7 h. ago Major energy company offering 34 hours of free electricity from May

OVO Energy is giving it away

Science

13 h. ago ‘Do something with your actions. Don’t just write a cheque’: Bonnie Raitt on activism, making men cry and 38 years of sobriety

Going back out on tour, the 13-time Grammy winner recalls stark inspirations and steamy studio sessions as she answers your questionsYou’ve had a decades-long career. When did you first feel that you had “made it”? LondonLuvverI wasn’t expecting to do music for a job. I was into social activism in college, and I just had music as a hobby. My boyfriend managed a bunch of blues artists and I asked if I could open for some of them – just to have fun and hang out with my heroes. Unbeknown to me, there really weren’t any women playing blues guitar and doing the mix of songs [I was], and I immediately got more offers of gigs and even a record company offer within about a year. That first gig I got under my own name, when I was 19, was a total surprise: that’s when I felt I had made it.How was it growing up with a father [John Raitt] who was such a big Broadway star? Abbeyorchards7He had hits in the 1940s with Carousel, and in the 50s with The Pajama Game. By the time I was 10 or 11, he wa...

Politics

29 h. ago Investors approve Czech Sphinx's £3.6bn Royal Mail bid: Postal service falls into foreign hands for first time

Daniel Kretinsky (pictured), an energy tycoon nicknamed the 'Czech Sphinx', swooped on Royal Mail with a £3.6bn offer for the company last year.

Economics

38 h. ago Interactive map shows all 1,300 major renewable energy developments across Scottish Highlands

There are more than 1,300 records of applications on the Highland map.

Politics

62 h. ago Madrid Open tennis resumes after chaos caused by massive power outage

Caja Mágica power restored at 8am on Tuesday morningWidespread outage emerged in Spain and PortugalThe Madrid Open resumed on Tuesday afternoon after a massive power outage left Spain and Portugal without electricity on Monday and forced the tournament to suspend all matches after 90 minutes of play. After about 10 hours without electricity and mobile internet for most people in Madrid, power to homes and phones returned late on Monday night, prompting widespread cheers in the streets. However, the Caja Mágica, which is situated in the southern neighbourhood of San Fermín, remained without power overnight.At 7am, the Madrid Open announced that the opening of the gates had been delayed. An hour later, power was finally restored. Although play normally begins at 11am, it started at noon on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Events

3 d. ago Power begins to return to Spain and Portugal after unprecedented blackout

The outage, blamed by operators on temperature variations, left tens of millions without electricitySpain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has said “everything possible is being done” overnight to restore power to all parts of the country following an unprecedented regional blackout that left tens of millions of people across the Iberian peninsular without power.Speaking late on Monday night, Sánchez said the idea was to get the power back on across Spain on Tuesday, adding that 50% of the national electricity supply had been restored in the past few hours. Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago Solar panels thought to have been made by slave labour in China to be BANNED following major U

In a major U-turn, energy minister Ed Miliband is set to introduce amended legislation that will require GB Energy to ensure that 'slavery and human trafficking is not taking place' in its supply chain.

Events

2 w. ago British Steel to deploy emergency measures to save Scunthorpe furnaces

Firm in race against time to get key materials as business secretary says no guarantee it will get what it needsBritish Steel is to deploy emergency measures in a race against time to save the blast furnaces at Scunthorpe, as the business secretary refused to guarantee the plant could get what it needed in time.The company is understood to be looking at offers of help from more than a dozen businesses to obtain materials such as iron ore and coking coal, potentially allowing it to avoid the temporary shutdown of one of the two furnaces. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Parliament approves British Steel bill as sources say owners blocked from entering Scunthorpe plant – live

The Steel Industry (Special Measures) has now passed through the House of Lords and is awaiting royal assentIt’s been a busy morning for Sarah Jones, who is now on BBC Breakfast.Asked whether the government had received any private offers for the company’s Scunthorpe plant, Sarah Jones said:There is not at the moment, to answer your question, a private company that is there willing to invest at this point.When we came into government, there was a deal on the table with Tata Steel in Port Talbot.We negotiated in 10 weeks a much better deal, but there was a private company willing to invest, who are now investing.We are hoping that the company will co-operate with what we are asking them to do, we hope that we will give them a notice and they will continue.If they do not, we will step in. Now the company will be liable for any costs that we incur, and we will seek to get that money back.We have the £2.5 billion fund for steel which we had in our manifesto, that we will use if necessar...

