Successive governments have turned the UK from a manufacturing economy to one where the basics of life have been privatised and are rented back to people at a crushing cost, Zack Polanski will say. In a speech billed as the Green leader’s biggest policy intervention since he took over as leader six months ago, Polanski will argue that decades of gradual economic rebalancing in favour of a minority...
Successive governments have turned the UK from a manufacturing economy to one where the basics of life have been privatised and are rented back to people at a crushing cost, Zack Polanski will say. In a speech billed as the Green leader’s biggest policy intervention since he took over as leader six months ago, Polanski will argue that decades of gradual economic rebalancing in favour of a minority who own assets has left much of the country vulnerable to economic shocks such as the current rise in fuel prices. Polanski will call for the government to offer more support for households amid the uncertainty of the Iran conflict, asking for £8.4bn to be set aside to cover a possible increase in energy prices of £300 a household in the coming year. A “sustained project of privatisation and deregulation has turned Britain from a place which made things people need into a place which made money for people who owned things”, he will say in a speech to the New Economics Forum thinktank in London. “We live in rip-off Britain: an economy built to reward the few off the work of the many. A country where people work so hard and try to do the right thing but still struggle to afford the basics, and find themselves constantly cutting back. “The very basics, the things we rely on to build the foundations of a good life, have been taken out of our hands, sold for profit – and then sold or rented back to us at crushing rates. The water that keeps us alive. The energy that warms us. The home that keeps us safe. “We’ve stopped working to save for a deposit, a summer holiday or even to put a bit away for the future – so many of us are working just to cover the increasing cost of getting by every day.” Polanski has overseen a surge in membership for the Greens in England and Wales, with the party now ahead of Labour and the Conservatives in some polls. The Greens won last month’s Gorton and Denton byelection. While he has been an energetic media presence since becoming leader, Polanski h...
From the fairways of Rome to the greens of Versailles, could the world’s most prestigious golf tournament be heading to Bolton? Andy Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor, has announced a bid to bring the Ryder Cup to the north of England for the first time in nearly 60 years. The contest would be hosted in the grounds of Bolton’s historic Hulton Park, which was formerly owned by the aristocratic ...
From the fairways of Rome to the greens of Versailles, could the world’s most prestigious golf tournament be heading to Bolton? Andy Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor, has announced a bid to bring the Ryder Cup to the north of England for the first time in nearly 60 years. The contest would be hosted in the grounds of Bolton’s historic Hulton Park, which was formerly owned by the aristocratic family that inspired Downton Abbey. There are more than a few obstacles in its way, however. For one, the £250m course is not yet built. Plans to bring the Ryder Cup to Bolton were first raised in 2018 and met with fierce opposition from residents and conservationists over the loss of Grade II-listed land. Maxine Peake, the Bolton-born actor, described it at the time as “absolute madness fuelled by nothing more than utter greed”. As recently as last week, council bosses reiterated that the Peel Group development would only go ahead if it won the Ryder Cup bid – yet that decision is not expected until around 2029. It would be the first time in more than 30 years that England has hosted the biennial tournament, in which Europe’s best male golfers compete against the best from the US. The Belfry in Warwickshire hosted the competition the last four times it has been held in England – more than any other course in Europe or the US. The Ryder Cup last came to the north of England in 1977, when rookies Tom Watson, 28, and Jack Nicklaus, 37, faced off against a 20-year-old Nick Faldo at Royal Lytham & St Annes golf club in Lancashire. Burnham said Bolton 2035 would be the “biggest ever” Ryder Cup and bring an estimated 350,000 fans along with a “lasting legacy” for the region. “The success of the Brit awards in Manchester shows that we can we attract and deliver international events to a brilliant standard,” he said. “We’ve had promising conversations with organisers about bringing the tournament to a bespoke, world-class course at Hulton Park. But it will only be possible with the...
A long face is not the only sign that someone is down in the dumps. How people walk is revealing too, particularly the swing of the arms and legs, researchers say. Scientists asked volunteers to guess people’s emotions from video clips of them walking and found that bigger swings portrayed more aggression while smaller swings implied fear and sadness. Tweaking the videos to make the swings longer ...
