Pound hits 14-month low as UK bond sell-off evokes fears of Truss moment – business live

The pound has dropped to a 14-month low in early trading in London, as the bond-market sell-off fuels anxiety over UK assets.Sterling has lost a cent against the US dollar, extending its recent losses, falling to around $1.226.That’s its lowest level since November 2023, suggesting that the jump in UK borrowing costs this week is continuing to worry the markets, at a time when the dollar is generally strengthening.Michael Brown, senior research strategist at brokerage Pepperstone, has warned that “things are also getting rather ugly” in the UK

Royal Mail to celebrate The Vicar of Dibley with 12 special stamps

The Royal Mail is issuing 12 special stamps to celebrate the 1990s BBC comedy series The Vicar of Dibley.Eight stamps depict memorable scenes from the sitcom, including a guest appearance by former ballerina Dame Darcey Bussell, while four stamps show a Dibley parish council meeting.The Vicar of Dibley starred the comedian Dawn French as the chocolate-craving Rev Geraldine Granger and ran for three series from 1994 to 2000, followed by four special episodes between 2004 and 2007.The Royal Mail’s director of external affairs and policy, David Gold, said: “The superb writing and the warmth and idiosyncrasies of its characters made The Vicar of Dibley one of the most loved TV comedies of all time. We celebrate the series with new stamps revisiting some of the show’s classic moments

Meta’s factchecking partners brace for layoffs

Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to end factchecking on Facebook and Instagram in the US already has factchecking journalists bracing for cuts at their organizations, given the size of Meta’s funding.The social media giant has provided more than $100m for outside organizations certified by the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) to conduct factchecks on its social networks since 2016, which would result in posts receiving accuracy ratings and having their reach reduced if false. Major outlets like USA Today and Reuters have partnered with the social media company for these factchecks, as have factcheck specific sites like FactCheck.org. In all, 10 outlets are listed by Meta as current partners in the US

AI-generated ‘slop’ is slowly killing the internet, so why is nobody trying to stop it? | Arwa Mahdawi

How do you do, fellow humans? My name is Arwa and I am a genuine member of the species homo sapiens. We’re talking a 100% flesh-and-blood person operating in meatspace over here; I am absolutely not an AI-powered bot. I know, I know. That’s exactly what a bot would say, isn’t it? I guess you’re just going to have to trust me on this.I’m taking great pains to point this out, by the way, because content created by real life human beings is becoming something of a novelty these days

Australian Open draw: Emma Raducanu on early collision course with Swiatek

Emma Raducanu will hope to start the new tennis season strongly as she faces Ekaterina Alexandrova, the 26th seed, in a challenging but winnable first-round match at the Australian Open after being unable to compete in the opening week of the season due to a back injury.Since travelling to Melbourne, Raducanu has trained normally on the tournament grounds and has looked in good shape during her public training sessions. On Tuesday, Raducanu competed against the 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in a practice set on Rod Laver Arena, which she won.Raducanu has been drawn into Iga Swiatek’s section of the singles draw and the pair could face each other in the third round. Swiatek, the No 2 seed, will begin her tournament against the doubles No 1, Katerina Siniakova

Alex de Minaur faces prickly path as Nick Kyrgios lands ‘kind’ Australian Open draw

Eighth-seed Alex de Minaur faces a tough start to his Australian Open tilt after drawing former world 22 Botic van de Zandschulp in the first round, with a potential match-up against top seed and defending champion Jannik Sinner in the quarter-finals.The draw for the Australian Open was made on Thursday ahead of the start of tournament on Sunday. De Minaur is hoping to become the first Australian to win the men’s singles at his home grand slam since Mark Edmondson in 1976.The Australian has beaten his first round opponent in their only previous meeting, a clash in the Davis Cup in 2022, but Van de Zandschulp will be no pushover. The 29-year-old has reached the third round at Melbourne Park before, was a US Open quarter-finalist in 2021 and upset Carlos Alcaraz in the second round at Flushing Meadows last year