Asuncion: South American and European Union officials signed a major trade deal on Saturday, which they welcomed as a powerful message at a time of tariff threats, global uncertainty and protectionism.
The agreement between the 27-nation European Union and Mercosur ‘s members Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay creates one of the world’s largest free trade areas after 25 years of difficult negotiations.
It was given a new impetus amid the widespread use of tariffs and trade threats by the administration of US President Donald Trump, which has prompted countries to scramble for new partnerships.
Trump on Saturday threatened to impose tariffs of up to 25 per cent on several European countries unless he regains control of the Danish territory Greenland.
We choose fair trade instead of tariffs; we choose productive long-term partnerships instead of isolation.”
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said at the signing ceremony in Asuncion, Paraguay. Paraguayan President Santiago Peña also praised the treaty as “a clear signal in favour of international trade” in “a tension-filled global landscape.”
The European Council head, Antonio Costa, said the deal was contrary to “the use of trade as a geopolitical weapon.”
And Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira said the deal was “a major challenge for a world plagued by unpredictability, protectionism, and coercion.”
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva – the key architect of the agreement – could not attend the ceremony due to scheduling conflicts and met von der Leyen in Rio de Janeiro on Friday.
where he praised it as a victory for multilateralism. In Paraguay, leaders said the treaty would bring jobs, prosperity and opportunities to people on both sides of the Atlantic.
The EU and Mercosur account for 30 per cent of global GDP.
‘It’s not fair.’ Together, the EU and Mercosur account for 30 per cent of global GDP and more than 700 million consumers.
The treaty eliminates tariffs on more than 90 percent of bilateral trade, but it still needs approval from the EU Parliament and ratification by each Mercosur nation.
It is expected to be implemented by the end of 2026. The deal will boost European exports of cars, wine and cheese.
while making it easier for South American beef, poultry, sugar, rice, honey and soy to enter Europe.
This has angered European farmers, who have turned tractors around in cities such as Paris, Brussels and Warsaw, fearing an influx of cheap goods produced with low standards and banned pesticides.
“We have good quality Irish beef and good standards, and in South American countries, they don’t have the same standards.”
aid farmer Trisha Chatterton, 50, at a protest in Ireland earlier this month. “
This is not fair,” said Louis, a 24-year-old cattle farmer from Belgium who took part in the December protests, which turned ugly as protesters set fire to piles of tyres and threw potatoes at police.
Major power Germany, as well as Spain and the Nordic countries, strongly supports the deal, eager to boost exports as Europe grapples with Chinese competition and a tariff-happy administration in the White House.
Even in South America, some people are cautious about the treaty’s impact.
Trade and investment researcher Luciana Ghiotto told AFP that Argentina estimates the demise of the local automotive industry could lead to the loss of 200,000 jobs.
To address these concerns, the European Commission announced a crisis fund and safeguard measures that would allow for the suspension of preferential tariffs in the event of a harmful increase in imports.
However, Argentina’s libertarian President Javier Milei warned against quotas and protections, which would “significantly reduce the economic impact of the agreement and go against
its essential purpose.” According to EU estimates, European exports to Mercosur are expected to increase by 39 percent.
while Mercosur exports to the EU may increase by 17 per cent. By 2040, the agreement is projected to boost EU GDP by 77.6 billion euros and Mercosur GDP by 9.4 billion euros.
The latest monthly figures on the economy do not confirm a gear change and also do not support the worst doomsayers claiming decline and recession. While the outlook is neither dire nor optimistic, the start of a new year presents a chance for a fresh approach to policy, a renewed sense of assurance, and most importantly, a renewed enthusiasm for the economy.
explain a lot about both states.
There is a chart that can explain a lot about both the state and prospects of the UK economy. And it could also tell a lot about Britain’s political direction.
The subject is consumer confidence. These are long-running surveys that essentially put the country in a state of economic psychiatry. How do you feel about the economy’s prospects? Are you likely to purchase a large appliance? How is your personal financial situation?
The questions asked consistently for five decades have a solid data source—it’s the measurement now called the GfK Consumer Confidence Barometer.
I’ve been reporting on this metric for half the time of its existence. It’s an imperfect science but the basic idea of arriving at a pure confidence number is to subtract the optimism score from the pessimism score.
The patterns were then interesting and consistent. It was important for a prophet to convey this to those in power. “This economy is stupid,” remember.
But has there been any significant change in the water? This chart is quite extraordinary and a version of it has been circulated at the top of the government.
A brief description is in order.
This chart breaks down the headline net confidence numbers by age group.
By and large they moved together; they were “correlated”.
Young people’s starting point is usually sunnier, but as they age, this becomes less so – no big surprise – and people of all ages react to events similarly.
Over the last decade, you’ve seen a correlated decline in consumer confidence across all age groups in response to the post-Brexit voting era and the impact of the pandemic.
We clearly see the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war and the extraordinary rise in energy prices.
An intriguing point is how disastrous the Liz Truss mini-budget in 2022 was for all age groups. This led to a 45-day decline in confidence in both government and economic prospects.
And all those lines will continue to run together until 2024.
But what will happen at the end of 2024? Deviation. big time.
Consumer confidence among those under 50 has soared, and confidence among those under 30 has reached the highest level not seen since Brexit.
But look at the two red lines below. The confidence of consumers over 50 and over 60 is falling towards Truss-era levels.
