6:34 am, September 23, 2023
Amazon Prime Video to introduce adverts to UK streaming platform in 2024
Amazon Prime Video is set to introduce adverts on its TV programmes and films as it follows in the footsteps of rival streaming giants.
UK Prime subscribers are expected to see ‘limited’ advertisements from 2024 unless they pay more for an ad-free option.
The platform said it was making the change to ‘continue investing in compelling content and keep increasing that investment over a long period of time’.
Libraries in Northern Ireland can’t afford to buy new books
Libraries in Northern Ireland won’t be able to buy any new books this year because of the Stormont funding crisis.
A representative from Libraries NI said the service was disappointed at the situation but there simply wasn’t the funding to buy new stock.
The department has previously said it is facing a £111.2m resource funding gap that would result in a reduction in services.
Good year for British vineyards, says RHS
It has been a good year for the British wine harvest, according to the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS).
A wet and cool mid summer sandwiched between hot, sunny periods in June and September has given vineyards the right amount of rain and sunshine.
Guy Barter, chief horticulturalist at the RHS, said growers will be looking to harvest their grapes quickly before October’s rain and cold rots them.
Wilko reveals date for final store closures
Wilko is to shut the doors of its 111 last remaining stores on Sunday, October 8 as the collapse of the historic retailer comes to a close, administrators for PwC have said.
The hardware and furnishings retailer tumbled into administration last month after it came under pressure from weak consumer spending and debts to suppliers.
The Wilko brand won’t disappear entirely from the UK high street, though, after The Range agreed to buy its brand, website and intellectual property, with plans to sell the acquired brand in its stores.
Mortgage payments in blue wall ‘up by £3,000 after Truss’, Lib Dems say
Homeowners in the so-called ‘blue wall’ have seen their mortgage payments rise by around £3,000 a year since Liz Truss’s mini-budget, the Liberal Democrats have claimed.
The party says areas in southern England – which it is targeting in the run-up to a general election expected next year – have been ‘hardest hit’ by the increases.
Typical homeowners coming out of a two-year deal in the week after the mini-budget last September would have seen their rate shoot up from 1.69 per cent to 5.17 per cent, according to Lib Dem analysis of data provided by the House of Commons Library.
Sunak reportedly considering ‘outlawing cigarettes for next generation’
Downing Street hasn’t denied reports that the prime minister could accept a recommendation that would effectively ban cigarettes for the next generation.
Rishi Sunak is considering introducing some of the world’s toughest anti-smoking measures by steadily increasing the legal age for consuming tobacco, according to The Guardian, which cited Whitehall sources.
Last year, a government-commissioned review led by former Barnardo’s CEO Dr Javed Khan backed England following in the footsteps of New Zealand, which plans to impose a gradually rising smoking age to prevent tobacco being sold to anyone born on or after January 1, 2009.
Superdrug to stop selling single-use vapes
Superdrug has announced plans to stop selling single-use vapes in all its UK and Ireland stores.
Brands such as Vuse Go and Flavaah Bars will no longer be sold by the retailer, which plans to have the stock completely cleared by the end of the year.
The move comes in response to research from recycling campaign group Material Focus, which found that five million disposable vapes are thrown away each week in the UK. Superdrug also cited the risk of fires caused by improper disposal of vapes because of many containing lithium batteries.
Israel ‘at cusp’ of peace deal with Saudi Arabia, says Netanyahu
Benjamin Netanyahu has told the UN General Assembly that Israel is ‘at the cusp’ of a historic breakthrough leading to a peace agreement with Saudi Arabia.
The Israeli PM struck an optimistic tone throughout his 25-minute address, in which he showed how progress had been made in normalising relations with the country’s neighbours, including via the so-called Abraham Accords.
‘I believe that we are at the cusp of an even more dramatic breakthrough, a historic peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia,’ Netanyahu said. ‘Peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia will truly create a new Middle East.’
Classic MGB returns as battery-powered restomod
The iconic MGB has been reimagined for the modern era with a fully electric version that has a manual gearbox in contrast to most EVs.
Built by specialists Frontline Cars, the Bee has the same look and feel as the original but uses a completely battery-powered set-up.
It has a 40kWh battery with an estimated range of up to 140 miles and weighs just 1,186kg, which is 70kg lighter than the original MGB.
Yesterday’s headlines on Car Dealer you might have missed
- Exclusive: Car dealers have their say on 2035 ban as some predict ‘it’ll never happen’
- Hedin and Penske make higher offer for Pendragon after previous bid rejected
- Used car dealer accuses landlord of ‘stitch-up’ after business is evicted to make room for Channel 4 contestant
- Used car dealer must pay over £1,000 for not naming driver suspected of offence
- ‘There is nothing quite like the thrill of winning a Car Dealer Used Car Award,’ says serial winner
Market movements
The FTSE 100 closed 5.29 points up yesterday to end the week on 7,683.91. The Cac 40, meanwhile, was down 29.08 points at 7,184.82, the Dax was down 14.57 points at 15,557.29, and the Dow Jones was down 106.58 points at 33,963.84.
Weather outlook
Today will start sunny and chilly for most areas, says BBC Weather, while in the afternoon, cloud will move into western areas, with rain for Northern Ireland and far western Scotland by the evening. It’ll be dry and fine in the south-east.
Sunday will be cloudy and windy with outbreaks of rain, mainly in the north and west, some heavy and persistent during the afternoon. It’ll stay drier and brighter further to the south and east.
