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Reeves set to back self-driving car firm with tens of millions in taxpayer funding

Rachel Reeves is preparing to channel tens of millions of pounds of public money into a British self-driving technology company as Labour moves to accelerate the rollout of autonomous vehicles on UK roads. The £28bn National Wealth Fund (NWF), backed by the Treasury, is understood to be close to agreeing a major investment in Oxa, the Oxford-founded driverless vehicle start-up previously known as Oxbotica. The business was established in 2014 by Oxford University academic Professor...

Employers rethink healthcare benefits as weight-loss drugs reshape workplace provision

UK employers are being forced to reassess their healthcare and benefits strategies as demand for weight-management drugs surges among employees, according to new research. More than a quarter of UK workers have already used a weight-management drug such as Ozempic, while two in five believe their employer should fund access to these treatments through workplace healthcare plans. As a result, 44 per cent of employers say they are now reviewing, or fundamentally redesigning, their healthcare...

Iran accused of killing 16,500 in sweeping ‘genocide’ crackdown: report

Iranian protesters are facing their deadliest days yet as security forces unleash mass killings and executions in a sweeping crackdown some have labeled ‘genocide,’ new reports say. According to The Sunday Times, a report compiled by doctors entrenched in the region and reviewed by the outlet, estimates that security forces have killed at least 16,500 protesters and injured more than 330,000 others. The report also described the violence as an ‘utter slaughter,’ warning that the...

Russia plots major strike on Europe’s largest nuclear plant power lines: source

Russia is preparing to target Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant’s power lines in a move that could unfold within days, according to a source familiar with the matter. Ukrainian officials had said Moscow’s plan was focused on high-voltage transmission infrastructure rather than direct strikes on nuclear reactors, but a source has since claimed the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant lines (ZNPP) are Moscow’s focus. In a statement released Jan. 17, the Main Directorate of Intelligence of...

Why Trump zeroed in on Greenland and why it matters in 3 maps

Greenland rarely draws global attention. But as ice melts and great powers inch closer, the world’s largest island has become a strategic prize — one that caught President Donald Trump’s eye long before most Americans were paying attention. A semi-autonomous territory of Denmark, Greenland is home to a key U.S. military base and has become increasingly important to global security and trade as melting ice opens new shipping lanes and access to natural resources. That...

Six countries confirm US invitations to Gaza peace board

The United States has extended invitations to multiple foreign governments to join President Donald Trump’s ‘Board of Peace,’ with at least six countries confirming on Sunday that they were invited. The Associated Press reported the six countries are: Jordan, Greece, Cyprus, Pakistan, Hungary and India. Canada, Turkey, Egypt, Paraguay, Argentina and Albania have already said they too were invited, according to the outlet. The White House on Friday released a statement outlining the next phase...

Nobel Foundation weighs in after Machado presents Peace Prize to Trump

The Nobel Foundation weighed in Sunday after Venezuela’s opposition leader gifted her Nobel Peace Prize to President Donald Trump. Maria Corina Machado gave her Peace Prize to Trump during a meeting at the White House last week. The Nobel Foundation pushed back on the legitimacy of such a transfer on Sunday, however. ‘One of the core missions of the Nobel Foundation is to safeguard the dignity of the Nobel Prizes and their administration. The Foundation...

Trump accuses Tim Walz and Ilhan Omar of using ICE protests to distract from massive state fraud

President Donald Trump lashed out at Minnesota Democrats on social media Sunday, saying they were using the ongoing federal operations to distract from the state’s massive fraud issue. Trump made the statement on his Truth Social media platform, saying federal agents in Minneapolis and St. Paul were targeting ‘violent criminals.’ ‘ICE is removing some of the most violent criminals in the World from our Country, and bring them back home, where they belong. Why is...

Amazon tests Coventry warehouse staff for tuberculosis after outbreak

Amazon is carrying out tuberculosis (TB) testing at its Coventry fulfilment centre after a small number of workers were found to have the infectious lung disease. The company confirmed that screening is taking place as a precaution, following the identification of several cases at the site, which employs around 2,000 people, according to the GMB union. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) began a targeted screening programme at the warehouse in September after a handful...

ChatGPT to carry adverts for some users as OpenAI searches for new revenue

Adverts will soon begin appearing inside OpenAI’s flagship chatbot ChatGPT, as the company looks for new ways to monetise one of the world’s most widely used AI tools. OpenAI has confirmed it will trial advertising in ChatGPT in the United States, with adverts shown to some users on the free version of the service as well as a new lower-cost subscription tier, ChatGPT Go. ChatGPT Go will be priced at $8 a month in the...