Jim Ratcliffe apologises for ‘choice of language’ after saying immigrants ‘colonising’ UK
Posted on Thursday February 12, 2026

Monaco-based Manchester United co-owner responds to politicians’ and football fans’ anger at ‘disgraceful’ wordsUK politics live – latest updatesMonaco-based billionaire Jim Ratcliffe faced implicit criticism from the football club he co-owns, after widespread condemnation of his claims that the UK is being “colonised” by immigrants.The Manchester United co-owner was forced to issue a heavily qualified apology on Thursday after citing inaccurate immigration statisticsin comments labelled hypocritical and reminiscent of “far-right narratives”. Following a day of censure from the prime minister, football fans, union leaders and anti-racism campaigners, Ratcliffe said he was sorry his “choice of language has offended some people in the UK and Europe”. Continue reading...

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Attempt to modernise NS&I has been a ‘full-spectrum disaster’, MPs find
Posted on Friday February 13, 2026

Spending watchdog says state-owned bank exposed taxpayers to ‘unacceptable risk’ as cost spiral to £3bnAn attempt to modernise the state-owned savings bank NS&I has been a “full-spectrum disaster”, parliament’s spending watchdog has concluded in a damning report.NS&I (National Savings & Investments), which runs a popular monthly cash-prize draw for premium bond holders, has been criticised by a committee of MPs for exposing the taxpayer to “unacceptable risk” owing to the spiralling costs of its £3bn modernisation programme. Continue reading...

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Share values of property services firms tumble over fears of AI disruption
Posted on Thursday February 12, 2026

But, after second day of Wall Street falls, analysts say sell-off ‘may overstate AI’s immediate risk to complex deal-making’Shares in commercial property services companies have tumbled, in the latest sell-off driven by fears over disruption from artificial intelligence.After steep declines on Wall Street, European stocks in the sector were hit on Thursday. Continue reading...

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Share values of property services firms tumble over fears of AI disruption
Posted on Thursday February 12, 2026

But, after second day of Wall Street falls, analysts say sell-off ‘may overstate AI’s immediate risk to complex deal-making’Shares in commercial property services companies have tumbled, in the latest sell-off driven by fears over disruption from artificial intelligence.After steep declines on Wall Street, European stocks in the sector were hit on Thursday. Continue reading...

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Elon Musk posted about race almost every day in January
Posted on Thursday February 12, 2026

Many social media posts by Tesla CEO on his platform are indiscernible from those of white supremacists, say expertsElon Musk’s longtime fixation on a white racial majority is intensifying. The richest man in the world posted about how the white race was under threat, made allusions to race science or promoted anti-immigrant conspiracy content on 26 out of 31 days in January, according to the Guardian’s analysis of his social media output. The posts, made on his platform X, reflect a renewed embrace of what extremism experts describe as white supremacist material.“Whites are a rapidly dying minority,” Musk said on 22 January, a short time before taking the stage at the World Economic Forum in Davos, while reposting an Irish anti-immigrant influencer’s video about demographic change. Continue reading...

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Heraskevych’s ‘helmet of memory’ forces IOC on to PR back foot at Winter Olympics | Sean Ingle
Posted on Thursday February 12, 2026

Skeleton racer sacrificed his dream of winning a medal and succeeded in putting the horrors of the war in Ukraine back on the agendaTo be an Olympic-class skeleton racer requires extraordinary guts and impeccable nerve, as the corners loom and then whoosh past at frightening speed. So did anybody really believe that Ukraine’s Vladyslav Heraskevych would lose his when the world’s eyes were upon him?Not the International Olympic Committee, who flipped between threats of expulsion and sweet talk over the past fortnight, without coming close to changing his mind. And certainly not those of us who have spoken and messaged Heraskevych, and found a man utterly prepared to sacrifice his dream of winning a Winter Olympic medal for a higher purpose. Continue reading...

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Chloe Kim thwarted in bid for Olympic halfpipe three-peat by South Korea’s Choi Gaon
Posted on Thursday February 12, 2026

Choi wins snowboard halfpipe title with third runAmerican star takes silver behind strong first roundThe snowfall coming down on Livigno Snow Park on Thursday night helped produce one of the bigger Olympic upsets in snowboard history, as Chloe Kim’s bid to become the first rider to win three consecutive Olympic halfpipe gold medals fell just short.Kim finished with a best score of 88.00 from her opening run, settling for silver behind surprise winner Choi Gaon of South Korea, whose heroic third run after an early fall earned 90.25 and rewrote the Olympic record books. Japan’s Mitsuki Ono took bronze with 85.00. Continue reading...

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