Your Route to Real News

Money

654
Passport application fees to rise by 7% next month
The price of passport applications will rise once more next month.
513
Santander to close over a fifth of its UK branches
A major high street bank is closing more than a fifth of its branches across the UK.
494
Government unveils sweeping benefits overhaul aimed at saving £5bn annually by 2030
The government has announced significant changes to the benefits system, targeting savings of £5 billion annually by 2030.
548
Government freezes 20,000 cards for civil servants due to unjustified spending
A senior Cabinet minister stated that the government must handle taxpayers’ money "with respect" as he ordered nearly all of the 20,000 procurement cards used by civil servants to be frozen.
489
DB hack linked to possible insider exploitation, platform resets all keys
DB claims that the use of hardware-based two-factor authentication indicates a potential exploit by an X employee.
585
Trump threatens 200% tariff on EU wine in response to whisky import tax
Donald Trump has threatened a 200% tariff on wine from the EU unless the bloc removes import tax on US whisky.
411
Farmers in England are outraged as Defra halts the post-Brexit payment scheme
Applications to the sustainable farming initiative no longer accepted but no clarity on what will replace it and when
596
Tax avoidance scandal linked to major UK recruitment firms: Tens of thousands affected
Certain individuals have been pushed to the edge of bankruptcy due to large unexpected tax bills. It has also been associated with 10 suicides.
531
£11m of water fines earmarked for environmental restoration after Treasury fears
After concerns that £11 million would be redirected to the Treasury, the money will be used to restore polluted areas where penalties were imposed.
525
Government plans to incentivise under-performing civil servants to leave and link pay to performance
Under-performing civil servants could be incentivised to leave their jobs, and senior officials will have their pay linked to performance, under new Government plans.
568
Barclays to compensate customers with £12.5 million after IT failures cause major disruptions
Following extensive outages on its app and website, Barclays has been mandated to disburse a total of £12.5 million in compensation to those impacted.
675
Epstein’s ‘Project Jes’ targeted UK power brokers to secure Barclays CEO role for Staley
Emails suggest that ’Project Jes’ targeted high-profile figures including George Osborne and Mervyn King
551
UK expands sick pay: 1.3 million low-paid workers to get 80% of wages from day one
Under government plans, more than one million low-paid workers in the UK will be entitled to receive 80% of their weekly salary as sick pay starting from the first day of illness.
652
Bitcoin enters bear market after February’s 17.5% slump, largest drop since June 2022
Cryptocurrency slips into technical bear market as optimism after Donald Trump’s election win fades
594
Train fares rise by 4.6% despite record delays, sparking public outrage
Advocates have cautioned about ’additional hardship’ as train fares in England and Wales are set to increase by 4.6% starting Sunday, despite the historically low reliability of services.
619
Bitcoin drops below $90,000 as market uncertainty grows over U.S. tariffs and Bybit hack
Bitcoin fell below $90,000 to its lowest point since November 18 on Tuesday, as concerns over U.S. tariffs amplified the impact on crypto investor confidence following last week’s $1.5 billion ether hack from the Bybit exchange.
656
Health secretary Wes Streeting plans massive job cuts at NHS England in reform push
NHS staff fear power grab by health department as health secretary looks to shrink body due to ‘duplication’ of roles
704
Starmer to announce immediate defense spending hike to 2.5% of GDP
Sir Keir Starmer will outline a plan today to increase defense spending to 2.5 percent of GDP.
615
Energy bills are poised to increase again, as the price cap has been raised more than anticipated
Regulator Ofgem announced on Tuesday that its energy price cap would go up by 6% from 1 April, taking the typical gas and electricity bill to £1,849 per year, from £1,738.
436
Bybit hit by $1.5bn crypto hack in biggest digital currency theft ever
Cryptocurrency firm Bybit said hackers stole $1.5bn (£1.1bn) worth of digital currency in what could be the biggest crypto theft in history.
718
Quiz Clothing collapses into insolvency, shutting 23 stores and axing 200 jobs
Troubled high street fashion chain Quiz Clothing is set to close more than a third of its branches after crashing into insolvency.
634
Rachel Reeves faces scrutiny as UK borrowing hits £118 billion, £11.6 billion more than last year
Rachel Reeves is borrowing an additional £11.6 billion compared to the same time last year.
700
Bybit hit by hack: Ether wallet compromised, attacker makes off with funds
Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit said on Friday that an attacker gained control of an ether wallet and transferred the holdings to an unidentified address.
462
HMP Winchester spent £8,000 on fish tank while inmates lived in ’squalid’ conditions
A prison spent almost £8,000 on a fish tank for the reception while conditions for inmates were ‘squalid’.
535
London drivers hit with £160 fines as Sadiq Khan approves parking penalty hike despite public backlash
London parking penalty charges are set to increase, with motorists soon to be hit with substantial fines.