Travelodge boss quits amid fallout over hotel chain’s security failings
Posted on Thursday August 20, 2026

Joanna Boydell steps down after widespread criticism over company’s handling of guest safety issues

The boss of Travelodge has resigned after a backlash over security failings at the hotel chain, including a case where a domestic abuser was given a key to a woman’s room before assaulting her.

In a company statement on Thursday, Travelodge said Joanna Boydell had stepped down and been temporarily replaced by its finance chief, Ray Reidy. The company has launched a formal search for a permanent substitute.

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JD Sports cuts £50m from profit forecast as cost of living pressures hit trainer sales
Posted on Thursday August 20, 2026

Inflation fuelled by Iran conflict deterring shoppers, especially in the US, says high street chain

• JD Sports boss is still struggling to turn up the heat

The sports fashion retailer JD has cut £50m from its profit forecast as cost of living pressures, fuelled by the US war on Iran, weighed on sales of trainers.

JD Sports, which sells brands including Nike and Adidas, said widespread inflation had hit shoppers’ wallets, particularly its core young shoppers, resulting in a drop in sales across important markets such as the US, where it struggled to shift trainers and other footwear.

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Specsavers pays £12m dividend to parent company after jump in earnings
Posted on Thursday August 20, 2026

Pre-tax profits rose at high street opticians to £429.7m in the year to February while sales rose 7% to £4.3bn

Specsavers has paid £12m to its parent company controlled by its founders Doug and Dame Mary Perkins after the high street optician’s profits increased by more than a quarter.

The group operates nearly 3,000 optometry, audiology and ophthalmology businesses globally in at least eight countries, including more than 1,200 in the UK, through hundreds of independent partners.

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Why is the Trump administration causing turmoil in the bond markets? | Richard Partington
Posted on Thursday August 20, 2026

As yields are dragged higher in the UK, Europe and Japan, the impact for consumers and businesses will be far-reaching

• ‘Starve the beast’? The $40tn cost of Republicans’ false promises to cut spending

Government borrowing costs around the world have surged to the highest levels in decades amid growing fears over US bond market turmoil.

Anxiety about Donald Trump’s handling of the US economy, and concern that the US president’s war with Iran is driving up inflation, are causing a sell-off in the US bond market.

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Zuckerberg lied about concern for child safety, Meta whistleblower testifies at landmark trial
Posted on Wednesday August 19, 2026

Arturo Béjar, former Meta safety engineer, tells jury tech company was aware of products’ potential harm to children

Meta has taken a “don’t ask, don’t tell” strategy when it comes to the safety of children on its social media platforms, according to a whistleblower who testified during a landmark trial against the company on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Arturo Béjar, a former Meta safety engineer, told the jury that the company was aware of the harm its products caused children, which included its recommendations pushing content from sexual predators and violent and graphic images. He said he repeatedly raised the issue to various Facebook and Instagram executives but that they did little to resolve it.

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UK cinemas look at banning Meta smart glasses over piracy fears
Posted on Thursday August 20, 2026

Trade body says local chains would have to balance concerns with potential benefits of AI-enabled technology

Cinemas across the UK are considering banning customers from wearing Meta’s smart glasses amid fears they could be used to pirate films.

The UK Cinema Association (UKCA) trade body said that a number of local chains could end up introducing policies that restrict camera-enabled smart glasses at the big screen, adding to a growing list of venues concerned about covert use.

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Harry Brook keeps England well on top of Pakistan in first Test despite late wickets
Posted on Thursday August 20, 2026

• First Test day 2: Pakistan 171; England 366 for 8

• Brook misses out on home ton as hosts slip from 322-5

The clock had just ticked past 7pm, there was still half an hour of play left on this soggy second day, and it looked for all money that Harry Brook would end a year-long wait for his 11th Test century with a first at his home ground of Headingley.

Brook had agonisingly missed out by one run against India here last summer. And this time, against a ragged Pakistan side that had handed him a life second ball amid another outing to forget, the box was practically begging to be ticked.

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Premier League returns and Arsenal sense opportunity with rivals in flux
Posted on Thursday August 20, 2026

New managers galore suggest many of the usual suspects will struggle to dethrone the champions, but their own hunger could be the key

Mikel Arteta wants to get his messaging absolutely right. According to him, Arsenal are not about to defend their Premier League title. They are set to attack another one.

Remember Win the dog, who the manager brought in to the club’s training ground a few years back? She must now be called “Won”. But it is when Arteta quibbles over another bout of semantics that he highlights why he is entering the new season with such energy and optimism.

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