The Actual News

Key Facts

• The Post Office paid more than £600m to continue using the Horizon IT system which had problems.
• The original deal in 1999 with Fujitsu didn't allow the Post Office access to key parts of the Horizon system.
• Since 2012, the Post Office has wanted to change suppliers, but it was too costly.
• The Post Office wrongly accused around 700 sub-postmasters of theft and fraud due to errors by the Horizon system.
• A try to change the system with a new one from IBM in 2016 failed and cost £40m.
• The Post Office contract with Fujitsu is set to end in March 2026, but it might need to be extended.
• The Post Office finally got rights related to the Horizon software and code in 2023.
• The computerizing deal of the Post Office branch network involved the Post Office, Fujitsu, its subsidiary ICL Pathway, and the government.

Key Facts

• China has requested that the United States cancel all tariffs on Chinese goods.
• There have not been any recent trade discussions between the United States and China.
• Trade disputes between the United States and China have led to high taxes on each other's goods.
• President Trump claims the taxes he set on Chinese goods might be lowered, but not completely removed.
• China recently sent back planes it had ordered from Boeing, a U.S. company, an action retaliating against U.S. tariffs.
• Commerce Ministry Spokesman of China, He Yadong, says the U.S. must remove all the tariffs if it wants to resolve the issue.
• China conducted a meeting to discuss how U.S. tariffs affect foreign companies doing business in China.
• The head of Boeing confirmed that China returned their ordered planes due to trade tensions.

Key Facts

• Ed Miliband is reviewing plans for "zonal pricing", a way of setting energy costs differently in different places.
• This idea might lower bills in areas that make a lot of energy, like Scotland.
• Not everyone likes this idea. Some people think it could make bills higher.
• This change could be the biggest one in the energy market since the 1990s.
• Different countries, like Australia, Italy, and Sweden use this kind of pricing.
• Some energy businesses like this idea, but others do not.
• The government has not made a decision yet. They are still thinking about all the options and want to make sure everyone's bills get lower, no matter where they live.

Key Facts

• There is a rule that lets packages worth less than £135 enter the UK without taxes.
• Some people believe this rule gives companies like Shein and Temu an advantage over UK businesses.
• Rachel Reeves, a government worker, said they are going to review the rule because some businesses are not happy with it.
• This rule has helped Chinese retailers like Shein and Temu who ship small packages to lots of customers.
• Businesses that bring bigger shipments into the UK have to pay taxes.
• There are worries that companies may sell goods that don't meet the UK's environmental and ethical standards.
• Some people are concerned that the UK government is missing out on tax money because of this rule.
• Some people worry about goods from other countries like China being sold in the UK to avoid paying taxes in other countries.

Key Facts

• The UK government wants the country to become a superpower in AI.
• This topic is discussed in the "The Briefing Room" program on BBC Sounds.
• The program was released on 24 Apr 2025 and is available for over a year.
• AI stands for Artificial Intelligence, which means computers and machines that can think and learn like humans.
• The article does not provide more detailed information or other facts.

Key Facts

Key Facts

• Scott Bessent is America's Treasury Secretary.
• Bessent said that there could be a big trade deal between the United States and China.
• This comes at a time when these two countries are having a trade dispute.
• A trade dispute means the countries are charging each other more to bring goods in.
• The United States has put up to 145% extra cost on goods from China.
• In return, China has put 125% extra cost on goods from the United States.
• Bessent expressed hopes that the current situation, the trade dispute, would calm down.
• He also mentioned that the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund should focus more on making economies stable and helping them grow.

Key Facts

• China decided to return planes it bought from an American company, Boeing.
• This came about because of disagreements over trading rules between the US and China.
• Two airplanes have already been sent back, and more might follow.
• The US has put a very high extra cost, called a tariff, on stuff it buys from China. China did the same in return.
• Boeing's boss says they might have to sell the planes meant for China to other customers.
• Most of the planes Boeing makes are sold to other countries, not just America.
• Boeing said they talk to Trump's team every day about the trading disagreement between the two countries.
• Because of these problems, Boeing made less money in the first part of this year.
• Boeing had already been having trouble before this because their workers went on strike.
• Boeing hopes to make and sell more planes in the future.

