
UK watchdog to look at Paramount’s $110bn takeover of Warner Bros Discovery
Posted on Tuesday June 09, 2026
Deal to create a streaming and sports powerhouse will be scrutinised by Competition and Markets Authority
The UK competition watchdog has opened an investigation into Paramount Skydance’s $110bn (£82bn) takeover of Warner Bros Discovery (WBD).
The deal will create a media powerhouse controlling assets including the Paramount and HBO Max streaming services, Channel 5 and TNT Sports, which broadcasts Champions League, Premier League and the Olympics, the Hollywood studios behind franchises including Superman, Batman and Top Gun, as well as HBO, home to shows including Game of Thrones, The White Lotus and Succession.
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UK’s biggest retailers urge government to act on youth unemployment
Posted on Tuesday June 09, 2026
Bosses of M&S, Sainsbury’s and Tesco among those writing to Starmer that the ‘ladder of opportunity’ is wobbling
Some of the UK’s biggest retailers are planning to write to the prime minister urging him to tackle the youth unemployment crisis, with signatories expected to include the bosses of Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s and Tesco.
Lobby group the British Retail Consortium said it had drafted a letter to Keir Starmer calling for action, and is circulating it among its 200 members, which include all the main UK retailers (with the exception of Games Workshop) as well as smaller shops. The letter is expected to be published on Wednesday.
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Car finance payouts could be delayed by years over legal challenges, says FCA
Posted on Tuesday June 09, 2026
Complaints-led approach could pile £6bn of extra costs on to lenders, says City watchdog
The City watchdog has warned that a wave of legal challenges to the compensation scheme for victims of the motor finance scandal could leave drivers waiting three more years for payouts, while piling £6bn of extra costs on to lenders.
Bosses at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), who have consistently hit out at lenders and a consumer claims group for challenging its scheme, told MPs the scandal could affect lenders for years, and have “consequences” by stretching its resources.
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Former Burberry boss leads rescue mission for Burleigh Pottery
Posted on Tuesday June 09, 2026
175-year-old Stoke-on-Trent company says Christopher Bailey’s investment will ensure continued production
Christopher Bailey, the fashion designer who turned the British trenchcoat maker Burberry into a global brand, has acquired the Stoke-on-Trent company Burleigh Pottery along with a small group of private investors.
The ceramics company, founded in 1851 and best known for its intricate floral designs, said Bailey’s investment would ensure that production of its cups, saucers and plates could continue without interruption at the city’s Middleport Pottery site.
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Why do the right’s Henry Nowak protests look like a party? Distasteful as it is, they’re having fun | Jonathan Liew
Posted on Tuesday June 09, 2026

A cage-fighting arena is just what Trump’s White House lawn needed. I have a suggestion on how to use it | Marina Hyde
Posted on Tuesday June 09, 2026

Let this be a warning – if Europe worries about Trump, it has even more reason to fear JD Vance | Gaby Hinsliff
Posted on Tuesday June 09, 2026

Sign up to Matters of Opinion: a weekly newsletter from our columnists and writers
Posted on Thursday June 26, 2025


Young people need money because our system is rigged. Here’s a way to give it to them | Polly Toynbee
Posted on Tuesday June 09, 2026

The hill I will die on: Marmite is an insipid English imitation of Vegemite – the true Aussie hero | Kathy Lette
Posted on Tuesday June 09, 2026

Is Switzerland tired of prosperity? I can think of no other reason for our next foolish referendum | Joseph de Weck
Posted on Tuesday June 09, 2026

What to do as murder is exploited to spread lies about race and privilege? Stand firm – fight back | Nesrine Malik
Posted on Monday June 08, 2026

Look at the protests Jared Kushner has caused in Albania. This could be a shining light for Europe | Lea Ypi
Posted on Monday June 08, 2026

Ella Baron on social division and the spread of disinformation – cartoon
Posted on Tuesday June 09, 2026

The Guardian view on Ukraine and the prospects of peace: time to ramp up the pressure on Putin | Editorial
Posted on Tuesday June 09, 2026

Palantir to sue Sadiq Khan over blocked £50m Met police contract
Posted on Tuesday June 09, 2026
US spy-tech company to challenge London mayor’s intervention after he raised concerns over breach of procurement rules
Palantir intends to sue the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, after he blocked a contract between the US spy-tech firm and the Metropolitan police.
The Met had planned to use Palantir’s software to automate intelligence analysis in criminal investigations, until Khan intervened in late May, sparking a row between the UK’s largest police force and the mayor’s office.
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Spyware firm targeted WhatsApp users in defiance of US court order, Meta says
Posted on Tuesday June 09, 2026
Tech company says it ‘caught and disrupted’ NSO Group’s attempts to access accounts in Jordan and Lebanon
A spyware firm has been targeting WhatsApp users with malicious links in contravention of a US court order forbidding it from doing so, Meta has said.
In a post, Meta said WhatsApp had “caught and disrupted spear phishing attempts” by NSO Group, which a spokesperson said targeted a handful of users in Jordan and Lebanon. It had also caught the group creating “test accounts and groups” on WhatsApp.
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Ben Stokes set to be left out of England squad for second New Zealand Test
Posted on Tuesday June 09, 2026
England captain considering his long-term future
ECB continuing investigation into nightclub incident
Ben Stokes is highly unlikely to be included in England’s squad for the second Test against New Zealand after the 35-year-old asked for space and time to consider his long-term future amid the fallout from a nightclub incident in the early hours of Monday morning.
The England and Wales Cricket Board is determined to bring the latest furore surrounding the culture of the men’s Test team under control before the start of the Women’s World Cup on Friday, with a temporary end to Stokes’s time as captain expected to be confirmed when the squad is announced within the next 48 hours.
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Bukayo Saka is playing through pain barrier, says Tuchel, as World Cup looms
Posted on Tuesday June 09, 2026
Arsenal forward still struggling with achilles injury
‘Bukayo is just not there yet. Some things are missing’
Bukayo Saka continues to play through the pain of an achilles injury, according to the England manager, Thomas Tuchel, and must be managed carefully as the start of the World Cup looms large.
The Arsenal winger joined up with the England squad in West Palm Beach on Saturday after being given an extra week off after his involvement in the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain. Tuchel gave a similar break to his other Arsenal players Declan Rice, Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke.
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