Author: LoveWorld UK

NET ZERO COSTS UNDERREPORTED IN UK – Public bodies calculating net zero costs accused of downplaying data and omitting costs  Reaching net zero will cost Britain even more than feared, a report has found. The gross cost to the UK economy of achieving the 2050 target could exceed even the highest official predictions of £7.6tn, an Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) paper said. The report said that previous estimates of the financial impact of net zero were based on “fantasy assumptions” of the cost of renewable energy and low-carbon technology. David Turver, the paper author, said: “The various public bodies…

UK BANS NON-CONSENSUAL AI IMAGES – New law targets deepfake abuse after X probe Britain will bring into force new legislation this week, making it a criminal offence to create non-consensual intimate images, including AI-generated deepfakes. Technology Secretary Liz Kendall confirmed the move in Parliament on Monday, as regulator Ofcom launched an investigation into Elon Musk’s social media platform X. Kendall said the law will also make it illegal for companies to supply tools designed to create such images, adding that recent steps by X to restrict access to image-generation features to paid users did not go far enough. She…

MANDELSON APOLOGIZES TO EPSTEIN’S VICTIMS –  The former U.S. ambassador was fired in September over links to Epstein Britain’s former U.S. ambassador Peter Mandelson, who was dismissed over his links to Jeffrey Epstein last year, apologized on Sunday (January 11) to the victims of the late convicted sex offender but not for his association with Epstein after his conviction. Mandelson said he would only apologize for his own ties if he had known about Epstein’s actions or been complicit. Mandelson was fired in September over emails that came to light revealing a much closer relationship than previously acknowledged. The veteran…

RAPHINHA STRIKES TWICE – As Barca edge Real Madrid in Spanish Super Cup final Raphinha scored twice as Barcelona won the Spanish Super Cup after an intense 3-2 victory over Real Madrid in Sunday’s (January 11) final in Jeddah. The match at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium turned into a thriller, with four goals packed into a breathless phase at the end of the first half. After an even opening spell, Barcelona gradually asserted control before the interval, and were rewarded in the 36th minute when Raphinha burst into the box and drilled a low shot into the far corner…

IRISH FARMERS PROTEST AGAINST EU TRADE DEAL – The Irish government argued the deal lacks safeguards Thousands of Irish farmers, many of whom travelled across the country on tractors, protested on Saturday (January 10) against the European Union’s Mercosur trade deal after a majority of EU states gave a provisional go-ahead for its largest ever free-trade accord. Opponents led by France, the EU’s largest agricultural producer, failed to convince enough fellow member states on Friday (January 9) that the deal with South American nations would flood the market with cheap food products and undercut domestic farmers. Under pressure from opposition…

EU REACHES SOUTH AMERICA TRADE DEAL – After 25 years of talks The EU has reached a free trade agreement with South American countries, 25 years after talks began and despite opposition from farmers in several European countries. The deal with the Mercosur trading bloc – which includes Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay – will require the approval of the European parliament within the next few months Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva hailed it as a “historic day for multilateralism” after the four South American countries put the final touches to the deal in Brussels. It comes against…

AUSTRALIA’S ALBANESE RECALLS PARLIAMENT – PM plans to introduce hate speech and gun laws Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday (January 12) that Parliament would be recalled early next week to pass tougher hate speech and gun laws in the wake of the Bondi attack. The mass shooting at a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s famed Bondi Beach on December 14 shocked a country with strict gun laws and fuelled calls for tougher controls and stronger action against antisemitism. Police say the alleged father and son perpetrators were inspired by the Islamic State militant group. The federal parliament…

TRUMP TALKS ‘STRONG OPTIONS’ ON IRAN – Plans talks with Musk to restore internet U.S. President Donald Trump said he is weighing a range of responses to escalating unrest in Iran, including possible military options, as massive protests continue to roil the country. Trump also said he plans to speak with billionaire Elon Musk about restoring internet in Iran, where authorities have blacked out services for four days amid ongoing anti-government protests. The flow of information from Iran has been hampered by an internet blackout since Thursday amid the most expansive protests against the country’s clerical establishment since 2022. Iran’s…

ICY WEATHER HAS HIT NORTHWESTERN EUROPE – Paris wakes up under a blanket of snow, as a cold spell persists in Europe Snow blanketed Paris on Tuesday, January 6th, as icy weather hit northwestern Europe this week. Frosty layers covered parts of the Eiffel Tower and Haussmannian buildings around the capital.  The Haussmann buildings are the iconic, uniform apartment blocks defining Paris, created during Baron Haussmann’s 19th-century urban renewal under Napoleon III. Tourists walked on the snow on the Trocadero platform, facing the Eiffel Tower. France’s weather agency issued yellow weather warnings for the cold and slippery conditions, which are…

STAY AT HOME DURING COLD SNAP, PUBLIC TOLD – Yellow warnings for snow and ice are in place across all of Scotland and much of northern England  Snow and ice warnings remain in place for Tuesday after snowfall caused travel disruption and hundreds of school closures across large parts of the country on Monday. Yellow warnings for snow and ice are in place across all of Scotland and much of northern England, with further warnings covering the east of England and the west of Wales, as well as Devon and Cornwall. Ice warnings are also in place for all six…