South West Water admits criminal offence over Devon parasite outbreak

A major utility company has admitted supplying water unfit for human consumption after a parasite outbreak in Devon made almost 150 people sick.South West Water (SWW) pleaded guilty to the criminal offence relating to the cryptosporidiosis outbreak in Brixham, Devon, which affected 2,500 homes.Almost 150 cases of illness were confirmed in spring 2024, with some people needing hospital treatment, and many residents say the impacts of the outbreak are still being felt.During an hour-long hearing at Exeter magistrates court, the company pleaded guilty to an offence under the Water Industry Act 1991. It will be sentenced in June and faces a fine of hundreds of thousands of pounds

UK motor fuel prices rise since Middle East conflict began, and energy bills could jump 10% in July – as it happened

Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.The dust is settling after Rachel Reeves’s spring forecast statement yesterday, which showed that growth will be weaker than hoped this year while unemployment will be higher.While the chancellor claimed the UK could ‘beat the forecasts again’, economists are concerned that the ongoing Middle East crisis will hurt the economy, and household finances, badly.The Resolution Foundation have just released their overnight analysis of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s forecast.The good news? The UK is set for a “decent”, one-off increase in living standards this year, and a bumper rise for lower-income families

Joy of teaching English in the age of AI | Letter

Your long read (Teacher v chatbot: my journey into the classroom in the age of AI, 3 March) provides human insight into both the craft and purpose of English teaching in the era of developing AI expertise in language. There is no doubt that if the article were fed into AI models often enough, the teacher’s words and techniques could, at some level, be replicated by AI online teachers.However, reading and writing, especially that which explores the writer’s thoughts and feelings, are surely uniquely human activities.As the writer comes to recognise, exploring human experiences through the written word is a highly valuable communal experience. Reading literature aloud in the classroom is the gateway to discussing personal responses to the author’s words

Union tries to seize control of works council at Tesla’s German factory

Europe’s largest trade union is trying to gain control of the works council at Elon Musk’s Tesla gigafactory near Berlin, in an industrial relations showdown marked by lawsuits and mutual accusations of slander.The works council, an elected body of employees that negotiates everything from working hours to pay deals with a company’s management, is considered an entrenched aspect of the German corporate world, particularly in the car industry.But it was a bone of contention at the Tesla plant in Grünheide, about 20 miles (30km) south-east of Berlin, even before the gates opened almost four years ago.There have been regular clashes at the plant – which employs about 10,000 workers and is the US electric carmaker’s only production site in Europe – between the turbo-capitalist approach of Tesla’s management and Germany’s tradition of a social market economy, which relies on worker representation and collective bargaining.Voting in elections to the works council, which is now controlled by non-trade union members, began on Monday and will close on Wednesday

New Zealand demolish South Africa to reach T20 World Cup cricket final – as it happened

South Africa won every match they could afford to lose in this tournament and then lost the first one that they had to win. They were completely marmalised by New Zealand, who won the first semi-final by nine wickets. Finn Allen ripped through South Africa’s feared fast bowling attack, and hit an unbeaten hundred off just 33 balls. It was the fastest century in the history of the competition, and, as Allen said himself, the innings of his life. Only two batters have ever hit a faster ton in international T20 cricket

Finn Allen’s record ton blasts New Zealand past South Africa into T20 World Cup final

South Africa won every match they could afford to lose in this tournament and then lost the first one that they had to win.They were completely marmalised by New Zealand, who won the first semi-final by nine wickets. Finn Allen ripped through South Africa’s feared fast bowling attack, and hit an unbeaten hundred off just 33 balls. It was the fastest century in the history of the competition, and, as Allen said himself, the innings of his life. Only two batters have ever hit a faster ton in international T20 cricket