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Deliveroo to roll out food delivery robots in parts of Britain – but boss insists they’re not getting rid of human riders
Deliveroo is launching food delivery robots in five British locations including London, Leeds and Milton Keynes, using AI-powered vehicles from US tech firm Coco. The move marks the takeaway app’s latest attempt to compete with rivals Uber Eats and Just Eat as the food delivery market intensifies and DoorDash’s £2.9 billion acquisition of Deliveroo in…
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Dubai business collapse leaves British grandfather facing jail and unable to leave
A 64-year-old British grandfather is stranded in Dubai after his aviation business collapsed, facing potential jail time and unable to return home. Simon Ferguson’s predicament highlights the precarious situation of expats in the UAE when financial difficulties intersect with visa regulations and passport seizure. Ferguson is trapped by mounting debts and visa overstay fines after…
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Cambridge pub linked to Pink Floyd saved, but overshadowed by vast office scheme
The Flying Pig in Cambridge, known as an early meeting place for Pink Floyd members and a long-standing live music pub, has been retained after plans to demolish it were changed following public pressure. It will sit beside a £500 million office development more than 100 feet high, which the former landlady says has overwhelmed…
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UK app store dominance costs consumers £700m a year, research estimates
Apple and Google’s control of the main app stores lets them charge developers commissions of up to 30% on in-app purchases and restrict them from directing customers to cheaper options elsewhere. The article argues this lack of competition raises costs for consumers and makes it harder for British app businesses to grow. The Competition and…
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Mike Nelson revisits desert island installation amid deepening despair
Mike Nelson’s new exhibition at Modern Art Oxford revisits an installation he showed there in 2004, transforming its desert shack into a more broken and exposed scene. The show reflects on the artist’s earlier hopes for change and suggests that political and social conditions have worsened, giving the work a mood of personal and collective…
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How an Uzbek truck driver’s fatal crash exposed troubling fraud trend in Middle America: ‘Chameleon carriers’
Toby Forsythe, a 21-year-old University of Massachusetts Lowell footballer from Ohio, died on 5 July after a lorry driven by Uzbek national Bekhzod Asrarov struck his car from behind on Interstate 71. The report says court documents indicate Asrarov had limited English and allegedly removed a dashboard camera after the collision; the case has intensified…
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Russian drones hit Kyiv’s Pivnichnyi Bridge as Merz visits Ukraine
Russian drone attacks have struck major bridges in Kyiv on four consecutive days, with the Pivnichnyi Bridge hit for a second day in a row on Sunday. Two people were injured and a traffic lane was damaged, as Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz visited the capital and reaffirmed support for Ukraine. The strikes have disrupted travel…
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Brits to be able to use their face as their passport as new technology means they won’t have to scan documents flying back into the UK
The UK plans to upgrade airport e-gates so British passport holders returning home can be identified by facial recognition, without scanning their passports at the gate. The change is intended to reduce queues and free Border Force staff to focus more on security and other duties. The system is due to start at Birmingham and…
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Iran links Hormuz reopening to US concessions as G7 releases oil reserves
Iran says it will keep the Strait of Hormuz closed until the US accepts seven conditions, raising the stakes in a conflict that has disrupted a major global shipping route. The declaration came as G7 countries agreed to release emergency fuel reserves amid rising prices and concerns about shortages. Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf…