Brent crude hits $116 a barrel as Trump threatens to ‘blow up’ Iran’s oil wells and export hub

The price of oil rose sharply to $116 a barrel on Monday as Donald Trump threatened to “blow up” and “completely obliterate” Iranian electricity plants, oil wells and its export hub Kharg Island if it did not agree to a deal.Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil, rose by 1.6% on Monday after Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social that if a deal was not agreed and the strait of Hormuz was not reopened, the US would take further action.He wrote: “We will conclude our lovely ‘stay’ in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!), which we have purposefully not yet ‘touched’ …“This will be in retribution for our many soldiers, and others, that Iran has butchered and killed over the old Regime’s 47 year ‘Reign of Terror’.”The US president threatened to seize the Iranian export hub of Kharg Island in an interview with the Financial Times on Sunday

FCA to release details of UK car finance scandal compensation scheme

Millions of drivers will discover how much can they claim over the car finance scandal on Monday, as the City regulator sets out the final terms of its compensation scheme.The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will release the details of its redress programme for 14m motor finance agreements after 4.30pm, ensuring that the information comes out after stock markets close for trading.Regulators want to avoid large price fluctuations in the share prices of the biggest stock market-listed car loan providers, including Lloyds Banking Group, Santander, Barclays, and the specialist lender Close Brothers.The companies have been lobbying against the FCA’s proposals, which were put out for consultation in the final months of 2025, arguing that they amounted to a too-generous compensation bill for drivers

‘Soon publishers won’t stand a chance’: literary world in struggle to detect AI-written books

Recently, the literary agent Kate Nash started noticing that the submission letters she was receiving from authors were becoming more thorough – albeit also more formulaic.“I took it as a rise in diligence,” she said. “I thought it was a good thing.”But then she had what she described as her eureka moment: the letter with the AI prompt right at the top. “It read: ‘Rewrite my query letter for Kate Nash including a comp to a writer she represents,’” she said

‘Our assumptions are broken’: how fraudulent church data revealed AI’s threat to polling

If you had been keeping tabs on the news about church attendance in Britain lately, you would be forgiven for thinking the country was in the midst of a Christian revival.Stories of swelling congregations, filled with young people returning to the flock, spurred on by everything from social media to a rise in bible sales appeared to be confirmed by a 2024 report from the Bible Society.Based on data collected by a YouGov survey, it claimed church attendance was increasing in England and Wales. The findings drove headlines, and the narrative was established.There was just one problem – the survey turned out to be based on “fraudulent” data and has been withdrawn

F1 must find answers to safety crisis after Bearman’s escape but there are no easy fixes | Giles Richards

Oliver Bearman emerging unhurt from a huge accident at the Japanese Grand Prix was considered a lucky escape. Formula One must think it is catching a break given there is a full month to work out how best to mitigate against it happening again. It is going to need every minute of that time given the complexity of the problem.Bearman’s Haas car was travelling at 307kmh (191mph) when he was forced to veer off track as he came up behind the relatively slow-moving Alpine of Franco Colapinto. The closing speed between the two cars was 50kmh, a frightening pace

Worcestershire overseas signing leaves one-day final early to catch flight to England

Worcestershire’s new overseas signing has arrived under a cloud after leaving a one-day final in South Africa in order to catch his flight to England. Beyers Swanepoel was playing for Lions against Titans on Sunday when, according to a report by Times Live, he set off for the airport “around the 43rd over” of the second innings without informing his teammates as to why. It was widely assumed he had picked up an injury.The all-rounder had bowled his full allocation of 10 overs, but because there was no injury, Lions were denied a substitute fielder for the final stages of the match. Titans went on to chase down the target with a ball to spare