Ofcom said it is unable to take further legal action against a pro-suicide forum which campaigners say has been linked to over 130 UK deaths.
The regulator said, external the site had blocked access for the “vast majority” of UK users, and it had “no further legal routes available” under the Online Safety Act.
But it accepted people would still be able to access the forum by using a VPN, which hides your location online.
Andy Burrows, chief executive of the Molly Rose Foundation, said the decision to take no further legal action would “result in more lost lives” and that announcing it on the day a new prime minister was named showed “an utter lack of moral courage”.
In response, an Ofcom spokesperson said it had made the decision a “matter of days ago” following “months of work to exhaust all possible legal routes”.
They said bereaved families were informed of the decision this morning after being contacted last week.
“In that context, we do not consider it appropriate to delay the announcement further to accommodate today’s political developments,” they said.
Meanwhile, Ofcom enforcement director Suzanne Cater said the regulator had used its powers “to the fullest extent possible”.
“We’ll continue to monitor the forum closely to check the geoblock remains in place,” she said.
The geoblock means people based in the UK are unable to access the site, unless they mask their location through a VPN or similar means.
Ofcom said it was working with the government to explore whether its enforcement powers should be strengthened.
In particular, this concerns its ability to get a website blocking order through the courts, which would legally mandate internet service providers in the UK to block the website.
The regulator says it has reached the limit of what it can legally do under the Online Safety Act because the forum has implemented the geoblock.
The BBC has approached the government for comment.
More than half of U.S. workers rely on 401(k) plans to save for retirement, but many may not be aware of fees that can fly under the radar and end up costing them tens of thousands — or more — in retirement income.
While these fees may appear small at first glance, they can add up: As the Department of Labor explains, a 1% difference in fees could significantly reduce a person’s ultimate account balance at retirement.
In the Labor Department’s example, a person with $25,000 in 401(k) savings who has 35 years until retirement and is charged 1.5% in fees could end up with $163,000 in retirement savings versus $227,000 if they were charged 0.5%, a 28% difference.
About four in 10 workers aren’t even aware that they pay fees on their 401(k)s, according to a 2021 study by the Government Accountability Office. Retirement plans typically face two types of fees, administrative and investment-related, which can be paid by the workers, the employer or split between the two, the GAO report noted.
Here’s what you need to know about the fees you’re being charged as a 401(k) holder.
What are the typical 401(k) fees?
Fees can vary based on your investment choices, your employer’s plan design and other factors.
“There’s just not one standard,” said Teresa Hassara, senior vice president of workplace savings and retirement solutions at Principal Financial Group, a small to midsize 401(k) plan manager.
In general, smaller plans tend to have higher fees, she said.
“In servicing a plan, there are fixed and variable costs,” she said. “The fewer employees you have for those fixed costs to be distributed across, [that] can have some implications.”
Typical fees are 0.3% to 0.5% for large plans, 0.5% to 1% for mid-sized plans and 1% or higher for small plans, according to Hassara. Workers with 401(k)s don’t have control over setting the fees, but may be able to influence how much they ultimately pay based on the investment choices they make, such as by choosing to invest in lower-cost funds.
“Some investment options have higher underlying investment expenses than others,” Hassara said.
What’s included in a 401(k) fee?
Fees are typically grouped into three main buckets:
Investment fees. These cover the costs of managing 401(k) investments. As the Labor Department explains, these are indirect charges that get deducted from your investment returns. They account for the largest share of a person’s 401(k) fees.
Administrative fees. These are the day-to-day operational expenses of running a plan, such as recordkeeping and accounting. The fees also cover services such as customer service assistance or investment advice offered through a 401(k) plan, according to the Department of Labor.
Individual service fees. 401(k) holders may also face individual service fees if they opt to use certain plan features. A person could be charged a fee for taking out a loan or conducting other optional transactions, for example.
Across all fee types, some costs may be borne by employers, while others are deducted from plan assets or passed directly to employees.
While higher fees may be daunting, they are not necessarily a bad thing, Hassara pointed out. Service providers may charge higher administrative fees, for example, in order to cover educational campaigns to help employees achieve better returns on their investments, she said.
