UK banks’ trust account exodus cuts lifeline for disabled people, says charity
Posted on Sunday December 22, 2024

Customers face ‘severe consequences’ as banks and building societies close accounts typically set up to help vulnerable peoplePeople with disabilities are facing potential hardship because banks are scrapping trust accounts that allow money to be managed safely on their behalf.Victims awarded personal injury settlements and those with learning difficulties are among those facing “severe consequences” as accounts are closed or frozen by high street banks and building societies, according to campaigners. Continue reading...

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Rachel Reeves’ push to improve EU ties remains boxed in by red lines
Posted on Sunday December 22, 2024

Chancellor’s visit to EU meeting looks for smoother trade to improve growth but youth mobility scheme remains sticking pointRachel Reeves is seeking a “deeper, more mature relationship” between Britain and the EU: this was her central message to the bloc’s finance ministers in Brussels a fortnight ago.In her brief speech to the meeting of her European counterparts – the first a UK chancellor had attended since Brexit – Reeves mentioned the UK’s relationship with the EU nine times. Continue reading...

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Jewellery, buttons and a conceptual bra: how the Royal Mint boss found a new source of money
Posted on Sunday December 22, 2024

As the coin minting trade has waned, the venerable institution has moved into new businessesIn the shadow of the Eiffel Tower in September, throngs of fashion elites were flocking to a makeshift catwalk along the French capital’s Avenue de Saxe.Paris fashion week was in full swing. But as the likes of Vogue editor Anna Wintour and Olympic diver Tom Daley took their seats for Stella McCartney’s summer 2025 runway show, Anne Jessopp found herself fighting nerves. Continue reading...

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It’s probably just a plane: drone experts advise calm over New Jersey sightings
Posted on Saturday December 21, 2024

Although politicians have called to shoot them down, experts say the lights are likely legal drones, planes – or starsAt first, in mid-November, the mysterious lights were seen blinking across the night skies of New Jersey. Then, they spread. Reports of incandescent flying objects were logged in New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland. Bystanders in Virginia Beach said they saw an aircraft “unlike any other they’ve seen”. Sightings have now come from as far afield as Louisiana, Florida and Arizona. People across the US are looking up.No one seems to know for certain where these enigmatic flying objects are from or who is controlling them. But several lawmakers and much of the general public seem dead-set on one answer: a swarm of drones. Continue reading...

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OpenAI whistleblower who died was being considered as witness against company
Posted on Saturday December 21, 2024

Suchir Balaji, listed in court filing as having ‘relevant documents’ about copyright violation, died on 26 NovemberSuchir Balaji, a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who helped train the artificial intelligence systems behind ChatGPT and later said he believed those practices violated copyright law, has died, according to his parents and San Francisco officials. He was 26.Balaji worked at OpenAI for nearly four years before quitting in August. He had been well-regarded by colleagues at the San Francisco company, where a co-founder this week called him one of OpenAI’s strongest contributors who was essential to developing some of its products. Continue reading...

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Everton v Chelsea, Manchester United v Bournemouth and more: Premier League – live
Posted on Sunday December 22, 2024

Live updates on the matches at 2pm (GMT)Also: Fulham v Southampton and Wolves v LeicesterGet in touch! Email John here | Live scoresWill Unwin, who is our reporter at Leicester today, tells me that “Pereira makes his mark by starting eight native Portuguese speakers” in the Wolves team.Leicester: Ward, Justin, Coady, Vestergaard, Kristiansen, Soumare, Skipp, El Khannous, Ayew, Mavididi, Vardy. Subs: Iversen, Faes, Okoli, Winks, De Cordova-Reid, Choudhury, Daka, Thomas, Buonanotte. Continue reading...

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Joe Root returns to England’s ODI squad but Ben Stokes not selected
Posted on Sunday December 22, 2024

In-form Root to play ODIs for first time since late 2023Stokes not considered after hamstring injuryJoe Root has been recalled to the England ODI side for the first time since the Jos Buttler-captained team put up an underwhelming ODI World Cup defence in November 2023.England’s white-ball squads will depart for the sub-continent on 17 January under the new coach and captain combination of Brendon McCullum and Buttler. The tour includes three ODIs and five IT20s against the white-ball juggernaut of India followed by the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 hosted by Pakistan in February and March. Continue reading...

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