukrainian team have appealed against the helmet ban, arguing that it is not in breach of Article 50 of the Olympic Charter which ­prohibits political statements while in competition.After finishing second in his ­training run, Heraskevych said that he planned to continue to use his banned helmet in competition

‘My needles are waiting’: Ben Ogden credits knitting habit after cross-country silver

Ben Ogden delivered the most significant result in US men’s cross-country skiing in decades on Tuesday afternoon, winning Olympic silver in the men’s sprint classic at the Milano Cortina Games to end a 50-year medal drought. And afterwards he credited the relaxation he finds in knitting.The mustachioed 25-year-old finished in 3min 40.61sec after surging through the final with his trademark classical technique, less than a second behind Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, who secured the seventh Olympic gold medal of his career in 3:39.74