Author: DispatchTimes News Desk

Britain’s energy costs have created a “competitiveness deficit” that the Government can no longer tolerate, Sir Alex Chisholm, the UK chair of EDF, has warned. Chisholm said industrial electricity users in the UK were paying almost one and a half times more than businesses elsewhere in Europe, as companies and ministers face mounting pressure to reduce energy bills. “The UK has a competitiveness deficit now in its energy costs—that is a real call to action,” he said. “We’re now nearly one and a half times more expensive [than the rest of Europe] for industrial users of electricity, and that is…

Manchester United are assessing potential managerial alternatives as Michael Carrick comes under pressure after a poor opening to the 2026-27 Premier League season, with Antonio Conte, Kieran McKenna and Oliver Glasner among the possible replacements. United have taken four points from their first four league matches and sit 13th after losing to Hull City and Manchester City, drawing with Everton and beating Ipswich. There has been no confirmation that INEOS intend to dismiss Carrick. However, further deterioration in results could prompt the club to consider a change. The difficult start represents a sharp reversal from Carrick’s first spell in charge…

Former Adelaide teacher Jaimie Holland is to fight a historical child sexual abuse charge dating back more than a decade. Holland, 61, appeared before Adelaide Magistrates Court on Wednesday accused of one count of sexual abuse of a child. Court documents allege the incident occurred between July and September 2016 in Kensington Park. His lawyer said Holland would plead not guilty, arguing the matter had been investigated and dismissed about 10 years ago. “We’re waiting on a whole lot of evidence and material from the DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions) and police prosecution, and we intend to fight it every…

An NBC News helicopter crashed in Los Angeles on Tuesday, killing at least three people and sending two others to hospital. The helicopter team had been covering a deadly bus collision when the crash occurred. At least two people were killed in that collision.

AI-generated political ads are spreading across US election campaigns, with at least 164 adverts nationwide produced or enhanced using the technology this year, according to the Wesleyan Media Project. The adverts range from parodies featuring prominent candidates to attacks in local races, raising questions about whether voters can distinguish satire from reality and whether those depicted have consented to the use of their likenesses. Jessica Bichler, a Democratic candidate for the North Carolina state Senate, was shown in an advert produced by her Republican opponent, incumbent Senator Michael Lee, contorting into physically impossible yoga poses. The video also made claims…

Ursula von der Leyen has backed a slowdown in the development of artificial intelligence and will invite frontier labs to talks on tackling the risks posed by the technology. The European Union move will bring leading AI developers into discussions focused on managing potential risks as the technology continues to advance.

A potential Florian Wirtz and Michael Olise swap between Liverpool and Bayern Munich has been discussed by German journalist Christian Falk, although he stressed that several factors would need to fall into place before such a deal could become realistic. Wirtz was wanted by Bayern before joining Liverpool, having established himself as one of Germany’s leading young players during his time with Bayer Leverkusen. The 23-year-old has yet to consistently reproduce his best form on Merseyside, though there have been signs of improvement at the start of this season. Olise, meanwhile, has impressed since moving to Bayern and is already…

A man accused of racially abusing a schoolgirl on a Sydney bus has launched a tirade in court. The allegations relate to an incident involving the schoolgirl on public transport in Sydney. No further details of the court outburst were provided.

The US Coast Guard and FBI boarded a Texas-bound oil tanker after detecting signs that its computer network may have been compromised by a foreign actor while the vessel was crossing the Atlantic. A specialist team went aboard the foreign-flagged ship on August 21, before it reached port. Coast Guard law-enforcement personnel, a vessel inspector, cyber specialists and FBI Cyber Action Team operators examined its operational technology and information-technology systems. The team worked with the crew and the ship’s corporate operators to remove the suspected threat. The Coast Guard said there had been no reports of operational disruption, instability affecting…

Amnesty International has named 87 Iranian officials it says oversaw killings, torture and sexual violence during the authorities’ crackdown on the 2022 “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests. The human rights organisation is calling for the officials to be investigated for crimes against humanity in a 1,000-page report based on testimony from 270 witnesses and survivors, alongside an examination of more than 2,000 videos recorded between 16 September and 31 December 2022. Amnesty said the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and the Police Command of the Islamic Republic of Iran (FARAJA) led operations to disperse protesters. Official statements and leaked documents reviewed…