Business

Mark Hehir, a former London bus driver, was dismissed after he chased a thief to recover a passenger's necklace and an employment tribunal upheld the dismissal. He says he would welcome an apology from Metroline but will not return to his job.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang praised Taiwanese suppliers and urged higher production to meet strong AI demand, and was greeted by crowds during a visit that included a "trillion-dollar dinner" with major firms.

Laura Dogu, the U.S. envoy for Venezuela, arrived in Caracas as diplomatic ties between the two countries are being gradually restored. Venezuelan foreign minister Yván Gil said the visit is meant to establish a roadmap and resolve differences through diplomatic dialogue and international law.

Affluent Indians are increasingly buying premium bottled mineral water, a segment Reuters says is about $400 million and grew to roughly 8% of the country's bottled water market.

Reg Dosell and his partner Lynda were each presented with £333,333 after their Harlow postcode, CM18 6ES, shared the People's Postcode Lottery Millionaire Street £1 million prize; the lottery donates a portion of ticket fees to UK charities.

Organisers and the United Nations have proposed a seven-week Olympic truce from 6 February to 15 March around the Milan Cortina Games; the resolution was backed in the UN General Assembly but past truce resolutions have not consistently halted wars.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and state premiers agreed a $25 billion package to boost public hospital funding over five years and to limit growth in the National Disability Insurance Scheme to 6% or less.

Lakewood Church staff member Shawna Collins, 39, was among those killed when a private jet crashed during takeoff at Bangor International Airport in Maine; NTSB and FAA investigators recovered the flight recorders and are analyzing them.

The government has confirmed the Warm Home Discount will continue through 2030/31, providing an automatic £150 winter rebate to around six million eligible households. The move follows an expansion last year that added about 2.7 million families to the scheme.

The government will extend the Warm Home Discount so eligible households receiving qualifying means‑tested benefits automatically receive a £150 electricity bill rebate each winter through 2030/31, the announcement says.

A Belfast court discharged an interim injunction, allowing Michael Flatley to lead the 30th anniversary Lord of the Dance tour starting in Dublin next week; Switzer Consulting had accused him of financial misconduct, which his legal team denied.

Six people died when a Bombardier Challenger 650 crashed during takeoff from Bangor International Airport, and the FAA and NTSB have opened investigations; one of the victims was Tara Arnold, the wife of a Houston lawyer.

US firm LanzaTech plans a £600m investment at Saltend Chemicals Park to produce sustainable aviation fuel and renewable diesel, with construction expected to begin in 2027 and operations in 2030.

Santander plans to close 44 UK branches while the article reports the bank is promoting customer account offers described as up to £225, and it says 96% of customers use digital services.

China has added the UK to its visa-free entry policy, allowing British visitors to stay up to 30 days without a visa; the change was announced during Prime Minister Keir Starmer's visit and follows his meeting with President Xi Jinping.

Scotty's Castle in Death Valley National Park is offering limited flood-recovery tours after about 10 years of repairs; full reopening is expected in a few years and restoration work will continue.

In a Financial Times Rachman Review transcript, Bill Gates discusses rising child mortality amid falling aid budgets and describes a Gates Foundation–OpenAI pilot to bring AI tools into 1,000 African clinics starting in Rwanda.

The UK Government announced an AI growth zone in Lanarkshire that it says has attracted £8.2 billion of private investment and could create more than 3,400 jobs.

The Royal Mint will run the Great British Treasure Hunt from Feb 3 to Mar 30, with a 250g solid gold bar valued at roughly £28,000 offered as the grand prize.

A man later convicted of abusing children had 26 prior convictions before becoming a foster carer, and Glasgow City Council says it is investigating what it knew after a historic complaint was reported.

A Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) study estimates military casualties in the Russia–Ukraine war could approach two million by spring, with Russia suffering about 1.2 million casualties (up to 325,000 deaths) and Ukraine 500,000–600,000 (up to 140,000 deaths). A US-brokered third round of negotiations between the two countries is scheduled for this weekend.

An RPG was fired at Mayor Akmad Ampatuan's SUV in Shariff Aguak; police say the vehicle escaped and four suspected assailants were later killed in a police pursuit and shootout.

King Charles appears in the documentary Finding Harmony - A King's Vision, presenting his long-held belief that people should live in harmony with the natural world, and the film will premiere at Windsor Castle ahead of a Prime Video release next month.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a plan to cap ground rents at £250 a year and to phase permitted ground rents to a nominal peppercorn over 40 years, a reform the government says will affect more than 5 million leaseholders in England and Wales.

A QAA review found Glasgow University's assessment processes posed a "systemic risk to academic standards" after a student, Ethan Brown, was wrongly told he could not graduate; the university apologised and accepted the report's recommendations, and the Scottish Funding Council has commissioned a national review of assessment procedures. His mother has called for a fatal accident inquiry.

A Financial Times report says US officials told Ukraine security guarantees would be offered only if Kyiv agreed to cede the Donbas; the White House has denied the account and said it seeks to advance talks, which sources say will resume on Sunday.

Proposed rules would require vet practices to publish price lists for common treatments and to state if they are independent or part of a chain, and would introduce official operating licences for all clinics.

Sutherland Shire rangers overturned an inflatable pool set up by a family for their eight-year-old son with cerebral palsy at Kurnell beach, and the mayor later apologised and said rangers should have used discretion.

Three brothers aged six, eight and nine died after entering a frozen private pond near Bonham, Texas on January 26; their mother went into the water and was later rescued but could not save them. The Bonham Independent School District closed amid the severe winter storm.

The government has proposed that vet practices publish price lists for common treatments and disclose if they are independent or part of a chain; every practice would also need an official operating licence and a consultation will run for eight weeks.