Advertising and Donations - advertising-newsandtimes.comUnemployment remains steady but vacancy rates drop and pay growth slows
Employers cut back on annual pay increases and pared back hiring in recent months as the economic slowdown took its toll on the labour market.
Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), released on Tuesday, showed that Britain’s official unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.7% in the three months to June.
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
Keke Palmer has no time for mom guilt — especially not in this economy.
In an interview with Parents published on Wednesday, the actor spoke about the realities of being a single working mom. Palmer has one son, Leodis “Leo” Andrellton Jackson, with her ex-boyfriend, Darius Jackson.
“Don’t feel guilt,” Palmer said. “Your child is your child because you were meant to be their parent. And as a working parent, it could be really, really hard because you’re wondering like, ‘Damn, is this good for me and my child?’ But the reality is, if you got to work, you got to work.”
The Emmy award-winning actor also said that mothers shouldn’t feel guilty about receiving help from others when it comes to caring for their child “because it takes a village.”
“I think that’s important, and especially in this economy where everybody’s got to go to work,” she said.
In addition to acting, Palmer has hosted the NBC game show “Password” since 2022 and leads her own podcast, “Baby, This is Keke.” In June, she also released her latest album, “Just Keke.”
Even with a packed schedule, Palmer says motherhood gives her the perspective she needs to keep going.
“I think a lot of times you can feel like you got to do this, or you got to do that,” Palmer said, adding that it can be especially challenging in the industry she works in. “But when you have a child that needs you, it’s easier for you to prioritize what is best for your sense of self.”
Palmer isn’t the only celebrity mom who has spoken about mom guilt and the struggles of juggling work and parenting.
In August 2024, Blake Lively said she feels guilty whenever she has to choose between work and family commitments.
“When you’re working, sometimes you feel guilty for, you know, not being in your personal life in those hours you’re at work,” Lively said. “And then when you’re at work, you feel guilty by being distracted by wishing that you were at your personal life.”
In May, Michelle Williams said that balancing her career and motherhood is like figuring out “which master you’re going to serve.”
“Because the truth is, if work is going well, somebody else is taking care of the kids. And if you’re in a high point with your kids, the work is shoved to the side,” Williams said.
A representative for Palmer did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent by Business Insider outside regular hours.
Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images
It’s an indelible sound for those above a certain age: a sequence of beeps, dial tones, static, droning, and screeching. Dial-up internet: the sound of going online.
After September 30, there will be one fewer dial-up internet option. AOL’s dial-up internet, after 30 years, is going the way of EarthLink and ceasing operation.
Even without AOL, at least three providers are still available — Juno, NetZero, and DSL Extreme.
AOL dial-up joins a list of other defunct technological wonders from the ’90s and early ’00s. Let’s walk down memory lane to visit these once ubiquitous pieces of tech.
AP Photo/Axel Heimken
Another AOL relic, AOL Instant Messenger, was sunset in 2017.
Launched in 1997, AIM was a social lifeline in the US, allowing instant messaging between friends.
It was also known for its iconic notification sounds, like the sound of opening and closing doors when friends came online or went offline.
However, competition from players like Facebook and the rise of SMS and WhatsApp started picking up in the 2010s, squeezing AIM.
Like all good things, the service saw its end in December 2017.
Pal Pillai/AFP via Getty Images
Owning a BlackBerry phone was like having a mini computer in your pocket before touchscreen phones were a thing.
BlackBerry’s smartphones, including the brand’s iconic 5810, were a hit device in the early 2000s. The phone, made by the Canadian company of the same name, had a full keyboard, could access and write emails, browse the web, and had its own messaging service called BlackBerry Messenger.
BBM was an instant messaging platform for all BlackBerry devices that was ahead of its time. It used unique PINs for each device instead of relying on phone numbers or emails.
It was the designated “It Girl” phone of its era — seen in the hands of Kim Kardashian and Lady Gaga.
