Contact

• Scientists have released a formal "first-contact blueprint" to establish a standardized protocol for humanity's response upon receiving a message from an intelligent alien civilization. • The plan mandates that any discovery be shared with the United Nations and a global network of astronomy, space exploration, and communications organizations. • To ensure transparency and accuracy, the framework requires the public release of all underlying evidence so the global scientific community can independently verify the data.

Fewer than one in 10 SEW customers satisfied with firm’s handling of supply crisis, which left tens of thousands without waterSouth East Water failed to adequately communicate with customers during outages last winter that left tens of thousands of people without water, a report has concluded.Fewer than one in 10 SEW customers were satisfied with how the company handled the water supply crisis that stretched across parts of Kent and Sussex last winter, the consumer council for water said. The report found communication was the company’s greatest failing. Continue reading...

• Manchester United is reportedly monitoring several high-profile targets, including Rafael Leao, Vinicius Jr, and Elliot Anderson, as they look to strengthen the squad. • According to Sport Bild, United may submit an offer this summer for a Dortmund centre-back, whose future is currently the subject of intense speculation. • The club is also tracking updates on other players such as Mateus Fernandes, Ederson, and Sandro Tonali to bolster various positions.

The bank’s interim chief executive says ‘this issue should never have happened’, but warns it may take time to process claimsNational Savings and Investments bank will start to contact thousands of families affected by a missing savings scandal next week, as it confirmed how much they are owed.In March, the chief executive of the state-backed bank was forced out after it emerged there had been long-running problems with the tracing of accounts belonging to customers who had died. Continue reading...

Retired NHS worker Nicholas Stone died after becoming unwell at protest against far-right Bristol PatriotsThe police watchdog is investigating the use of force against a retired NHS worker who attended a counter-demonstration against the far right and died shortly after contact with officers there.Nicholas Stone, 65, who lived in Bristol, died on 10 January after becoming unwell at a protest opposing the rightwing group Bristol Patriots, who were demonstrating in the city centre. Continue reading...

Lindsay and Craig Foreman were given 10-year sentences after entering the country on a motorcycling tripThe “terrified” family of a British couple jailed for 10 years in Iran on spying charges have said they have lost all contact with them.Lindsay and Craig Foreman, both 53, were arrested in January 2025 while travelling through Iran during an around-the-world trip by motorcycle. Continue reading...

Demarcation of 410,000 hectares of territory is intended to protect the Amazonian community from farming, illegal mining and loggingMore than 25 years after the existence of one of the Amazon’s most vulnerable nomadic hunter-gatherer communities was confirmed, the Brazilian government has begun demarcating the Pardo River Kawahiva Indigenous territory, giving greater protection to the uncontacted people.The demarcation of the 410,000-hectare (1m-acre) territorylocated between the states of Mato Grosso and Amazonas in north-west Brazil, was confirmed by the National Indigenous Peoples’ Foundation (Funai) last week. But the process remains fraught, with legal challenges from groups linked to the country’s agribusiness sector, and the forthcoming presidential election in October. Continue reading...