Obstructive sleep apnoea costs UK and US economies £137bn a year, research finds

Obstructive sleep apnoea costs the US and UK economies more than £137bn ($185bn) a year, according to research.People with the serious health condition repeatedly stop breathing temporarily while asleep; they tend to snore very loudly and can wake up gasping for breath.Sufferers will also often experience excessive daytime fatigue. The condition is thought to affect about 1 billion people globally – including 8 million in the UK – though up to 85% are undiagnosed. Untreated, it is linked to increased risks of heart attack and stroke

Young bearing the brunt of UK tax and wage changes, says BoE economist

The negative effect of a combined increase in employers’ taxes and minimum wages has been “particularly acute” for young people, the Bank of England’s chief economist has warned.Huw Pill said on Tuesday that the increase in national insurance contributions (NICs) from April last year and the government’s efforts to equalise the “national living wage” had caused a particular problem for young people trying to find jobs.Official figures released last week showed that unemployment among 16- to 24-year-olds is higher than the EU average for the first time, rising to 16.1% in the final three months of 2025. This is the highest level, including the pandemic, since 2014, when the jobs market was still recovering from the financial crisis

Flawed council shake-up plans will not deliver savings | Letters

Polly Toynbee is correct to point out the foolishness of a massive local government reorganisation, given other priorities (Is No 10 seeking its own destruction? Why else would it botch its council plans and hand a victory to Farage?, 18 February).What she does not mention is that this reorganisation will lead to a large increase in inequality. The district councils that are being abolished are rising from the ashes as town and parish councils and, unlike other councils, they can set their own precept and cannot be capped. The largest town councils have budgets of more than £5m and more than 124 parish councils have budgets of over £1m. These councils tend to be in the wealthier suburban and rural areas, and can protect their residents from austerity, unlike residents of large, disadvantaged urban areas

Underwear care advice is just pants | Brief letters

So, we are supposed to throw away underwear that is more than six months old and wash the rest at 60C (Do we really need to replace our underwear every six months?, 23 February). There is no consideration of the ecological cost of adding to the mountain of discarded clothing, the cost of producing more cheap underwear and the added cost of heating water to 60C. Also, there is no evidence shown that wearing such underwear is harmful. I don’t know how I made it to the age of 77.Kathleen HooperPenistone, South Yorkshire The Bafta ceremony made it clear that, to its shame, the BBC sees the slogan “Free Palestine” as far more offensive than the most disgusting racist term in the dictionary – and acted accordingly (BBC producers say they ‘didn’t hear’ N-word slur as ‘working in a truck’, following second Baftas apology, 23 February)

‘Tics are involuntary’: people with Tourette syndrome on Baftas outburst

It was an incident that sparked a furore: during Sunday’s Bafta ceremony Tourette syndrome (TS) activist John Davidson made several outbursts, including shouting the N-word as actors Delroy Lindo and Michael B Jordan were presenting a prize on stage.Among others to comment on the incident were actors including Oscar winner Jamie Foxx and Wendell Pierce, who starred alongside Jordan in The Wire.Writing below a post about the incident on Instagram, Foxx said Davidson’s use of the N-word was “Unacceptable”, adding: “Nah he meant that shit”, while Pierce wrote on the platform X: “It’s infuriating that the first reaction wasn’t complete and full throatted [sic] apologies to Delroy Lindo and Michael B Jordan. The insult to them takes priority. It doesn’t matter the reasoning for the racist slur

Government accused of caving in to building lobby amid plans to shake up housing sector in England

The government has been accused of bowing to lobbying by housebuilders, in proposals that would prevent English local authorities from pursuing improvements to low-carbon homes standards.Under a consultation on planning rules, councils would be issued with guidance that would effectively limit their scope to demand builders construct new homes within their areas to the highest possible standards.These changes to the National Planning Policy Framework would benefit housebuilders, which could be assured of the same standards across England, but would bind the hands of councils, some of which have declared a “climate emergency”.Ministers have yet to publish separate much-delayed rules for the future homes standard (FHS), which requires new homes to be built with low-carbon equipment such as heat pumps, high-grade insulation and solar panels. But there are fears that the FHS will not go far enough