Our dependence on internet services of a few key tech companies leaves us vulnerable to cloud failures, bugs and more, experts say It happened again. A power outage hit a datacentre in London , and things cascaded from there: multiple banking services faltered, court hearings were put on hold and patients reported temporary glitches on the NHS app. The datacentre in question was in Google’s europe-west2-b zone, one of more than a dozen “zones” that the US search giant maintains in Europe to service its clients. Continue reading...
‘Too big to not fail’: Google outage exposes UK reliance on a handful of cloud providers

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UK inflation jumps to 3.5% — cementing rate hike expectations
U.K. inflation rose by a hotter-than-expected 3.5% in the 12 months to September, driven by the surging cost of motor fuels.

UK inflation jumps to 3.5% on rising motor fuels costs; UK approves Jackdaw gasfield – business live
Petrol and diesel costs rise the most in four years The chancellor of the Exchequer, John Healey , focused on the new energy wealth fund in his remarks: I want Britain’s energy wealth to spark a new wave of clean power to work for the British people. Since North Sea gas and oil were discovered decades ago, the benefit of our existing nation’s natural resources have not been turned into the long-term investment our country needs. Britain is going to need gas for decades to come, as even the climate change committee recognises. The choice is not between gas and no gas, but between gas produced in British waters and gas shipped in from abroad at higher cost and with higher emissions. But while we should use what we have, the north sea is a declining basin, and we need to transition to homegrown clean power. Britain’s always-on electricity should come from new clean nuclear, both gigawatt-sc

UK inflation rises by more than expected to 3.5% as war drives up fuel prices
Increase in annual price growth in September comes amid fears rate will breach 4% next year UK inflation climbed by more than expected in September to 3.5% after a surge in prices from the conflict in the Middle East that pushed the cost of diesel above £2 a litre. In a blow to John Healey before his first budget as chancellor in a week’s time, the Office for National Statistics said annual inflation rose from 3.1% in August . Economists had forecast an increase in the consumer prices index to 3.4%. Continue reading...

Three ideas for how to deal with Thames Water
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UK approves Jackdaw gasfield in North Sea
Decision was widely expected after lobbying by Shell but will dismay environmental campaigners The UK government has approved the controversial Jackdaw gasfield in the North Sea, a widely expected move that will nonetheless dismay environmental campaigners and a number of Labour MPs. While Labour’s 2024 election manifesto committed to a ban on new drilling licences in the North Sea, the companies behind Jackdaw and the Rosebank oilfield project, which is being decided on separately, have sought environmental approval for existing licences. Continue reading...
Oil prices climb as traders assess Middle East developments
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