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TikTok is under formal investigation over concerns it has failed to protect children from harmful content, the UK’s online regulator, Ofcom, has announced.The social media platform’s approach to checking the ages of users has sparked “particular concerns” at the watchdog, almost a year after measures to protect children from the worst of online content came into effect under the Online Safety Act.Ofcom said TikTok is using a method of inferring children’s ages that may have failed to correctly identify “a significant proportion of children”, putting them at risk of exposure to harmful content.The regulator said it had not reached any…

Making Shabana Mahmood chancellor shows Burnham ‘subservient to City’ bankers, Green leader Zack Polanski saysZack Polanski, the Green party leader, says reports saying Shabana Mahmood is now set to be Andy Burnham’s chancellor have shown he would be “subservient to the City”.Polanski posted this on social media this morning. double quotation markWe don’t know what the cabinet will be yet, but the mood music is ominous. A Labour Party subservient to the City of London and harking back to the Blair years would be catastrophic for this country. People simply won’t stand for Rip Off Britain any more. And he…

Wema Bank has warned customers to be vigilant against fraudsters using fake advertisements and pop-up prompts on social media, websites, and messaging platforms to trick users into downloading malicious mobile applications capable of stealing banking information. In a mail sent to its customers on Thursday, the bank said cybercriminals are increasingly disguising malware as legitimate applications, including sports betting, live score, streaming, utility, banking support, and phone update apps. According to Wema Bank, once installed, the malicious applications can take control of a victim’s mobile device, steal banking credentials and transaction PINs, intercept SMS messages, and one-time passwords (OTPs). It…

Live Scottie Scheffler looks to win back-to-back titles at The Open, where Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood and Matt Fitzpatrick are among those in action at Royal Birkdale; watch the opening round exclusively live on Sky Sports Golf

If Irvine Sellar, the larger-than-life developer who gave London the 95-storey hypodermic pinnacle of the Shard, had had his way, the UK’s tallest building would have been joined by a sibling: a 72-storey residential tower soaring above Paddington Station, the pair of leviathans winking conspiratorially at each other across the capital. In the end the Paddington Pole, as it became known, attracted the feather-spitting ire of heritage bodies and community groups, and after 1,800 objections, was refused planning permission by Westminster Council.Undaunted, Sellar and his architect Renzo Piano – the Italian imperator of hi-tech and co-designer, with Richard Rogers, of…

Labour Party has said it successfully uploaded names of its presidential, vice-presidential and National Assembly candidates before the 14 July deadline given by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to do so. The party made the clarification in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Ken Asogwa, in Abuja on Wednesday. Mr Asogwa said reports alleging failure to upload its presidential and vice-presidential candidates before the deadline were false, misleading and without factual basis. He said that the names of its presidential, Chibuzo Okereke, and vice-presidential candidates Bintu Konto, were uploaded on 10 July, four days before INEC closed its…

Jordan Pickford prepared detailed notes on how to save penalties from Argentina’s players ahead of England’s World Cup semi-final in Atlanta, but the goalkeeper never got to use them after his side lost 2-1 in normal time. The notes, taped to Pickford’s water bottle, were discovered by Argentina’s players, including Lionel Messi, as they celebrated their comeback win on Wednesday night. England had led through Anthony Gordon before Enzo Fernandez levelled for Argentina, who then scored twice late on to book their place in Sunday’s final against Spain, avoiding a shootout altogether. According to a report by Talk Sport, Pickford’s…

For centuries, Beijing has represented the pinnacle of ambition in China. From imperial capital to the political heart of modern China, the city has long attracted those hoping to build a better life.In medieval times, scholars travelled here to sit the imperial examinations. In more recent decades, graduates, entrepreneurs and migrant workers have flocked to the capital in search of opportunity as China’s economy boomed.Wang Lei, 29, was one of them. Born in neighbouring Hebei province, he vividly remembers his first visit to the capital as a child. “When we arrived at Beijing Railway Station, my friend and I spotted…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company has said it plans to invest another $100bn to expand production in the US as the world’s leading supplier of chips to Nvidia and Apple raised its revenue forecasts and capital spending plans.The new investment for its plant in Arizona brings TSMC’s total commitment to US chipmaking to $265bn, in a significant boost to the Trump administration’s efforts to bring back advanced manufacturing from Asia.The announcement came as TSMC reported a 77 per cent surge in profits in…

The quickest way to make being online safer for children and teens would be to kick all adult men off the internet, the Canadian psychologist Candice Odgers believes. Men are the biggest perpetrators of sextortion and most likely to spread misinformation, she says.Odgers is not recommending this as a policy for governments to adopt: “That would be crazy, right? It would be unfair.” But she is on a drive to puncture the prevailing narrative that the best way to address online harms is a social media ban for teenagers.Jonathan Haidt, the social psychologist and bestselling author of The Anxious Generation,…