Companies House collects just £1,250 in fines in corruption crackdown

The UK government agency responsible for overseeing a national register of companies has collected just £1,250 in fines after being given new powers to crack down on corruption, it has emerged.Companies House is implementing a series of reforms, amid embarrassing revelations about fraudsters and jokers signing up to the corporate register with names such as “Darth Vader” and “Santa Claus”.Measures include new identity verification checks for directors, after the agency admitted that up to 20% of the 4.9m companies on its database may have submitted false information.Since last autumn, the agency has also had powers to impose financial penalties for failure to comply with its rules, such as the requirement to file ownership information on time

‘Polyworking’: why do so many millennials have more than one job?

Americans are barely staying ahead of inflation. So how are they dealing with this issue? By working more.That’s one of the biggest takeaways from a new study by Academized, an outsourcing platform that connects writers and students. According to the report, more than half of millennials – who make up the largest percentage of workers in this country – are working more than one job to make extra money. What’s even more eye-raising is that nearly a quarter (24%) of those workers have three jobs and a third (33%) have four or more income-earning opportunities outside their full-time work

Meta and Pinterest believed to have donated to Molly Russell charity

Meta and Pinterest have reportedly made significant donations to the Molly Rose Foundation, a charity set up to campaign for internet safety.The foundation was set up in the name of 14-year-old Molly Russell, who took her own life in 2017 after viewing harmful material linked to suicide and self-harm on social media platforms.The foundation’s latest annual report refers to grants received from donors who wish to remain anonymous, with trustees agreeing to respect their request.According to the BBC, these payments are believed to have been made by Meta and Pinterest since 2024 and are expected to continue over a number of years. Details of the amounts reportedly donated have not been disclosed

Australia’s social media ban is attracting global praise – but we’re no closer to knowing how it would work

The smash hit Netflix show Adolescence, which explores a teenage murder fuelled by social media and toxic masculinity, has renewed calls for social media bans in some countries. One of the show’s stars this week said the UK should follow Australia’s lead in banning children aged under 16 from social media platforms.The ban has been praised in the US and UK, and is described as “world-leading” by the Australian government. Time magazine this week praised the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, for a “remarkable” policy that was “politically uncontroversial” on the basis that both major parties supported it.Left unsaid was all the criticism raised by mental health groups, LGBTQ+ groups and other campaigners during the rushed process to pass the bill in parliament last year

Oscar Allen gets his wings clipped as inept AFL allows money to talk louder than morals | Jonathan Horn

“It’s hard to get caught in a lie,” Rachel Menken says to Don Draper in one of the early episodes of Mad Men. “It wasn’t a lie,” Don replies. “It was ineptitude with insufficient cover.” Oscar Allen’s press conference during the week said a lot about the football landscape – the money, the media, the managers, the mangled English.As he spoke, West Coast Eagles Head of Football John Worsfold stood smirking within spoiling distance – part affable pharmacist, part hired hitman

County cricket day three: Worcestershire clinging on after battering from Banton – as it happened

In the end, Brian Charles Lara could rest easy, his record first-class score of 501 not out for Warwickshire against Durham in 1994 was not surpassed by Somerset’s Tom Banton. Resuming on 344 and with his county’s highest score freshly minted in his back pocket, Banton threw the blade at everything Worcestershire sent down on the third morning, a nick behind off the left-arm wrist‑spinner Tom Hinley the final act of an innings of 371.Not bad for a player who admitted to “hating” cricket during times of paucity in recent years. Banton will now be on England’s radar in both red and white ball formats. Fifties from Adam Hose and Brett D’Oliveira delayed a three-day defeat for the Pears but they seem sure to go mouldy on day four, trailing by 236 runs with half their second innings wickets lost