How can it be that people over 50, and especially pensioners, are going through another decline in economic confidence, and yet the young adult population is far more positive?
Well, the dotted line is the 2024 general elections. And while correlation does not imply causation, this age-related break does occur.
Votes are affecting the vibe.
A possible explanation of political economy is this – the flow of causality from the economic sense to the political sense has been reversed.
Where how you felt about your finances affected how you voted, now how you voted affects how you feel about your finances and the country’s economic outlook.
Young people on the liberal left, by and large, are now happier after enduring a series of crises so far this decade and with a government they largely voted for in 2024.
The elderly, who predominantly voted Conservative and Reform, are unhappy and disaffected. He believes that the country has deteriorated even further than usual.
One possible factor is the tone set by social media and the emotional doom-scrolling and anger magnets embedded in their algorithms. Is this demographic seeing a Mad Max-style dystopia presented on their social media feeds and responding with this negative attitude?
There is also some evidence demonstrating political influence on the sense of economic confidence of respondents to a consumer sentiment survey in the US. In the transition between the Donald Trump and Joe Biden administrations in late 2020, Democrat respondents’ economic confidence rose from 67 to 96, while Republicans’ fell from 100 to 59.
The Biden administration then lamented what staffers called “vibesation”—a subsequent feeling of economic malaise not actually reflected in good economic numbers.
evaluate double-edged sword
This encompasses other economic factors.
This surge in the confidence of the youth came at a time when the Bank of England started cutting interest rates. Rate cuts are good for young home seekers and job seekers but bad for older savers.
Even if this picture is correct, it will have significant economic consequences.
This may help explain the UK’s high and near double-digit savings rate. This looks like a pandemic-style deviation. Old Britain is sitting on its savings, depressed about the country and the economy, refusing to spend its money and shrinking GDP, even though wage growth for workers remains on average higher than the rate of inflation.
The findings from this chart also reflect well in the early financial results we receive from businesses.
Many retail results beat the disappointment. Some of the owners who complain most about the National Insurance increase are the ones basically reporting healthy sales and profits after paying tax.
Pub chain Mitchells & Butlers “traded very strongly over the festive season, with a like-for-like growth of 7.7%.” Fullers had “an excellent five-week Christmas and New Year’s season across all parts of the property,” up 8% on an already strong festive period last year.
Obviously challenges remain in the level of price growth. But a conscious effort by the government to limit regulated price increases for rail and water is keeping inflation below the 2% target.
There will be more rate cuts gradually, and previous cuts will also impact the domestic sector.
The government may initiate a mortgage price war to boost the housing market following months of budget uncertainty.
The government hopes to put an end to the tumultuous year of 2025 by encouraging a surge in investment through recent announcements regarding Heathrow and a new northern train line.
So there is a platform for averting destruction. Could the politically charged perceptions of economic confidence put a halt to all that?
Rolls-Royce Holdings will give its chief executive a multimillion-pound annual pay rise, even though he is close to one of Britain’s most lucrative public company payouts ever after overseeing the industrial manufacturing group’s spectacular revival.
The board of Rolls-Royce has consulted with major shareholders over an overhaul of its remuneration policy, Sky News has learnt.
The proposals, which have been backed by top investors, would see Tufan Erginbilgic’s annual bonus entitlement increase by two times to three times his base salary of around £1.2m.
The revised plan will see their long-term incentive award double from a maximum of 375% of salary to 750% – making it one of the richest award programmes offered by an FTSE-100 company.
Under the plans, Mr. Erginbilgic’s total package, including salary, annual bonus, and LTIP award, will increase to a maximum of more than £13 million.
Mr Erginbilgic, who joins Rolls-Royce in early 2023, has led a stellar recovery for the company, which was struggling for survival after the COVID pandemic brought global aviation to a near halt.
He described the company, which supplies engines to the world’s leading airlines and is playing a key role in the development of small modular reactors as a source of new nuclear energy, as “a burning platform” and said it had been poorly managed.
City sources said this weekend that the recent announcement of a leadership change at BP, where Mr Erginbilgic worked, had highlighted to the Rolls-Royce board the risks of losing him to another blue-chip corporate job.
However, paradoxically, Mr Erginbilgic is likely to earn much less under the new salary policy than under the existing salary policy.
This is a function of the scale of the stock awards he was given when he joined Rolls-Royce while its share price was in a recession.
Last year, Mr Erginbilgic earned £4.1 million, while the previous year’s figure of £13.6 million was boosted by a lump sum award of £7.5 million to compensate for money he forfeited after leaving his previous employer, investment firm Global Infrastructure Partners.
A Rolls-Royce spokesperson said, “The step-change in Rolls-Royce’s performance, combined with the competitive pressure in the external environment for world-class talent, requires a review of our remuneration policy.
The Remuneration Committee is undertaking this review with the full support of the Rolls-Royce Board.
“This is a proactive measure initiated by the Remuneration Committee with the full support of the Rolls-Royce Board.
“We plan to submit a revised remuneration policy for shareholder approval at the 2026 AGM.”
Rolls-Royce’s valuation has increased more than 12-fold since Mr Erginbilgic took charge, with shares standing at just 93.2p the day before he joined the company.
On Friday, the stock closed at 1285.5p, giving Britain’s proudest industrial name a market capitalisation of £108bn.
The scale of its transformation will be underlined in its annual results next month, when it has guided analysts to expect an operating profit of between £3.1bn and £3.2bn and free cash flow of more than £3bn.
