6:52 am, October 29, 2022
Elon Musk makes it ‘super clear’ no change to Twitter moderation policies yet
New Twitter owner Elon Musk has made it ‘super clear’ he has not yet made any changes to the social media platform’s content moderation policies.
Musk had earlier tweeted that those banned from the site will not be reinstated until a review by a ‘content moderation council’.
He followed this some hours later with further information, stating in a post: ‘To be super clear, we have not yet made any changes to Twitter’s content moderation policies.’
Sunak says Braverman has ‘learned from mistake’ as Starmer demands her sacking
Rishi Sunak has insisted Suella Braverman has ‘learned from her mistake’ as Sir Keir Starmer demanded the home secretary’s sacking for her security breach.
The PM insisted the Tories are ‘united’ despite the backlash spreading to the Tory ranks over Braverman’s reappointment just six days after she was forced out.
He was resisting demands to launch an inquiry into Braverman breaking the Ministerial Code by sharing a sensitive document with a Tory backbencher from a personal email without permission. But Sir Keir maintained that unak has brokered a ‘grubby deal trading security for support’ in the Tory leadership contest, which he won after receiving Braverman’s backing.
King to miss Cop27 as No 10 and Palace agree trip would not be ‘right’
The King has been advised not to attend the Cop27 climate summit in Egypt, Downing Street acknowledged, arguing it is not the ‘right occasion’ for him to make the trip.
No 10 conceded for the first time on Friday that Charles had been urged not to attend the United Nations conference in Sharm El-Sheikh.
Charles is a long-term campaigner against the climate crisis but Downing street said it was ‘unanimously agreed’ he would not attend, with Rishi Sunak also ruling out going.
Travellers warned over disruption ahead of fresh wave of railway strikes
Passengers are being urged to only travel by rail if necessary during a fresh wave of strikes in the long running dispute over jobs, pay and conditions.
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) and the Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) are taking industrial action again, threatening more travel chaos across the country. Rail companies are warning that only about one in five services will run on November 5, 7 and 9 while in some areas there will be no trains.
Strike action in Scotland today, meanwhile, means ScotRail can only run trains on three routes.
Cost of charging an electric car goes up by 14 per cent in three months
Plugging an electric car into a public EV charger now costs an average of 14 per cent more than it did a few months ago, according to a new study.
According to electric car charging mapping service Zap-Map, in September 2022 the average price for a rapid/ultra-rapid charger with an output higher than 22kW was 14 per cent more compared with June – increasing from 49p per kilowatt hour (kWh) to 56p/kWh.
It means that to fully charge a typical electric car, such as the MG4 Long Range with its 62kWh battery, it now costs £34.72 – an increase of £4.32. The cost of using a slower public charger (22kW in power or less) has increased from 34p/kWh to 39p/kWh in the same timeframe – up 14.7 per cent. The same MG4 will now cost £24.18 for a full charge with one of these units – £3.18 more than in June.
Friday Car Dealer headlines you might have missed
- Land Rover dealers forced to conduct ‘due diligence’ on buyers to stop them flipping cars for a profit
- Used car prices drop just 0.5% in October – the strongest performance for 14 years
- End of the road for the tyre-kickers as most people arrive ready to buy on first visit, new research finds
- Push for electrification is a ‘boat that has left the harbour’ says Nissan boss
- Tesla Model Y is crowned Europe’s best-selling new car for the first time
Northern Ireland secretary faces criticism over failure to set election date
Political leaders across the island of Ireland have criticised the UK government for failing to call an election in Northern Ireland.
Chris Heaton-Harris had promised he would announce a date for an Assembly election if efforts to restore devolution failed.
But after the deadline passed on Friday without powersharing resuming at Stormont, the Northern Ireland secretary confirmed he would call an election but he did not set a date. Sinn Fein vice-president Michelle O’Neill accused Heaton-Harris of a ‘bizarre U-turn’, while DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said the ‘chaos continues’.
At least 47 dead and dozens feared missing as storm and floods lash Philippines
Flash floods and landslides set off by torrential rains left at least 47 people dead, including in a hard-hit southern Philippine province, officials said.
At least 42 people were swept away by rampaging floodwaters and drowned or were hit by debris-filled mudslides in three towns in Maguindanao province from Thursday night to early on Friday, said Naguib Sinarimbo, the interior minister for a five-province Muslim autonomous region run by former separatist guerrillas.
Five other people died elsewhere from the onslaught of Tropical Storm Nalgae, which slammed into the eastern province of Camarines Sur early on Saturday, the government’s disaster-response agency said.
UK and France promise ‘deepening’ partnership to curb Channel crossings
Rishi Sunak and Emmanuel Macron have pledged to ‘deepening’ the partnership between the UK and France in a bid to render Channel crossings ‘completely unviable’.
In their first call on Friday morning since the prime minister took office, Sunak stressed the ‘importance’ of the alliance as he sought to lay the groundwork for a warmer relationship between the two countries.
The rising number of crossings has prompted a war of words between Britain and its continental neighbour in the past as critics question whether the millions of pounds the government pays to France to fund resources and police officers to curb the crossings is producing results.
Weather outlook
A day of sunny spells and rain, reports BBC Weather. Heavy showers will push northwards throughout the day leaving clearer conditions. Rain will linger in the west.
Rain will continue to push northwards tonight. Dry with clear spells behind it.
