41 m. ago British taxpayers lose £400m as result of investment fund set up by Sunak

Report shows 334 companies backed by Future Fund, set up in May 2020 by then chancellor, had since gone underBusiness live – latest updatesUK taxpayers have lost £400m after the collapse of hundreds of startups backed by a heavily-criticised Covid-era investment fund launched by former prime minister Rishi Sunak.The so-called Future Fund had originally spent £1.14bn backing 1,190 companies, including those not usually associated with government portfolios, such as the sex party organiser Killing Kittens and now-defunct festival tickets business Pollen. The fund also invested nearly £2m in companies linked to Sunak’s wife, Akshata Murty. Continue reading...

Economics

58 m. ago Joy Crookes: Juniper review | Alexis Petridis's album of the week

(Insanity)Four years ago, the south Londoner’s star was on the rise with her debut Skin – then she vanished. Now, she’s back with shimmering sounds and cleverly unsentimental lyrics, plus explosive cameos by Vince Staples and KanoIn an overcrowded pop market, where artists are encouraged to maintain a constant presence and stream of what’s depressingly termed “product”, south London singer-songwriter Joy Crookes’s career has progressed in a curious series of fits and starts. After releasing a series of EPs, she ended 2019 as a hotly tipped act: appearances on Later With Jools Holland, nominated for the Brits Rising Star award, placed high in the BBC’s Sound of 2020 poll, invited to support Harry Styles on tour. But the latter was nixed by Covid, and her real commercial breakthrough didn’t arrive for nearly two years: released at the tail-end of 2021, her debut album Skin made the Top 5 and, in Feet Don’t Fail Me Now, spawned one of those long-tail viral hits that achieves a weird om...

Politics

2 h. ago You're eating Maltesers wrong! Scientist reveals the best way to consume the treat

Many of us nibble off the outer chocolate before devouring the centre, or suck the treat without chewing. However, Megan Rushman, a scientist at Mars, claims there's a better technique.

Politics

2 h. ago Former Institute of Directors boss disqualified as a company director

The Insolvency Service said the move followed Covid loan abuse.

Politics

2 h. ago Man with Covid for over two years became virus incubator, scientists find

Findings confirm that coronavirus can evolve into variants of concern in people with compromised immunity

Science

3 h. ago You're eating Maltesers wrong! Scientist reveals the best way to consume the treat 

Many of us nibble off the outer chocolate before devouring the centre, or suck the treat without chewing. However, Megan Rushman, a scientist at Mars, claims there's a better technique.

Politics

3 h. ago Tui, easyJet and Ryanair among flights delayed 'worse than pre

Analysis by consumer group Which? found British Airways, easyJet, Jet2, Ryanair, Tui and Wizz Air were less punctual in the 12 months to the end of April than in 2019, before the virus crisis began

Politics

4 h. ago Chimps consume a pint of lager’s worth of alcohol every day in fruit, scientists find

Wild chimpanzees in Africa are consuming 14 grams of ethanol each day

Politics

4 h. ago Scientists declare ‘pivotal step’ in bringing back extinct dodo

American biotech firm claims it is on course to recreate a living bird in as little as five years

Politics

4 h. ago Doctor urges Brits to make three changes now as new Covid strain hits UK

A doctor has urged Brits to make three changes now to avoid catching the new Covid strain. Dr Kader said the virus is sweeping the UK at the moment as a result of the colder weather

Events

4 h. ago Why do some gamers invert their controls? Scientists now have answers, but they’re not what you think

The phenomenal response to an article we published on this question led to detailed cognitive research – and the findings have implications that go way beyond gamersFive years ago, on the verge of the first Covid lockdown, I wrote an article asking what seemed to be an extremely niche question: why do some people invert their controls when playing 3D games? A majority of players push down on the controller to make their onscreen character look down, and up to make them look up. But there is a sizeable minority who do the opposite, controlling their avatars like a pilot controls a plane, pulling back to go up. For most modern games, this requires going into the settings and reconfiguring the default controls. Why do they still persist?I thought a few hardcore gamers would be interested in the question. Instead, more than one million people read the article, and the ensuing debate caught the attention of Dr Jennifer Corbett (quoted in the original piece) and Dr Jaap Munneke, then base...

Politics

4 h. ago The island that banned hives: can honeybees actually harm nature?

On a tiny Italian island, scientists conducted a radical experiment to see if the bees were causing their wild cousins to declineOff the coast of Tuscany is a tiny island in the shape of a crescent moon. An hour from mainland Italy, Giannutri has just two beaches for boats to dock. In summer, hundreds of tourists flock there, hiking to the red and white lighthouse on its southern tip before diving into the clear waters. In winter, its population dwindles to 10. The island’s rocky ridges are coated with thickets of rosemary and juniper, and in warmer months the air is sweetened by flowers and the gentle hum of bees.“Residents are people who like fishing, or being alone, or who have retired. Everyone has their story,” says Leonardo Dapporto, associate professor at the University of Florence.Giannutri island’s remote location made it a perfect open-air laboratory for the bee experiments. Photographs: Giuseppe Nucci Continue reading...

Events

6 h. ago Global water cycle is more erratic and harder to predict, UN scientists warn

The World Meteorological Organisation’s 2024 state of global water resources report outlines the world’s freshwater availability and water storage.

Events

7 h. ago Baba Vanga's terrifying list of 2026 predictions – 'alien contact' and 'AI takeover'

The blind prophetess – world renowned for her accurate predictions, including the death of Princess Diana and the outbreak of Covid – has warned of the dangers 2026 could bring

Events

15 h. ago Solar storms set to batter Earth sparking blackouts and Northern Lights as NASA warns the sun is 'waking up'

A new study has surprised NASA scientists, who fear the sun is ramping up and could impact our planet over the next year.

Events

15 h. ago West Coast states issue joint vaccine recommendations ahead of CDC advisers meeting

Four Democratic-led Western states announced joint recommendations Wednesday about who should be vaccinated for seasonal respiratory viruses, including the flu and COVID-19, saying the Trump administration has jeopardized public health by politicizing the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Politics

15 h. ago Cheap tablet in millions of medicine cabinets fights bowel cancer, scientists discover

Bowel cancer-which also includes rectal and colon cancer-is one of the most aggressive and hard to treat forms of the disease.

Science

18 h. ago Scientists finally admit the Covid vaccines were ineffective

The World Health Organisation claims their roll-out prevented 14.4 million deaths worldwide in their first year, with some estimates closer to 20 million.

Science

20 h. ago Precious gold samples stolen in raid on French natural history museum

Museum says specimens taken are worth €600,000 based on price of gold but have ‘immeasurable heritage value’Historic gold samples with a street value of €600,000 but priceless to scientists and researchers have been stolen from the French national natural history museum in the latest of a series of museum robberies in France.“This has happened in a critical context for cultural establishments in France, particularly museums,” the Paris museum said. “Several public collections have been the victims of robberies in the past months.” Continue reading...

Culture

21 h. ago The Mancunian Way: The drug of choice for the Covid generation

PLUS: A case of mistaken identity

Events