6:45 am, March 11, 2024
Government commits £117m funding to protect UK Muslims
A total of £117m of taxpayers’ money will be used to protect mosques, Muslim schools and community centres from hate attacks over the next four years.
Home secretary James Cleverly said the money, which will be spent on measures including CCTV cameras, alarms and fencing, would give ‘reassurance and confidence to UK Muslims’.
The announcement, which follows a £70m package for Jewish groups, comes in response to concerns that the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza is fuelling division in the UK. It is bigger than the amount given to the Community Security Trust to cover Jewish facilities because of the higher Muslim population and more sites to cover. Police are pictured above outside the London Central Mosque (PA)
Kate apologises for confusion as she takes blame for editing portrait
The Princess of Wales has personally apologised for the ‘confusion’ over the digitally altered family photograph released by Kensington Palace yesterday.
In a statement released on social media, she said: ‘Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused. I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day. C’.
It was withdrawn with a ‘Kill’ notice by international picture agencies hours later – and by the UK’s PA news agency, from where Car Dealer draws its daily news round-up, late this morning – because of suspicions it had been manipulated. (Today’s news round-up was initially published at 6.45am with the picture and updated at 11.07am with the picture removed.)
Oppenheimer sweeps Oscars as Christopher Nolan and Cillian Murphy take top gongs
Christopher Nolan’s epic biopic Oppenheimer has swept the Oscars, winning seven awards.
The film about J Robert Oppenheimer, the theoretical physicist described as the father of the atomic bomb, was named best picture while Irish star Cillian Murphy won best actor and Nolan took the best director award.
Robert Downey Jr was named best supporting actor for his turn as Lewis Strauss, head of the Atomic Energy Commission. The film was also celebrated for its editing, score and cinematography.
Tech giants, banks and governments aim to tackle international finance fraudsters
International action to tackle fraudsters is to be discussed by ministers, financial organisations and tech giants from around the world at a summit in London today.
Interpol general secretary Jurgen Stock said cross-border co-operation was needed to ensure there are ‘no safe havens for financial fraudsters’.
Representatives from the governments of the Five Eyes intelligence partnership – the UK, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand – will be among those attending the Lancaster House summit. Tech firms including Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, TikTok and LinkedIn will also be there, along with financial sector organisations including HSBC, NatWest, Santander and Visa.
Ineos fined £400k after employee seriously injured
Ineos has been fined £400,000 after an employee was seriously injured while carrying out a routine task at its chemicals site in Grangemouth.
The 47-year-old worker was attempting to clear a sump that contained a caustic solution on November 25, 2019. However, he fell in because of inadequate grating and sustained severe burn injuries.
Ineos Chemicals Grangemouth Limited, of Chapel Lane, Lyndhurst, Hampshire, pleaded guilty to an offence under Section 2(1) and Section 33(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, and was fined £400,000 at Falkirk Sheriff Court on Friday, said the Health and Safety Executive.
Saudi oil giant Aramco posts £94bn profit
Saudi oil giant Aramco has reported a $121bn (circa £94bn) profit for last year – down from its 2022 record because of lower energy prices.
Aramco made the announcement in a filing in Riyadh’s Tadawul stock market.
It reported a $161bn (£125bn) profit in 2022, which is believed to be the largest reported by a publicly traded company.
Government looks to get people off welfare into work to fund future tax cuts
Scrapping national insurance is set to be a key part of the Tory election offer to voters as Rishi Sunak suggested a squeeze on benefits could help pay for the plan.
The prime minister said ‘significant progress’ could be made towards the goal of eliminating the tax during the next parliament if his party remains in power.
Meanwhile, health secretary Victoria Atkins said she wanted to move from a ‘sick note’ culture to one where a ‘fit note’ would show what work people are able to do.
Post Office sees personal cash withdrawals increase by 15% annually in February
Post offices recorded a 15% annual increase in personal cash withdrawals last month.
Helped by 2024 being a leap year, there were £806m-worth of personal cash withdrawals at the Post Office’s 11,500 branches – up by 15% year on year and a 3.6% increase compared with January 2024.
Personal cash deposits totalled £1.28bn, which was up 6.2% year on year. In January 2024, personal cash deposits totalled £1.42bn.
At least 26 dead after flash floods and landslides in Sumatra
At least 26 people have died with 11 more reported missing after flash floods and landslides on the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
Rescuers recovered more bodies as waters began to recede following torrential rains, officials said today.
Monsoon rains and rising rivers have seen nine districts and cities in West Sumatra province submerged since Thursday. On Friday, a major mudslide caused a river to breach its banks and tear through mountainside villages in the Pesisir Selatan district.
Weekend headlines on Car Dealer you might have missed
- Could Tesla become a bidder for supercar maker McLaren as investors ‘call time on losses’?
- ‘Massive’ EV discounts on the way as car manufacturers feel the pressure
- Peter Vardy on his new growth strategy and selling six franchises to Arnold Clark
Weather outlook
Today will be another cloudy day, says BBC Weather. It’ll be mainly dry, but a few light showers may develop under the thicker cloud, and longer spells of rain will move in for parts of Northern Ireland and western Scotland.
Tuesday will see cloud building up for most of the day. It’ll be dry for most, but there’ll be a few patchy spells of rain, mainly in the south and west. Most areas in northern Scotland will be drier and brighter, though.