Key Facts

• The transport secretary wants to decrease the number of learner drivers in England waiting more than five months for driving tests.
• The plan is to provide at least 10,000 extra driving tests a month to help with this.
• Right now, some people have to wait at least six months to book a driving test.
• By summer 2026, the government wants to reduce average waiting times to no more than seven weeks.
• The government originally had hoped to reduce waiting times to seven weeks by the end of this year.
• A lot more tests were booked last year — 1.95 million in total.
• One reason for the long wait times is fewer examiners available to do the tests.
• The government also wants to stop 'test booking bots' — computer programs that book lots of test slots quickly before people can get them.
• The system for booking driving tests might change to help with these problems.

Key Facts

• The UK government borrowed £151.9 billion in the year to March, which was £20.7 billion more than the previous year.
• Chancellor Rachel Reeves is trying to make a new trade deal with the US. This could help the UK avoid extra charges, called tariffs, on goods sold in America.
• Some people think that the government might have to cut its spending or increase taxes to handle the extra borrowing.
• The UK, like many countries, is being charged extra money (tariffs) by the US on goods it sells there.
• The International Monetary Fund, a big organization that helps with money matters globally, thinks that the UK's economy won't grow as much as expected in 2025.
• Tariffs, increasing prices (inflation), and rising costs of borrowing may slow down the UK's economic growth.
• Taxes brought in more money for the government, but they still borrowed more than expected because of higher spending on pay and benefits.
• The government's debt interest, which is money it pays because it borrowed money, increased by £1.3 billion to £4.3 billion last month.

Key Facts

• Denmark and Germany are building a very large tunnel under the Baltic Sea.
• When finished, the tunnel will be the longest made-for-roads-and-trains tunnel in the world.
• This tunnel is 18 kilometers (or 11 miles) long.
• The sections of the tunnel are being made at a factory and then placed on the sea floor.
• The project cost about €7.4bn ($8.1bn; £6.3bn). Most of this money came from Denmark and €1.3bn was given by the European Commission.
• When the tunnel is finished, a car drive or train ride between Rødbyhavn in Denmark and Puttgarten in Germany will take just 10 minutes.
• The new railway will also make the travel time between Copenhagen, Denmark, and Hamburg, Germany, half as long.
• The tunnel builders are a Danish company called Femern.
• The builders use special equipment and careful methods to put the tunnel sections in the right place under the sea.

Key Facts

• Mortgage rates, which are the costs you pay to borrow money to buy a house, are expected to come down.
• The average deposit for a first-time home buyer is £34,500.
• A Lifetime ISA (individual savings account) gives bonuses for those who are saving to buy their first home.
• Low-deposit mortgages, where you don't need to save as much money before taking the loan, are becoming more available.
• Shared ownership is an option where you can buy a portion of a house and pay rent for the rest.
• ‘Income boost’ mortgages let homebuyers add family members to their mortgage to borrow more money.
• Digital mortgage broker Tembo and some others offer help to first-time buyers.
• Some options may not work well for self-employed homebuyers because of strict loan rules.

Key Facts

• China and the United States are not getting along in trade, meaning they're not dealing fairly with each other when buying and selling goods.
• China has stopped sending out some minerals and magnets, known as "rare earths," to the United States.
• These rare earths are used a lot in high-tech items, like computer hard drives, loudspeakers, and even jet engines.
• Rare earths are hard to find on their own in nature and can be dangerous to get out safely.
• China is in control of most of the production and processing of these rare earths.
• The United States wants to make more of these materials themselves to not depend on imports.
• China built its control over rare earths on a plan made by their government.
• Some examples of these rare earths are neodymium, yttrium, and europium.

Key Facts

• Catherine Deane's company uses Instagram as its main way to connect with customers.
• Her company's Instagram account got hacked after someone tricked them into sharing their login info.
• The hackers took over the account, preventing the company from using it.
• Catherine Deane tried to get help from Meta, who runs Instagram, but didn't hear back for a long time.
• It took four months and a lot of effort before her company's Instagram account was given back.
• Other people also find it hard to get their hacked Instagram and Facebook accounts back, according to Jonas Borchgrevink, who runs a company to help with this problem.
• Meta encourages people to use good passwords and use features like Security Check-up to stay safe, but wouldn't give further details about how big this problem is.
• Hackers can use the social media accounts they hack to do bad things like trick people into sending money, spread harmful computer programs, or block a company's access to its account.

