Aston Martin to cut 20% of workforce in effort to save £40m 25. February 2026 (10:45) Details emerge after struggling carmaker reports pre-tax losses of £363.9m for 2025 The luxury carmaker Aston Martin Lagonda is to cut its workforce by 20% as it looks to save about £40m after reporting widening losses.The group, which said earlier this month it was consulting on the latest redundancy programme, said it would reduce its workforce by up to a fifth after action at the start of last year that cut 170 jobs. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Evelyn Araluen wins $125,000 for ‘politically uncompromising’ poetry at Victorian premier’s literary awards 25. February 2026 (10:00) Poet’s second collection The Rot won the Victorian prize for literature and the Indigenous writing categoryGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailEvelyn Araluen has won both the $100,000 Victorian prize for literature and the $25,000 Indigenous writing category at this year’s Victorian premier’s literary awards, for her second poetry collection The Rot.Selected from almost 700 books entered for the prize, The Rot won the two awards on Thursday night, having also been shortlisted in the poetry category. The Goorie and Koori poet won the 2022 Stella prize, and was shortlisted for three premier’s literary prizes, for her debut collection Dropbear.Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Student loan crisis in England and Wales is a scam on graduates, say angry MPs 25. February 2026 (10:00) Debate to take place in Westminster as some backbench Labour members join calls for a shake-up of the systemAngry backbench Labour MPs have attacked ministers over the student loans crisis, claiming graduates are being “outrageously scammed”.Ahead of a Commons Westminster Hall debate on Wednesday morning, some Labour MPs joined calls for an urgent shake-up of the current “unfair” system. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
HSBC boss signals overhaul of bank is almost over despite drop in profits 25. February 2026 (09:15) Lender ‘becoming a simple, more agile, focused bank built for a fast-changing world’, says Georges Elhedery The chief executive of HSBC has signalled that his planned overhaul of Europe’s largest lender is drawing to a close despite a slide in annual profits.The bank’s chief executive, Georges Elhedery – who took over in 2024 – said it was “becoming a simple, more agile, focused bank built for a fast-changing world”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Behind the Guardian’s analysis of 100 years of MPs’ language on immigration 25. February 2026 (09:00) Methodology: how we trained a machine learning model to analyse rhetoric on immigration in the UK parliament over the course of a centuryThe Guardian has revealed a significant rightward shift toward sentiment relating to immigration among MPs speaking in the House of Commons in the past five years.
To do this analysis the Guardian’s Data Science and Data Projects teams, in collaboration with University College London, developed an in-house machine learning model to measure linguistic sentiment in debates in the Commons over the course of a century.Unlike off-the-shelf sentiment models, the Guardian’s version distinguishes sentiment directed specifically at immigration from general emotionally charged language about any topic. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Energy bills will fall by £117 for millions of households in Great Britain from April 25. February 2026 (08:00) Ofgem cap drops by 7% to £1,641 a year for consumers’ average gas and electricity costsBusiness live – latest updatesAnnual energy bills will fall by £117 for millions of households from April after Rachel Reeves’s plan to cut £150 a year from bills was partly foiled by rising costs.The energy regulator Ofgem’s quarterly cap will fall by 7% a year for the three months from April to £1,641 for the average combined gas and electricity bill in Great Britain, from £1,758 under the current January-March cap. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Jobs, gas prices and ending wars: factchecking Trump’s State of the Union claims 25. February 2026 (07:58) The president’s lengthy speech to Congress contained myriad inflated, misleading or simply false claimsDonald Trump officially made the longest State of the Union address in history on Tuesday night, with broad claims about the successes achieved during the first year of his second term.But the speech that stretched across more than an hour and 41 minutes was filled with strong statements, many of them inflated, misleading or simply untrue. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Why the longest-ever State of the Union address was the most inconsequential 25. February 2026 (07:50) Amid Trump’s lies and xenophobic rants, people struggling to pay bills and make ends meet are unlikely to be movedHe wanted to give the king’s speech. Donald Trump entered the US House chamber on Tuesday like a medieval monarch, with Republicans lined up eager to touch his royal robes (or, in two cases, grab a selfie with him). But within moments, the illusion was shattered.As the US president strolled by, soaking up adulation, Democratic representative Al Green of Texas held aloft a handwritten sign: “Black people aren’t apes!” – a reference to Trump recently sharing a racist video depiction of Barack and Michelle Obama. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Reserve Bank could hike cash rate twice in 2026 as Australia’s inflation stays stubbornly high 25. February 2026 (07:50) End of government subsidies drives electricity costs up by 19% in the month and leaves power bills nearly a third higher than they were a year earlierFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Reserve Bank is more likely to hike rates again, and potentially twice before the end of the year, after new figures revealed inflationary pressures showed no signs of easing in 2026.Annual inflation stayed at a high 3.8% in January, as the end of government subsidies drove electricity costs up by 19% in the month and left power bills nearly a third higher than they were a year earlier. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
How ancient Scottish rocks throw ‘snowball Earth’ theory up in the air 25. February 2026 (07:00) Researchers discover rare periods of a few thousands years when climate unexpectedly awoke from slumberDuring the ”snowball Earth” period about 700m years ago, Earth’s climate shut down. The planet was encased in ice and insulated from seasonal variations: spring, summer, autumn and winter all stopped. Or at least that was the theory.Recent examination of some ancient rocks from the west coast of Scotland have now overturned that thinking, suggesting there were periods during snowball Earth when the climate woke up. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
