Asil Nadir obituary

Asil Nadir was the stock market poster boy of the 1980s who conned City bankers and private investors, not to mention the Conservative party, then staged a dramatic escape to spend 17 years as a fugitive before returning to the UK to face trial.A Turkish Cypriot immigrant, Nadir, who has died aged 83, was for many years feted as a success in the UK and Turkey. A 1991 biography of him was entitled The Sultan of Berkeley Square. Charismatic, charming and stylish, with playboy looks and lifestyle, plus an air of Midas mystery, Nadir had gone from running a family “rag trade” business in the East End of London to a £2bn global business empire, offices and homes in Mayfair filled with millions in art and antiques, a Palladian mansion in Rutland and another country estate.Few queried how Nadir made his millions – certainly not Tory party fundraisers

Feeding frenzy: how army of advisers is making millions from Thames Water

Sewage floating down Britain’s rivers has become a pungent political symbol. But a recent court case over Thames Water’s debts was not concerned with the flow of water and effluent so much as the flow of money.Thames Water stands out amid the turmoil of the privatised water industry in England and Wales. Loaded up with about £19bn in debt, the company sought court approval to borrow as much as £3bn more from a group of existing creditors in a desperate attempt to avoid temporary nationalisation at the end of March.That process, known as special administration, would preserve the supply of water to 16m households and businesses in London and south-east England

Man who lost bitcoin fortune in Welsh tip explores purchase of entire landfill

A computer expert who has battled for a decade to recover a £600m bitcoin fortune he believes is buried in a council dump in south Wales is considering buying the site so he can hunt for the missing fortune.James Howells lost a high court case last month to force Newport city council to allow him to search the tip to retrieve a hard drive he says contains the bitcoins.The council has since announced plans to close and cap the site, which would almost certainly spell the end of any lingering hopes of reaching the bitcoins. The authority has secured planning permission for a solar farm on part of the land.Howells, 39, said on Monday it had been “quite a surprise” to hear of the closure plan

‘Mass theft’: Thousands of artists call for AI art auction to be cancelled

Thousands of artists are urging the auction house Christie’s to cancel a sale of art created with artificial intelligence, claiming the technology behind the works is committing “mass theft”.The Augmented Intelligence auction has been described by Christie’s as the first AI-dedicated sale by a major auctioneer and features 20 lots with prices ranging from $10,000 to $250,000 for works by artists including Refik Anadol and the late AI art pioneer Harold Cohen.A letter calling for the auction to be scrapped has received 3,000 signatures, including from Karla Ortiz and Kelly McKernan, who are suing AI companies over claims that the firms’ image generation tools have used their work without permission.The letter says: “Many of the artworks you plan to auction were created using AI models that are known to be trained on copyrighted work without a licence. These models, and the companies behind them, exploit human artists, using their work without permission or payment to build commercial AI products that compete with them

World Athletics plans cheek-swab tests for elite athletes in female category

World Athletics is poised to introduce tougher rules for transgender and difference of sex development (DSD) athletes, including a cheek swab test for all elite athletes who want to compete in the female category.The recommendations from the World Athletics council are based on recent scientific research, which it says shows the male advantage exists even before puberty.Under World Athletics’ existing rules, introduced in March 2023 anyone who has undergone male puberty is barred from the female category – after research reported that trans women retained an advantage in strength, endurance, power and lung capacity, even after taking medication to suppress their testosterone.However, World Athletics now wants to further toughen its policy because of “new evidence which clarifies there is already an athletically significant performance gap before the onset of puberty”.The track and field governing body said: “The childhood or pre‑pubertal performance gap in the sport of athletics specifically is 3 to 5% in running events, and higher in throwing and jumping events

Nicky Henderson dealt Cheltenham blow as Sir Gino ruled out for season

Sir Gino, who had been the odds-on favourite for the Arkle Trophy at Cheltenham next month since his brilliant chasing debut at Kempton’s Christmas meeting, has been ruled out for the remainder of the National Hunt season with an infection following a minor leg injury sustained during a routine piece of exercise last week.Nicky Henderson’s five-year-old beat Ballyburn, one of the top novice hurdlers last season and a Grade One winner over fences since, with ease in December, prompting immediate comparisons with previous Arkle winners from the yard including Sprinter Sacre, Altior and Shishkin.He missed an intended prep run for Cheltenham in the Game Spirit Chase on Saturday, however, and his price for the Arkle started to drift ominously on the Betfair betting exchange on Monday morning before a statement from Henderson’s stable confirmed the news that his ante-post backers had been dreading.“Unfortunately, Sir Gino’s situation has deteriorated somewhat and he has been admitted to the equine hospital,” Henderson said in a statement on X. “As a result of initial examinations … an infection has invaded the ligaments in his near-hind leg