Interest rates ‘on path down’ despite hold at 5%, Bank of England chief says

The governor of the Bank of England has signalled readiness to resume interest rate cuts despite keeping borrowing costs unchanged on Thursday at 5%, amid concerns over lingering high inflation.Andrew Bailey said the central bank was “now gradually on the path down” from borrowing costs that were among the highest since before the 2008 financial crisis. “I think interest rates are going to come down, I’m optimistic on that front,” he said.Earlier on Thursday, the Bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) had voted by a majority of eight to one against launching a back-to-back reduction in interest rates, pausing its efforts to ease the pressure on household budgets.Last month, the Bank cut interest rates for the first time since the Covid pandemic was declared four years ago, after a sharp fall in inflation from a peak of more than 11% in late 2022 – the highest level since the early 1980s

Gambling firm appears to trivialise Lebanon pager blasts in social media post

The gambling company that owns the William Hill, 888 and Mr Green brands has apologised after one of its social media accounts appeared to make light of the pager explosions in Lebanon that killed 12 people and injured thousands.The explosions on Tuesday were followed by walkie-talkies exploding on Wednesday, killing another 20 people.The post was shared on the Israeli Facebook page of London-listed Evoke plc, previously known as 888 Holdings, and included a crudely drawn image of what it described as a “beeper”.The caption above the picture read: “If that’s what they’ve managed to do with beepers, imagine what it’s like to work with technology. Wow

Brazil top judge accuses X of ‘willful’ circumvention of court-ordered block

In the latest round of the dispute between Elon Musk and Brazil’s top court, a senior judge has accused X of a “willful, illegal and persistent” effort to circumvent a court-ordered block – and imposed a fine of R$5m ($921,676) for each day the social network remains online.The social media platform formerly known as Twitter, which has been banned by court order since 30 August, on Wednesday became accessible to many users in Brazil after an update that used cloud services offered by third parties, such as Cloudflare, Fastly and Edgeuno.This allowed some Brazilian users to access X without the need for a VPN – which is also prohibited in the country.Late on Wednesday, X described its reappearance in Brazil as an “inadvertent and temporary service restoration to Brazilian users”.But the influential supreme court justice Alexandre de Moraes – who ordered the original ban as part of an attempt to crack down on anti-democratic, far-right voices – on Thursday described the move as a deliberate attempt “to circumvent the court’s blocking order”

Google Pixel 9 review: a good phone overshadowed by great ones

Google’s cheapest Pixel 9 offers almost everything that makes its top-flight sibling one of the best smaller phones available, cutting a few key ingredients to price match Apple and Samsung.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.The Pixel 9 costs £799 (€899/$799/A$1,349) shaving £200 off the asking price of the stellar Pixel 9 Pro while sitting above the excellent value sub-£500 Pixel 8a from May

Wimbledon expansion set for green light after GLA backs park plans

It appears to be game, set and match for the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) in its lengthy battle to build 39 new courts on Wimbledon Park after the Greater London Authority recommended that the project should be approved.The proposals have been deeply controversial, with local residents warning of 10 years of disruption as well as the creation of a huge “tennis industrial complex” that would lie silent for much of the year. However, officers at the GLA recommended on Thursday that the deputy mayor should grant conditional planning permission at a public hearing on Friday 27 September.In the conclusion to a 221-page report, the officials said the project complied with most relevant planning policies and there were “no material considerations that are considered to justify the refusal of consent”. The report also said the proposal would bring in £336m of annual benefits and “would result in the creation of 40 year-round jobs and 256 Championships jobs”

Surrey on verge of title as Kent relegated: county cricket – as it happened

Surrey are on the verge of a third successive County Championship title after beating Durham within three days at the Oval and then sitting back to watch their challengers, Somerset, falter at Old Trafford.Dan Worrall’s two wickets in the first over of the day doomed Durham’s innings barely before it had breathed, and he finished with four wickets, as did Sam Curran. Only Emilio Gay’s 48 prevented an innings defeat for Durham, but Rory Burns and Dom Sibley quickly reached the 25 needed, to tick off Surrey’s sixth home win of the season. They will be champions on Friday if Somerset, six down, fail to score the 189 more they need to beat Lancashire and take the title race into the final round.In Manchester it was Luke Wells who all but crushed Somerset’s dreams under his big boots, first with an excellent counterattacking 130 to take Lancashire almost out of reach, then with two crucial wickets, one of them in the last over of the day when Kasey Aldridge was brilliantly caught off a quicker ball by Matty Hurst, ending a stoical 49-run sixth-wicket stand with James Rew