Politics

2 w. ago MPs approve British Steel bill after Chinese owners’ ‘excessive’ demands – live

Bill now proceeds to the House of Lords for debate and passageIt’s been a busy morning for Sarah Jones, who is now on BBC Breakfast.Asked whether the government had received any private offers for the company’s Scunthorpe plant, Sarah Jones said:There is not at the moment, to answer your question, a private company that is there willing to invest at this point.When we came into government, there was a deal on the table with Tata Steel in Port Talbot.We negotiated in 10 weeks a much better deal, but there was a private company willing to invest, who are now investing.We are hoping that the company will co-operate with what we are asking them to do, we hope that we will give them a notice and they will continue.If they do not, we will step in. Now the company will be liable for any costs that we incur, and we will seek to get that money back.We have the £2.5 billion fund for steel which we had in our manifesto, that we will use if necessary, so there will be no extra costs to the Exch...

Politics

2 w. ago MPs debate emergency law to take control of British Steel after Chinese owners’ ‘excessive’ demands – live

No 10 has published a draft law that would give the business secretary the power to direct the companyIt’s been a busy morning for Sarah Jones, who is now on BBC Breakfast.Asked whether the government had received any private offers for the company’s Scunthorpe plant, Sarah Jones said:There is not at the moment, to answer your question, a private company that is there willing to invest at this point.When we came into government, there was a deal on the table with Tata Steel in Port Talbot.We negotiated in 10 weeks a much better deal, but there was a private company willing to invest, who are now investing.We are hoping that the company will co-operate with what we are asking them to do, we hope that we will give them a notice and they will continue.If they do not, we will step in. Now the company will be liable for any costs that we incur, and we will seek to get that money back.We have the £2.5 billion fund for steel which we had in our manifesto, that we will use if necessary, so ...

Society

2 w. ago MPs debating emergency law to take control of British Steel – live

No 10 has published a draft law that would give the business secretary the power to direct the companyIt’s been a busy morning for Sarah Jones, who is now on BBC Breakfast.Asked whether the government had received any private offers for the company’s Scunthorpe plant, Sarah Jones said:There is not at the moment, to answer your question, a private company that is there willing to invest at this point.When we came into government, there was a deal on the table with Tata Steel in Port Talbot.We negotiated in 10 weeks a much better deal, but there was a private company willing to invest, who are now investing.We are hoping that the company will co-operate with what we are asking them to do, we hope that we will give them a notice and they will continue.If they do not, we will step in. Now the company will be liable for any costs that we incur, and we will seek to get that money back.We have the £2.5 billion fund for steel which we had in our manifesto, that we will use if necessary, so ...

Society

2 w. ago Shein closer to London IPO after securing watchdog’s approval, reports say

The company has been in talks over an initial public offering (IPO) on the London Stock Exchange over the past year.

Politics

3 w. ago Zonal electricity pricing 'would give Scots living close to windfarms cheaper bills'

Major supplier Octopus Energy says a pricing shake-up could end Scotland's rural fuel poverty crisis with 44% of households in remote areas struggling with bills.

Science

3 w. ago Energy suppliers issued warning over delays to scheme which could cut bills by up to £332

The warning came from regulator Ofgem and Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Ed Miliband, who wrote to the CEOs of the UK's major energy suppliers today

Events

3 w. ago Major fashion giant announces it's closing 20 stores in latest blow to shoppers

Americcan brand Guess is set to close nearly two dozen stores in a major blow for fashion customers as company bosses consider a multi-hundred-million dollar lifeline offer

Politics