Canada vows ‘dollar for dollar’ response as US puts 50% tariffs on some goods
Posted on Saturday August 22, 2026

Collapse of trade talks could lead to job losses, but biggest impact on traditional allies is expected to be political

The trade row is the biggest rupture in recent relations between Washington and one of its closest allies and trading partners as Donald Trump’s bellicose foreign policy angered officials in Ottawa.

The two sides appeared close to a deal on Friday to lower tariffs on steel, aluminium and cars, but the deal was scuttled at the last minute. The two sides blamed each other for the collapse.

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Unions worry Labour’s plan for zero-hours contracts may break manifesto pledge
Posted on Saturday August 22, 2026

Leaders claim scaremongering from business figures may cause key legislation to become ‘meaningless’

Trades unions are warning Andy Burnham that Labour’s policy on cutting zero-hours contracts risks failing to live up to the party’s manifesto.

Union leaders are seeking reassurances from the business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, amid what the TUC has condemned as “scaremongering” from business groups.

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Andy Burnham says he wants to bring men’s World Cup back to UK in 2042
Posted on Saturday August 22, 2026

PM tells regional mayors during informal discussions he is keen for tournament to return to British Isles

Andy Burnham has said he wants to bring the men’s World Cup to the UK in 2042, returning the tournament to Britain for the first time in almost eight decades.

During informal discussions at No 10 North in Manchester on Friday, the prime minister told regional mayors he was keen for the tournament to be played in the British Isles.

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‘Penchant for bling’: can Sports Direct’s Mike Ashley take a bigger slice of luxury retail?
Posted on Saturday August 22, 2026

Frasers billionaire bought Harvey Nichols and increased Hugo Boss stake despite tough times for high-end stores

What billionaire doesn’t love to splash the cash on a luxury item? Some may buy watches or yachts, but Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley has been snapping up entire brands.

Harvey Nichols is the latest bauble to drop into his shopping basket after his company bought the Knightsbridge department store out of administration earlier this month. It sits beside a large slice of Hugo Boss, a chunk of Mulberry, a snippet of Burberry, the remains of Agent Provocateur and the entire Flannels and House of Fraser chains.

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Hook, hold, harvest and hide: Meta’s alleged strategy laid out in first week of landmark trial
Posted on Saturday August 22, 2026

In trial that opened on Tuesday, California and 28 other states accused the company of designing addictive sites and violating laws protecting children’s privacy

Meta’s business can be boiled down to four words that begin with the letter H: hook, hold, harvest, hide, according to a lawyer who is prosecuting the world’s largest social media company.

The owner of Facebook and Instagram “hooks” in users, “holds” them on its platforms for as long as possible, “harvests” their data and then “hides” the truth from the public, she argued.

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‘Digging the grave of my profession’: the Hollywood creatives training AI to do their jobs
Posted on Saturday August 22, 2026

Amid a jobs slump, award-winning writers, directors and producers taking on sometimes lucrative temp work teaching AI skills such as screenwriting and production

Hollywood creatives are taking gig work to train AI models to replicate their skills in a bid to offset tightening earnings in a trend one compared to being “handed a shovel and asked to dig the grave of my profession”.

Experienced and award-winning writers, directors and producers are being paid from $12 to $200 an hour to teach AI models the intricacies of their jobs, from writing a screenplay to devising a shooting schedule.

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Kayode seals emphatic Brentford victory in wake-up call for sorry Spurs
Posted on Saturday August 22, 2026

Continue down this road and it will not be long before the chants of “Lincoln away” start up again. This was the start of Tottenham’s brave new era but there was no sign of any change. The old flaws were still there in a cowardly display – with and without the ball – and after a summer of extravagant spending it will alarm Roberto De Zerbi that his side opened the season looking like relegation candidates rather than contenders for European football.

If anything it was a reminder that winning the transfer window is not the same as winning on the pitch. There has been plenty of excitable predictions about Spurs, whose outlay is likely to soon surpass £300m, but are they based on anything substantial? Not on the evidence of this game. There were no patterns of play from Spurs. They were timid in possession and chaotic at the back. They failed to perform the basics and they crumbled in the face of relentless pressing from Brentford, whose blend of power, speed and skill revealed a team determined to kick on in their second season under Keith Andrews.

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Carrick tells Manchester United to keep calm and carry on after Hull humbling
Posted on Saturday August 22, 2026

• Bruno Fernandes: ‘We gave too much of the ball to them’

• Sergej Jakirovic happy Hull proved critics wrong

Michael Carrick says he will not overreact, but has called for improvement after Manchester United started the season with a 2-0 defeat at Hull. United lost their opening game for the fourth time in the past seven years as Semi Ajayi and Nobel Mendy took advantage of poor defending from set-pieces.

The United head coach presented a professional exterior despite United’s performance not reaching the desired standard as they were deservedly beaten by Hull, who finished sixth in the Championship last season.

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