A long face is not the only sign that someone is down in the dumps. How people walk is revealing too, particularly the swing of the arms and legs, researchers say. Scientists asked volunteers to guess people’s emotions from video clips of them walking and found that bigger swings portrayed more aggression while smaller swings implied fear and sadness. Tweaking the videos to make the swings longer or shorter made the emotions easier to infer, according to the study, suggesting that the coordinated swing of the arms and legs was a key feature people picked up on. The work expands the list of cues that humans draw on to make speedy assessments of people’s emotions, and highlights the specific movements that convey most about the range of feelings people have, the scientists say. “Walking is one of the most familiar and well-practiced whole-body movements for humans,” said Mina Wakabayashi, a researcher at the Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International in Kyoto, Japan, and the lead author of the study. “Because of this, changes in emotional state may naturally appear in the way we walk. “In our results, movements with larger arm and leg swings were more likely to be perceived as angry, whereas movements with smaller swings were more likely to be perceived as sad or fearful.” For the study, the scientists asked actors to recall life events that provoked anger, happiness, fear or sadness and then walk a short distance while dwelling on each memory. The participants wore tight clothing and reflective markers, allowing the researchers to create point-light videos from the side and front which captured their gait without their facial expressions and other bodily cues. Credit: Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International in Kyoto Volunteers then watched the videos and declared which emotion each gait evoked. They recognised all of the portrayed emotions at better than the level of chance, the study found. “To some degree, the walkers’ intende...
Graves more than 100 years old could be reused across England and Wales under Law Commission proposals that also include the reopening of some burial grounds closed under Victorian-era legislation. The changes would create a national framework for the first time, aiming to reduce pressure on burial space and modernise a system largely unchanged for more than 170 years. “Our proposals would moderni...
Graves more than 100 years old could be reused across England and Wales under Law Commission proposals that also include the reopening of some burial grounds closed under Victorian-era legislation. The changes would create a national framework for the first time, aiming to reduce pressure on burial space and modernise a system largely unchanged for more than 170 years. “Our proposals would modernise and simplify burial and cremation law in England and Wales, and provide clearer, more consistent safeguards for bereaved families and friends,” said Prof Lisa Webley, the law commissioner for property, family and trust law. Grave reuse is limited to some London cemeteries and Church of England burial grounds. Under the proposals, this could be extended more widely, but only after local consultation and government approval. The commission also recommended stricter safeguards than those now in place. Graves could not be reused until at least 100 years after the last burial, up from 75 years, and families would have a year to object. Any objection would delay reuse for a further 25 years. Military graves would remain protected. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission retains the right to object, effectively ensuring no war graves are ever reused. For the first time, similar protections would apply to postwar graves under Ministry of Defence responsibility. Reused graves would remain within a controlled system, with remains moved deeper and a new burial placed above. Only remains that are “no more than skeletal” would be eligible. The commission also highlighted the patchwork of rules for church, local authority and private burial grounds, recommending a more consistent framework. In some cases, this would introduce legal standards where none currently exist. For example, it proposes a new minimum of 2ft of soil above a coffin. Cremation practices would also be changed. The growing number of uncollected ashes held by funeral directors is unregulated: funeral directors cannot ...
Most of the 4.9 million children who died in 2024 could have been saved, according to a new UN report that warns aid cuts could thwart the global goal of ending preventable child deaths. Progress towards ending the preventable deaths of children under five by 2030 has slowed 60% since 2015, the report found, leading to UN experts to call for sustained investment in health systems to reach the targ...
