Companies House to stop fraudsters joining up under fake names like ‘Darth Vader’

Fraudsters and jokers trying to join the UK’s corporate register under fake names such as “Darth Vader” and “Santa Claus” will be blocked under plans to force directors to provide identification – but campaigners have said the measure is unlikely to stop determined criminals.From autumn next year, individuals incorporating a new company at Companies House will have to provide ID if they are a director or a “person of significant control” (PSC), usually a significant or majority owner of a company.Companies House has long been criticised over a lack of checks and was described as “dysfunctional” by the anti-fraud leader at trade body UK Finance in 2022.Concerns about flaws in the corporate register include fraudsters using fake names to disguise their identity or registering addresses unbeknown to the real occupant.Directors have been registered in the name of “Adolf Tooth Fairy Hitler” and “Judas Superadio Iskariot”, without being questioned

New ‘buy now, pay later’ rules to protect UK shoppers from 2026

Shoppers who use “buy now, pay later” loans are to get new safeguards against unaffordable borrowing and credit card-style protection for their purchases, under rules outlined by the UK government.However, campaigners have questioned why the BNPL changes will not take effect until 2026, warning that consumers need to be “wary” in the meantime.In recent years the market for BNPL has boomed, with many big retailers teaming up with lenders such as Klarna and Clearpay to allow consumers to spread the cost of their purchases.But while the loans, typically advertised at online checkouts, do not attract interest, concerns have grown around the ease with which borrowers can build up unaffordable debt.Research carried out last year by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) found that 14 million people had used BNPL and frequent users were more than four times as likely to have recently missed a payment for a bill or credit commitment than those who had not used the loans

Watchdog opens investigation into anti-immigrant posts on Facebook

Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta must answer “serious questions” about its handling of anti-immigration material, according to the company’s content watchdog, as it opened an investigation into two Facebook posts.The Oversight Board is investigating Meta’s decision to keep the posts online after acknowledging that it receives a significant number of complaints from users over content that shares anti-immigrant views.Helle Thorning-Schmidt, co-chair of the board and a former Danish prime minister, said it was “critical” to get the balance right between free speech and protection of vulnerable groups.“The high number of appeals we get on immigration-related content from across the EU tells us there are serious questions to ask about how the company handles issues related to this, including the use of coded speech,” she said in a statement.The first case being investigated by the board is focused on a meme posted by the administrator of a Facebook page that describes itself as the official account of Poland’s far-right coalition party Confederation

Meta fires staff for ‘using free meal vouchers to buy household goods’

Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, has reportedly fired about 24 staff at its Los Angeles offices for using their $25 (£19) meal credits to buy items such as toothpaste, laundry detergent and wine glasses.The tech firm, which is worth £1.2tn and also owns the messaging platform WhatsApp, is said to have dismissed workers last week after an investigation discovered staff had been abusing the system, including sending food home when they were not in the office.That included one unnamed worker on a $400,000 salary, who said they had used their meal credits to buy household goods and groceries such as toothpaste and tea.On the anonymous messaging platform Blind, they wrote: “On days where I would not be eating at the office, like if my husband was cooking or if I was grabbing dinner with friends, I figured I ought not to waste the dinner credit

Chess: England gains new grandmaster as Ameet Ghasi qualifies at age 37

Ameet Ghasi became England’s 42nd and latest grandmaster last weekend when the Birmingham 37-year-old shared first prize with 6.5/9 in the international tournament at Fagernes, Norway.Ghasi, an amateur who works full-time for Biogen, is the oldest English player ever to qualify for the GM title, which requires three norms at 2600 level plus a published Fide rating of 2500. He has been trying for his final norm for a few years now, and the decisive trigger came from help from the new Department for Culture, Media and Sport grant for elite chess, which enabled him to target Fagernes as a norm prospect and to prepare for the event well in advance. His best win there was against a Norwegian GM, where Ghasi attacked, broke through with a rook for bishop sacrifice, then finished with a checkmate on the board

Australia’s domination ends at Women’s T20 World Cup but shock defeat can spark a new era | Megan Maurice

In the 15th over of South Africa’s innings in the first semi-final at the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup, Annabel Sutherland dismissed Laura Wolvaardt for 42, with Tahlia McGrath taking the catch at mid-off. So subdued was stand-in captain McGrath’s reaction that it initially appeared that the umpire had called a no-ball. A lacklustre high five with Sutherland confirmed Wolvaardt was indeed out, but McGrath knew that it was simply too little, too late.It was a moment that encapsulated the match, with disappointment and frustration written all over the faces of the Australians time and again as they tried to find a foothold with which to get themselves out of trouble. It was a performance we are unaccustomed to seeing from the three-time reigning champions, often touted as one of the world’s most dominant sporting teams