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With Trump blocking Venezuelan oil imports and old power plants breaking down, the island – with Chinese help – is turning to solar and wind to bolster its fragile energy systemIntense heat hangs over the sugarcane fields near Cuba's eastern coast. In the village of Herradura, a blond-maned horse rests under a palm tree after spending all Saturday in the fields with its owner, Roberto, who cultivates maize and beans.Roberto was among those worst affected by Hurricane Melissa, which hit eastern Cuba – the country's poorest region – late last year. The storm affected 3.5 million people, damaging or destroying 90,000 homes and 100,000 hectares of crops. Continue reading......

Business leaders tout AI as a path to shorter weeks and better balance. But without power, workers are unlikely to share the gainsThe front-page headline in a recent Washington Post was breathless: “These companies say AI is key to their four-day workweeks.” The subhead was euphoric: “Some companies are giving workers back more time as artificial intelligence takes over more tasks.”As the Post explained: “more companies may move toward a shortened workweek, several executives and researchers predict, as workers, especially those in younger generations, continue to push for better work-life balance.”Robert Reich, a former US secretary of labor, is a professor of public policy emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley. He is a Guardian US columnist and his newsletter is at robertreich.substack.com. His new book, Coming Up Short: A Memoir of My America, is out now Continue reading......

Consultancy's prediction comes after Rachel Reeves said green subsidy costs would be removed from domestic billsHousehold energy costs in Great Britain are expected to tumble by an average of almost £117 a year from April after Rachel Reeves announced in November's budget that the cost of green subsidies would be removed from domestic bills.The government's quarterly cap on energy bills is forecast to fall after the chancellor's decision to shift the levies used to support renewable energy projects into general taxation, and scrap a bill payer-funded energy efficiency scheme, according to Cornwall Insight, a leading energy consultancy. Continue reading......

Redditors are thrilled by the Co-op on Ecclesall Road, where a magnificent drone is reminiscent of Brian Eno's ambient music. We take a visit to the back aislesThere's a new sound gripping Sheffield. You won't find it at one of the city's eclectic jazz nights; nor in any of its clubs or live music venues. You'll find it in the back aisle of a Co-op supermarket on Ecclesall Road.“Anyone noticed how nice the freezers sound in the eccy road co-op?” someone wrote on the Sheffield Reddit page in January. “It's like all the fans have been carefully tuned to the calmest droning chord ever, it's like being in an electrical gong bath.” Continue reading......

Government considering delay to equalising national minimum wage after jump in youth unemploymentUK politics live – latest updatesMinisters are considering a slower rise in the minimum wage for younger workers, amid fears over rising youth unemployment.Labour had promised in its manifesto to equalise national minimum wage rates by the time of the next election, saying it was unfair younger workers were paid less. Government sources said equalisation remained the aim but the rise could come more slowly. Continue reading......

Airline statement will reassure Britons abroad anxious about new immigration rules coming into effect next weekBritish dual nationals may be able to board Ryanair flights in Europe to the UK even if they do not have a current British passport when new immigration rules come into force next week, the airline has said.The airline is complying with controversial rules being introduced by the Home Office but has said that alternative documents that prove a person is a British national may be accepted. Continue reading......

CEO of UK's biggest defence company says delay is holding back investment as BAE posts record salesThe boss of Britain's biggest defence company has urged ministers to publish a long-delayed blueprint for military spending as soon as possible, as it posted record sales driven by a global increase in demand after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.Charles Woodburn, the chief executive of BAE Systems, said companies want clarity on how the money would be spent, adding that the defence investment plan (DIP) – due in late 2025 – was holding back investment. Continue reading......

It used to be fairly easy to get work that paid at or around the minimum wage. But with a shrinking number of positions come ever more hoops to jump through, from personality tests, to trial shifts, to towers constructed of marshmallowsIt is 10.30am, and Zahra is sitting in a business centre in Preston, attaching marshmallows to sticks of uncooked spaghetti. There are 30 interview candidates in the grey-carpeted room, split into groups of five, competing to build food towers. Already today they have had to solve anagrams, complete quizzes and rank the importance of various kitchen items. Just to be shortlisted for this two-hour interview round, Zahra had to write an online application consisting of 10 paragraphs about her work experience. As she builds her spaghetti and marshmallow tower, she thinks: “What am I actually doing here? This doesn't relate to the job at all.”The job in question is not what Zahra, 20, plans to do for ever. It is as a crew member for Wingstop, a chicken shop chain, with a s...

FTSE 100 company reports 6% fall in annual profits weeks after collapse of $260bn merger with Rio TintoGlencore is to give $2bn (£1.47bn) to shareholders after a turbulent year in which profits slumped and talks collapsed over a blockbuster $260bn merger with the fellow mining company Rio Tinto.The FTSE 100 firm announced the payout on Wednesday despite reporting that annual profits slipped 6% on the previous year to $13.5bn. Continue reading......

Environment minister says Alcoa cleared known habitat of protected species to enable bauxite miningGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe environment minister, Murray Watt, has handed a $55m penalty to the US mining giant Alcoa for unlawful land clearing for bauxite mining in Western Australia's northern jarrah forests, south of Perth.As Watt announced the “unprecedented” remediation order, he said he had also granted the company an exemption to clear further habitat for 18 months while the government considered a proposal for an extension of the company's mining operations to 2045. Continue reading......

