Most of England’s smart motorways are poor value for money, official reports find

AA says long-awaited evaluations show schemes are a ‘catastrophic waste of time, money and effort’

Boss of lobbying firm founded with Peter Mandelson quits after Epstein revelations

Ben Wegg-Prosser resigns from Global Counsel as emails show Epstein’s help was sought in setting up the company

Hail our new robot overlords! Amazon warehouse tour offers glimpse of future

At its new Stone Mountain, Georgia, facility, Roomba-like robots shuffle between stacks, another adds shipping labels while another arranges packages in pallets

TikTok could be forced to change app’s ‘addictive design’ by European Commission

Preliminary EU ruling says app shifts brains of users into ‘autopilot mode’, with concerns for children and vulnerable adults

Only seven new petrol-powered cars sold in Norway in January

Data shows 29 hybrid and 98 diesel cars also sold, while the figure for battery electric vehicles was more than 2,000

Stellantis takes €22bn hit after ‘overestimating’ pace of shift to EVs

Carmaker, which owns marques including Peugeot and Jeep, will also sell stake in battery joint venture

Price of average UK home passes £300,000 for first time, Halifax says

Property prices in January rose 0.7%, the fastest rate since November 2024 increase of 1.1%

‘Tickets have become status symbols’: from Harry Styles to Taylor Swift, why is live music bigger and more expensive than ever?

Styles is playing a record 12 nights at Wembley Stadium and 30 at Madison Square Garden, as demand for big artists soars – and audience expectation along with it

The Russian economy is finally stagnating. What does it mean for the war – and for Putin?

A wartime boom in Russia has given way to sluggish growth, tax hikes and squeezed public services. Will it affect the conflict in Ukraine?

Almost a quarter of soup on sale in UK supermarkets has too much salt, study finds

Analysis of nearly 500 tinned and chilled products finds 23% exceed government’s voluntary salt target

Bald eagles and Lynyrd Skynyrd: is Budweiser’s all-American Super Bowl ad serious?

Featuring an unlikely animal friendship, the commercial boasts enough patriotic iconography to verge on self-parody

Barclays reportedly cuts ties with lobbying firm co-founded by Peter Mandelson

Vodafone also reviewing its contract with Global Counsel after revelations of former minister’s links to Jeffrey Epstein

Rape allegation against ex-Barclays CEO Jes Staley was raised in US Epstein investigation

Newly unsealed files claim the banker, who has denied any wrongdoing, forced a woman to touch his genitals during a massage before raping her

Shell will consider fossil fuel investment in Venezuela, says chief executive

Wael Sawan weighs up production project as company reports 22% drop in full-year earnings to $18.5bn but boosts dividends

Rio Tinto and Glencore abandon revived $260bn merger plan

After weeks of talks mining companies say they cannot reach a deal that delivers value for shareholders