Rolls-Royce’s annual report in March will provide full details of the new remuneration policy.
However, the company is understood to have viewed the proposals prepared by Lord Gadhia, the Conservative peer who chairs Rolls-Royce’s remuneration committee, with the broad support of its major shareholders.
“As a top ten shareholder of Rolls-Royce, we are supportive of the change in remuneration policy,” said Stephen Eness, head of global equities at Invesco.
The largest great white shark ever recorded in the Atlantic has returned to the shores of Florida to serve up “love bites” with a belly full of seals.
Chris Fisher, founder of the research group OCEARCH, has been tracking “Contender” since capturing the 14-foot, 1,652-pound behemoth exactly one year ago on Jan. 17, 2025.
Contender is the largest male white shark ever caught in the Atlantic Credit: Instagram/@OCEARCHHe has traveled to the remote Gulf of St. Lawrence, one of the farthest northern pinnacles Credit: OCEARCH
Fisher hopes that by tracking these apex predators, he will unlock all the secrets of the ocean so that “your great-grandchildren can eat fish sandwiches”.
The adventurer has had quite an exciting journey since he started tagging poachers in 2012, even with ties to Hong Kong’s “shark fin Mafia.”.
During an Africa campaign in 2014, OCEARCH inadvertently exposed a criminal poaching operation.
Fisher said, “We tagged over three dozen white sharks there. We were able to see that the shark fin mafia was poaching the sharks.
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“White sharks were disappearing in South Africa.
“next As you know, our great white sharks begin their migration east to Mozambique.
“And then one of them is killed and the tag is thrown on the ground in a village.”
More surprisingly, a team scientist discovered that the poaching scheme went beyond the shores of Africa when he was sent to retrieve the tags.
“They said the finning mafia was giving them gear and boats to be able to catch these big sharks.”
“So they killed the shark, brought it in, ate it and sent the fins to Hong Kong.
The most disturbing part was that they said they don’t get paid for the fins, but they get raw crystal meth material.
“They said, ‘We sell it to our community, and that’s how we monetize the Finns.'”
Fisher has to work not only against evil shark hunters but also to “undo what Jaws did” to people’s perceptions of the animals.
He believes that the shark research community has finally got Steven Spielberg back by helping younger generations understand the value of sharks through science.
“People over the age of 50 were influenced by Jaws. However, for today’s youth, Jaws no longer feels like a genuine film.”
Fisher explains that before this research began, the lack of data had created fear among people.
Before our work, shark incidents were the only stories because there was no data.
“And then you would just have one story and it would be about one incident. There were no additional stories until the next incident occurred.
OCEARCH has caught and tagged 100 marine animals Credit: OCEARCHChris Fischer launched the nonprofit group in 2012 Credit: OCEARCHOCEARCH has a live tracker on its website where you can follow a range of marine life Credit: OCEARCH
“Now, stories about these sharks go around the world all the time.
“We are basically floating all the time, everywhere, and 99% of the time nothing happens to these animals.”
But white sharks have a fear factor that helps control ocean populations.
“They’re system managers. Fischer explained that white sharks are apex predators, similar to lions and wolves.
“They keep the system thriving and they take it to maximum abundance just by their presence.….
“If the white sharks aren’t there, all those seals eat four times more than they should every day and they destroy our fisheries.
“Where the lion is moving, there is game in abundance. If the lion is not moving, you have a problem with the system.”
For Fisher, Contender’s return to Florida is an opportunity to open up shark research wider.
As a fully mature male of approximately 30 years of age, it is hoped that the claimant will help achieve OCEARCH’s mission of uncovering the world’s first known mating site.
Their migration maps show that mature male white sharks follow a simple annual rhythm.
Fisher describes sharks like Breton as ‘systems managers’ Credit: SWNSScientific understanding of animals will help reduce fear Credit: OCEARCH
In the summer and autumn, the fearsome predators head north and feed on the seals, gaining weight so they can survive the coming months.
In the winter, they move south to warmer waters, where researchers believe mating takes place out of sight of humans.
Fisher explained: “Mating is violent. The male has to bite the female to gain control. It’s a high-risk activity.”
Once mating is successful, Fisher and his researchers believe that larger females move away from the coast to conceive in relative safety while avoiding the attention of males.
“They just want to eat food, be left alone and live a low-risk lifestyle.
“Next May or June, they will travel to their ‘shark nursery’ – New York and Jersey Bite – to abandon their puppies.
Tracking mature animals like Contender allows researchers to watch this process in real time, which was impossible a decade ago.
Capturing and tagging a shark of Contender’s size is a carefully choreographed operation.
Elite fishermen then trap the animal and transport it safely to the research vessel, keeping stress to a minimum.
All sharks are caught while causing as little stress as possible to the animals. Credit: OCEARCHOCEARCH uses specialized fishermen to transport sharks Credit: OCEARCH
Fisher said, “The idea is to get these animals to the scientist with as low a stress level as possible. Zero stress is perfection.”
The shark is lifted into a custom cradle while scientists race through more than two dozen research studies.
This is where the team uses “learnt helplessness”.
Fisher describes it as “like a baby does when you swaddle him and then he gives up and stops crying. It’s learnt helplessness.”
“It’s the same thing with sharks. So if they believe they can get away, they’ll continue to try.
“But if they believe they can’t, they’ll give up. So what we do is like teaching a dog how to heel.”
