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Architects and designers have recycled ancient practice of collecting rainwater to make buildings ecologically friendlyWhen the legendary Taiwanese rock band Mayday were due to perform in Beijing one evening in May 2023, some fans were worried that the rainy weather could affect the show. Mayday were taking to the stage in Beijing's National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, built for the 2008 Olympics. Like the real-life twig piles that give the building its nickname, the stadium is built with an intricate and highly porous lattice, made of steel.“Don't worry too much,” reassured an article published by the official newsletter for China's ministry of water resources. “The Bird's Nest also has its 'secret weapon'!” Continue reading......

From postcode pricing to falling wholesale costs, the price you pay at the pump depends less on petrol itself than on where – and when – you fill upWhy do petrol prices vary so much between filling stations? On the same road I've seen a 5p-a-litre difference on what must be an identical product, while the same chains charge differently from town to town.Weird, isn't it? Of all the things we buy, the price of petrol is probably the most transparently disclosed before we enter the retailer's premises, and yet this only serves to leave us wondering why how much we pay can come down to where we live, or even on which side of the road we are driving. Continue reading......

Setback for president, who has called windfarms 'losers', as Empire Wind project allowed to move forwardA federal judge on Thursday cleared the way for a New York offshore wind project to resume construction, a victory for the developer who said a Trump administration order to pause it would probably kill the project in a matter of days.District judge Carl J Nichols, an appointee of Donald Trump, ruled construction on the Empire Wind project could go forward while he considers the merits of the government's order to suspend the project. He faulted the government for not responding to key points in Empire Wind's court filings, including the contention that the administration violated proper procedure. Continue reading......

Ashley St Clair files lawsuit in state of New York over deepfakes that appeared on social media platform X The mother of one of Elon Musk's children is suing his company – alleging explicit images were generated of her by his Grok AI tool, including one in which she was underage.Ashley St Clair has filed a lawsuit with the supreme court of the state of New York against xAI, alleging that Grok, which is used on the social media platform X, promised to stop generating explicit images but continued to do so. Continue reading......

US to lower tariffs on Taiwanese goods to 15% as chip and tech businesses pledge $250bn spending in US operationsThe US said on Thursday that it had signed a deal with Taiwan to reduce tariffs on goods from the democratic island, while increasing Taiwanese semiconductor and tech companies' investments in America.The agreement, the US commerce department said, “will drive a massive reshoring of America's semiconductor sector”. Continue reading......

Campaigners claim firm has bought sway over the teaching of science, technology, engineering and maths Campaigners have accused BP of having an insidious influence over the teaching of science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem) in the UK through its relationship with the Science Museum.Documents obtained under freedom of information legislation show how the company funded a research project that led to the creation of the Science Museum Group academy – its teacher and educator training programme – which BP sponsors and which has run more than 500 courses, for more than 5,000 teachers. Continue reading......

Patrick Vallance says robots would take away 'repetitive' tasks, but Sadiq Khan warns AI will usher in 'new era of mass unemployment'Advances in AI and robotics will transform human jobs, starting with roles in warehouses and factories, the UK science minister has said, as the government announced plans to reduce red tape for robot and defence tech companies.Patrick Vallance said technological progress was creating a “whole new area” for robots to work in. “What's really changing now is the combination of AI and robotics. It is opening up a whole new area, particularly in the sorts of things like humanoid robotics. And that will increase productivity, it will change the human job,” he told the Guardian. Continue reading......

Exclusive: Jesse Binnall and Joe Flynn, who campaigned to overturn 2020 election, seek to win Bosnia deal for little-known US firmLeading members of Donald Trump's campaign to overturn the 2020 presidential election are seeking a huge European pipeline contract, the latest figures from the US president's circle to mix business and geopolitics.Jesse Binnall, a lawyer who worked on legal actions advancing Trump's baseless claim that the vote was stolen from him, and Joe Flynn, who also sought to undermine Joe Biden's victory, have been in Bosnia this week to discuss the project. Continue reading......

US Coast Guard and others boarded foreign-flagged crude carrier Veronica in a pre-dawn operationThe US military has seized another oil tanker at sea in support of Donald Trump's sanctions against Venezuela, military officials announced on Thursday.Veronica, a crude oil tanker that marine records suggest is sailing under a Guyanese flag, was boarded in a pre-dawn action by US marines and sailors, the US Southern Command said in a post on social media. Continue reading......

Institute for Public Policy Research thinktank report calls on chancellor to pursue policy of 'securonomics'Tens of thousands of jobs could be lost if the UK's clean energy supply chains were to suffer a shock as a result of an over-reliance on China, a left-leaning thinktank has warned.A year-long disruption to the supply of essential battery components used to manufacture electric vehicles could wipe out production of more than 580,000 electric cars and endanger 90,000 jobs, according to the Institute for Public Policy Research. Continue reading......