Most of the 4.9 million children who died in 2024 could have been saved, according to a new UN report that warns aid cuts could thwart the global goal of ending preventable child deaths. Progress towards ending the preventable deaths of children under five by 2030 has slowed 60% since 2015, the report found, leading to UN experts to call for sustained investment in health systems to reach the target. “No child should die from diseases that we know how to prevent. But we see worrying signs that progress in child survival is slowing – and at a time where we’re seeing further global budget cuts,” said Unicef executive director Catherine Russell. Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia have persistently had the worst rates of child death, in large part due to deaths of newborns, who made up almost half of the total number of children who died under five. The most common causes were premature birth, pneumonia and trauma suffered by the child during birth. Infectious diseases were also a major cause, with malaria leading to 17% of deaths of children who survived beyond their first month of life. The report found that 100,000 children died directly from severe acute malnutrition – with the highest numbers in Pakistan, Somalia and Sudan – but added that severe malnutrition was also a underlying cause for many children who died of other conditions. All these causes of death could be prevented with better investment in health systems and vaccinations, but instead, aid cuts are threatening to close lifesaving facilities, humanitarian workers said. “We are not moving far enough or fast enough and leaving 5 million [children] under the age of five vulnerable,” said Abdurahman Sharif, senior humanitarian affairs director at Save the Children. “Aid cuts are leading to increasing preventable deaths, threatening the continuity of lifesaving services at a time when needs are increasing. It’s reversing decades of progress.” According to monitoring of aid cuts by Global Health Cluster, 6,600...
(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has moved higher in back-to-back sessions, gathering more than 35 points or 1.1 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now sits just beneath the 3,370-point plateau and it may extend its gains on Wednesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests little movement ahead of Friday's U.S. employment data. The European markets were down and the ...
(RTTNews) - The Singapore stock market has moved higher in back-to-back sessions, gathering more than 35 points or 1.1 percent along the way. The Straits Times Index now sits just beneath the 3,370-point plateau and it may extend its gains on Wednesday. The global forecast for the Asian markets suggests little movement ahead of Friday's U.S. employment data. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead. The STI finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the financials, weakness from the properties and a mixed picture from the industrials. For the day, the index gained 29.33 points or 0.88 percent to finish at 3,367.90 after trading between 3,338.99 and 3,369.23. Among the actives, CapitaLand Ascendas REIT rose 0.39 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust gained 0.51 percent, CapitaLand Investment and City Developments both slid 0.38 percent, DBS Group surged 2.71 percent, Emperador retreated 1.16 percent, Genting Singapore plunged 1.78 percent, Hongkong Land tanked 1.54 percent, Keppel DC REIT added 0.55 percent, Keppel Ltd tumbled 1.24 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust skidded 0.81 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust climbed 0.77 percent, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation soared 2.07 percent, SATS slumped 1.05 percent, Seatrium Limited skyrocketed 1,900.00 percent, SembCorp Industries plummeted 4.32 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering dropped 0.70 percent, SingTel advanced 0.72 percent, Thai Beverage declined 1.12 percent, Wilmar International sank 0.65 percent, Yangzijiang Financial rallied 1.45 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding spiked 1.67 percent and Comfort DelGro and Mapletree Industrial Trust were unchanged. The lead from Wall Street is positive as the major averages opened lower on Tuesday and hugged the line for much of the day before a late surge sent them firmly into the green by the close. The Dow jumped 162.33 points or 0.41 percent to f...
The Trump administration vowed a legal fight to oust Anthropic PBC from all US government agencies following a dispute over how the company’s artificial intelligence technology would be used. “For national security reasons, the terms of service for plaintiff Anthropic PBC’s artificial intelligence (AI) technology have become unacceptable to the Executive Branch,” the US Justice Department, which i...
The Trump administration vowed a legal fight to oust Anthropic PBC from all US government agencies following a dispute over how the company’s artificial intelligence technology would be used. “For national security reasons, the terms of service for plaintiff Anthropic PBC’s artificial intelligence (AI) technology have become unacceptable to the Executive Branch,” the US Justice Department, which is representing the government, said Tuesday in a court filing . Anthropic, the maker of the Claude chatbot, sued to block a declaration by the Defense Department that the company posed a risk to the US supply chain, escalating a high-stakes dispute over safeguards on AI technology used by the military. Anthropic, which wants limits on how its products are deployed, argued a prolonged legal fight could cost it billions of dollars in lost revenue . The company is asking the court to issue a preliminary injunction to block the government’s ban from taking effect while the legal fight plays out. In their filing, DOJ lawyers alleged that during Defense Department negotiations in early 2026 with Anthropic to add a provision to its contract that permits the Pentagon to use its technology for any lawful purpose, Anthropic “refused” to accept the term due to its usage policies for Claude. Throughout the negotiations, “Anthropic’s behavior more generally caused the department to question whether Anthropic represented a trusted partner with whom the department was willing to contract in this highly sensitive area,” according to the filing. The agency also became worried that letting Anthropic continue to access its technical and operational warfighting systems “would introduce unacceptable risk” into Defense Department supply chains, according to the filing. “After all, AI systems are acutely vulnerable to manipulation, and Anthropic could attempt to disable its technology or preemptively alter the behavior of its model either before or during ongoing warfighting operations, if Anthro...