Blood samples are taken, measurements are recorded and tags are secured within 15 minutes before the shark is released back into the ocean unharmed.
Fischer knew right away that the claimant was “extraordinary.”
He said, “When you find a shark like this, you go ‘wow’, this is a particularly unique shark.
A team of scientists works quickly to measure and tag the animal Credit: OSarch/Chris RossThey finish all their work in just 15 minutes before releasing it Credit: OCEARCH
“We knew immediately that Contender was special, but getting to this point required massive investment and years of pioneering work.
“It cost us two and a half million dollars to tag the first five animals in 2012.
“However, after tracking those five animals for a few years, we used the next two and a half million dollars to tag 27 more.”
Fisher also emphasises the importance of humans monitoring these sharks to ensure food security.
When the powerful whites patrol the colonies to seal them off, they exercise control over the population.
Without them, seals eat more fish than the ecosystem can carry, causing young fish in the ocean to die out before they reach maturity.
“They are the protectors of our fish,” Fisher explained.
Their mere presence alters behaviour in the food chain, allowing reefs, fisheries and coastal ecosystems to recover and thrive.
This management approach has led to a major ecological change in the United States.
“Now in the United States, we are in the midst of a spectacular return to abundance.”
Many boats are engaged in catching sharks Credit: Robert Snow 2018It cost $2.5 million to catch and tag the first five sharks Credit: OCEARCH
“There are more fish and life on our East and West Coasts now than there have been in the last 50 years,” Fisher says.
He attributes this to aggressive management and science-driven policy.
“Fortunately in the United States, we had a major turning point in 1994… wherein the state of Florida, the public voted for a constitutional amendment to ban inshore gillnets.
“And here we are, 30 years later. And now every species of fish in Florida is out of the overfished category. Not a single one.”
That’s why Fisher believes shark conservation is an absolute environmental necessity.
He said, “If you can’t manage apex predators, you can’t manage the system. And if you can’t manage the system, you can’t feed your people.”
looking towards the future He hopes to export this success to the rest of the world.
“We now have a playbook. We know how to bring the ocean back. Any country in the world that wants to manage its ocean can now use our playbook to do so.
“It took years of science and trying different policies. And now we have a playbook that we know works.
Whether used as a natural sweetener in cooking, as a home remedy for sore throats or simply for dipping your pancakes in, honey is a staple item in cupboards across the country.
But what’s the best part? What do you look for on a label? And can you find excellent honey in the supermarket?
Read all the latest money news
In the first part of our new monthly series on buying products like a pro, we’ve got answers from top experts.
The issue at hand pertains to supermarket honey.
David Wagstaff, a commercial beekeeper and founder of More Bees Please, told Money Blog that the primary issues with supermarket honey were adulteration, a lack of transparency, and heavy processing.
A large portion of cheap supermarket honey is blended from imports, he said, often vaguely labelled as “a mixture of EU and non-EU honey”.
“Several tests indicate that such honey may be diluted with cheap sugar syrup (such as corn or rice syrup) or misrepresented as pure honey,” he said.
Industrial honey is often pasteurised and filtered for clarity and longer shelf life, Wagstaffe said. This process can remove the pollen, enzymes, and antioxidants present in raw, unprocessed honey.
Could a £3 supermarket product labelled as honey not actually be proper honey?
“Yes, that could happen,” Wagstaffe said.
“A £3 supermarket jar labelled ‘honey’ is legally allowed to be sold, but it is often very different from what most people imagine as real, natural honey.
“A £3 jar is typically priced that way because it is mass-produced, globally sourced and processed for sustainability – not because it is raw, local, or single-sourced.”
image: Photo: iStock
What should you look for on the label?
Dr Gino Jabbar, president of the Honey Guild of the United Kingdom, told Money Blog that consumers should always start by looking at the country of origin.
“Check whether it is from the same country or a mix of multiple regions,” he said.
Single-origin honey is generally more expensive than blends from multiple regions but is less likely to be adulterated.
“Look at the manufacturer’s description and any information on fragrance and beekeeping style, and make an informed choice,” says Dr Jabbar.
“Although a high price does not guarantee that the honey is genuine, the higher the price, the less likely the product is to be affected by global honey fraud.”
Is anything changing?
Honey is expensive to produce, its supply is limited and the price is low, meaning retail shelves are filled with cheaper alternatives.
Dr Jabbar says the British public is “completely ignorant” of these facts and the “wonderful taste and variety” of real honey, meaning high-quality alternatives may never reach shelves.
“A lack of honey education and honey culture in the UK remains the main reason for the high demand for low-cost honey. Unless customers demand the right to pay a higher price for honey, retailers will not risk stocking high-quality honey varieties, fearing it will not sell.”
Experts Say: Buy Local
“100% yes,” says David Wagstaffe, a commercial beekeeper and founder of More Bees Please, in an interview with Money.
“When you buy from a beekeeper or a local shop, you can often find out where the honey came from – right down to the location of the hive and the floral source.
“Independent tests have shown that honey from dedicated beekeepers is more likely to be genuine than many supermarket products.
“Buying local supports sustainable, bee-friendly practices and helps maintain healthy colonies in your area, which benefits widespread plant pollination.”
Not only is the recommended way to buy honey directly from the manufacturer, but Dr Jabbar suggests buying in bulk for a year’s supply at once.
“Honey is a limited resource with a flavour profile unique to that batch, season and terroir. Possible places to look are producers’ own websites, farmers’ markets, and retailers that stock UK and quality overseas products.”
