Britain must steel itself for the future | Brief letters

At last, someone who articulates a clear plan for the steel we will need in future (Letters, 15 April). Prof Euan G Nisbet’s plan to keep Scunthorpe’s blast furnaces going for a few more years while Britain’s best brains devise a way to turn iron ore into hi-tech steels provides hope for the breakthroughs needed to guarantee long-term futures for Scunthorpe and Port Talbot, and to meet our net zero ambitions.Jenny RathboneLabour Senedd member for Cardiff Central The buccaneering story of how Scunthorpe’s furnaces were saved is enthralling (British Steel on a razor’s edge: inside Starmer’s Scunthorpe rescue mission, 18 April), but one aspect bothers me. If all the raw materials are imported (coke, iron ore) then what is the gain in supply security – the ostensible justification – over importing steel processed at source, which is surely more efficient?Dr Kimon RoussopoulosCambridge I find that singing the Canadian national anthem at full volume is very effective in stopping people playing music without headphones in public places, if polite requests fail (Letters, 13 April). I’m sure other anthems will suffice

Why the UK’s electricity costs are so high – and what can be done about it

One of Labour’s key election promises was to cut energy bills by £300 a year by 2030 while making Britain a “clean energy superpower”.The job is already halfway complete: renewable energy made up more than half the UK’s electricity for the first time last year. So why does Britain continue to have one of the most expensive electricity markets in the world? Industrial users complain those costs are driving companies out of business and discouraging investment in the UK.The reason behind Britain’s sky-high wholesale energy costs is simple, according to experts. It is down to Britain’s reliance on gas – the price of which was sent soaring by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – in power plants and home heating

Parents must make tough choices on smartphones, says children’s commissioner for England

Parents should be prepared to make difficult decisions over their child’s smartphone usage rather than trying to be their friend, the children’s commissioner for England has said.Dame Rachel de Souza said this should include parents considering the example they are setting their children through their own phone usage.Writing in the Sunday Times, de Souza said that “if we are serious about protecting our children, we have to look at our own behaviour”.She added: “The temptation as a parent to give in to a child’s pleas is a real one. Every parent has been in that position

It’s not too late to stop Trump and the Silicon Valley broligarchy from controlling our lives, but we must act now | Carole Cadwalladr

To walk into the lion’s den once might be considered foolhardy. To do so again after being mauled by the lion? It’s what … ill-advised? Reckless? Suicidal? Six years ago I gave a talk at Ted, the world’s leading technology and ideas conference. It led to a gruelling lawsuit and a series of consequences that reverberate through my life to this day.And last week I returned. To give another talk that would incorporate some of my experience: a Ted Talk about being sued for giving a Ted Talk, and how the lessons I’d learned from surviving all that were a model for surviving “broligarchy” – a concept I first wrote about in the Observer in July last year: the alignment of Silicon Valley and autocracy, and a kind of power the world has never seen before

Gout Gout and Lachie Kennedy miss out on final as Stawell Gift favourites upset

Sprint stars Gout Gout and Lachie Kennedy were eliminated from the Stawell Gift in the semi-finals after being unable to make up sizeable handicaps, as Olympian Bree Rizzo became the second woman to win the Gift off scratch.South Australian John Evans – who eliminated Gout in the semi-finals – won the men’s final off a handicap of 9.75m, finishing in a time of 11.94s ahead of Jasper Thomas.Rizzo was able to claim the women’s sash as the back-marker, becoming the second woman to win from scratch after Melissa Breen in 2012

‘It’s better not to talk’: Max Verstappen claims criticism is impossible in F1

Max Verstappen has implied it is all but impossible to express an opinion for risk of censure by Formula One’s governing body the FIA, when he refused to air his clear displeasure at the penalty he was given during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.Verstappen declined to discuss the race after the top three drivers climbed from their cars in parc ferme. He was fined by the FIA for swearing in a press conference at the Singapore GP last year and this season has been far more guarded and short in answering questions. Speaking to the media in Jeddah he suggested he felt constrained by the rulebook.“The problem is I cannot share my opinion about it because I might get penalised so it’s better not to talk about,” he said