Airbus partners with Kratos Defense to supply combat drones to Germany
Kratos' rail-launched unmanned collaborative combat aircraft XQ-58A Valkyrie will be equipped with Airbus' mission system, the European group said in a statement.
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The Independent
5 hours ago
- The Independent
BT refunds £18m to customers over contract failures
BT has refunded £18 million to customers after Ofcom ruled it did not give them enough information about their contracts. The regulator fined BT £2.8 million last year after it failed to provide some EE and Plusnet customers with 'clear and simple' contract information before signing up to a new deal. Since June 2022, phone and broadband companies have been required to give consumers and small businesses the details of a contract, as well as a short summary of the key terms, before signing up. This includes the price and length of the contract, the speed of the service and any early exit fees. Ofcom opened an investigation into BT, which owns EE and Plusnet, having received information it may have failed to provide the documents. It found more than 1.3 million sales were made without providing customers with the adequate information. At least 1.1 million customers were affected. Ofcom found the telecoms giant broke consumer protection rules, requiring BT to contact affected customers, explaining it had not provided them with the necessary information. However, some affected customers left BT before the end of their contract and may have been charged an early exit fee, according to Ofcom. In a statement, Ofcom said: 'As well as fining BT, we also required it to amend its sales process and refund any affected customers who may have been charged for leaving before the end of their contract period. We told the company that if it was unable to refund any money, it must donate it to charity. 'As a result of this enforcement action, BT has now refunded or credited £18 million back to customers and donated £440,000 across 17 charities where refunds or credits were not possible.' A BT spokesman said: 'We're sorry that pre-contract information and contract summary documents were not available to some of our customers in a timely manner. 'We have taken steps to proactively contact affected customers and refund them if they had subsequently paid any early termination charges. We take compliance seriously at BT and have worked closely with Ofcom to implement all remedial actions.'
Reuters
5 hours ago
- Reuters
Vespa maker Piaggio's profit falls 42% in first half of 2025
July 29 (Reuters) - Italy's Piaggio ( opens new tab said on Tuesday its net profit fell 42.2% to 30.1 million euros ($34.84 million) in the first half of 2025 in a contracting market for motor vehicles. Piaggio, known for its iconic Vespa scooters, sold 238,400 vehicles between January and June this year, compared to 270,100 in the first half of 2024. "In historical moments like these, with international trade disputes and increased geopolitical tensions, being able to remain flexible, controlling liquidity and financial management, is essential," CEO Michele Colaninno said in a statement. The manufacturer said its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) fell 15.3% year-on-year to 147.1 million euros, with an EBITDA margin of 17.3%. The group also pledged to distribute an interim dividend of 4 euro cents per share on its 2025 results. ($1 = 0.8639 euros)
Reuters
5 hours ago
- Reuters
Germany's energy use rises 2.3% in first half of 2025
FRANKFURT, July 29 (Reuters) - Germany's energy use rose 2.3% in the first half of 2025, industry statistics group AGEB said on Tuesday, citing cooler weather and a small uptick in economic performance as drivers. Energy usage in Europe's biggest economy increased to 187.3 million metric tons of coal equivalent, an industry standard measure, from 183.1 million in the first six months of 2024, AGEB's January-June report showed. Usage for the whole of 2024, opens new tab was 359.6 million tons, down 1.1% on the year before. In the first half of 2025, natural gas usage rose by 4.7%, while light heating oil was up by nearly 18% due to weather patterns, AGEB said. Usage of imported hard coal was flat overall, but varied between sectors. Coal inputs in power stations rose by 23% as more conventional power was needed to offset weather-related declines in wind and hydro-electric generation. However, photovoltaic power consumption increased by 25%. The steel industry, on the other hand, used 12% less hard coal, in line with its lower pig iron production. AGEB estimated that the increase in thermal power plants' production led to 2.6% more CO2 emissions in the six months. *Energy use numbers in million tons coal equivalent units. One unit equals 29.308 petajoules. Table allows for rounding errors.