English, honey.
Honey is imported into Britain from around the world but is also produced throughout the country – the colour, texture and aroma vary dramatically depending on the flowers the bees eat.
For example, honey made from borage fields in Essex is very thin, pale yellow with a mild flavour.
In contrast, ling heather honey, produced in wooded areas such as the Yorkshire moors and Scotland, is thick and amber in colour with a rich flavour.
image: Photo: iStock
Why is Manuka so sought after/expensive?
Manuka honey is a special type of honey produced by bees that pollinate the manuka bush, a plant native to New Zealand.
It is often sold as having health benefits due to its methylglyoxal content, which gives it specific antimicrobial properties.
Maureen Conker is a professional honey taster and world-renowned expert on Manuka honey.
He told Money Blog that the limited supply of manuka bushes and the remote nature of the places where it can be produced are driving up the price, as well as strict extraction practices.
“Medicinal-grade Manuka is extracted and processed in sophisticated hospital-standard extraction plants with double doors, sanitiser and disinfectant foot baths and full sterile clothing,” she explains.
“It is temperature controlled in secure facilities with high-tech extraction and packaging equipment.”
Buyers should look for UMF certification, which means the producer is licensed by the Unique Manuka Factor Honey Association.
image: Photo: iStock
Can you tell if honey is off just by looking?
Honey generally doesn’t expire, says Dr Jabbar, but its aroma, active nutritional compounds and enzyme activity will diminish over time, so he says it’s best to consume it before the stated best-by date for maximum enjoyment.
He says that some people consider the crystallisation of honey to be a problem, whereas it is not.
“All honey is naturally crystallised. In fact, some people prefer the texture of crystallised honey compared to liquid honey. This change may be unexpected, but it is natural and does not affect the quality of the honey.”
Dr Jabbar says that indirectly heating the honey to about 35°C for a few hours will return the honey to its liquid state.
image: Photo: iStock
What about organic vs non-organic?
Organic honey is produced using criteria set for organic beekeeping practices, and the producer is licensed by an authorised organic body.
Importantly, organic honey does not equate to a better-tasting or higher-aromatic-quality product, only that the honey is less likely to have the presence of foreign chemicals in it.
This means that most consumers will not even recognise organic honey, but those who want to support food produced under organic principles may choose to buy it.
Nevertheless, as Wagstaffe points out, it is incredibly difficult to prove that honey is 100% organic:
“It is almost impossible for a beekeeper to guarantee that every flower the bees visit within a three- to five-mile radius is organic. Because of this, many ethical beekeepers choose not to label their honey as organic.”
He adds, “I would encourage people to look for raw, natural, single-source honey from a trusted producer rather than focusing solely on the ‘organic’ label.”
I purchased honey; how should I store it?
Now that you’ve bought your honey, how do you store it?
Dr Jabbar says that honey should not be exposed to air for long periods of time, and if taken out from the original jar, it should be properly stored in an airtight container.
“Once used, close the lid and store the jar. Since honey is hygroscopic, it absorbs moisture from the air, and thus its water content increases, which weakens the preservative properties of the honey.”
Fire destroyed part of the McConnell family home. Smoke alarms have been around for many decades. The technology has barely changed recently, but is modern life slowly outpacing the capabilities of these life-saving devices?
The school race was over and the laundry was in the tumble dryer. Liz McConnell, a mother of four and stepmother, was scheduled to sit for work at her Dover home last September. However, the sound of a fire alarm interrupted his morning.
She walked towards it and eventually found smoke coming from the tumble dryer. Upon touching the machine, he realised that it was hot, and upon looking closer, he saw that parts of it were on fire.
“At that time I called the fire brigade,” she recalls. They advised him to leave the property immediately. McConnell says the fire spread “very quickly.” The McConnell family home suffered partial destruction as Kent Fire and Rescue Service battled the blaze for hours.
“Wouldn’t I have heard? “I would have just been there [the smoke alarm],” McConnell says. “They are essential, absolutely essential.”
Smoke alarms have been around for many decades. The technology has barely changed recently, but is modern life slowly outpacing the capabilities of these life-saving devices?
For example, detecting an e-bike battery fire is especially difficult because these can appear suddenly. Some researchers are working on new ways to sense smoke and fire, perhaps more quickly than before. But keep in mind: any certified, working smoke alarm is better than nothing.
“People are almost 10 times more likely to die in a fire if there is no working smoke alarm in the property,” says Suzanna Embersky, head of customer and building safety at Kent Fire and Rescue Service. His organisation alone found almost 6,500 expired smoke alarms on Kent properties between 2022 and 2024.
At the national level, A survey by insurer Direct Line Suggestions published in December suggests that almost four million UK adults could be living in a home without a smoke alarm. In America, it is estimated that 16% of homes do not have a working smoke alarm.
Raman Chagger
Raman Chaggar says lithium-ion fires develop at “incredible” speed
There are two main types of smoke alarm technology.
says Raman Chagger, principal consultant at the Building Research Establishment (BRE). Ionization-based systems: use a small amount of radioactive material to charge or ionise air particles flowing between two small plates. If smoke disrupts the flow of charged particles, an alarm is triggered.
Optical-based smoke alarms use light instead. They are slightly better at detecting large smoke particles produced by slow, smouldering fires. When such particles enter a chamber of the instrument, they scatter light from a small light source, which is then picked up by a photoelectric sensor.
