Great Britain’s grid operator pays £10m for extra power to avoid supply crunch tonight
Posted on Wednesday June 24, 2026

Neso expected to pay millions to secure enough electricity to meet demand as households turn on fans and air conditioning

Great Britain’s grid operator is expected to pay millions to fire up gas power plants to avoid a rare summer power supply crunch on Wednesday evening as extreme heat puts pressure on the energy system.

The National Energy System Operator (Neso) is expected to pay about £10m on Wednesday to secure enough electricity to meet demand as households turn on air conditioners and electric fans, according to industry data.

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BT pension scheme lost £300m on Thames Water stake
Posted on Wednesday June 24, 2026

Loss came after decision to write off 8.7% equity stake in water company moving closer towards nationalisation

The BT pension scheme lost £300m after writing off its holding in Thames Water, the UK’s largest water company that is buckling under a £20bn debt pile.

The loss came after the telecoms company’s decision to write off its 8.7% equity stake in Thames in 2024, according to a presentation to analysts captured in a video, in news first reported by the Financial Times.

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Trump says he’s ordered investigation into oil companies over alleged price gouging
Posted on Wednesday June 24, 2026

Trump says he instructed justice department to investigate oil firms over high gas prices amid Middle East conflict

Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he had instructed the US Department of Justice to investigate oil companies for alleged price gouging, accusing them of not lowering gas prices enough amid conflict in the Middle East.

“The big oil companies are not dropping their price at the pump commensurate with the sharply lower prices they are paying for oil. Those prices are dropping like a rock! In other words, customers are being ‘gouged.’ I have instructed the DOJ to immediately start looking into this,” Trump wrote in a social media post late on Tuesday night. “Gasoline prices better start going down a lot faster than what I’m seeing!”

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‘Walking a tightrope’: Burnham’s borrowing plans clash with fiscal realities
Posted on Wednesday June 24, 2026

The man tipped for No 10 could also come under immediate pressure if his chancellor is deemed by bond markets to be too left-wing

Andy Burnham would enter Downing Street already “boxed in” by financial markets if he signals a rise in borrowing to pay for a more expansive policy agenda, bond investors have warned.

The newly elected MP for Makerfield, who is widely expected to be the next prime minister, could also quickly come under pressure if he chooses a chancellor who is seen to be too leftwing by bond markets.

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Meta pauses employee tracker for AI training amid privacy concerns
Posted on Wednesday June 24, 2026

About 1,600 workers signed petition against tool that tracked staff keystrokes, mouse clicks and computer screen content

Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta has paused a program that tracked employees’ computer activity amid data privacy concerns and a staff backlash.

The owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp had introduced a tool that tracked staff keystrokes, mouse clicks and content displayed on computer screens in order to collect data for training its AI models.

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Chinese supercomputer leapfrogs best US machines to be ranked world’s fastest
Posted on Wednesday June 24, 2026

China’s LineShine debuts at number one in Top500 – a list sometimes viewed as a national measure of global tech prowess

A supercomputer in China now outranks its US counterparts as the world’s most powerful. It is the first time since 2017 that a Chinese computer has topped a list sometimes viewed as a measure of a nation’s technological prowess.

The LineShine computer in Shenzhen displaced top-ranked US computer El Capitan in the Top500 rankings released on Tuesday. It was LineShine’s debut on the list.

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World Cup 2026: Norway’s ‘Viking row’ celebration irks neighbours; Infantino defends hydration breaks – live
Posted on Wednesday June 24, 2026

⚽ All the latest news on a day packed with six matches
⚽ Player guide | Bracketology | Golden Boot | Mail John

How do we feel about the penalty that wasn’t?

I don’t really see how you can’t give it. Fatawu was in and Konsa launches into him, getting nowhere near the ball with no chance of getting at the ball – which makes it a red card too.

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Germany’s Kai Havertz: ‘I make runs that look pointless but I’m creating space’
Posted on Wednesday June 24, 2026

Forward on the misunderstanding of his role and momentum the four-time champions have put together for a winning World Cup campaign after topping their group

Kai Havertz is recalling the cocktail of feelings that swirled around his head in Budapest three-and-a-half weeks ago. Arsenal could not have lost the Champions League final in more agonising circumstances but the only available option was to straighten up and start smiling. They were due to set off on a bus around Islington for the Premier League trophy parade at 2pm the following day. Was this really the moment to bathe in a million onlookers’ adulation?

“To be honest, it was tough,” says Havertz, whose early goal against Paris Saint-Germain had looked a possible winner for nearly an hour. “After the match, I initially thought we would call the whole thing off. By the next morning, things looked different.”

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