Thousands of Just Eat couriers launch legal action to improve workers’ rights

More than 7,000 Just Eat couriers are taking legal action against the food delivery company in an attempt to gain better employment rights including the minimum wage and holiday pay.The employment tribunal, which begins on Tuesday and is set to run until 2 June, will determine if the couriers are classed as workers, a status that comes with improved rights, or self-employed independent contractors.Judgment is expected later in 2026.Just Eat dismissed about 1,700 couriers in the UK in 2023 when it returned to a gig economy model and scrapped an experiment that offered guaranteed minimum pay, sick pay and holiday pay in six cities in the UK and Europe.Under its “Scoober” experiment, couriers who Just Eat said handled less than 5% of UK orders at the time and also worked set shifts, were provided with e-bikes or e-mopeds and had the option to operate from a central hub, where they could pick up equipment and take breaks

UK food prices on track to rise by 50% since start of cost of living crisis

Food prices are on track to be 50% higher in November than at the start of the cost of living crisis in 2021, research suggests.Climate and energy shocks have driven an almost quadrupling of the pace of food price growth, according to research from the thinktank Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), with costs rising in five years at about the same rate as they had over the previous two decades.Anna Taylor, the executive director of the Food Foundation charity, said: “Food prices rising this high and this fast leaves families on the lowest incomes with nowhere left to cut except the food on their plate. When that happens, people skip meals, children go hungry, and diet-related illness rises – taking parents out of work and piling pressure on an NHS that can least afford it.”The research suggests that the cost of living crisis, which many voters blame on political elites and big business, is likely to continue to be an important political issue during 2026

Vine video-sharing app is back – and battling AI slop

As a pioneer of the short-form video format, Vine has been credited as one of the most influential – if short-lived – social media platforms.The app, which allowed users to record a looping six seconds of video, boomed in popularity after its launch in 2013, spawning a plethora of viral comedy sketches and internet memes. It hit 100 million monthly active users at its peak and helped launch the careers of influencers such as Logan Paul.It was snapped up by Twitter – now X – soon after its creation, but closed in 2017 after the platform failed to make the sums add up.Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s co-founder, is now backing an attempt to bring back a revamped version of the much-loved platform with a new philosophy: to be the short-form video app offering “freedom from AI slop”

GameStop makes $55.5bn takeover offer for eBay

US video games retailer GameStop has offered to buy eBay for $55.5bn (£41bn) in an unsolicited bid that its boss warned could turn hostile if the proposal is rebuffed by eBay’s board.GameStop, which has quietly accumulated a 5% stake in eBay, said it was willing to pay $125 a share, split 50-50 between cash and stock.It is an ambitious move by the games company, which catapulted to fame during the meme-stock craze of 2021 but is worth far less than its takeover target. GameStop had a market valuation of roughly $12bn on Friday before its bid, while eBay – originally launched as a side hobby by its founder Pierre Omidyar in 1995 – is worth about $46bn

Root’s golden arm leads Yorkshire past Somerset, Kent thrash Derbyshire: county cricket, day four

Joe Root has often won games for Yorkshire with the bat, not so often with his golden arm. But it was spin twins Root (four for 49) and Dom Bess (four for 60) who did for Somerset, chasing 260 in front of a good bank holiday Monday crowd. George Hill, charging in with zip, bowled Archie Vaughan and Tom Lammonby cheaply, then Bess removed danger men James Rew, who had a rare bad match, and his great friend Tom Abell.Root impishly polished off most of the tail. Thomas Rew got off the mark, and a pair, with a sweet cover driver for four and played nicely for his 30 before being removed caught Bairstow, bowled Root – surely a badge of honour in his first Championship game

Champions Cup final will have independent TV director in charge

An independent broadcast director is set to be in position for this month’s Champions Cup final in Bilbao after disquiet about the lack of crucial replays available to match officials during Bath’s 38-26 semi-final defeat against Bordeaux-Bègles on Sunday.Johann van Graan, Bath’s head of rugby, suggested three high tackles on his No 8, Alfie Barbeary, were missed because the referee and television match official (TMO) had not been supplied with all the requisite angles by the French host broadcaster. Members of the commentary team on Premier Sports also highlighted the absence of replay footage.Different protocols are in place in the Champions Cup compared with the United Rugby Championship and the Six Nations, when an independent operator sits with the TMO to ensure the best pictures are readily available. On Sunday, under EPCR regulations relating to host country arrangements, a French director was in place