Japanese government agency has opened discussions on imposing a ban on children accessing social media sites, potentially following Australia ’s lead in prohibiting under-16s from the most popular online platforms. Experts say it is far too early to determine whether the Australian experiment is a success and can be replicated in Japan, although there is a widely held belief that more is needed to...
Japanese government agency has opened discussions on imposing a ban on children accessing social media sites, potentially following Australia ’s lead in prohibiting under-16s from the most popular online platforms. Experts say it is far too early to determine whether the Australian experiment is a success and can be replicated in Japan, although there is a widely held belief that more is needed to limit the negative consequences of unfettered internet access to youth. In January, Japan’s Children and Families Agency set up a panel of experts to examine online use by young people, identify the impact of prolonged exposure to social media and review actions taken in other countries to deal with overuse or even cyberaddiction. Advertisement The panel is also examining how easily teenagers can access harmful online content and will issue recommendations on whether children should be restricted from using social media and from what age. Under Japanese law, filters ban access to harmful websites and social media companies are required to make their “best efforts” to prevent minors from visiting sites designed for adult audiences, although experts admit anyone sufficiently determined can always bypass these defences. Junior high school students in Japan. A new panel is examining how easily teenagers can access harmful online content and will issue recommendations on restrictions if any. Photo: Shutterstock Some local authorities in Japan have introduced ordinances banning children from using social media, but these are recommendations that impose no penalties on anyone who ignores them, according to Vickie Skorji, senior adviser to the Tokyo-based TELL Lifeline.
It is not clear whether the image in the ad is of a real person or is itself AI-generated, with the ASA telling the BBC making such an assessment had not been part of its investigation.
It is not clear whether the image in the ad is of a real person or is itself AI-generated, with the ASA telling the BBC making such an assessment had not been part of its investigation.
RedotPay, a Hong Kong startup in the stablecoin payments space, is contending with executive turnover and sensitivities around its connections to mainland China as it seeks to raise up to $150 million just months after its last funding round. The company is in talks with firms about the new funding, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be named discussing confidential info...
RedotPay, a Hong Kong startup in the stablecoin payments space, is contending with executive turnover and sensitivities around its connections to mainland China as it seeks to raise up to $150 million just months after its last funding round. The company is in talks with firms about the new funding, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be named discussing confidential information. It comes after RedotPay raised over $150 million across two rounds in September and December from backers including the venture arms of crypto giants Coinbase Global Inc. and Circle Internet Group Inc. A spokesperson said RedotPay remains open to strategically valuable investors but there is no urgency for funds given strong cash flow. The startup has attracted a billion-dollar valuation from venture backers as it seeks to emulate Revolut , the British fintech that has aspirations to become a $100 billion company. RedotPay is targeting a valuation of more than $4 billion through a public listing in the US as soon as this year. Read more: Stablecoin Firm RedotPay Is Said to Weigh $1 Billion US IPO RedotPay’s hard-charging style has created a work culture that some employees decided was too much. Interviews with eleven people close to the firm, including investors and current and former staff, show at least five senior hires lasted less than 12 months — the role of compliance chief turned over twice — and employees were routinely asked to work until 10 p.m. for weeks at a time. The company is currently pursuing its IPO plans without a chief financial officer. It is also grappling with a sensitive situation in China, which in February further tightened longstanding curbs on digital assets. Still, RedotPay continues to grow. Annualized total payment volume surpassed $10 billion in December, more than doubling year-on-year, while revenues doubled to $158 million, according to investor materials reviewed by Bloomberg. It has more than six million users in over 100 countr...
