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People buying alcohol to be able to prove their age in pubs and restaurants using digital ID on phone apps
New rules coming into force today allow drinkers in England and Wales to prove they are over 18 using digital ID on their smartphones, instead of relying solely on physical documents such as passports or driving licences. Pubs, bars, restaurants, music venues and shops can now accept approved proof-of-age apps, with ministers arguing this will…
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Digital ID comes of age as pubs and bars get go-ahead for biometric scan tech
New laws taking effect this week in England and Wales will allow pubs, off-licences, nightclubs and restaurants to use biometric digital ID to check that customers buying alcohol are over 18. Instead of showing a passport or driving licence, customers will be able to scan their face using an app on their phone, generating a…
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Benedict Cumberbatch on his Earth-saving eco film: ‘We are in the last grab of the extraction era’
Benedict Cumberbatch has released a new documentary, How to Live on Earth, which launches on YouTube this month and features him delivering monologues from London’s Natural History Museum interspersed with short films about activists, scientists and chefs pioneering more sustainable ways of living. The actor, a long-time environmental campaigner, hopes the film will serve as…
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Cross-party growth push, Iran death sentence, Australian rate rise loom over UK bulletin
Burnham courts business at a Downing Street growth summit amid Budget tax fears; an Iranian blogger is sentenced to death, a Malaysian teen acquitted of murder, and Australians face fresh rate hikes, plus GOV.UK’s passkey rollout, an A66 tribute run and new Nightsleeper casting.
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Woman fatally shot by stalker outside Sacramento restaurant, suspect dies
Police in Sacramento, California, have released footage showing 38-year-old Shalini Thakur being chased down and shot dead by an obsessive stalker outside a Panera Bread restaurant on 8 September. The attacker, 22-year-old Rohit Rohit, an Indian national who had entered the US illegally in 2023, then fled by car before shooting himself dead as deputies…
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Teachers told to ensure packed lunches are not seen as a ‘better’ option for pupils – as Labour’s school meals shake-up sees kids served more lentils and less pizza
The Department for Education has published new school food standards, the first update in over a decade, which will restrict sugary drinks, ice cream and waffles, cut deep-fried food, and limit high-fat, high-salt items such as pizza and sausages. Alongside these changes, updated guidance for headteachers explicitly reminds schools to ensure packed lunches brought from…
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Report reveals 79 immigrants caged outdoors at closed Florida detention centre
A US Department of Homeland Security watchdog has found that immigrants held at the now-closed “Alligator Alcatraz” detention centre in Florida were confined in small outdoor metal cages, a practice it described as “unprecedented” and dangerous. The Office of the Inspector General’s report also concluded the facility, built in the Everglades and championed by Governor…
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Phones are the new cigarettes: why restaurants are discouraging and even banning them
Restaurants and bars are increasingly treating smartphones the way venues once treated cigarettes, encouraging or outright banning their use at the table in an effort to boost genuine conversation and restore focus on food and company. The trend marks a reversal from a decade ago, when many fine-dining establishments relaxed phone rules because customers wanted…
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Baby boomers crown their favorite casual dining chain as Gen Z chooses a different winner
A new survey has found that Olive Garden is the top casual dining chain of choice for baby boomers, as well as for Gen X and millennials, though Gen Z diners favour Chili’s instead. The findings, drawn from YouGov’s US restaurant brand rankings, matter because they highlight how loyalty to casual dining chains varies significantly…
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Businesses beg Burnham for help at No10 summit amid fears of more Budget tax hikes
Businesses are appealing directly to Andy Burnham for support as he hosts a Downing Street summit aimed at forging a new “partnership” with industry to boost economic growth. More than 800 leading pubs, hotels and restaurants have urged him to cut hospitality VAT to protect jobs, while banks have separately voiced alarm at the prospect…