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Keith Earls has announced his retirement from rugby following a 16-year professional career with Munster and Ireland. Earls made the decision after Ireland’s exit from the World Cup, during which he won his 101st Test cap, and finishes as the country’s second highest try scorer behind Brian O’Driscoll with 36. The 36-year-old started all of Ireland’s matches during the 2018 Grand Slam-winning campaign and most recently featured at his fourth World Cup. Earls scored 64 tries in 202 appearances for Munster, which saw him second in the club’s all-time list. Limerick-born Earls helped Munster win the 2022–23 United Rugby Championship Grand Final against South African side Stormers in May and was also part of the successful European Cup squad in 2008. “The game of rugby has given me so much and I feel privileged to have represented my home province Munster and Ireland over the course of my career. I have always tried to be a good friend and team-mate and give all of myself to the jersey,” Earls said. “While retirement is never an easy decision, now is the right time and I feel incredibly fortunate to go out on my own terms representing Ireland on the highest stage.” Ireland head coach Andy Farrell said: “A gifted and committed outside back, Keith’s influence transcends his on-field achievements, of which there were many, both for Munster and Ireland. Keith was also a leader and an incredibly positive force and he will be missed.” Munster head coach Graham Rowntree added: “Earlsie is an icon of Munster and Irish rugby. It’s hard to imagine Munster Rugby without Keith Earls and he has given so much to this province.” Published: 17/10/2023 by Radio NewsHub

Gary Neville has said Dragons’ Den audiences will have to “wait and see” if he invests in any budding entrepreneurs when he makes a guest appearance on the show. A first look at the special episodes for season 21 of the BBC One business programme shows the former footballer dressed in a navy blue suit and looking serious. The 48-year-old pundit said: “It’s a pleasure to join the Dragons as a guest for the new series and see some of the amazing pitches from budding entrepreneurs from different walks of life. “It was a privilege to share my knowledge and guidance with the brave entrepreneurs who entered the Den, but you’ll have to wait and see whether I committed to any investments.” Since his retirement from Manchester United, Neville has built a portfolio of business interests, including a hotel and other property developments. Also making a guest appearance on the show, which sees fledgling businesses pitch to get investment, is fashion and retail entrepreneur Emma Grede. Neville and Grede will sit alongside the regular panel of Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Touker Suleyman, Sara Davies and Steven Bartlett. New pictures also show the Dragons inside the Den, with a backdrop of the Manchester skyline at dusk. Grede said: “Being back in the UK and joining this series as a guest Dragon has been amazing and feels very full circle to me. “Being able to share my own knowledge from the business I’ve built with the entrepreneurs is so important. There’s a lot of major talent in this upcoming series, and I hope it inspires the next generation to create opportunities for themselves.” Samantha Davies, executive producer at BBC Studios, said the “existing Dragons aren’t just going to sit back and let them snap up all the best deals”. “Viewers can expect all the usual competitiveness and sass in the Den… Gary and Emma are both masters in their fields and it’ll be fantastic to see their different styles and perspectives in the business world.” Published: 17/10/2023 by Radio NewsHub

Spectators have been told to expect a highly visible police presence at Wembley for England’s match against Italy on Tuesday night in the wake of Monday’s shootings in Brussels. Fans attending the Euro 2024 qualifier have been asked to “remain vigilant throughout” following what happened in the Belgian capital. The qualifier between Belgium and Sweden was abandoned at half-time after two people were shot dead in a suspected terrorist attack. The decision was taken to call off the game after Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo confirmed the victims in Monday’s shooting were Swedish. The Metropolitan Police said in a statement issued on Tuesday morning: “There is a robust policing plan in place for the Euro 2024 qualifier between England and Italy at Wembley this evening, building on our shared experience with trusted partners in policing these high-profile matches, and to ensure those attending the match can enjoy the sporting occasion. “Given the events yesterday in Brussels, those attending the match can be reassured that they will see a highly visible policing presence. Officers are there to ensure the event passes off safely and provide reassurance to those attending.” Superintendent Gerry Parker, the match commander for the England-Italy game, said: “We have been working with our partners, including the FA, in the weeks leading up to this match to ensure those attending the Wembley area enjoy this match. “Our officers are experienced in dealing with large-scale public order events, and a flexible plan is in place to reduce the likelihood of crime and disorder, and provide a timely response to any emerging incidents. “Please ensure you arrive in good time for the match and remain vigilant throughout; if you see anything suspicious then flag it to an officer or one of the match stewards immediately so the necessary action can be taken.” Police in Belgium said on Tuesday they had shot dead a suspected Tunisian extremist accused of killing two Swedish football fans on a Brussels street. Hours after a manhunt began, Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden told broadcaster VRT: “We have the good news that we found the individual.” UEFA has not yet confirmed whether the match will be replayed. Fans were kept in the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels for more than two hours before a message on the stadium screen asked them to leave “calmly”. Sweden manager Janne Andersson said the players had asked for the game to be abandoned when they heard about the shooting. “I felt it was completely unreal,” he told a press conference. “What kind of world do we live in today? I was supposed to have a good chat with the players but I heard it and almost started crying. “When the team started talking, we agreed 100 per cent that we didn’t want to play on out of respect for the victims and their families.” Published: 17/10/2023 by Radio NewsHub