Key Facts

• The United States president, Donald Trump, decided not to increase taxes on goods from Guyana.
• Before, Guyana was supposed to pay 38% more to sell their goods in the US.
• Now, Guyana will only need to pay an extra 10% (called a tariff).
• This is the same amount as most other countries, except for Canada, China, and Mexico.
• The US and China are in a fight over who has more power in Guyana.
• China has spent a lot of money building things like roads and hospitals in Guyana.
• Even though they're fighting, the US still buys a lot of important stuff from Guyana, like oil, gold, and bauxite (which is used to make aluminum).
• All the countries in the Caribbean area, not just Guyana, will have to pay a 10% tariff on their stuff that they sell to the United States.
• Goods from China that go through the US to reach the Caribbean will be 125% more expensive because of the tariff.
• The Caribbean buys a lot of their stuff from the US, so this could make things more expensive for them.

Key Facts

• Royal Mail was started over 500 years ago.
• Daniel Kretinsky, a rich man from Czech, is planning to buy Royal Mail.
• Kretinsky also owns parts of a football club and a supermarket.
• Royal Mail is not making as much money as it used to and is losing customers.
• The number of letters being sent by Royal Mail has been going down for years.
• Because more people are buying things online, there are more packages to deliver, but other companies are delivering more of these than Royal Mail.
• Royal Mail was separated from The Post Office in 2012, and then it was sold the next year.
• Right now, Royal Mail is worth just over £2 billion.

Key Facts

• The price of chocolate has gone up by 9% over the last year.
• The main ingredient in chocolate, called cocoa, has gone up in price by 300% in one year.
• Cocoa is made from grounded cacao beans that are first fermented and roasted.
• Weather changes and less cocoa farming are causing the increase in cocoa's price.
• Some cocoa-free chocolates are made with sunflower seeds or fava beans.
• Cocoa-free chocolate might not smell or taste like regular chocolate.
• One company making cocoa-free chocolate is Foreverland. They use carob husks to make their product.
• Another company, Planet A Foods, uses sunflower seeds to make their cocoa-free chocolate. They already have their product in about 35 different things you can buy in the store.

Key Facts

• Lonestar Data Holdings is a company that wants to put data centers in space.
• They have already tested a tiny data center that went to the Moon on a spacecraft called the Athena Lunar Lander.
• A data center is a big building full of computers that hold and manage lots of information for websites, companies, and governments.
• Putting data centers in space can offer secure and reliable data handling because there's less chance of someone messing with it and there's a lot of solar energy in space to power them.
• Because more data than ever needs to be stored and managed due to things like artificial intelligence, the demand for data centers is going to grow 19%-22% by 2030.
• Data centers take up a lot of space and use a lot of power and water. Plus, people don't want them surrounding their homes, schools, and parks.
• Having data centers in space could make dealing with data for things in space like satellites or spacecraft quicker and easier because the information wouldn't have to travel back and forth between Earth.
• The Ascend report studied the possibility of data centers in space and found it could change the way data is handled in Europe and be better for the environment.
• But, they need to create rockets that emit 10 times less pollution to make space-based data centers really environment friendly. They also need to consider how these large systems can handle lots of data and how to get them into space.

Key Facts

• People in Canada and Europe are avoiding buying U.S. products.
• They are doing this because they are not happy with President Trump's decisions about taxes on products coming into the U.S. These types of taxes are called "tariffs."
• There are new apps in Canada, like Maple Scan, to help people find and buy Canadian products.
• Some of these decisions include taxes on cars, steel, and aluminum from other countries. This has made many people and businesses around the world worried.
• President Trump suggested that Canada could become part of the U.S. as a 51st state, but the Canadian government said no.
• Canada has responded by placing its own taxes on U.S. products.
• Some grocery stores in Denmark show a symbol to help people find European brands.
• People are also canceling their subscriptions to U.S. online entertainment services like Netflix and Disney Plus.

Key Facts

• Hong Fu Industrial Group makes about 200 million pairs of sports shoes every year.
• The company is currently building a factory in India, which will be ready in three to five years.
• When the factory is working at full speed, it will be able to make 25 million pairs of shoes each year.
• The new factory may have up to 25,000 workers.
• India's government hopes this will help to make better quality shoes in India.
• Most shoes sold in India have to follow new quality rules made by the Bureau of Indian Standards.
• A large part of India's shoe market is made up of small, local shoe makers.
• These local shoe makers can make cheaper shoes, which more people in India can afford.
• Some new Indian shoe companies are starting up to cater to India's growing number of people with more money to spend.