Heat sensors are often installed in kitchens to avoid false alarms if you’re burning toast, which usually sounds when the temperature climbs above about 50°C.
The tests used in the standards for evaluating smoke alarms were developed in the 1980s. However, despite changes in construction materials since then, Smoke alarms remain reliable; Chagger says, “They still respond to all the major fires we get today.”
And Chagger has personal experience of tumble dryer fires. A few years ago, a fire alarm went off in his own home – in the room where his tumble dryer was running. Upon closer inspection, he realised that a thin layer of smoke hovered below the ceiling above the machine. Chagger was able to deal with the fire safely and says he recommends installing a smoke alarm in the same room as the tumble dryer.
But e-bikes with lithium-ion batteries are a new challenge. “When a battery fails, it won’t necessarily burn; it will often produce some off-gases,” says Stephen Welch, senior lecturer at the University of Edinburgh’s Fire Research Centre. “Those gases are toxic and flammable. If they accumulate, there can be a risk of explosion.”
Chagger has recorded the following in experiments: How do lithium-ion batteries catch fire? “It’s absolutely incredible,” he says. “Then, nothing happens; gases are released, and there are multiple explosions.”
pa media
Detecting fires caused by lithium-ion batteries is challenging
Some smoke alarms are designed to be extra sensitive. For example, aspirating devices continuously draw air to detect small amounts of smoke in a room. These are often used in business settings, including server rooms filled with expensive computer technology.
“Many stately homes will have that system,” says Nicky Johnson, owner of the UK Fire Association, a trade body, and owner of fire detection firm Derventio Fire & Security. “You could be looking at £3-4,000 just to build one corridor.” He explains that such installations require substantial pipework.
fireangel
Avoiding false alarms has been a goal for Nick Rutter at FireAngel
One of the biggest developments in the fire alarm area in recent years has been the rise of smart technology – Wi-Fi-connected alarms that reach out to you by phone if, for example, they sense smoke while you’re outside.
“Our internet-connected devices use a proprietary radio system that links the alarms together,” says Nick Rutter, co-founder and chief executive of FireAngel. Connected alarms can send push notifications to users’ phones through their home internet router.
He suggests that the smoke alarm industry has a responsibility to reduce nuisance alarms, which sometimes cause people to deactivate or uninstall their devices – a huge safety risk.
“If we’re producing technology that our customers can’t live with, that’s our failure,” he explains, adding that FireAngel alarms are calibrated to avoid being overly sensitive to reduce false alarms.
Another smoke alarm company, Kidde, has developed a subscription-based service that charges users US$5 (£3.71) per month for access to a fire monitoring service linked to the Ring Doorbell app. “Trained agents can request emergency assistance and alert the customer’s emergency contacts in the event of an alarm,” Kidde explains on its website.
“In the event of a fire, it will send you an alert and ask you to confirm before calling the fire department,” says Isis Wu, its president of global residential fire and safety.
The company also has a smart alarm that avoids alerting users about low battery during the night when they are sleeping, as this often results in people turning off their alarm and forgetting about it.
Future smoke alarms may use completely unique technology. Researchers have developed an AI-based system that uses machine learning to detect fires in video feeds. The device can detect fire and smoke in footage from any camera—including CCTV, doorbell cameras, and phone cameras, according to Prabodh Panindre of New York University.
“We monitor the size, shape, and growth of the fire,” he adds, explaining that this helps avoid false alarms caused by photographs of fires or fires on TV screens that are visible in the footage.
Panindre and his colleagues have also linked the detection system to drones, which could help firefighters detect fires in a high-rise building: “These drones can actually go around the building and capture the location of the fire.”
He says the team is now working to commercialise the technology.
A mental health nurse was left traumatized and injured after she was stabbed (Image: Chris Fairweather/Hugh Evans Agency)
A mental health nurse has been left traumatised and injured after being stabbed by a patient suffering from schizophrenia in a psychiatric care unit.
Alexander Horton, 34, was admitted to the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend for treatment just three days before the unprovoked attack on the nurse at around 11.55pm on October 30, 2024.
However, as soon as she came near him, he put her in a headlock and started attacking her face with the sharp pen.
The nurse felt the pen prick his left eyebrow and realised that his face was covered in blood. According to Wales Online, the attack lasted about eight seconds until other staff members intervened to stop Horton and the nurse was immediately taken to A&E.
Read more: 16-year-old boy taken to hospital after being stabbed in busy UK city center
Read more: Asylum seeker threatens preacher with knife at Speakers’ Corner
He suffered two cuts on his left eyebrow and one on his side. A broken pen, the tip of which was wet, was later found at the scene.
Upon his arrest, Horton requested Valium, expressing a sense of impending doom and a sense of being trapped. He confessed to not taking his medication that day, which caused something to “snap” within him.
Horton, of Lanarth Road in Lanarth, Monmouthshire, later pleaded guilty to intentionally causing strangulation and wounding under section 18. The court heard he had no previous convictions.
The victim’s personal statement, read out in court, detailed the nurse’s trauma: “Every time I entered the ward I felt afraid, not knowing if he was going to attack me again or if he had planned another attack against me.
“Since the attack, I am even more conscious of my surroundings, especially in the presence of male patients, in case I might be attacked again. It has given me two scars, one on my eyebrow and the other on my temple. The wounds are healing, but I know the scars are still there.
