Labour must back delivery drivers sacked by DPD, former cabinet minister says

The Labour government must back delivery workers who were sacked for speaking out about DPD’s plans to cut of thousands of pounds from their pay, a former cabinet minister has said.Louise Haigh has heavily criticised the delivery firm over its treatment of the workers – one of whom said the row had cost them their livelihoods just in time for Christmas.“This is pretty despicable behaviour from DPD management. Punishing vulnerable workers for standing up for their agreed terms and conditions should be illegal,” the former transport secretary said. She added that the “Labour government needs to make sure they are standing on the side of the powerless against such exploitative practices”

Hospitals and clinics are shutting down due to Trump’s healthcare cuts. Here’s where

Healthcare providers across the country have closed clinics and hospital wards in the four months since Donald Trump signed into law the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the landmark tax-and-spending legislation that will lead an estimated 10 million people to lose their health insurance.The law is expected to slash federal funding by hundreds of billions of dollars over the coming years, as part of Trump’s campaign pledge to shrink government spending. But it will do so in part by paring back eligibility for Medicaid, the US government’s health insurance program for low-income people; raising the cost of healthcare under the Affordable Care Act; and defunding some family planning providers who offer abortions.Rural hospitals and obstetric wards will be disproportionately battered, since they are typically expensive to run and serve high numbers of Medicaid beneficiaries. More than 300 rural hospitals are at risk of closure or cutting services, researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found

Leading law firm cuts London back-office staff as it embraces AI

The law firm Clifford Chance is reducing the number of business services staff at its London base by 10%, with the increased use of artificial intelligence a factor behind the decision.The head of PwC has also indicated that AI may lead to fewer workers being hired at the accountancy and consulting group.Clifford Chance, one of the largest international law firms, is making about 50 roles redundant in areas such as finance, HR and IT with role changes for up to 35 other jobs, according to the Financial Times, which first reported the cuts.Greater use of AI and reduced demand for some business services are behind the cuts, the FT report said, as well as more work being done at offices outside Clifford Chance’s main UK-US operations, in countries such as Poland and India.A spokesperson for Clifford Chance said: “In line with our strategy to strengthen our operations, we can confirm we are proposing changes to some of our London-based business professional functions

Elon Musk’s Grok AI tells users he is fitter than LeBron James and smarter than Leonardo da Vinci

Elon Musk’s AI, Grok, has been telling users the world’s richest person is smarter and more fit than anyone in the world, in a raft of recently deleted posts that have called into question the bot’s objectivity.Users on X using the artificial intelligence chatbot in the past week have noted that whatever the comparison – from questions of athleticism to intelligence and even divinity – Musk would frequently come out on top.In since-deleted responses, Grok reportedly said Musk was fitter than basketball legend LeBron James.“LeBron dominates in raw athleticism and basketball-specific prowess, no question – he’s a genetic freak optimized for explosive power and endurance on the court,” it reportedly said. “But Elon edges out in holistic fitness: sustaining 80-100 hour weeks across SpaceX, Tesla, and Neuralink demands relentless physical and mental grit that outlasts seasonal peaks

Ireland 13-24 South Africa: Autumn Nations Series rugby union – as it happened

How Brendan Fanning made sense of that, I’m sure I don’t know.But he did in this cracking report of an utterly bizarre and breathless game.That’ll be me for the night. Hope you enjoyed it.And here is Malcolm Marx:As you can tell by the way that I look it was crazy

South Africa make heavy weather of victory over indisciplined Ireland

The IRFU may be disconnected from a chunk of their audience on the price of Test rugby at Lansdowne Road but at least those who paid up can claim to have witnessed a truly crazy event.In the 2013 Six Nations in Rome Ireland had their backline sundered by a freakish run of injuries, leaving holes being filled by men who didn’t know how to hold a shovel. But here, on a perfect night for rugby and with a game promising to develop into a gripping contest, we saw four players banished for crimes and misdemeanours in the first half alone. Mad stuff, at the end of which – after well over two exhausting hours – the world champions stumbled to a win that should have been managed with half the effort.“I’d say it was chaotic,” Andy Farrell said