A frosty and perhaps icy start for most on Thursday with sunshine and wintry showers in areas exposed to the northwesterly wind. Cloudier in the southwest with outbreaks of rain and hill snow moving through. Rather breezy. Wintry and blustery showers continue in the north of the UK, but drier with clear skies further south, and a widespread frost developing away from any coasts.
International news continues to dominate the UK newspaper front pages this morning as events across the Middle East continue to unfold as do updates into the shooting death of American healthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
In domestic news, the government has plans to open 14,000 more prison places and government departments have recommended a pay rise of 2.8% for millions of public sector workers including teachers, NHS staff and senior civil servants next year.
Last night’s Champions League matches make the back pages with Liverpool’s 1-0 win – continuing their perfect start to the campaign – leading most sports pages.
The i newspaper reports on strikes against Syria’s naval fleet by Israel and Kurdish positions in the north of the country by Turkey, saying there is a “new turmoil” in the Middle East.
The Times says Israel bombed hundred of weapons of silos, warplanes, and tanks, quoting the Israeli military saying it wanted to stop the equipment “falling into the hands of terrorist elements”.
Israel has acknowledged that some of its troops have moved beyond a UN buffer zone on the Syrian side of the border but insists it does not intend to march on Damascus, the paper says. The Israeli PM is quoted saying Israel will “do what is necessary to ensure our security.”
The Guardian’s front page quotes Israeli military spokesperson Lt Col Nadav Shoshani as saying “We are not involved in what’s happening in Syria internally,” he says. “We are not a side in this conflict and we do not have any interest other than protecting our borders and the security of our citizens.”
The Daily Mirror says rebels in Syria are drawing up a hit list of people who tortured and killed the Assad regime. The paper says up to 157,000 people might have disappeared after being detained by government forces and bounties are being offered for their capture.
The Metro leads with the latest in the Brian Thompson killing. The paper says the man accused of killing the US healthcare CEO, Luigi Mangione, 26, was arrested at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania. Mangione was found with a three-page handwritten document saying: “I apologise for any strife and trauma, but it had to be done”, the paper says.
The Guardian notes Mangione is expected to plead not guilty and will continue to fight extradition to New York.
The Independent reports on Luigi Mangione’s fiery court appearance, noting he shouted to reporters – “It’s completely out of touch and an insult to the intelligence of the American people and their lived experience!” – as police dragged him into court.
The letter from the National Iwi Chairs Forum, representing over 80 tribal leaders, appeals to the King to ensure the New Zealand government upholds its commitments under the Treaty of
The outage began around 18:00 GMT, according to the tracking site Downdetector, and affected users in the UK, Europe, Asia, Australia, South America, and the US. Reports indicated over 18,000
At least 19 people were killed in an overnight Israeli airstrike on a residential building in northern Gaza, according to medical officials and Gaza’s Hamas-run Civil Defence agency. The strike
Ahmed al-Sharaa, widely known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, leader of the rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), declared that the former regime’s notorious security apparatus would be dismantled. The statement,
The United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly passed a resolution demanding an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in the devastated Gaza Strip. One hundred and fifty-eight members voted in favour of
South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol has defended his decision to declare a short-lived martial law, saying it was a measure to protect the country’s democracy.
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Despite the “doom and gloom” narrative and post-Budget fears looming over the UK’s start-up ecosystem, the country still holds its ground at the forefront of global innovation.
At least that is the view of Ashish Patel, managing director at Houlihan Lokey’s Capital Market Group, who says that a rise of international investment into UK start-ups this year is indeed a sign of good fortune.
While referencing the success of “landmark deals” across a variety of sectors this year, including AI firm Wayve’s $1bn (£787m) raise for self-driving cars, biotech start-up Nuclera’s $75m (£59m) for protein discoveries, and fintech Monzo’s additional raise of $430m (£338m), Patel’s argument becomes clear.
“Following the global investment declines of 2022, investment in UK-based businesses is picking up,” Patel says.
https://www.cityam.com/uk-start-ups-punch-above-their-weight-and-its-being-noticed-worldwide/
Business optimism fell at its fastest pace in over three years following October’s Budget, a new survey shows.
BDO’s latest business trends survey, which collects and regroups data from the UK’s main business surveys, showed that corporate confidence fell to its lowest level since January 2023.
The optimism index dropped 5.8 points to 93.49 in November, which was the largest monthly fall since August 2021.
The drop in confidence reflects the anticipated effect of the Budget, as businesses brace for the impact of the national insurance hike and the increase to the minimum wage from April next year.
Business confidence drops at fastest pace for over three years
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