Barclays is cutting its staff by around 5,000 as it is increasing reliance on artificial intelligence (AI).

The banking group expects to close what amounts to 5% of its global workforce by the end of this year.

The bank’s cost reductions are focused on its UK retail bank, but some back office functions for the UK are done in India, where a significant proportion of the job cuts are expected to fall.

Barclays said the changes were the result of an ongoing modernisation plan, with the use of AI being the “icing on the cake” of its strategy.

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Naomi Klein has been writing critiques of capitalism and globalisation for more than 20 years. But now, for one of the most influential and outspoken figures on the political left, things are getting desperate. In her latest book ‘End Times Fascism’ she writes about how the global economic order is combining with other powerful forces to hasten the end of the world as we know it.

The author and social activist tells Gabriel Gatehouse about the religious fundamentalists, tech bros and white supremacists that keep her up at night, and her ideas about how to stop them – including dismantling capitalism, and why it hasn’t happened yet.

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00:00 Intro
01:06 Naomi Klein: what makes someone a radical?
02:30 Growing up in a radical family
06:06 How Naomi Klein became a journalist
09:36 The alliance between tech billionaires and religious fundamentalists
12:38 Why tech billionaires should be taken seriously
14:02 How the right uses trolling as a political strategy
15:44 Inside the tech billionaires’ vision of escape
19:32 The AI race and the climate crisis
20:55 What does Naomi Klein mean by fascism?
25:15 Why naming fascism matters
27:29 Could apocalyptic beliefs become self-fulfilling?
30:08 How conspiracy theories exploit uncertainty
34:17 Can opposition to AI unite political rivals?
36:36 How to challenge the far right
40:28 Does capitalism need to be transformed?
44:03 Could the AI bubble trigger a financial crisis?
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Pressure is mounting on UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt over the upcoming cut in support for energy bills.

It comes as energy firms are due to write to customers to warn them of bill increases from the start of April within days.

While inflation may have peaked, the rate of food price rises is still running at nearly 17%, and typical household energy bills are set to rise to £3,000 per year next month.

Since December, Newsnight has been following people who are struggling to get by in Knowsley, the second most deprived borough in England.

The programme returned again last week to see how people there are coping amidst the big squeeze. Victoria Derbyshire reports.

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Vigilantes are burning rapists to death in the South African township of Diepsloot, near Johannesburg.
But even that will not stop them. For BBC Africa Eye, crime reporter Golden Mtika exposes on camera the faces of the township’s terrifying sexual predators.
FULL Documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpjNz8VrXFk
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The French President Emmanuel Macron has said violent protesters will face justice, after the worst unrest for decades. 2,400 people have been arrested and almost 1,000 police officers injured, as buildings were burned and shops looted in the protests over high prices and problems with public serves.

More clashes have broken out in Paris and Marseille, where riot police intervened to prevent attempts to ransack businesses. Nationwide demonstrations had earlier erupted into riots, with a town hall burned, shops pillaged and buildings covered in graffiti as violent groups clashed with police in cities across the country.

“Looking at these images, we have all asked ourselves: What was going through their minds? How can French people do this to France?” Macron said in a televised address to the nation. “Nothing justifies it, nothing explains it, nothing excuses it. Tonight, we all feel anger and shame.”

The unrest has laid bare the deep anger at Macron, who leaves office in 2027 after a decade in power ⁠that has increasingly been defined by social discontent, a weak economy and ballooning debt. Macron said those protesting peacefully had legitimate grievances and their actions should not be confused with those seeking to wreak havoc.

He stopped short of declaring a state of emergency, as demanded by some right-wing politicians, but said the government would act to allow prefects to ban protests if necessary to protect public buildings and local businesses. The government has blamed the violence on what it described as ultra-left groups, as well as criminals it said had instigated the looting.

Jane Hill presents BBC News at Ten reporting by James Waterhouse and Katya Adler.

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