Risk

Exclusive: 839,000 homes in urban areas face threat of surface-water flooding, with social housing tenants most vulnerable to costsEight in 10 of the homes that are at high risk of flooding in England are now in towns and cities, according to analysis by the National Housing Federation (NHF), which said social housing tenants are disproportionately vulnerable to the financial cost.Research found that 839,000 homes in urban areas are now classed as being at high risk of surface water flooding, a threefold increase since 2018. Continue reading...

Delegates at event in Cape Verde highlight opportunities from tech while stressing AI is no replacement for talentLast July, the Nigerian singer-songwriter Fave found herself caught up in a viral moment: an unauthorised version of a track featuring an AI choir had been released, quickly becoming an internet sensation. To get ahead of the situation, she recorded her own remix that integrated the AI-assisted song and added it to her discography.“In my view, [that] was smart and very business aware,” Oyinkansola Fawehinmi, a Lagos-based entertainment lawyer, observed a few months later. “She essentially reclaimed the ‘AI version’ and released it as her own official expression.” Continue reading...

Niesr says even under best-case scenario, economy would grow at slower pace in 2026 and 2027 because of conflictBritain is facing a £35bn economic hit and the risk of a recession this year as the fallout from the Iran war adds to the pressure on Keir Starmer’s government, a leading thinktank has warned.The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (Niesr) said that even under a best-case scenario the UK economy would grow at a much slower pace this year and next because of the Middle East conflict. Continue reading...

Refusal or silence would increase denial risk under new US guidance requiring applicants to confirm no fear of returnApplicants seeking a temporary visa to the United States must now tell a consular officer that they have not experienced harm and do not fear returning to their home country, according to new guidance issued from the state department. If they answer yes or decline to respond to either question, the chance they will be denied will skyrocket.The Guardian obtained a state department cable which instructs officers at every US embassy and consulate globally to amend their process and ask applicants to affirm they do not fear mistreatment if they return home as a prerequisite for the interview to continue. Continue reading...

Bank’s chief executive points to rising fraud as it sets aside a further £105m for motor finance compensationBusiness live – latest updatesBarclays is pulling back from lending to risky borrowers, as its chief executive warned of increasing numbers of fraud cases and the bank took a £228m hit from the failure of a mortgage lender.The mortgage lender Market Financial Solutions (MFS) collapsed in February amid allegations of fraud and the UK’s financial regulator has since launched an investigation into the scandal. Continue reading...

Case centers on glyphosate, pesticide used in Roundup and other products that has been linked to cancer in some studiesThe US supreme court will hear arguments in a key pesticide regulation case on Monday, setting the stage for a ruling that could weaken the ability of consumers to sue companies for failing to warn of product risks.The case centers on glyphosate – a weed-killing chemical used in the popular Roundup brand and numerous other herbicide products. The chemical has been scientifically linked to cancer in multiple studies, and was classified a probable human carcinogen by an arm of the World Health Organization in 2015. Continue reading...

Experts fear losing ground to virus even as the end of the HIV epidemic is in sight, and say decline in infant testing is ‘particularly concerning’The US government released likely the last report from Pepfar (President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief) earlier this month and the chief science officer announced his resignation days later as the US moves to a patchwork of individual partnerships with each country, potentially driven by resource extraction.While more leadership with other countries has long been the goal with global HIV efforts, experts fear the US is moving too quickly without being able to monitor its efforts as well as it has done with Pepfar for more than two decades. They fear losing ground to the virus even as the end of the HIV epidemic is in sight. Continue reading...