Rolls-Royce is to cut up to 2,500 jobs globally as part of an overhaul under its new boss. Tufan Erginbilgic, who was appointed as chief executive in January, said the shake-up will make the Derby-based engineering giant “a more streamlined and efficient” business. The aerospace engineering specialist, which currently employs 42,000 people, said it also plans to remove “duplication” and deliver cost efficiencies through the latest stage in its transformation plan. Rolls-Royce did not disclose where the job cuts will take place but around half of its current workforce are based in the UK. The company’s plan will include creating a new procurement division in order to reduce costs by leveraging the group’s scale. It also said that some back-office operations, such as human resources and finance, will be brought closer together. Mr Erginbilgic said: “We are building a Rolls-Royce that is fit for the future. “Our business is full of committed, talented people and I believe these changes will enable them to build greater capability in areas that are key to our long-term success. “This is another step on our multi-year transformation journey to build a high performing, competitive, resilient and growing Rolls-Royce.” The new boss had been expected to reveal a significant shake-up involving job cuts after describing Rolls-Royce’s performance as “unsustainable” earlier this year. The former BP executive told staff in January there was a “last chance” to change, according to a briefing seen by the Financial Times. The latest cuts come after it axed around 9,000 jobs shortly after the pandemic after first starting its transformation plan in order turn its finances around. Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor, said: “Things couldn’t be going much better for Erginbilgic, who took to the helm at the start of the year. “For years, the engine maker failed to rev up investor confidence with the stock sliding from the highs in 2014 to the trough during the challenging pandemic period. “Now Rolls-Royce is the best performing stock on the FTSE 100 over a one-year period, up over 200%.” Published: 17/10/2023 by Radio NewsHub

A decision on how much Heathrow Airport can charge airlines must be reconsidered, competition regulator the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said. In February, aviation regulator the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said the cap on Heathrow’s average charge per passenger must be reduced from £31.57 for 2023 and last year, to £25.43 over the next three years. But the airport and three airlines – British Airways, Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic – appealed against the CAA’s decision. Kirstin Baker, who chairs the CMA’s group which assessed the appeals, said: “Having considered these appeals, we found that the CAA’s Heathrow price control struck broadly the right balance between ensuring prices for passengers are not too high and encouraging investors to maintain and improve the airport over time. “There are a handful of smaller issues we have ordered the CAA to look at again and it has agreed to do this swiftly.” Charges are paid by airlines but are generally passed on to passengers in air fares. The CMA said it “broadly found in favour of the CAA” but there are three aspects of its pricing decision that must be reconsidered. The competition regulator agreed with the airlines that the CAA made errors in one “relatively minor” aspect of its cost of debt calculation and a “small element” within its allowance for exceptional events which might reduce passenger numbers. Meanwhile, the CMA agreed with Heathrow that the application of an adjustment in relation to the recovery of revenues lost due to the coronavirus pandemic was “inappropriate given the extreme impact” of the virus crisis. A Heathrow spokesperson said: “We’re naturally disappointed, but it’s time to move on. “We will do our best to deliver the outcomes that passengers told us they wanted within this tight framework. “Going forward, the CAA needs to take more account of the views of consumers so that the settlement delivers the Heathrow experience passengers are looking for and not just higher profits for airlines.” Luis Gallego, chief executive of British Airways’ parent company IAG, said: “Heathrow’s charges remain among the highest in the world and are not competitive. “We would like to work with the CAA to improve the regulatory framework for the future.” A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said: “Following more than three years of regulated consultation on Heathrow charges, it’s disappointing that the CMA has largely endorsed the CAA’s decision, which did not go far enough to protect consumers from excessive charges at Heathrow. “Heathrow Airport’s repeated attempts to impose excessive charges demonstrate how the regulatory framework, including the formula used to set charges at the world’s most expensive airport, is broken. “With fresh leadership at both the CAA and Heathrow, now’s the time for a fundamental review of how these charges are set, ensuring that customers are protected ahead of shareholders. “Heathrow must work collaboratively with airlines to ensure it gets back to its best, so it can deliver a world class experience commensurate with being the world’s most expensive airport.” CAA chief economist Andrew Walker said: “We welcome the final determination by the Competition and Markets Authority that has largely supported our decision. “It represents a good deal for consumers using Heathrow, whilst allowing the airport to efficiently finance its operations and invest in improving services for the future.” Published: 17/10/2023 by Radio NewsHub

