The royal family spent over £1 million on helicopter journeys last year and plans to acquire two new helicopters to replace those in use for the past 15 years. Official accounts show that the royals undertook 170 helicopter trips, costing £1,096,300 in total. The overall travel expenditure rose to £4.2 million from £3.9 million the […] More
Starting September 18, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will enforce stricter requirements for banks and building societies to evaluate and address the availability of services like branches and ATMs in local communities. These institutions will be obligated to address any significant service gaps identified through assessments, which local areas can request. Under the new rules, […] More
A report by the Environment Agency (EA) for 2023 revealed an increase in the most severe pollution incidents, rising to 47 from 44 the previous year. According to the EA, more than 90% of these incidents were attributed to Anglian Water, Southern Water, Thames Water, and Yorkshire Water. The report highlighted a “polarised performance” within […] More
Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that the electric car manufacturer will begin producing and utilizing humanoid robots next year. In a social media post, Musk shared that these robots will initially be used within Tesla and are set to be available for purchase by 2026. Previously, he had indicated that the robot, named Optimus, would […] More
Women in Scotland have reached a significant milestone in business, with female entrepreneurs now equalling the number of male entrepreneurs for the first time. A recent report indicates that women were initiating and managing new businesses at almost the same rate as men last year. The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), an annual survey of entrepreneurship, […] More
BT has been fined £17.5m for a significant failure in its emergency call handling service, which resulted in thousands of 999 calls not being connected. The network fault occurred on June 25 last year and lasted for over 10 hours, causing 14,000 emergency calls to fail. An investigation by Ofcom, the regulator overseeing the 999 […] More
Europe’s largest airline by passenger numbers revealed it had engaged in more discounting than anticipated during the three months ending in June, resulting in an average fare decrease of 15%, with no end in sight for the need for markdowns. Profit after tax dropped by 46% to €360m (£303m), significantly below market analysts’ expectations of […] More
Companies associated with a Russian espionage network have resumed purchasing machinery from a German toolmaker, just months after the manufacturer was cautioned about sales to the same smuggling operation. An investigation by the Financial Times revealed that Heller Tools, a Dinklage-based company established in the 19th century, sold $1.2 million worth of drills and other […] More
Artificial intelligence that scans GP records to find hidden patterns has significantly improved cancer detection rates. The use of the “C the Signs” AI tool has increased the detection rate from 58.7% to 66.0% in GP practices. This tool analyzes a patient’s medical record, including medical history, test results, prescriptions, treatments, and other personal characteristics […] More
Campaigners argue that the chaos caused by last week’s global IT outage highlights the risks of moving towards a cashless society. Supermarkets, banks, pubs, cafes, train stations, and airports were all affected by the failure of Microsoft systems on Friday, rendering many unable to process electronic payments. The impact was particularly severe for businesses that […] More