“Cost and level of services often go hand in hand,” she said.
How can I see how much I am being charged?
Fees can change over time, making it important for plan holders to monitor their accounts to see how much they are paying.
“[Fees] will typically change because the plan sponsor is going to be negotiating on behalf of the participant and reviewing those fees very frequently to make sure they’re competitive with the marketplace,” Hassara told CBS News.
If the fees on a 401(k) plan change for any reason, employers are generally requiredto notify the employee within a 30- to 90-day window, Hassara said.
Otherwise, 401(k) holders can see what types of fees they’re paying and how much they are being charged through an annual disclosure notice, known as a 404(a)(5). Workers can also look at their quarterly account statements to see their fees.
“That will break out all of the fees for employees,” Hassara said.
Employees can always reach out to their company’s HR department or recordkeepers, firms like Principal that manage 401(k) contributions and investment elections, if they have questions about the fees they are being charged.
Dermatologists have raised the alarm on “tanmaxxing,” a growing social media trend all about getting the deepest tan possible this summer.
Tanmaxxing, a term that borrows from the self-improvement trend “looksmaxxing,” encourages people to achieve the strongest tan possible through excessive measures. This includes planning your sunbathing around peak UV hours, using sunbeds, spending unhealthy stretches of time in the sun, skipping sun protection and using tan-enhancing oils while sunbathing.
While social media users are using the term “taxmaxxing” to document their quest to achieve a perfect summer glow, dermatologists have labeled it “sun damage packaged as a beauty hack.”
Dr. Silvina Pugliese, a clinical associate professor of dermatology at NYU Langone Health, told News 12 that repeated ultraviolet exposure not only speeds up the risk of skin cancer but can also speed up premature aging and lead to wrinkles and other lasting cellular damage.
“The long-term ramifications can actually be quite detrimental,” Pugliese said. “Your skin will age more quickly with regular routine and extensive UV exposure.”
Tanmaxxing, a term that riffs on the self-improvement trend ‘looksmaxxing,’ encourages people to achieve the strongest tan possible by any means necessary — but dermatologists have raised concerns about the trend (Getty/iStock)
Jessica Saggio, a Long Island nurse, told News 12 that she used to embrace the habits social media users are now promoting online, such as spending hours sunbathing and using tanning oil to maximize the tan.
But she told the outlet that her education in medical school made her rethink the risks of UV damage and the harm of her habits.
“I went to nursing school, I was like, wait a second. I should be protecting my skin,” she said.
“I would be doing the same thing that they would be doing,” Saggio said of tanmaxxing. “I do love to tan and I love to be in the sun, but unfortunately, not everybody’s skin type is the same.”
The American Academy of Dermatology recommends applying a water-resistant sunscreen that is SPF 30 or higher about 15 minutes before heading into the sunshine. It recommends reapplying it every two hours.
Tanmaxxers are trying to achieve the deepest tan possible by spending excessive time sunbathing and using sunbeds (Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States, affecting one in five Americans in their lifetime.
But skin cancer is one of the most preventable cancers, and most cases can be prevented by protecting your skin.
The AAD encourages limiting prolonged exposure during peak daylight hours between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
To protect your skin, AAD dermatologists also recommend seeking shade, wearing sun-protective clothing like hats and clothing made from UPF (ultraviolet protection factor) materials.
Peacocks are often admired for their dazzling feathers and graceful appearance, but there is much more to these iconic birds than their colourful displays. Found across forests, farmlands, and even city parks in many parts of the world, peafowl have evolved some surprising traits that help them survive in the wild.From their unusual family life to their impressive flying skills, these birds continue to surprise scientists and wildlife enthusiasts alike. Here are five shocking facts about peacocks that reveal a completely different side of these magnificent birds.
Peacocks can fly, despite their huge tails
Many people assume peacocks cannot fly because of their long, heavy-looking trains. In reality, they are capable of short but powerful flights. They usually fly only when necessary, such as escaping predators or reaching tree branches where they spend the night.Their take-off may look dramatic, but once airborne, peacocks can easily glide onto rooftops or tall trees. Their strong legs provide the initial lift, while their wings do most of the work.