UK wages are outstripping inflation for the first time in nearly two years, according to official figures. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that regular earnings rose by a near record 7.8% in the three months to August and were 0.7% higher with Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation taken into account. Revised figures from the ONS revealed that annual growth in regular pay excluding bonuses exceeded CPI inflation by 0.1% in the previous three months to July, having initially estimated flat real earnings growth. It means that wages are now rising faster than prices for the first time since October 2021. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: “It’s good news that inflation is falling and real wages are growing, so people have more money in their pockets. “To keep this progress, we must stick to our plan to halve inflation.” It will come as a relief to workers who have seen their pay packets eroded by sky high inflation for nearly two years. Wages are now surging by record levels seen outside of the pandemic-skewed era, with regular pay jumping by an upwardly revised high of 7.9% in the three months to July, according to the ONS. Inflation is also easing back, falling to 6.7% in August, having reached a 41-year high of 11.1% last October, and with official figures on Wednesday expected to show another decline to 6.6%. The latest data shows that total wages including bonuses jumped by 8.1% in the three months to August, although this was affected by NHS and civil service one-off payments. Real total wages were 0.8% higher with CPI inflation taken into account. The ONS added that public sector pay leaped 6.8% higher in the three months to August – one of the highest growth rates since records began in 2001 – although it continued to lag behind the private sector at 8%. But there was more mixed news on the wider employment sector, with provisional real-time figures estimating that UK workers on payrolls fell by 11,000 month-on-month to 30.1 million in September. The ONS also revised down its estimate for the previous month, to a fall of 8,000 payroll workers in August compared with July against the 1,000 decrease initially reported. Vacancies also dropped to 988,000 in the three months to September, down by 43,000 on the previous quarter and marking the 15th drop in a row. Compared with a year earlier, vacancies were 256,000 lower between July and September. The ONS has delayed the publication of the more comprehensive Labour Force Survey data – revealing the employment and unemployment rate for the three months to August – until October 24 due to concerns about the decline in the response rate for the survey. The Unite trade union said the rise in real wages will be “small respite” for many. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “The real value of wages has been eroded over more than a decade. “Data suggesting pay rises have finally caught up with corrosive inflation will give hard-working families some small respite from the damage that has been wrought on household incomes by years of economic incompetence and mismanagement.” Samuel Tombs at Pantheon Macroeconomics said the slight easing in the pace of wage growth should enable interest rate-setters at the Bank of England to hold off from further rises. “Signs that wage growth is losing momentum should persuade the MPC to keep Bank Rate at 5.25% again next month,” he said. He added the Bank is likely to hold rates at 5.25% until next spring “and then to reduce it to about 4.5% by the end of 2024”. Published: 17/10/2023 by Radio NewsHub

