British Steel: more questions than answers on the future | Nils Pratley

“One of the proudest things we have done in government,” said Keir Starmer in Monday’s big speech about the decision a year ago to recall parliament in order to take control of British Steel at Scunthorpe.It was an odd boast because last year’s action was merely an emergency exercise in saving the patient, as opposed to getting British Steel on its feet and out of the hospital. Taking control meant the Chinese owner, Jingye, could not turn off the two blast furnaces but meant the government was on the hook for operational losses, which will be £615m and counting by next month according to the National Audit Office (NAO).Full nationalisation is now on the cards, which will end the limbo-land state of ownership and give some comfort for 4,000 workers. But it is also the point at which the government will have to choose between its barely described “potential future options” for British Steel

UK government borrowing costs rise as Starmer ‘fails to reassure bond markets’ – as it happened

UK government borrowing costs are creeping a little higher after a morning of rising political jitters.The yield, or interest rate, on UK 30-year bonds is now up 8 basis points (0.08 of a percentage point) at 5.65%, up from 5.57% on Friday night

Mistaking AI behaviour for conscious being | Letter

Richard Dawkins’ reflections on AI consciousness are striking – not because they show that machines have crossed some hidden threshold into inner life, but because they reveal how readily we can be persuaded that they have (Richard Dawkins concludes AI is conscious, even if it doesn’t know it, 5 May).Many will recognise the experience: a system that responds with fluency, humour and apparent understanding. At some point, simulation starts to feel like presence. But that shift tells us more about human cognition than machine consciousness. The error is a category one

Google developers significantly misstate carbon emissions of proposed UK datacentres

Developers working for Google have significantly misstated how much carbon two proposed AI datacentres will contribute to the UK’s total emissions in planning documents reviewed by the Guardian.The tech company wants to build two huge datacentres – one 52-hectare (130 acre) project in Thurrock and another at an airfield in North Weald, both in Essex. To do so, developers are required to submit planning documents calculating how much carbon these projects will emit as a proportion of the UK’s total carbon footprint.In both cases, they appear to have compared one year of the proposed datacentre’s emissions with the UK’s entire five-year carbon budget, understating the significance of their emissions by a factor of five, according to experts at the tech justice nonprofit Foxglove.Greystoke, a company planning to build another datacentre in north Lincolnshire, one of the largest in the UK, also appears to have misstated the emissions of its project in the same way

Glamorgan beat Somerset to claim first home win in Division One: county cricket, day four – as it happened

Glamorgan’s overseas fast bowler Ryan Hadley was the unlikely batting hero at Sophia Gardens, doubling his first-class average to squeak the home side over the line against Somerset. Hadley, who was sent in on Sunday evening as nightwatchman, laboured for 231 balls to 50 not out, winning the game and bringing up his maiden half‑century with a straight drive. He was given a huge hug from partner Mason Crane, handshakes from Tom Abell and most of the Somerset team, before taking giant strides back to the applause of the dressing room. “I was telling the boys I hadn’t been dismissed since coming here, as a joke, so was saying earlier it’s inevitable they’re going to get me for the first time, but I’m still here – it’s a miracle,” he said.It was Glamorgan’s first win on home soil in Division One, and if it was methodically slow, no one was complaining

Is CTE really the main reason behind the rise in NFL player suicides?

When an NFL player takes his own life, there is often speculation about why. Injuries and unemployment – a common occurrence in a violent sport where players are frequently traded and cut – have been linked with increased risks of suicidal ideation. In parallel to those factors, however, exists chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). A degenerative brain condition caused by repeated trauma to the head, CTE’s links with football are established and almost impossible to ignore. Players ranging from widely admired Pro Bowlers such as Junior Seau and Dave Duerson, to those infamous for more notorious reasons, such as Aaron Hernandez and Phillip Adams, were all confirmed to have CTE by autopsies