That colourful “tail” isn’t actually their tail
One of the biggest misconceptions about peacocks is that their famous display is made up of tail feathers. In fact, those shimmering feathers are called the train, which grows from the bird’s upper tail coverts.The actual tail is much shorter and remains hidden beneath the train. When a peacock fans out its feathers during courtship, the real tail acts like a support structure, holding the enormous train upright.
Only males are called peacocks
The word “peacock” is often used for the entire species, but it refers only to the male bird. Females are called peahens, while young birds are known as peachicks. Together, they are collectively known as peafowl.Male peacocks are famous for their colourful plumage because they use it to attract mates. Peahens, on the other hand, have brown and grey feathers that provide excellent camouflage while nesting and protecting their chicks.
Their feathers can send invisible messages
A peacock’s display is not just about bright colours. When males perform their courtship dance, they rapidly shake their feathers, creating tiny vibrations that humans can barely notice.Research suggests these vibrations produce low-frequency sounds and subtle movements that peahens can detect at close range. This hidden form of communication may help females judge the health and fitness of potential mates beyond what they can simply see.
Their feathers don’t get their colours from pigments
The brilliant blue and green shades of a peacock’s feathers are not created by coloured pigments like those found in many other birds. Instead, the colours come from microscopic structures within the feathers that bend and reflect light.This phenomenon, known as “structural colouration,” changes slightly depending on the viewing angle, making the feathers appear to shimmer and glow in sunlight. It is one of nature’s most remarkable optical effects.Thumb image: Canva
A Houthi military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, said in a video statement that the maritime ban against Saudi Arabia will be effective immediately, describing it as an “equation of ‘an eye for an eye.’”
There were few details on how the embargo might work, but the deputy head of the Houthi media office, Nasruddin Amer, said on X that the Bab al-Mandeb strait will be closed to the Saudis in response to what he called the kingdom’s “unjust blockade on Yemenis for over 10 years.”
Bab el-Mandeb, at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, is the gateway to the Red Sea through which around 12% of the world’s trade usually passes. A fourth of global container trade transits through the 32-kilometer (20-mile)-wide strait to and from the Suez Canal.
The Houthis earlier demonstrated their ability to disrupt shipping there when they targeted ships for months over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, with over 100 vessels attacked. It is unclear whether the Houthis will resume that level of attack against neighboring Saudi Arabia.
There was no immediate response from Saudi Arabia. The kingdom already faced pressure as it uses its East-West Pipeline to the Red Sea as an alternative to the Strait of Hormuz, which remains in the grip that Iran imposed shortly after the U.S. and Israel attacked it on Feb. 28. The Saudis have been sending millions of barrels of crude oil a day through the pipeline.
Saudi Arabia leads a coalition against the Houthis and imposed an air and sea blockade on Yemen in 2015. Yemen’s civil war began in 2014 when the rebels seized the capital, Sanaa, and much of northern Yemen and forced the government into exile. A truce was reached in 2022.
That truce has been threatened in recent days after the Houthis said the Saudis struck the Sanaa airport in an attempt to affect a flight carrying Houthi leaders back from Iran, where they attended the funeral of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The plane landed safely at another airport.
The Houthis then launched missiles and drones at Saudi Arabia’s Abha International Airport in the most significant confrontation in years.
By allowing a direct international flight to land without the approval of the Saudi-led coalition, the Houthis sought to establish a new reality in which they could independently make decisions over Yemen’s airspace, experts told the AP.
“We affirm the right of our great people to respond to the blockade with a blockade,” Saree emphasized on Monday, adding that Houthis are prepared to confront “any foolish act committed by the reckless Saudi enemy … with a comprehensive and decisive escalation.”
Houthi-run Al Masirah TV broadcast footage of hundreds of supporters gathering in the city of Ibb, south of Sanaa, to back the embargo against Saudi Arabia. Similar rallies were held in the governorates of Saada, Marib, Hajjah and Taiz.
The Houthis are a crucial part of Iran’s so-called “Axis of Resistance,” which also includes militant groups in Lebanon, Iraq and the Palestinian territories.
The rebels have had a large stockpile of drones, but several Houthi members previously told the AP that the stockpile is running low after its attacks during the Israel-Hamas war. The Iran war has further impeded the flow of weapons, said the members, who at the time spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to talk to the media.
