Author: LoveWorld UK

UK house prices have defied expectations by growing slightly in June but annual prices fell at the fastest rate since 2009 as soaring mortgage costs took a toll on the market, according to Nationwide building society. The surprise monthly rise of 0.1% reversed a 0.1% fall in May and confounded economist forecasts of a 0.3% fall. It pushed the average cost of a house in the UK up slightly to £262,239. Prices were 3.5% lower in June compared with a year earlier, the sharpest rate of decline since 2009 but a smaller annual drop than the 4% fall predicted by economists. Two-year…

Households have been advised to submit a meter reading to their energy supplier ahead of the price cap change on Saturday to draw a line under usage at the higher rate and avoid having to pay a potentially higher estimated bill. About 27 million homes in England, Scotland and Wales can expect a modest drop in energy costs over the summer after the regulator Ofgem lowered the cap on a typical annual dual-fuel tariff to £2,074 a year – down from the £2,500 a year level set by the government’s energy price guarantee. The consumer champion Martin Lewis is among those urging people to take…

The Department of Justice on Wednesday announced criminal charges against 78 people across 16 U.S. states for alleged health care fraud and opioid abuse schemes that resulted in $2.5 billion in alleged fraudulent claims. According to the department, the elderly and disabled, as well as HIV patients, were among those targeted by the schemes. Of the $2.5 billion in alleged fraudulent claims, about $1.1 billion was paid out, officials said. The claims were made to Medicare, state Medicaid programs, and supplemental Medicare insurance programs provided by private insurers. As part of the enforcement actions, the Department of Justice “seized or restrained millions…

The government has “no true grasp on the costs” involved in preventing a collapse of Thames Water, with estimates presented to ministers and regulators suggesting the company could be facing a hole of £10bn in its finances, the Guardian can reveal. The water company, which serves 15 million customers, is in emergency talks with the water regulator Ofwat, ministers and government departments after the departure of its chief executive and concerns over its ability to continue operating without a multibillion cash injection. Measures under discussion include placing Thames into temporary national ownership, in order to secure a refinancing package. That could…

Hunter Biden demanded $10 million from a Chinese energy firm linked to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), promising services from “the Bidens” in return, according to WhatsApp messages disclosed by a whistleblower. A summary of the messages was released last week by the House Ways and Means Committee as part of an IRS whistleblower’s redacted testimony (pdf) before the committee. In his Aug. 3, 2017, exchange with CEFC China Energy executive Gongwen “Kevin” Dong, Hunter Biden took an exasperated tone, evidently dissatisfied with Dong’s haggling over compensation. “Very simple,” he wrote. “10 M per annum budget to use to further the interest…

Three senior judges have ruled that it is unlawful for the UK government to send asylum seekers to Rwanda to have their claims processed. The court of appeal ruling from Lord Burnett, Sir Geoffrey Vos, and Lord Justice Underhill follows a four-day hearing in April against a high court ruling last December that found it was lawful to send some asylum seekers, including small boat arrivals, to Rwanda to have their claims processed rather than dealing with their applications for sanctuary in the UK. The illegal migration bill, now passing through parliament, states that all asylum seekers arriving via “irregular means” could face being…

Kai Havertz has apologised to Chelsea supporters after his Arsenal unveiling video was leaked early, penning a heartfelt farewell message to the west London club. The 24-year-old’s £65million transfer was finally confirmed on Wednesday evening but, earlier in the day, his unveiling video – in which he was wearing an Arsenal kit – leaked on social media before the deal had been announced. Havertz says he is ‘upset’ with the manner in which the transfer announcement has played out and did not want to hurt Chelsea fans, thanking them for all their support over his three years at the club…

Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Mark Braun (R-Ind.) are demanding that President Joe Biden’s administration provide more details about the origins of COVID-19 after releasing a 10-page report describing potential links between the origins of the virus and work at a Chinese virology laboratory in 2019. In March, Congress passed, and Biden signed a law known as the COVID-19 Origin Act of 2023 that required the Biden administration to release “any and all information” relating to potential links between the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) in Wuhan, China, and the origin of COVID-19. The law set a June 18 deadline…

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6–3 against North Carolina Republicans who argued that state legislatures have sweeping authority to make the rules for federal elections in the states without interference from the courts. At issue is the once-obscure independent state legislature doctrine, under which Republicans argue that the Constitution has always directly authorized state legislatures alone to make rules for the conduct of federal elections in their respective states. Democrats say this doctrine is a fringe conservative legal theory that could endanger voting rights, enable extreme partisan gerrymandering in the redistricting process, and cause upheaval in election administration. Conservatives point…

Contingency plans for the collapse of Thames Water are reportedly being drawn up by the UK government and the water watchdog, amid fears that Britain’s biggest water company cannot survive because of its huge debt pile. Ministers and Ofwat are holding discussions about the possibility of placing Thames Water into a special administration regime (SAR) that would take the company into temporary public ownership, according to Sky News. The news comes as the chancellor prepares to meet the competition and utilities regulators later on Wednesday to address how they are cracking down on companies that are exploiting rampant inflation by raising prices. Jeremy Hunt,…