(Sharecast News) - Heathrow's chairman has opened discussions with airlines and local landowner Surinder Arora over potential collaboration on a £49bn scheme to build the airport's third runway and a new terminal, according to The Times.
Former BT boss Philip Jansen, who became chairman earlier this year, is understood to have approached carriers and Arora in an effort to ease long‑running tensions. Early meetings began last week, with Jansen's team said to have floated the idea of partnering with Arora, who has proposed delivering the project at roughly half the cost of Heathrow's own plan.
Amazon has held talks with major food and drink suppliers in recent weeks as it looks to strengthen support for a renewed expansion into the UK grocery market, according to The Times.
The ecommerce group has been encouraging brands to work more closely with it as it scales its nationwide grocery offering. One supplier executive said Amazon was trying to bring hesitant partners "on board". The company has been investing heavily in logistics and distribution to enable same‑day delivery of perishable and non‑perishable goods together, a service it does not yet offer nationwide.
The Conservatives have pledged to close a family benefits loophole they say costs taxpayers £1bn, according to The Telegraph. Shadow work and pensions secretary Helen Whately outlined plans to cap the total benefits a household can receive unless all adults deemed able to work are employed.
Under current rules, households with one adult receiving disability benefits are exempt from the cap, even if other adults could work. The party said it would end what it described as a "golden ticket to uncapped benefits" for families where only one adult qualifies for the Personal Independence Payment.
Donald Trump is reviewing a new Iranian proposal to end the war but said he doubts it will be "acceptable", according to The Telegraph. Trump said Iran had "not yet paid a big enough price" and suggested renewed strikes were possible, noting there was "a possibility that could happen". The comments came a day after he said he was "not satisfied" with Tehran's latest offer. The ceasefire remains fragile despite entering its third week.
Nato is seeking to "understand the details" of a US decision to withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany, according to The Guardian. The move was ordered by Donald Trump amid tensions with German chancellor Friedrich Merz, who criticised the US handling of the Iran conflict.
Berlin downplayed the significance of the redeployment, calling it "anticipated" and a reminder of Europe's need to bolster its own defence. The Pentagon said the withdrawal would take place over six to twelve months.
The Trades Union Congress has called for a ban on "dynamic pricing" used by gig‑economy platforms such as Uber, arguing it leaves workers dependent on opaque algorithms and uncertain earnings, according to The Guardian.
The TUC said pay was becoming detached from time, skill or effort, with work increasingly shaped by real‑time pricing systems. Union leaders said the practice replaces fixed or transparent rates with shifting mechanisms where the data and decision‑making processes are largely hidden.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com