The U.S. and Israel responded to the Houthis’ earlier attacks on shipping with a punishing air campaign across Houthi-held areas in Yemen until a deal that saw the rebels stop their assaults.
Disrupting transit through the Bab al-Mandeb forces shipping firms to route vessels around the Cape of Good Hope off South Africa, significantly increasing costs. The U.S. government in the past has said going around the cape would add about 2,700 miles (4,345 kilometers) to the journey from Saudi Arabia to the U.S.
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Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai contributed.
Filmmaker Christopher Nolan said he knew filming “The Odyssey,” which was shot in six countries, “was going to be hard.”
“For us, it was just the sheer magnitude of it’s ‘The Odyssey,’ it should be hard. We’re going to go out there and we’re going to make it as well as we can,” Nolan told “CBS Mornings” co-host Gayle King in an interview that aired on Monday.
“The Odyssey,” which Nolan wrote and directed, pulled in more than $260 million worldwide over the weekend. It features a star-studded cast, including Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya and Tom Holland.
“It was the hardest movie definitely that I’ve ever done,” Damon told “CBS Mornings” recently. “It felt in a lot of ways more like an expedition than a movie because of the locations we were at. We’d be shooting on top of a mountain. We’d have to hike up the mountain to shoot and that part of it ended up being really fun because it was challenging, for everybody there.”
The film is also the first commercial feature shot entirely in IMAX.
Nolan said he told himself as a teenager that if he ever had the opportunity to direct a Hollywood film, he wanted “to do the whole thing on IMAX.”
“It immerses you. The image is so sharp, the color is so clear. It’s so much the way your eyes see the world,” he said. “It fills your peripheral vision when it’s on the biggest screen possible.”
But it comes with more challenges.
“The film is huge. … So after each, sort of just under three minutes, you run out of film,” Nolan explained. “So you have to ask the actors on a longer scene to just stay in the emotional state that they’re in, however intense that is, and then you quietly reload the camera and keep everybody focused and then start the scene again.”
For Nolan, authenticity in the film was key.
“These are great actors. You could stick them in front of a green screen and they’d do amazing,” he said. “But to me, for the audience, if you want to put the audience on the deck of that ship, get out there on a real boat with Matt Damon, with Tom Holland and Zendaya. Put them in the real waves. Get that IMAX camera, put it on that action, and that way you can immerse the audience.”
“It’s exciting, but it’s scary”
The Oscar winner said he still gets nervous despite his success and years in the entertainment industry.
“I make films for audiences, for the theater, for the cinema, and so for me, the movie’s really not done until the audience kind of tells me what it is. That’s what completes the film. It’s exciting, but it’s scary,” he said.
Nolan grew up watching filmmakers like George Lucas and Steven Spielberg and for him, “making films on the big screen is very much an attempt to get back to that experience that I had as a kid.”
How tight can trousers get before they start cutting off the blood supply to your brain? It’s a question doctors might want to consider after Andrew Tate was arrested, standing proudly in a ballet fourth position, in Miami, wearing black slacks so ankle-grazing they could only be considered the type of capris beloved by It girl Hailey Bieber. As if his attitude towards women wasn’t causing enough outrage, he had to ruin pedal pushers, too.
Tate, alongside his brother Tristan, was arrested in the US as the UK’s CPS announced a series of 38 new charges against them, including rape, arranging or facilitating trafficking for sexual exploitation, and offences relating to indecent images of a child. British officials are now seeking to extradite the pair to face the charges and several preexisting allegations, which their attorney has dubbed “madness” and baseless.
It’s significantly frustrating, given the extent of the crimes of which he’s accused, that it’s taken so many years for Tate to be properly tried. He’s now been photographed in handcuffs at least four times, wearing everything from a black shearling jacket five sizes too small, champagne-hued velour tracksuit bottoms, and the latest low-buttoned purple shirt that comedian Grace Campbell joked “a mannequin in Dorothy Perkins would spit on”.
