United Kingdom

The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons because of his age, was previously due to be sentenced on 2 September - but proceedings were adjourned when the court learned the boy's mother was on holiday in Ibiza.

The boy was accompanied by his uncle instead, but District Judge Joanne Hirst told Manchester Magistrates' Court she was "frankly astonished" and ordered a parental summons for the mother to explain herself.

The 30-year-old single mother, who also cannot be named because that would identify her son, appeared at the court on Wednesday alongside him and told the judge the Spanish island break had cost £1,200.

She had decided to fly abroad for the five-day trip the day before her son was due to appear in court last week to be sentenced after admitting two counts of violent disorder.

Explaining her absence, she told the judge she spoke with her solicitor and the Youth Justice team: "It was not put to me how much I needed to be there. Each one said, 'Is there an appropriate adult?' My brother - which is why I went on holiday."

...

She told the youngster, who has ADHD, he had been involved in "the worst type of feral behaviour in our country" and if an adult, he would be going to jail for up to five years.

However, the judge said she was giving him a "chance" and instead ordered him to complete a 12-month referral order.

He was described as a "lovely" child by his mother, but who had at times a "chaotic" home life.

The boy told the judge he was "sorry" and that he was receiving help from social workers and had taken up boxing.

Previously; Boy, 12, cannot be sentenced over riots after mum left for Ibiza holiday

Think of British cultural exports in the 21st century and you might reach for the familiar examples: James Bond, Downton Abbey, Adele.

But in the algorithm-driven universe of TikTok where a trend known as “Britishcore” is one of the most in demand movements of the moment, it’s the mundane aspects of life in the UK which are going viral.

Britishcore first emerged as a cultural term at the turn of the decade, to describe ramshackle symbols of British life such as dilapidated pubs and lone traffic cones.

Now it has spread to include videos inspired by Trainspotting, lip-synching to Towie stars and satirical celebrations of the Oasis reunion.>

TikTok has flagged a surge in interest for UK fashion, comedy and travel on its platform as evidence of renewed interest in British culture – and typically wry takes on it.

...

In one TikTok, US content creator @the_quivey10 lists the things he wants to do when he comes to England. They include everyday activities popularised by BritishCore TikToks such as going on a “cheeky Tesco run” and grabbing a Greggs sausage roll.

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Alwyn Turner, senior lecturer at the University of Chichester and an expert in British popular culture, said a “sense of cheekiness” is what links together some of the UK’s most popular cultural exports.

An anti-corruption charity says it has identified significant concerns in contracts worth over £15.3bn awarded by the Conservative government during the Covid pandemic, equivalent to one in every £3 spent.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/2686908

One of UK's oldest nuclear waste storage silos is currently leaking radioactive liquid into the ground. That is a “recurrence of a historic leak” that Sellafield Ltd, the company that operates the site, says first started in the 1970s.

Sellafield has also faced questions about its working culture and adherence to safety rules. The company is currently awaiting sentencing after it pleaded guilty, in June, to charges related to cyber-security failings.

Chinese car giant Chery is weighing up the possibility of building cars in the UK, according to a senior executive.

Its UK head Victor Zhang told the BBC it was a "matter of time" before the company made a final decision.

He said Chery, which is already preparing to build cars in Spain, was determined to take a "localised" approach to the European market.

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Chery, which was set up in 1997, is one of China’s largest car companies. It is already the country’s biggest exporter of vehicles, but has ambitious plans to expand further.

To help take that plan forward, it has set up two new brands focused entirely on the international market, Omoda and Jaecoo.

Last month, Omoda was officially launched in the UK. It has begun selling a mainstream SUV, the Omoda 5, in both electric and petrol-powered versions.

It has built a network of 60 dealerships, and hopes to have more than 100 here by the end of the year.

But it is far from the only Chinese manufacturer to see the British market as potentially lucrative.

BYD, which has been vying with Tesla for the title of the world's biggest manufacturer of electric cars, has also opened dozens of dealerships here.

SAIC is already well-established in the UK, selling cars under the classic British MG marque.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/2595305

Two sanctioned Russian oligarchs have become part-owners of the UK's largest oil producer after it completed a deal to buy a German firm.

LetterOne, the investment company part-owned by oligarchs Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven, now owns nearly 15% of Harbour Energy.

LetterOne itself is not sanctioned, and the two Russians have no contact with the firm and don't receive any share of its profits.

Harbour Energy is the largest oil and gas producer in UK waters. It has bought most of the oil and gas production assets of a Germany-based firm, Wintershall DEA, from the chemicals giant BASF.

"A mass grave containing more than 300 bodies, including babies and children, has been uncovered.

An unmarked burial site at Royton Cemetery in Oldham contained 145 stillborn children, 128 babies and young children and 29 adults, local councillors said..."

