Ben & Jerry’s says Unilever tried to block pro-Palestinian statements

Ben & Jerry’s has launched legal action against Unilever, accusing its parent company of trying to block the ice-cream brand from making public statements supporting Palestinian refugees in the conflict in Gaza.The lawsuit also claims that Unilever has threatened to dismantle its board and sue directors over the issue.Ben & Jerry’s, which has previously clashed with its parent company when it said it would stop selling its products in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, said Unilever has breached the terms of a confidential settlement agreed in 2022.Unilever subsequently sold Ben & Jerry’s Israel division to a local operation, prompting the ice-cream maker to sue its parent company before reaching the settlement two years ago.The new lawsuit claims that Unilever breached the agreement to “respect and acknowledge the Ben & Jerry’s independent board’s primary responsibility over Ben & Jerry’s social mission”, adding: “Ben & Jerry’s has on four occasions attempted to publicly speak out in support of peace and human rights

Southern Water’s debt downgraded to junk status by Moody’s

Southern Water’s debt has been downgraded to junk status by the credit rating agency Moody’s in a decision that underlines the precarious state of the UK water industry.Moody’s said Southern’s “history of material operational and financial under-performance” could imperil its plan, announced last month, to borrow £4bn from investors.The company, which supplies water and wastewater services to 4.7 million customers in Kent, Sussex, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, blamed regulatory uncertainty over the UK water sector for the downgrade. It said there would be no effect on customers

FBI raids home and seizes phone of Polymarket founder

The FBI raided the home of the chief executive of the predictive betting site Polymarket and seized his phone late on Wednesday.Shayne Coplan, the 26-year-old CEO of the company, woke early on Wednesday morning in Manhattan to federal agents in his home, the New York Post first reported. Coplan himself was not arrested, the company said.On X, formerly Twitter, Coplan wrote on Wednesday evening: “New phone, who dis?”Polymarket claimed the raid was retaliation for its users betting overwhelmingly that Donald Trump would win the election. The site displayed a large chance of Trump winning before the election, giving Kamala Harris a minimal one, out of line with most mainstream polls

Bitcoin clears $93,000 and Dogecoin soars amid Trump-fueled crypto rally

The price of bitcoin scaled a fresh all-time high on Wednesday, soaring above $93,000 as cryptocurrency investors continued to cheer the election victory of Donald Trump.Dogecoin, a meme coin previously backed by Elon Musk, has risen as much as 150% in value since election day. It continued to rise after the president-elect announced that Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy would lead the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), a new outside advisory group.Bitcoin has surged by more than a third since Trump’s win.Many of his biggest supporters, such as Musk, have deep ties to the crypto industry – and they are expecting large dividends for their loyalty after his victory

Freddie Steward recalled as England make four changes for South Africa Test

Freddie Steward has been recalled to the England side to face South Africa, with Steve Borthwick making four changes for Saturday’s meeting with the back-to-back world champions.In a move predicted by the Springboks head coach, Rassie Erasmus, Steward returns for the first time this autumn, with George Furbank dropping out of the match-day 23.Elsewhere, Ben Spencer has paid the price for England’s consecutive defeats by New Zealand and Australia with Jack van Poortvliet getting the nod at scrum-half. In two injury-enforced changes, Sam Underhill and Ollie Sleightholme come in for Tom Curry and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso respectively.Steward last appeared for England in the second-Test defeat by New Zealand in July but at 6ft 5in he provides an aerial prowess that may prove significant against South Africa

Australia beat Pakistan in shortened first Twenty20 international – as it happened

Australia go 1-0 up in the three game series, we’ll be back to bring you the second match on Saturday. Thanks for your company and for sticking with us through the storm. Goodbye!A word from each captain:Josh Inglis:A really nice win, the boys really applied themselves and it was great to get a win after the ODI series. The bowlers did a great job taking wickets early and they executed everything they tried.”Mohammad Rizwan:It was difficult to keep things normal in a seven-over game! We’ve got to give credit to Maxy - his style worked really well