Proposals to relaunch Northern Powerhouse Rail are welcome and overdue. But passengers and commuters will believe it when they see itIn areas starved of the kind of investment taken for granted in the south-east, the miserable state of northern England's railways has long been a source of anger and indignation. One analysis of Treasury figures found that the equivalent of seven Elizabeth lines could have been built in the north, if levels of funding devoted to London's transport needs had been replicated there. Instead, an estimated £140bn shortfall means that the 35-mile trip from Liverpool to Manchester can take more than twice as long as the 42-mile journey from London to Reading.Plans to resuscitate the Northern Powerhouse Rail project (NPR), unveiled on Tuesday by the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, are therefore welcome and overdue. The government has committed to developing a three-stage plan to upgrade rail connections from the west coast to the north-east. No doubt mindful of the political threat p...

Despite two crises that have left thousands without running water, David Hinton is in line for multiple pay awards and bonusesCan David Hinton, the chief executive of South East Water, stay in his job long enough to bag a £400,000 bonus for turning up to work? With four-and-a-half years to go, one can't say his chances of landing the retention payment – or “service award” – are good. In fact, it will be surprising if he's still infuriating the residents of Tunbridge Wells four-and-a-half weeks from now.In the latest episode of this long-running double saga of outages that has left thousands of households in Kent and Sussex without running water for days, Ofwat has opened a first-of-its-kind investigation into whether South East complied with its obligation to provide “high standards of customer service and support”. That comes a day after Emma Reynolds, the environment secretary, called for the regulator to review the company's operating licence. Continue reading......

Jaguar Land Rover's recovery from cyber-attack appears to have contributed to GDP growth• Growth figures give boost to Reeves – but it's too early to get carried away• Business live – latest updatesThe UK economy grew by a stronger-than-expected 0.3% in November despite uncertainty around Rachel Reeves's budget, official figures show.Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Thursday showed the improvement, up from a 0.1% fall in October. Continue reading......

Some brokers say monthly outgoings on drugs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro can knock thousands off the amount you can borrowRegularly spending large sums on weight loss drugs could reduce the amount people can borrow on a mortgage by thousands of pounds, some brokers are warning.When homebuyers apply for a mortgage, the lender carries out detailed affordability checks on their income and outgoings, which include regular payments such as subscriptions and memberships as well as amounts spent on things such as gambling. Continue reading......

Greensill Capital UK accused of breaking agreement with government over loans issued to businesses during pandemicA company linked to financier Lex Greensill “failed to act in good faith” by lending £250m more than it should have to businesses owned by steel magnate Sanjeev Gupta during the pandemic, the high court has been told.Greensill Bank AG (GBAG) is suing the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) for about £331m over claims it wrongly terminated guarantees it agreed with Greensill Capital UK (GCUK) on Covid loans given to businesses. Continue reading......

Newly-appointed Malcolm Offord, who became a Tory life peer in 2021, plans to stand for Holyrood in MayUK politics live – latest updatesThe multimillionaire financier who has been made leader of Reform UK in Scotland has refused to say how wealthy he is, claiming that is a private matter.Malcolm Offord, formerly a Conservative party life peer, was unveiled by Reform's leader, Nigel Farage, as the party's first Scottish leader, 10 weeks before a Scottish parliament election in which Reform is expected to win up to 18 seats. Continue reading......

UK users will no longer be able to create sexualised images of real people using @Grok X account, with Grok app also expected to be restrictedElon Musk's X has announced it will stop the Grok AI tool from allowing users to manipulate images of people to show them in revealing clothing such as bikinis.The furore over Grok, which is integrated with the X platform, has sparked a public and political backlash as well as a formal investigation by Ofcom, the UK's communications watchdog. Continue reading......

US transportation safety board releases initial report on November 2025 crash that killed 15 people in LouisvilleAn engine part suspected of causing the crash of a UPS cargo plane and loss of 15 lives in Louisville in November was the subject of at least four previous failures on three separate aircraft, investigators have found.A preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released Wednesday determined that Boeing warned plane owners about the defect, but did not believe it was a flight safety issue and did not require immediate repairs. Continue reading......

The order follows a nine-month investigation and includes broad exemptions for data centers and consumersDonald Trump on Wednesday imposed a 25% tariff on certain AI chips, such as the Nvidia H200 AI processor ​and a similar semiconductor from AMD called the MI325X, under a new national security order released by the White House.The proclamation follows a nine-month investigation under ‌section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 and targets a number of high-end semiconductors meeting certain performance benchmarks and devices containing them for import duties. The action is part of a broader effort to create incentives for chipmakers to produce more semiconductors in the US and decrease reliance on chip manufacturers in places like Taiwan. Continue reading......

US president's friend Ronald Lauder – who first proposed Arctic expansion – is now making deals in the islandOne day during his first term, Donald Trump summoned a top aide to discuss a new idea. “Trump called me down to the Oval Office,” John Bolton, national security adviser in 2018, told the Guardian. “He said a prominent businessman had just suggested the US buy Greenland.”It was an extraordinary proposal. And it originated from a longtime friend of the president who would go on to acquire business interests in the Danish territory. Continue reading......