“People would ask me about the wounds, and I would have to explain what had happened, and I would get upset over that incident. This incident has become a part of my life that I am struggling to forget. I was lucky that the pen did not puncture my eyeball. My vision came back but it still left me shaken.”
Defence counsel informed the court that Horton had conducted himself appropriately while undergoing psychiatric treatment, which did not indicate that he posed a violent threat prior to the attack. Sentencing her, Judge Paul Hobson said, “(The victim) was someone who was just doing her job, trying to look after you and help you. What you did and the hurt you caused had a deep impact on her.”
When Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado handed her Nobel Peace Prize medal to US President Donald Trump this week, the gesture was heavy on symbolism and light on clarity. Was Trump being given a “Nobel”? Can such an award be given? And what does medal ownership actually mean? Here’s how the rules, precedents, and the Nobel Foundation itself explain it.
What happened in Washington?
Machado presented Trump with the medal he received after being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year. Trump publicly praised her, calling her a “wonderful woman” and describing the act as mutual respect. The White House later confirmed that Trump wanted to keep the medal.
Trump unveils Venezuela’s new leader? After Maduro’s capture, Delsey took a U-turn and ‘backed’ Machado
The time was politically fraught. The meeting came days after US military action in Venezuela captured President Nicolas Maduro. While the intervention briefly raised Machado’s profile as a leading opposition figure, Trump soon distanced himself from endorsing him as Venezuela’s future leader, citing doubts about his domestic support.
Can the Nobel Prize be transferred or shared?
No. The Nobel Peace Prize itself cannot be transferred, shared, reassigned or revoked. The status of a Nobel laureate is personal and permanent. Regardless of who physically wins the medal, Machado remains the sole winner of the award. Trump’s holding of the medal does not make him a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, nor does it formally link him to the prize.
What does the Nobel Peace Center say?
The Nobel Peace Center has directly addressed the confusion surrounding Nobel medals and ownership.
In a post explaining the history and symbolism of the medal, the Center said the Nobel Peace Prize medal measures 6.6 cm in diameter.
weighs 196 grams and is made of gold. On one side is a portrait of Alfred Nobel, while the reverse shows three naked men holding each other’s shoulders as a symbol of brotherhood.
a design that has remained unchanged for 120 years. Importantly, the Center clarified that the Nobel medals have, on several occasions,
been changed after they have been awarded. A prime example is the medal of journalist Dmitry Muratov, which was auctioned for more than $100 million to support refugees from the war in Ukraine.
Another detail that is often overlooked is that the medal itself, displayed at the Nobel Peace Center, is on loan and originally belonged to Norway’s first peace laureate,
Christian Loos Lange. However, the center underlined a non-negotiable principle set by the Norwegian Nobel Committee: once a Nobel Prize is announced,
It cannot be revoked, shared or transferred. That decision will last forever. A medal can change owners, but not the title of Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
So what exactly did Machado give Trump?
He did not give him a prize but a physical medal. Once awarded, the medal becomes the personal property of the winner. While honours and titles are non-transferable, the object itself may be gifted, lent, or displayed by someone else. This difference explains why Machado’s gesture is legally possible but institutionally meaningless.
Can medals be sold?
Yes, at least in theory. Many Nobel Peace Prize medals have been sold at auction over the years, sometimes for extraordinary sums.
Prices vary widely depending on the individual and context, with the most prominent sales usually being for charitable purposes rather than for personal gain.
Modern Nobel medals are made from 18-karat recycled gold, which gives them symbolic importance as well as intrinsic material value. But selling the medal does not transfer Nobel status. Buyers receive a historical artefact, not respect.
Can Trump sell this medal?
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado leaves the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Allison Robert)
The nature of the gift remains unclear. If the medal were gifted without any restrictions, Trump could theoretically sell it as personal property. But such a move would certainly provoke a political and moral reaction. Previous high-profile sales were related to humanitarian enrichment, not personal enrichment. There is also uncertainty over whether the medal awarded to Trump was the original Nobel medal or a symbolic presentation copy, details of which have not been publicly clarified.
Why does it matter?
Trump has long expressed his disappointment at not receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, frequently claiming that his diplomatic efforts went unnoticed. Machado’s gesture directly exposed that grievance, turning the Nobel Prize into a piece of political theatre at a volatile geopolitical moment.
bottom line
Trump did not receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
Machado cannot give him titles or honours.
The medal itself may change hands or even be sold.
None of this changes who the Nobel Committee identifies as the laureate.
Therefore, even if Trump receives the Nobel Peace Prize from Machado, the Nobel Committee will still recognise Machado as the laureate.
Dozens of injured soldiers are still unable to return to full duty after being transported in Army Ajax vehicles.
About 33 soldiers fell ill after spending hours in 40-tonne reconnaissance vehicles during a military exercise on Salisbury Plain last year.
Armed Forces Minister Al Carnes confirmed that the nine had returned to full duty.
But the Defence Ministry said 24 were still in the “medical chain” and on restricted duties.
It is unclear when personnel will return to full duty, but a handful of those previously injured by Ajax were forced to leave the force with permanent hearing damage.
The news comes amid claims that more soldiers may have been injured during three prior exercises involving Ajax between July and November last year.
Ben Obese-Jeckty, a Tory MP and former British Army officer, expressed shock at the sustained injuries over a two-month period.
He added, “This suggests that his injuries are far more extensive and debilitating than just a slight motion sickness caused by travelling in an armoured vehicle for an afternoon.”
