Acompanhe as Notícias da Recifes

Fining errant corporations is welcome – but when consumers are also getting shaken down on their local high street, it’s time for a new and boisterous approachIt’s a story that warms the heart and lifts the soul: last week, Virgin Media was fined a record £28m by Ofcom for repeatedly preventing customers from cancelling their contracts. Its methods were insidious: deliberate call-dropping, unnecessary call transfers and constantly putting customers on hold. For anyone who has experienc

Repeated heatwaves, driven by climate crisis, have raised need for guidance as workers struggle to cope Mayor of London Sadiq Khan is backing calls for a maximum workplace temperature as pressure grows on the government to protect workers from the impact of repeated heatwaves across the UK.The extreme heat, driven by the climate crisis, has left people struggling to cope as temperatures in some workplaces climb above 40C, causing thousands of schools to close, and hospital and transpor

Commons health committee also recommends end to junk food advertising on billboards and public transportFast food chains such as KFC should be stopped from opening near schools, and advertising for junk food on billboards and public transport should be banned to help curb obesity, MPs will say today.The Commons health committee will also urge ministers to stop giving in to food industry lobbying and get tough to tackle a problem that costs the UK £74bn a year and causes huge illness.Su

Despite spending increase in June, Barclays says most people still pessimistic about economyRelentless sunshine and the World Cup coaxed consumers to spend more on beer and online shopping last month, with purse strings expected to remain loose as England fans gear up for Wednesday’s semi-final.Most people remain pessimistic about the UK economy, according to data from Barclays Bank based on debit and credit card transactions. Continue reading...

Record numbers find there is little demand for their skills, as entry-level tech roles are hit by AI and automationThis time of year is graduation season in China: traditionally a bittersweet period of solemn goodbyes and family celebrations as university students transition from campus life into adulthood. Now it also increasingly represents trepidation about the future.Each year, millions more graduates are thrust into China’s already saturated jobs market. The situation for this yea

Larger vehicles crowd our roads and are far more dangerous to pedestrians. Let’s curb them before they do even more damageWe need an Ozempic for cars. They are growing at a phenomenal rate, wreaking havoc on the roads, squeezing out smaller vehicles in car parks and endangering pedestrians.Like ever-hungry teenagers, cars in Europe are growing, on average, a centimetre wider every two years, according to new research reported by the Guardian. And fewer than half of new cars in the UK c

New Trump administration rules would undermine longstanding research practices. It’s death by a thousand cutsA politician who aims to gradually privatize and ultimately destroy an institution funded by tax dollars – say, a public school system or public transportation network – may choose to do so by strategically disinvesting resources from that institution until it becomes barely functional, leading users to look elsewhere to meet their needs. Eventually, the user-base of the public

Plans specify tolls must not be compulsory, as US officials urge Iran to make public statement that strait is open and that shipping can safely passEurope is studying proposals that may allow the charging of navigational fees in the strait of Hormuz so long as the tolls are not compulsory and have the support of the UN agency that regulates maritime transport.Britain’s deputy prime minister, David Lammy, said the imposition of compulsory tolls would be disastrous. But some of his cabin

Mega-donors are coming under scrutiny with growing calls for donations cap beyond those from overseas investorsThe question of who funds politicians and political parties – and why they want to give money to get people elected – is an extremely heated one. In principle, UK voters can support their chosen politicians through donations or benefits, as long as those candidates and their parties keep within spending limits during an election period, which is designed to stop powerful inter

Readers respond to an article about a woman who was hit by a child on a Lime bikeThe case of Jane Ouartsi is horrific, but not surprising to many disabled people who move around central London and know how quickly careless riding can become dangerous (‘I felt my spine and body split’: the woman who was hit by a child on a Lime bike – and denied compensation, 7 July).I am a powered wheelchair user in Westminster. I support cleaner streets and fewer car journeys, so I am not opposed to e

Reform UK presents itself as the people’s voice while opaque digital wealth flows around it. That makes transparency a democratic necessityTwice now, the Guardian’s questions about Reform UK’s finances appear to have been pre-empted by stories friendly to the party. This paper revealed in April that Nigel Farage received £5m from the crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne – but an interview with Reform UK’s leader, claiming he needed the cash “for security”, was published hours earlie

Demonstrations at 18 sites set up as radical transformation plan put to board of Europe’s biggest carmakerVolkswagen’s proposal to slash up to 100,000 jobs and close factories faces a major test on Thursday as formal proposals are put to the supervisory board at Europe’s biggest carmaker, with protests planned at all plants in Germany.IG Metall, the influential staff union, has organised demonstrations involving shop stewards and union council members at 18 sites, including the company