The UK's competition regulator has launched an investigation into Oasis ticket sales after widespread complaints over pricing.

The investigation is also set to include a wider probe into how "dynamic pricing" was used during the sale.

Ticketmaster's dynamic pricing meant that when reunion tour tickets went on sale, prices would rise in-line with demand.

The 90s Brit rock icons announced two extra Wembley Stadium shows as part of their 2025 UK tour on Wednesday, after "phenomenal demand" for tickets left many fans empty handed during the main sale on Saturday.

Tickets for the band's tour went for up to £350 per ticket, around £200 more than had been advertised.

In response to widespread uproar over pricing, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) today announced it has launched an investigation.

The CMA confirmed it is now scrutinising whether the sale of Oasis tickets by Ticketmaster may have breached consumer protection law.

The probe follows Oasis' comments hitting out at Ticketmaster's pricing policy, with many fans pay over the odds to secure access to the tour.

In an apparent response to the anger about dynamic pricing, they say tickets will be sold by a 'staggered, invitation-only ballot process'.

Was aware of the 7726 short code for spammers

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/phone-internet-downloads-or-tv/stop-getting-nuisance-calls-and-texts/

but never heard of 159 before.

Heads up?

Ministers have been urged to treat suicide as a public health crisis after the rate at which people killed themselves in England and Wales reached the highest level in more than two decades.

The official figures, described by the suicide prevention charity Samaritans as “worse than expected”, showed 6,069 suicides were registered in the two nations in 2023, up from 5,642 in 2022 and the highest rate since 1999.

Three-quarters of the deaths were of males, but the female suicide rate reached its highest level since 1994, according to the annual Office for National Statistics figures.

“Rates increased across all age groups compared to 2022, especially among those aged 45 to 64 years,” said Vahé Nafilyan, the head of data and analysis for social care and health at the ONS.

“Suicide rates either increased or remained unchanged in each of the nine English regions, but the north-west saw the largest rise.

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In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counsellor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org

Archived link

UK government to equip teachers with AI tools to help them "mark and plan lessons"

The project, which has £4 million of government investment behind it, will feed government documents – including curriculum guidance, lesson plans, and anonymized pupil assessments – into AI models, which will then spit out "accurate, high quality content."

[...]

The £4 million in funding will be divided into £3 million for the content store itself – which will consist of teaching standards, guidelines, and lesson plans – and £1 million for AI companies that come up with "the best ideas to put the data into practice to reduce teacher workload."

Moves to deal with teacher workload have been broadly welcomed, although the use of AI was greeted with caution.

[...]

The journalists asked the government how anonymity will be protected in the training set and how the scenario where an AI might end up marking homework generated by an AI from a lesson plan produced by an AI might be avoided, but they have yet to receive a response, the article says.

Fish and chips is a British family favourite equally enjoyed around the table on a Friday night or out of the paper on an often overcast beach.

But the deep fried delicacy has seen the biggest price increase of some of the UK’s most popular takeaways, according to new figures.

The average price for a portion of fish and chips rose more than 50% to nearly £10 in the five years to July – while the cost of a kebab went up 44% and pizza 30%.

Chip shop owners cite a "perfect storm" of costs in recent years, including soaring energy bills, tariffs on seafood imports and extreme weather hammering potato harvests.

This all means a family of four won't get much change out of a £50 note once they've forked out for their tea and added some mushy peas and cans of pop.

People in crisis with mental health problems can now access services through NHS 111, giving them another way to get urgent help.

It makes the NHS in England one of the first countries to offer such a support service for mental health issues, as well as for physical problems.

The number connects to a local team of call handlers with mental health training, alongside nurses and clinicians who are available around the clock.

The team can organise a mental health assessment, send out a crisis team and flag up help available in the local area.

It is an increasingly common message from websites: browse for free - if you allow us to track your data and target you with personalised ads - if you don't, hand over some cash.

The model is known as "consent or pay" and, while it may be becoming increasingly common, questions remain over whether it is ethical or even legal.

The UK data regulator, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has launched a consultation, external on the practice - it will report its findings later this year.

"In principle, data protection law does not prohibit business models that involve 'consent or pay,'" the ICO says on its website.

But it continues: "However, any organisation considering such a model must be careful to ensure that consent... has been freely given and is fully informed, as well as capable of being withdrawn without detriment."
[…]
Newspapers such as MailOnline, The Sun, The Independent and The Times have all recently brought in "consent or pay" models.

"It's basically saying, 'We're giving people a choice. They can either pay and get ad-free access to our articles, or they can be tracked, or they can walk away and not read it,'" Philippa Donn says.

This question being considered by the ICO and others is - is that a fair choice?