UK ‘minded’ to intervene in Paramount’s $110bn takeover of Warner Bros Discovery
Posted on Tuesday June 30, 2026

Lisa Nandy to ask regulators to assess mega-merger involving Channel 5, CNN and TNT Sports on grounds of media plurality and competition

The UK culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, intends to ask Britain’s media and competition watchdogs to examine Paramount’s $110bn (£85bn) acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery.

The WBD takeover deal will create a media powerhouse controlling assets ranging from: the Hollywood studios behind franchises including Superman, Batman and Top Gun; the UK’s Channel 5; the news channel CNN; TNT Sports, which broadcasts Champions League, Premier League and the Olympics; and the Paramount+ and HBO Max streaming services.

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EU halves duty-free steel quota but UK and other partners given better rate
Posted on Tuesday June 30, 2026

Thirteen countries with a free trade agreement with Brussels have their quota reduced by just one-third

• Business live – latest updates

The EU has halved the amount of duty-free steel it will accept from abroad, but has agreed higher import volumes for more than a dozen trading partners, including Britain.

However, some steel producers have been hit harder than others with Tata Steel UK, Britain’s biggest producer, revealing its duty-free exports have been slashed by 60%.

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‘Commanding heights of the economy’: the postwar blueprint that inspires Burnham
Posted on Tuesday June 30, 2026

In the second of a series on nationalisation, we look at the lessons from Clement Attlee’s administration

• Will Andy Burnham ‘go big’ in expanding the role of the state?

A prime minister with ambitious plans for state ownership. Private companies that put profits before investment. A country struggling with onerous debts.

The UK in 2026 with a new prime minister weighing up how and what price public utilities can be nationalised? No, this was Clement Attlee’s government in 1945, committed to taking over the commanding heights of the economy at a time when the country was on its uppers.

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US treasury secretary warns oil and gas companies to lower prices: ‘we’re watching’
Posted on Tuesday June 30, 2026

Scott Bessent says he ‘encourages them to be good actors’ after Trump ranted about prices not dropping fast enough

Scott Bessent, the US treasury secretary, issued a veiled warning to oil and gas companies to lower their prices on Tuesday, a day after Donald Trump berated those retailers on social media for not dropping their prices fast enough and demanded they target $2.50 a gallon.

“I would encourage them to be good actors, especially in the 250th anniversary, because we’re watching,” Bessent said in an interview with Fox News on Tuesday morning, addressing big oil, independent and international retailers.

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UK watchdog plans to break Apple and Google’s ‘effective duopoly’ on mobile app stores
Posted on Tuesday June 30, 2026

CMA says developers should be able to steer users away from app stores for payments to increase competition

• Business live – latest updates

The UK’s competition watchdog is challenging Apple and Google’s “effective duopoly” over mobile platforms by allowing developers to steer users away from their app stores to make purchases.

The Competition and Markets Authority argues that consumers and app owners are being let down by Apple and Google restrictions on spending money outside their app stores.

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‘There’s this deep mystery of what, actually, is this thing?’: the philosopher inside Google DeepMind AI
Posted on Tuesday June 30, 2026

Since 2017, Iason Gabriel has worked at the tech giant, trying to anticipate – and think through – the impact of AI. But as commercial and geopolitical pressures escalate, can ethicists make any difference?

In 2017, a 33-year-old political philosopher named Iason Gabriel was told by a friend that he ought to apply for a job at DeepMind, the London-based subsidiary of Google where much of its AI research was concentrated. The suggestion was not an obvious one.

Gabriel was a cheerful but intense junior academic with a passion for Vipassana meditation and what his brother calls “enthusiastic” rock climbing. The eldest son of a Greek management professor and a British documentary maker, Gabriel split his time between teaching and international development work. At the University of Oxford, where he was a fellow at St John’s College, Gabriel taught courses on political theory and wrote papers on the moral contortions of “yuppie ethics” and the ethical blind spots of effective altruism. When he wasn’t there, he did crisis work for the United Nations Development Programme in Sudan and Lebanon.

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Wimbledon 2026: Swiatek battles through, Zverev in action before Serena Williams return – live
Posted on Tuesday June 30, 2026

Updates from day two | Serena on her SW19 return
Swan glides through but Boulter beaten | Email Katy

Next no No 3: Alex de Minaur (5) v Roman Andres Burruchaga.

Next on No 2: Otto Virtanen v Ben Shelton (4).

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Côte d’Ivoire v Norway: World Cup 2026 last 32 – live
Posted on Tuesday June 30, 2026

⚽️ Kick-off time: 12pm local/1pm EDT/6pm BST/3am AEST
⚽️ Player guide | Bracketology | Golden Boot | Mail Scott

Pre-match postbag. “This one is an interesting game. Ivory Coast are a team who when I looked at squad before the tournament, I was surprised at the number of good players they have and they’ve done well so far beating Ecuador and almost holding Germany (although yesterday might be putting that result in perspective). Norway are favourites but I’ve got to think the resting of so many players against France and basically throwing that game has put them under enormous pressure today. Lose today and that decision will come under enormous scrutiny. I heard the great Phillipe Auclair on World Cup Daily mention a lot of Norwegian fans were not happy with that and something like that can puncture the feel-good mood around a team. Despite all that, I’m going for Norway to win 3-1 with Haaland getting at least two goals” – John

“Will be an engaging match and both teams are quite physical and pressing in their game. But can anyone stop Haaland when he is in his groove?” – krishnamoorthy v

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