Getty Images By Elior Manier Welcome to a more unusual market update to show what could be a significant development for markets for periods ahead. WTI crude oil is forming a head & shoulders ahead of the FOMC meeting, a first bearish pattern since the beginning of the war. WTI Oil 2H Chart. March 17, 2026 – Source: TradingView It sure is a risky, counter-trend, and counter-market view, but here a...
Getty Images By Elior Manier Welcome to a more unusual market update to show what could be a significant development for markets for periods ahead. WTI crude oil is forming a head & shoulders ahead of the FOMC meeting, a first bearish pattern since the beginning of the war. WTI Oil 2H Chart. March 17, 2026 – Source: TradingView It sure is a risky, counter-trend, and counter-market view, but here are the elements that could point towards the end of a WTI rally. First and foremost, advancements in the war: Most of the key figures of the Iranian Islamic Regime have been eliminated throughout the first three weeks of the conflict, leaving a snake without its head for the authoritarian regime. Overnight, Ari Larijani, the right-hand of the Ayatollah, along with Basij Forces Commander Soleimani, was eliminated in strikes. These two figures were exercising heavy influence over the IRGC army for the former and the political police for the latter. This could prove to be a turning point in the ongoing US-Iran-Israel War. The two-country coalition is now expressing more concrete plans to move further towards the securitization of the Strait of Hormuz. If even Al Jazeera is saying that the US-Israel operation is working, the war could really avoid dragging out for long – this fundamental turn should ease pressure on the crude market. While supply issues remain, particularly for Asian nations, less uncertainty often translates to easier market conditions ahead. Oil won't just flash back to the $55 lows from the beginning of the year, but less pressure on the head will help soothe participants and inflation expectations. Second, technical elements: WTI oil gapped higher to $101.30 at the weekly open, which could have added further momentum to an already tense market. But the selling seen in the previous session formed a head & shoulders pattern. It is a strong sign of trend exhaustion, as bulls attempted to break previous highs but failed twice, also forming a lower high at the s...
Backed by AMD Ventures, Hyundai and strategic giants, the funding fuels the launch of Bach—a frontier video generation model designed to reshape digital content creation. SINGAPORE, March 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Video Rebirth, an AMD-backed AI video startup, today announced the final closing of an $80 million funding round. This total includes a newly secured $30 million extension, building upon ...
Backed by AMD Ventures, Hyundai and strategic giants, the funding fuels the launch of Bach—a frontier video generation model designed to reshape digital content creation. SINGAPORE, March 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Video Rebirth, an AMD-backed AI video startup, today announced the final closing of an $80 million funding round. This total includes a newly secured $30 million extension, building upon the initial $50 million raised in November. The expanded round was driven by overwhelming strategic interest, bringing together a coalition of top-tier venture capital firms in Asia, with participation from AMD Ventures, Hyundai and other industry leaders across entertainment, mobility and technology. The fresh capital will be primarily used to accelerate commercialization of Video Rebirth's frontier video generation product – the Bach series, and drive global market expansion. While the market is flooded with tools creating fleeting "demos," Video Rebirth is executing a different mission: building the Industrial-grade AI Engine, which is capable of building consistent and commercial-ready realities. Global Ambition, Industrial Scale "Video Rebirth was built as a global company from day one," said Dan Kong, Co-founder and COO of Video Rebirth, who previously served as an AI investor at Abu Dhabi's G42. " Having the strategic backing of a global technology powerhouse like AMD validates our vision. Our investor base reflects this ambition, spanning global financial institutions and strategic partners who understand the scale of our vision." They recognize that we aren't just building a tool for a single market; we are building a generative infrastructure for global digital content." Reshaping the Pan-Entertainment Industry Video Rebirth distinguishes itself by mastering the 'realities' of video generation, ensuring high controllability and coherence. By leveraging these capabilities to replace physical filming and rigid rendering, the company bridges the gap between linear me...
This is provided for informational purposes only. It is not intended to provide (i) investment advice or an investment recommendation, (ii) an offer, solicitation, or inducement to buy, sell or hold digital assets, or (iii) financial, accounting, legal or tax advice. Digital assets, including stablecoins and NFTs, are subject to market volatility, involve a high degree of risk, and can lose value....
