Plans

• Andy Burnham, the frontrunner to become the next UK Prime Minister, is set to unveil a 10-year economic and devolution plan focused on raising living standards. • Housing Secretary Steve Reed confirmed that Burnham remains committed to the manifesto that secured Keir Starmer's large majority two years ago. • To maintain economic stability, Burnham intends to adhere to Labour’s existing fiscal rules, which include balancing day-to-day spending and reducing national debt.

• Mayor Andy Burnham is delivering a speech today to outline his strategic plans for devolution and the specific changes he hopes to implement across the country. • The initiative is supported by the 2024 party manifesto, providing the political framework for Burnham to pursue these major structural shifts despite his recent entry into Parliament via a by-election. • This move matters as it seeks to redistribute power from central government to local authorities, potentially altering how public services and regional policies are managed.

• South Korea announced a massive investment plan exceeding $576 billion to develop AI chips and mega-projects. • President Lee Jae Myung pledged these funds to secure overwhelming industry leadership and challenge global rivals in the semiconductor sector. • The initiative focuses on advancing AI-integrated hardware to maintain a competitive edge against international tech giants.

• President Lee Jae Myung is set to unveil large-scale investment plans on Monday to foster South Korea's semiconductor and physical artificial intelligence sectors, including the creation of a chip cluster. • To promote balanced regional development, the administration intends to distribute these technology investment projects across the central Chungcheong and southeastern Yeongnam regions. • Supporting ministries for industry, science, land, and energy will introduce complementary measures to ensure critical infrastructure, such as power and water supplies, for the new facilities.

• China plans to double the size of its Tiangong space station by adding three new modules and a co-orbiting space telescope. • This expansion occurs as the International Space Station (ISS) nears the end of its operational life and prepares for a final splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. • The move signifies China's ambition to establish a more permanent and capable long-term presence in low Earth orbit.

• Hangzhou-based AI company DeepSeek plans to double its workforce following a multi-billion-dollar fundraising round. • The firm is immediately recruiting for 27 different roles, including development engineers, data engineers, AI product managers, and corporate staff in legal and finance. • This expansion aims to strengthen DeepSeek's ability to compete against major U.S. generative AI rivals such as OpenAI and Anthropic.

King Charles will never live in landmark despite £369m upgrade, but aides stress it will remain ‘buzzing hive’ of royal activityNot all modern British monarchs have viewed the prospect of moving into Buckingham Palace with unalloyed joy. So in announcing he will never live there, after the completion of its £369m upgrade next year, King Charles has at least grasped that nettle.Queen Victoria was initially dismayed by the damp, dingy and disorganised building that greeted her and Prince Albert in 1837. It was Albert who refashioned it into “Monarchy HQ”. After his 1861 death, Victoria retreated mainly to Windsor, Balmoral and Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. Continue reading...

Veteran Labour peer who fled Nazis as a child attacks ‘performative cruelty’ of Shabana Mahmood’s policiesUK politics live – latest updatesShabana Mahmood should be moved out of the Home Office and her asylum policies of “performative cruelty” ripped up by Andy Burnham’s administration, Alf Dubs has said.The veteran Labour peer who came to the UK aged six in 1939 fleeing the persecution of Jews in Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia said the home secretary’s talents “would be better used elsewhere in the cabinet”. Continue reading...