Water firms set to return £240m to customers by 2030 for poor performance

The Independent - Oct 14, 2026

The total net bill reduction under the draft plans is £240 million by 2029-30, with £107 million being returned through customer bills in 2027-28.

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The first new sunscreen type in 25 years has arrived on US store shelves

WASHINGTON — For the first time in more than a quarter-century, Americans have a new option when shopping for sunscreen: a skin-protecting chemical that’s long been a go-to option in Europe and other parts of the world. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved bemotrizinol — sometimes called BEMT — in June. The first sunscreens containing it are now hitting U.S. store shelves, including formulas from Neutrogena and other manufacturers. Dermatologists say the chemical fills an important market gap by offering broad protection, like the most well-established sunscreen ingredients, but without their cosmetic downsides, including white streaking. BEMT has decades of safety data behind it, including studies showing it has minimal absorption into the skin. That’s been a concern with some older sun-blocking chemicals. “It’s not a brand-new ingredient that you’re going to be the first person to try,” said Dr. Jennifer Stein, a dermatologist at NYU Langone Health. Here’s what to know: New ingredient offers broad protection without streaks To be effective, sunscreens must pr

Oct 14, 2026

Cornell president admits he never followed up on gang rape allegation ahead of no-confidence debate

Cornell University President Michael Kotlikoff knew in 2024 that a student had reported being gang raped at a fraternity house, but never followed up to learn what had happened to her or whether any of the accused students had been punished. In an interview with The New York Times published Tuesday, a day before Cornell’s Faculty Senate was set to begin debating a no-confidence resolution in his administration, Kotlikoff acknowledged that he did not know until recently that the woman had dropped out of Cornell or that students had been expelled or suspended over the incident. Kotlikoff publicly addressed what he called “deeply disturbing” allegations involving drug use and sexual violence at the Chi Phi fraternity house in a November 2024 message to the Cornell community, saying criminal and university investigations were underway. He subsequently convened a presidential task force to examine how Cornell handles sexual assault, but said this week that he never followed up to learn the outcomes of the criminal or Title IX investigations into the woman’s allegations. Case has drawn

Oct 14, 2026

Wall Street tumbles as hot inflation data feeds worries about Fed rate hikes

Hotter-than-expected inflation data sent Wall Street tumbling on Wednesday, with worries about more interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve pummeling shares of Oracle, CoreWeave and other AI stocks sensitive to higher borrowing costs. Increased bets that the Fed will have to further hike rates to tame inflation dealt a sharp blow to some of the market's biggest gainers of 2026. Oracle lost 7.3 percent, while AI-infrastructure firms CoreWeave and Nebius tumbled 15 percent and 10 percent, respectively. Dell dropped 12 percent and Hewlett Packard Enterprise lost 7.6 percent after Barclays downgraded the AI server makers to "equal-weight" from "overweight." The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index dropped almost 4 percent, down for a sixth straight session and on track for its longest losing streak since May 2025. US consumer prices accelerated in September as the cost of gasoline surged and price pressures broadened beyond energy, data from the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics showed. Interest rate traders are pricing in a 37 percent chance that the Fed will raise rates at i

Oct 14, 2026

Oil prices gain on attacks in Saudi Arabia, Iran's new tactics to target tankers

NEW YORK — Oil prices rose on Wednesday after the Houthis attacked Saudi Aramco's headquarters and Iran said it was deploying new tactics to target ships and keep oil prices high. Brent crude futures were up 87 cents, or 0.82 percent, at $106.56 a barrel by 1:25 p.m. ET (1725 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained $1.46, or 1.55 percent, to $95.60, touching a three-week high. Attacks on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz and strikes between Saudi Arabia and the Iran-allied Houthis are driving up oil prices, said Phil Flynn, senior analyst with the Price Futures Group. "We're seeing a lot of fear trade today," he added. Iranian officials declined to provide details of the new strategy to target ships, but one said Iran had started using different offensive tactics about 10 days ago. Gulf oil flows excluding Iran surged in September to more than 81 percent of prewar levels, data showed, led by a recovery in Saudi exports. Iranian exports fell to zero owing to a U.S. blockade. "More crude reaching international markets does not necessarily mean more oil is being produced," Saxo

Oct 14, 2026

USFK chief says 'conditions have changed' while stressing OPCON transfer requirements

WASHINGTON — U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) Commander Gen. Xavier Brunson said Wednesday that "conditions have changed" while stressing the requirements in the transfer of a conditions-based wartime operation control (OPCON) from the United States to South Korea. "Because the conditions have changed, because we've changed our plan, we have new standards which we have to uphold," Brunson said while sharing his thoughts on the topic of OPCON transfer during the annual Indo-Pacific Summit hosted by the Gold Institute for International Strategy in Washington. The general cited North Korea's missile launches carried out earlier this week as evidence of such change. "A cursory glance of a newspaper would tell you that the conditions have most assuredly changed." On Monday, North Korea test-fired tactical ballistic missiles toward the East Sea, part of efforts to upgrade a key component of its weapons systems, with the country's state media calling it a "big success." Brunson's comments come amid a perceived gap between Seoul and Washington over the timing of OPCON transfer. Seoul seeks to retake wa

Oct 14, 2026

US stocks drop to their worst day since July as inflation worsens

NEW YORK — U.S. stocks dropped to their worst day since July on Wednesday following the latest signal that inflation is getting worse. The S&P 500 sank 1.1 percent for a fifth loss in the six days since setting its all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 48 points, or 0.1 percent, and the Nasdaq composite slid 1.9 percent as stocks in the artificial-intelligence industry led the way lower. Stocks felt pressure from rising yields in the bond market, where worries grew after a report said U.S. consumers had to pay prices for fuel, food and other costs of living last month that were 3.7 percent higher overall than a year earlier. That means inflation accelerated from its 3.4 percent rate in August and was worse than the 3.6 percent that economists expected. Inflation has remained more painful than anyone would like since the economy catapulted out of the crevasse created by the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s accelerated recently in part because of jumps in fuel prices caused by the war with Iran, and the price for a barrel of Brent crude added 0.4 percent Wednesday to $106.06. Tha

Oct 14, 2026

Trump claims again S. Korea to invest in Alaska LNG project under trade deal

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that South Korea will invest $50 billion in a massive liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Alaska as part of an investment agreement with Washington, despite uncertainty over Seoul's participation. "This 50 Billion Dollar Infrastructure Investment from The Republic of Korea is part of their Trade and Investment Deal with me," Trump wrote on Truth Social, while describing his visit to Alaska for a campaign rally on Tuesday. The remarks were the latest from the Trump administration claiming that South Korea is committed to the Alaska LNG project. Seoul has maintained that its participation remains subject to a commercial viability review. Trump also said that Taiwan has agreed to invest $4.4 billion in equity into the project, calling it the "greatest project in Alaska history." White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia also said Tuesday that $54 billion was tied to the Alaska LNG project as part of a South Korean energy investment package. "President Trump also unveiled a South Korea energy investment package of up to $200 billio

Oct 14, 2026

Water firms set to return £240m to customers by 2030 for poor performance

More News

The first new sunscreen type in 25 years has arrived on US store shelves

Cornell president admits he never followed up on gang rape allegation ahead of no-confidence debate

Wall Street tumbles as hot inflation data feeds worries about Fed rate hikes

Oil prices gain on attacks in Saudi Arabia, Iran's new tactics to target tankers

USFK chief says 'conditions have changed' while stressing OPCON transfer requirements

US stocks drop to their worst day since July as inflation worsens

Trump claims again S. Korea to invest in Alaska LNG project under trade deal

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