Soldiers, believed to be part of the Royal Lancers and Household Cavalry, were reported to be suffering from “noise vibration symptoms” after an exercise on 22 November.
Some were so badly shocked that they reportedly staggered out of the Ajax fighting machines vomiting, while others were barely able to stand.
Defence Minister Luke Pollard ordered the immediate suspension of the use of armoured vehicles pending a major security review.
This suspension affects 60 vehicles that were used during exercises.
The Defence Ministry had previously said that 23 soldiers out of 60 vehicles used during exercises on Salisbury Plain last year felt ill.
The £6.3 billion project, which officials have claimed is “too big to fail”, is now on the verge of being cancelled altogether, and ministers are expected to make a decision on the future of Ajax later this year.
General Dynamics, an American firm manufacturing vehicles, announced it had achieved all initial operating criteria – meaning the vehicles are safe to enter service – on July 23 last year.
In November, Mr Pollard announced that the first batch of vehicles was ready for frontline action, two weeks before the programme was halted over security concerns.
However, Mr Obese-Jekty fears that a trio of small-scale exercises between these two dates could injure more soldiers.
The exercise, believed to be a relatively small-scale training exercise, took place on Salisbury Plain.
Mr Obese-Jekty says he has repeatedly asked the Defence Ministry for answers about whether any of the personnel involved have fallen ill from noise or vibration symptoms, but he claims the government has “stonewalled” them.
The Huntington MP said, “I have answers to everything that happened before July 23. Everything after Exercise Titan Storm [which took place on November 22], I also have answers.
“But the government has blocked me on everything between those two dates. They’re not willing to disclose any of that information.
“They have just ignored the question because they would rather not disclose how many soldiers have been injured… This is a problem that is not going to go away.”
General Dynamics emphasized military security; it was the firm’s “top priority,” and the Ajax was the “most tested combat vehicle” ever.
A spokesperson said, “Since 2019, we have worked with the British Army and the Ministry of Defence to conduct extensive trials and testing. We continue to support them without hesitation or limitation.
“We are confident in the performance and protection Ajax will provide to our troops.”
Three separate investigations, including an independent ministerial inquiry, are being conducted to determine what went wrong last year.
Their results are expected to be released later this year, with ministers stressing that “all options remain on the table”.
Armed Forces Minister Al Carnes says the government should ‘withdraw or cancel’ Ajax programme – Paul Grover
Speaking to MPs on Monday, Mr Carnes warned, “When it comes to this programme, we must either support it or scrap it. It is the evidence that will allow us to make that decision.”
Composed of six different variants, the Ajax will be the backbone of the Army’s future armoured and deep reconnaissance strike brigades for the next 30 years.
It is built at the General Dynamics factory in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales. Of the 589 commissioned into the fleet, about 180 have been handed over to the Army so far.
The Telegraph understands the Government is in the process of finalising responses to Mr Obese-Jekty’s questions, with a first response expected next week.
a spokesperson for Ministry of Defence Additional information is not being hidden and will be disclosed soon, and it said the safety of its personnel is its top priority.
The company OpenAI has announced that ads will soon appear on top of the AI tool ChatGPT for some users.
The test will initially take place in the US and will impact some ChatGPT users on the free service and a new subscription tier called ChatGPT Go.
This cheaper option will be available to all users around the world and will cost $8 per month, or its equivalent price in other currencies.
OpenAI states that during the testing phase, relevant ads will be displayed after a user prompt; for instance, if a user asks ChatGPT about places to visit in Mexico, vacation ads may be shown.
OpenAI says they will not influence ChatGPT’s responses and that the company will not share data about interactions with advertisers.
It said it had decided to remove advertisements “so that more people can benefit from our tools with lower usage limits.”
However, there is also growing speculation that eager investors have overhyped the AI field, which has yet to demonstrate significant benefits.
Analysts predict that this “bubble” may soon burst due to its unsustainable nature.
Henry Ajder, an expert on AI, deepfakes and synthetic media, said OpenAI’s decision to track advertising revenue was not a surprise.
“OpenAI is a company that has seen huge growth in terms of users over the last few years, but it is wasting investors’ money – it is not a profit-making entity,” he said.
“And so, for this company to really start making a profit, it has to find more revenue sources from somewhere other than just standard paying customers. And for many software businesses, advertising is a revenue source that is reliable.”
OpenAI
Ads will be tested in the US for free users and users of the new tier, ChatGPT Go
The Financial Times reported that OpenAI in 2025 incurred losses of almost $8bn (£5.98bn) in the first six months of the year and that only 5% of ChatGPT’s 800 million users are paid customers.
In addition to the new Go subscription tier, it already has Plus and Pro tiers, which cost $20 and $200 per month, respectively, in the US.
ChatGPT Go was first introduced in India in 2025.
ChatGPT Go was first introduced in India in 2025 before expanding to other countries.
OpenAI was originally founded as a non-profit organisation, but it has increasingly turned toward more commercial operations.
Advertising has largely funded the Internet economy for more than two decades.
OpenAI isn’t the only AI firm considering this business model, with boss Sam Altman once saying he hated ads and describing them as a “last resort.”.
In 2025, AI firm Perplexity hired Taz Patel as the “head of advertising and buying,” but he left the company after nine months.
Google has denied reports that it had approached advertisers about bringing ads to its Gemini AI tool in 2026.