UK wages are outstripping inflation for the first time in nearly two years, according to official figures. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that regular earnings rose by a near record 7.8% in the three months to August and were 0.7% higher with Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation taken into account. Revised figures from the ONS revealed that annual growth in regular pay excluding bonuses exceeded CPI inflation by 0.1% in the previous three months to July, having initially estimated flat real earnings growth. It means that wages are now rising faster than prices for the first time since October 2021. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: “It’s good news that inflation is falling and real wages are growing, so people have more money in their pockets. “To keep this progress, we must stick to our plan to halve inflation.” It will come as a relief to workers who have seen their pay packets eroded by sky high inflation for nearly two years. Wages are now surging by record levels seen outside of the pandemic-skewed era, with regular pay jumping by an upwardly revised high of 7.9% in the three months to July, according to the ONS. Inflation is also easing back, falling to 6.7% in August, having reached a 41-year high of 11.1% last October, and with official figures on Wednesday expected to show another decline to 6.6%. The latest data shows that total wages including bonuses jumped by 8.1% in the three months to August, although this was affected by NHS and civil service one-off payments. Real total wages were 0.8% higher with CPI inflation taken into account. The ONS added that public sector pay leaped 6.8% higher in the three months to August – one of the highest growth rates since records began in 2001 – although it continued to lag behind the private sector at 8%. But there was more mixed news on the wider employment sector, with provisional real-time figures estimating that UK workers on payrolls fell by 11,000 month-on-month to 30.1 million in September. The ONS also revised down its estimate for the previous month, to a fall of 8,000 payroll workers in August compared with July against the 1,000 decrease initially reported. Vacancies also dropped to 988,000 in the three months to September, down by 43,000 on the previous quarter and marking the 15th drop in a row. Compared with a year earlier, vacancies were 256,000 lower between July and September. The ONS has delayed the publication of the more comprehensive Labour Force Survey data – revealing the employment and unemployment rate for the three months to August – until October 24 due to concerns about the decline in the response rate for the survey. The Unite trade union said the rise in real wages will be “small respite” for many. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “The real value of wages has been eroded over more than a decade. “Data suggesting pay rises have finally caught up with corrosive inflation will give hard-working families some small respite from the damage that has been wrought on household incomes by years of economic incompetence and mismanagement.” Samuel Tombs at Pantheon Macroeconomics said the slight easing in the pace of wage growth should enable interest rate-setters at the Bank of England to hold off from further rises. “Signs that wage growth is losing momentum should persuade the MPC to keep Bank Rate at 5.25% again next month,” he said. He added the Bank is likely to hold rates at 5.25% until next spring “and then to reduce it to about 4.5% by the end of 2024”. Published: 17/10/2023 by Radio NewsHub

US President Joe Biden will travel to Israel and Jordan on Wednesday as concerns increase that the Israel-Hamas war could expand into a larger regional conflict. Mr Biden will discuss humanitarian aid with Arab leaders in Jordan after meeting with officials in Israel. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the trip to Israel as the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip grows more dire and as Israel prepares for a possible ground attack on the 141-square-mile territory to root out Hamas militants. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby announced Mr Biden would also go to Jordan to meet King Abdullah, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. “We’ve been crystal clear about the need for humanitarian aid to be able to continue to flow into Gaza,” Mr Kirby said. “That has been a consistent call by President Biden and certainly by this entire administration.” The president spoke by phone with Mr Fattah el-Sissi, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday. The US has pledged military support, sending carriers and aid to the region. Officials have said they would ask Congress for upwards of 2 billion dollars (£1.63 billion) in additional aid for both Israel and Ukraine, which is fighting Russia’s invasion. Mr Blinken made the announcement after more than seven hours of talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top officials. He said the US and Israel had agreed to develop a plan to enable humanitarian aid from donor nations to reach civilians in Gaza “including the possibility of creating areas to help keep civilians out of harm’s way”. “We share Israel’s concern that Hamas may seize or destroy aid entering Gaza or otherwise prevent it from reaching the people who need it,” he said. Iran’s foreign minister has warned that “pre-emptive action is possible” if Israel moves closer to its looming ground offensive in the Gaza Strip. Hossein Amirabdollahian, whose theocracy provides support to Hamas and Hezbollah in Lebanon, told state television Israel cannot “do whatever it wants in Gaza and then go after other resistance groups after it’s done with Gaza”. “Therefore any pre-emptive action is possible in the coming hours,” he said. “If the limited and extremely tight windows of opportunity available to the United Nations and political actors are not used over the coming hours, opening new fronts against the Zionist regime is inevitable.” The UN Security Council rejected a Russian resolution on Monday that condemned violence and terrorism against civilians but made no mention of Hamas. Only four countries joined Russia in voting for the resolution. Four countries voted against it: the UK, US, France and Japan. Six countries abstained. Britain’s UN ambassador Dame Barbara Woodward said it would be “unconscionable for this council to ignore the largest terror attack in Israel’s history”. Russia’s UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia had urged support for the resolution to respond to the “unprecedented exacerbation” of the situation, citing the council’s inaction since the October 7 attack by Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip. The UN’s most powerful body, which is charged with maintaining international peace and security, has not taken a position on the Hamas assault or on Israel’s response. The Russian draft resolution would have called for “an immediate, durable and fully respected humanitarian ceasefire ” and “strongly condemns all violence and hostilities directed against civilians and all acts of terrorism”. Published: 17/10/2023 by Radio NewsHub