This is provided for informational purposes only. It is not intended to provide (i) investment advice or an investment recommendation, (ii) an offer, solicitation, or inducement to buy, sell or hold digital assets, or (iii) financial, accounting, legal or tax advice. Digital assets, including stablecoins and NFTs, are subject to market volatility, involve a high degree of risk, and can lose value. You should carefully consider whether trading or holding digital assets is suitable for you in light of your financial condition and risk tolerance. Please consult your legal/tax/investment professional for questions about your specific circumstances. Not all products are offered in all regions. For more details, please refer to the OKX Terms of Use and Risk Warning . OKX Web3 Wallet and its ancillary services are subject to separate Terms of Service You are viewing content that has been summarized by AI. Please be aware that the information provided may not be accurate, complete, or up-to-date. This information is not (i) investment advice or an investment recommendation, (ii) an offer, solicitation, or inducement to buy, sell or hold digital assets, or (iii) financial, accounting, legal or tax advice. Digital assets are subject to market volatility, involve a high degree of risk, and can lose value. You should carefully consider whether trading or holding digital assets is suitable for you in light of your financial condition and risk tolerance. Please consult your legal/tax/investment professional for questions about your specific circumstances.
This is provided for informational purposes only. It is not intended to provide (i) investment advice or an investment recommendation, (ii) an offer, solicitation, or inducement to buy, sell or hold digital assets, or (iii) financial, accounting, legal or tax advice. Digital assets, including stablecoins and NFTs, are subject to market volatility, involve a high degree of risk, and can lose value....
This is provided for informational purposes only. It is not intended to provide (i) investment advice or an investment recommendation, (ii) an offer, solicitation, or inducement to buy, sell or hold digital assets, or (iii) financial, accounting, legal or tax advice. Digital assets, including stablecoins and NFTs, are subject to market volatility, involve a high degree of risk, and can lose value. You should carefully consider whether trading or holding digital assets is suitable for you in light of your financial condition and risk tolerance. Please consult your legal/tax/investment professional for questions about your specific circumstances. Not all products are offered in all regions. For more details, please refer to the OKX Terms of Use and Risk Warning . OKX Web3 Wallet and its ancillary services are subject to separate Terms of Service You are viewing content that has been summarized by AI. Please be aware that the information provided may not be accurate, complete, or up-to-date. This information is not (i) investment advice or an investment recommendation, (ii) an offer, solicitation, or inducement to buy, sell or hold digital assets, or (iii) financial, accounting, legal or tax advice. Digital assets are subject to market volatility, involve a high degree of risk, and can lose value. You should carefully consider whether trading or holding digital assets is suitable for you in light of your financial condition and risk tolerance. Please consult your legal/tax/investment professional for questions about your specific circumstances.
This is provided for informational purposes only. It is not intended to provide (i) investment advice or an investment recommendation, (ii) an offer, solicitation, or inducement to buy, sell or hold digital assets, or (iii) financial, accounting, legal or tax advice. Digital assets, including stablecoins and NFTs, are subject to market volatility, involve a high degree of risk, and can lose value....
This is provided for informational purposes only. It is not intended to provide (i) investment advice or an investment recommendation, (ii) an offer, solicitation, or inducement to buy, sell or hold digital assets, or (iii) financial, accounting, legal or tax advice. Digital assets, including stablecoins and NFTs, are subject to market volatility, involve a high degree of risk, and can lose value. You should carefully consider whether trading or holding digital assets is suitable for you in light of your financial condition and risk tolerance. Please consult your legal/tax/investment professional for questions about your specific circumstances. Not all products are offered in all regions. For more details, please refer to the OKX Terms of Use and Risk Warning . OKX Web3 Wallet and its ancillary services are subject to separate Terms of Service You are viewing content that has been summarized by AI. Please be aware that the information provided may not be accurate, complete, or up-to-date. This information is not (i) investment advice or an investment recommendation, (ii) an offer, solicitation, or inducement to buy, sell or hold digital assets, or (iii) financial, accounting, legal or tax advice. Digital assets are subject to market volatility, involve a high degree of risk, and can lose value. You should carefully consider whether trading or holding digital assets is suitable for you in light of your financial condition and risk tolerance. Please consult your legal/tax/investment professional for questions about your specific circumstances.