Substances include chemicals that can cause cancer, neurodevelopmental problems and the feminisation of malesYou wear them at work, you wear them at play, you wear them to relax. You may even get sweaty in them at the gym.But an investigation into headphones has found every single pair tested contained substances hazardous to human health, including chemicals that can cause cancer, neurodevelopmental problems and the feminisation of males. Continue reading......

Ad was part of campaign to encourage Londoners to intervene if they witness sexual harassment or hate crimeA Transport for London (TfL) ad featuring a black teenage boy verbally harassing a white girl has been banned for “perpetuating the negative racial stereotype about black men as perpetrators of threatening behaviour”.The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said the “irresponsible” ad – which was the subject of a complaint – featured a “harmful stereotype”. Continue reading......

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, including the UK inflation report for JanuaryGrant Slade, economist at investment research firm Morningstar, is also forecasting a drop in inflation to 3%:“We expect tomorrow's CPI data release to further evidence that price growth in the UK is decelerating. We forecast annual CPI inflation of 3.0% in January 2026, down 0.4 percentage points relative to its prior reading in December.A modest output gap is forming in the UK, with economic growth slowing in the fourth quarter of last year.The sluggish economic backdrop and a cooling labour market (especially wage growth), several measures announced in the Budget and base effects from last April when there was a bump in inflation due to energy prices are all contributing to an easing inflationary picture.Although month-to-month inflation can be bumpy, these factors are expected to allow inflation to return to the Bank of England's 2% target by Q2 2026 and probably remain around that level.7am GM...

Thousands of lawsuits accuse the agrochemical maker of failing to warn people that its weedkiller could cause cancerThe agrochemical maker Bayer and attorneys for cancer patients announced a proposed $7.25bn settlement on Tuesday to resolve thousands of US lawsuits alleging the company failed to warn people that its popular weedkiller Roundup could cause cancer.The proposed settlement comes as the US supreme court is preparing to hear arguments on Bayer's assertion that the Environmental Protection Agency's approval of Roundup without a cancer warning should invalidate claims filed in state courts. That case would not be affected by the proposed settlement. Continue reading......

San Francisco's AI startups are pushing workers to grind endlessly, hinting at pressures soon hitting other sectorsNot long after the terms “996” and “grindcore” entered the popular lexicon, people started telling me stories about what was happening at startups in San Francisco, ground zero for the artificial intelligence economy. There was the one about the founder who hadn't taken a weekend off in more than six months. The woman who joked that she'd given up her social life to work at a prestigious AI company. Or the employees who had started taking their shoes off in the office because, well, if you were going to be there for at least 12 hours a day, six days a week, wouldn't you rather be wearing slippers?“If you go to a cafe on a Sunday, everyone is working,” says Sanju Lokuhitige, the co-founder of Mythril, a pre-seed-stage AI startup, who moved to San Francisco in November to be closer to the action. Lokuhitige says he works seven days a week, 12 hours a day, minus a few carefully s...

Extensive works on key bridge in New Jersey – part of $16bn Gateway project – will disrupt rail services into New YorkNew Jersey's transit authority has urged commuters into Manhattan to work from home for up to a month if possible because of a huge railroad upgrade that is expected to upend travel to New York City from Tuesday morning.The national rail operator, Amtrak, will move some train traffic on to a new bridge, according to the New York Times, in a travel-snarling project that is expected to last until 15 March and will result in extensive delays and fewer trains under the Hudson River. Continue reading......

Arsenal Supporters' Trust 'disappointed' by increaseClub also confirm safe standing at Clock End next yearArsenal have announced that season-ticket prices will rise for a fifth consecutive season, with the cost of a ticket for the most dedicated fans rising by an average of 3.9%.The Premier League leaders, who face Wolves at Molineux on Wednesday, say they have made the decision as part of a continued push towards “financial stability” and confirmed that safe standing would be introduced to the Clock End next season, after consultation with supporters. Continue reading......

Many products contain substances banned because of serious and sometimes irreversible health risks, says CTSIIllegal skin lightening products are being sold in an increasingly wide range of UK outlets, including butchers, specialist food shops and small grocery stores, trading standards officers have warned.The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) is warning that many of the products contain substances that are banned because of the serious risks they pose to health, including skin damage, infections and pregnancy complications. Continue reading......

Figures from Aviva also show number of homes being built in risky areas is risingOne in nine new homes in England built between 2022 and 2024 were constructed in areas that could now be at risk of flooding, according to new data.The figures show the number of homes being built in risky areas is on the rise – a previous analysis showed that between 2013 and 2022, one in 13 new homes were in potential flooding zones. Continue reading......

Moves come after Gordon Brown's claim that files show that US sex offender used Stansted airport in Essex to 'fly in girls' British police have expanded their interest in the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's links to Britain, by admitting for the first time they are looking at claims he used dozens of private flights into UK airports to traffic women.It comes after former prime minister Gordon Brown said that documents about Epstein released in the US showed in “graphic detail” how the disgraced financier, with links to high-profile people including the former Prince Andrew, was able to use Stansted airport in Essex to “fly in girls from Latvia, Lithuania and Russia”. Continue reading......