Control of Britain’s 39m smart meters passes to non-profit startup
Posted on Monday November 02, 2026

The handover marks the end of a 13-year licence for Smart DCC, a subsidiary of Capita, after years of spiralling costs and delays

Control over Great Britain’s 39m smart meters has passed to a non-profit startup after its former owner presided over more than a decade of spiralling costs and delays in the troubled network.

The company owned by crisis-hit outsourcing firm Capita has promised a “seamless transition” to its not-for-profit successor, which will take over running the data network connecting the smart meters from this week.

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Ryanair faces clash with unions as it mulls pay freezes amid soaring fuel costs
Posted on Monday November 02, 2026

Airline also weighs up reducing crew on flights and increasing use of AI as part of cost-cutting measures

• Business live – latest updates

Ryanair has said it is considering implementing pay freezes, setting the scene for a confrontation with unions as the airline tries to offset soaring fuel costs driven by the Middle East conflict.

The airline is also considering reducing crew numbers on flights and increasing the use of AI, in a cost-cutting drive.

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Oil price falls amid hope of a breakthrough to end Iran war
Posted on Monday November 02, 2026

Brent crude drops by more than 6% to $105.55 a barrel, the lowest level in more than two weeks

The oil price has fallen to its lowest level in more two weeks amid new hopes of a breakthrough to end the Iran war.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, dropped by more than 6.5% to as low as $105.55 a barrel on Monday, the lowest since 16 October, sending shares in airline companies higher and pushing down government borrowing costs.

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Snowball fight: Cadbury owner in trademark row over festive chocolate treat
Posted on Monday November 02, 2026

Mini Snow Balls’ maker Mondelēz is demanding vegan brand Moo Free remove its White Choccy Snowballs from shelves

• Toblerone owner sues British vegan chocolate brand over chunky shape

The owner of Cadbury and Toblerone has demanded that a small vegan chocolate brand remove its products from shelves in a trademark dispute over the use of the word snowball.

Mondelēz International has written a legal letter to Moo Free accusing it of trademark infringement by selling its White Choccy Snowballs – gluten-free biscuit-flavoured rice balls covered in dairy-free white chocolate.

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Shop fridges and freezers across Europe hit by fresh suspected cyber-attack
Posted on Monday November 02, 2026

Chains in seven countries say cooling unit temperatures rose overnight in incident similar to hack of French shops

• Who is hacking Europe’s supermarket fridges and freezers, and why?

Supermarket chains in at least seven European countries have said the temperatures of refrigerators and freezers in some of their shops soared overnight to as high as 50C (122F), echoing a cyber-attack last month that caused millions of euros of damage in France.

Retailers in Belgium, Estonia, Ireland, Finland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Sweden reported problems with their refrigeration systems on Monday, and several companies confirmed they had been hacked.

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Investors pull billions in funds from Binance after record $6.3bn hack
Posted on Sunday November 01, 2026

Cryptocurrency exchange has begun to allow withdrawals after theft believed to have come from North Korea

Investors have pulled $3.6bn (£2.7bn) in funds from the cryptocurrency exchange Binance as it recovers from a record hack in which billions were stolen from customer accounts.

The platform was hit by a $6.3bn theft on Thursday, which has since been described as the biggest heist in history. Experts identified North Korea as the probable culprit.

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Newcastle United v Everton: Premier League – live
Posted on Monday November 02, 2026

• Premier League updates from the 8pm GMT kick-off

• Live scores | Read today’s Football Daily | Email Daniel

“Your note about not expecting a goalfest doesn’t tell the half of it,” sighs Matt Burtz. “One thing I’ve learned from watching Everton over the last 15 years is that I can usually expect defensive solidity while at the same time experiencing a distinct lack of attacking prowess. The last time Everton scored 50+ goals in the league was 2018-19. Somehow they managed 62 league goals in 2016-17, which was, not coincidentally, Romelu Lukaku’s last season at Goodison, when he banged in 25. The last time they scored 70? You have to go back to their last league title, 1986-87, when they played 42 games. (They were also relegated in 1929-30 despite scoring 80 because they contrived to allow 92, so maybe free flowing football isn’t always the answer).”

Yup, since the Dogs of War days in the mid-90s, Everton have been dogged rather than inspired. It’s a long time since they were the School of Science, or as fun to watch as the 1984-85 champions.

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How Kimi Antonelli saw off the grid to become F1’s youngest world champion
Posted on Monday November 02, 2026

Mercedes driver makes history at 20 years old by exceeding all expectations in only his second season

Before the 2026 season had begun there was something of a consensus within Formula One. Mercedes appeared to have the fastest car and George Russell was favourite for the title. Beside him in what was indeed a dominant Mercedes, his teenage teammate, Kimi Antonelli, was the prodigious talent who was expected to require honing after a tricky rookie season. Said consensus lasted one race, by the sixth it had been turned on its head and Antonelli was squarely on his way to being champion.

Few had doubted that the then 19-year-old Italian would prove to be strong in a car that for the first two-thirds of the season was the class of the field but for Antonelli to come out of the blocks with such verve, aggressive skill and also the judgment and at times maturity of a veteran was revelatory. As the youngest F1 world champion and Italy’s first since Alberto Ascari in 1953, Antonelli made history this year but it was the way he did it which truly caught the eye.

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