Andrew Tate was arrested in Miami this weekend as UK law enforcement move to extradite the influencer (Getty)
Tate buttoned the blouse in question showing off his collection of diamond chains – and, lest we forget, his pristine waxed chest. The garment, so tight that he wouldn’t have been able to lift his arms, even if his hands weren’t bound together by law enforcement, was paired with dark aviators that left him looking less Top Gun and more like Pitbull’s evil twin.
The final horror to finish off the look was predictable and profound: Sockless loafers. Right behind the actual cops were the fashion police.
Over on Instagram, endless accounts offered fashion advice: “Those Capris and silky top would be elevated with a kitten heel,” one person suggested. “He looks like he’s cosplaying Audrey Hepburn and he doesn’t have the chin to pull it off,” added another.
“Not exactly an alpha male outfit,” a user noted on X, as (potentially AI-doctored) images emerged of an outfit available for a bargain price in Asda. Meanwhile, in a thread of Tate wearing various sheer patterned blouses beloved by mums the world over, one person questioned: “Has Andrew Tate ever been photographed wearing men’s clothing?”
Get the look: Andrew Tate’s latest arrest get-up has people comparing it to high-street brands (Backgrid)
Of course, people should be allowed to wear and be anything, regardless of whether they are male or female. But others, such as Tate, think there are roles and norms to play into, which is why his overly feminine wardrobe choices is so at odds with his loud proclamations of strict gendered roles and lamentations over the feminisation of men.
So, of course, it’s all the funnier that he’s out on the streets looking like someone’s divorced auntie. “If only his crimes could be as breezy as those capri pants, maybe we’d finally get a summer break,” one person wrote on X/Twitter. “Tack on a lewd and lascivious for that slutty little ankle boys,” another added. “Bro [is] out here in some britches.”
It’s long been a theory of Tate’s critics that the reason the influencer shows such hatred towards women – wanting to degrade and control them – is that, at his core, he is jealous of the opposite sex.
The patriarchy hurts us all and, maybe, he’d like the empathy and allowance for emotion that women offer each other. Looking at his latest outfit, it’s clear he’d enjoy some aesthetic aspects of girlhood at least. But he might have to put his prison-issued jumpsuit on a hot wash before he gets the tight fit he favours on the inside.
Chinese online retail giant AliExpress has been fined a record €550m (£467m) by the EU for allowing the sale of illegal products such as unsafe toys and fake clothes.
The European Commission said AliExpress has fallen short of its legal obligations “diligently assess” the risk of illegal, unsafe or fake goods on its platform.
“The spread of counterfeit clothing, unsafe toys, dangerous cosmetics and other illegal and harmful products is not an unavoidable cost of shopping online – it is a failure by AliExpress to comply with its obligations,” said EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen.
AliExpress said the fine was “disproportionate” and that it would appeal.
The two-year investigation found that AliExpress’s detection systems “did not work properly”, with many illegal products not flagged while others that were identified remained on the site for several weeks.
The European Commission also found the company did not properly enforce penalties on traders selling illegal goods.
Furthermore, its product compliance checks could be “easily circumvented”.
AliExpress, which is owned by the Chinese tech conglomerate Alibaba, has 193 million users in Europe, more than fellow Chinese online retailers Shein or Temu.
The penalty is the highest fine imposed under the Digital Services Act, which requires tech giants to do more to counter illegal and harmful content.
The act allows for fines of up to 6% of a company’s revenue, but as Alibaba had a global turnover of €122bn last year, the penalty is far short of that.
AliExpress said it was surprised by and disagreed with the EU’s decision.
“AliExpress has been and continues to be committed to meeting our obligations to consumers. We invest substantial resources in risk assessment and mitigation, product safety and consumer protection,” it said.
“Today’s decision and disproportionate fine ignores our sound risk management framework and the significant, proactive enhancements we have made. We will appeal the decision.”
Under the EU’s ruling, the company has to pay the penalty and present a plan by 20 October that includes what action it will take to tackle the breaches.
Earlier this year, Temu was given a €200m fine for allowing the sale of illegal products such as dangerous baby toys.
And Elon Musk’s X was fined €120m last year, after the commission said allowing users to pay for its blue tick badges was deceptive because the social media platform was not “meaningfully verifying” who was behind the account and exposed users to scams.