However, BlackBerry discontinued its software in 2022, as competition from players like Apple grew stronger. It also stopped manufacturing its devices in 2016.
Reuters/Brian Snyder
Netflix is now known as one of the biggest streaming giants in the world, with over 300 million subscribers.
The company has humble origins as a DVD rental service. Launched in 1997, Netflix started offering movies for rent in 1998, mailing out bright red envelopes containing movie DVDs to households in the US.
As its streaming service gained traction, it phased out its DVD rental service. Its final discs were shipped out on September 29, 2023.
“After an incredible 25 year run, we’ve decided to wind down DVD.com later this year,” Netflix’s co-CEO Ted Sarandos said in a blog post in April 2023.
“Our goal has always been to provide the best service for our members but as the business continues to shrink that’s going to become increasingly difficult,” he added.
Costfoto/Future Publishing via Getty Images
Internet Explorer was a web browser created by Microsoft in 1995. It became so popular that it became essentially synonymous with the internet. However, it soon faced fierce competition from other browsers like Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox.
Internet Explorer was retired in June 2022, when Microsoft said in a blog post that support for the browser had ended. The company recommended that users switch to Microsoft Edge, a browser launched in 2020.
Thomson Reuters
Skype walked so Zoom could run.
Skype launched in 2003, starting as a service that allowed users to make free voice calls over the internet.
By the 2010s — after Microsoft acquired it — Skype had become the go-to platform for making free voice and video calls while offering messaging and file sharing services.
Competition from players like WhatsApp, Zoom, FaceTime, and others grew stronger during the COVID-19 pandemic. Microsoft itself switched gears to focus on Microsoft Teams for enterprise use.
Skype was finally put to sleep in May.
Astana is preparing to host Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on an official visit scheduled for late 2025. The trip follows what U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described as “the beginning of a peace deal” between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which was signed in Washington, D.C. on August 8, 2025, marking a pivotal moment in the South Caucasus after decades of conflict.
At the White House, Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a framework pledging to respect each other’s territorial integrity, renounce the use of force, and dissolve the long-standing OSCE Minsk Group mediation format. The agreement also approved the creation of a major transit corridor — dubbed the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) — linking Azerbaijan’s mainland to its exclave of Nakhchivan via Armenian territory.
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev welcomed the accord as a “historic achievement” that not only ends a decades-long military standoff but also creates space for a deeper regional economic and diplomatic reset. In recent talks, Pashinyan briefed Tokayev on the details of the framework, the decision to dissolve the Minsk Group, and the TRIPP initiative. Both leaders emphasized the potential for new investment opportunities emerging from the stability the deal promises to bring and agreed to maintain an active political dialogue.
For Kazakhstan, the visit reinforces its positioning as a neutral mediator between Eurasian powers, willing to offer diplomatic platforms for peace talks. In May 2024, Astana hosted ministerial-level Armenia–Azerbaijan negotiations in Almaty. With the TRIPP corridor set to enhance connectivity across the South Caucasus, Kazakhstan’s role in facilitating regional integration could expand beyond mediation into infrastructure, trade, and energy cooperation.
Economically, the corridor offers Armenia new opportunities to become a transit hub between Central Asia and Europe, while Kazakhstan could benefit from more direct westward routes for its exports. Previous bilateral meetings have already laid the groundwork for business forums and joint initiatives in transport, technology, and investment, and the visit could provide the political momentum needed to bring these plans to fruition.
Challenges remain, however. In Armenia, nationalist factions have criticized the peace deal, with border demarcation and the fallout from the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War remaining sensitive issues. Iran has also expressed opposition to the TRIPP corridor, citing concerns over shifting regional influence. Yet both Yerevan and Astana appear determined to use the current diplomatic window to solidify long-term cooperation.
As the South Caucasus recalibrates, Pashinyan’s upcoming visit to Astana will test whether the political optimism generated in Washington can translate into tangible projects. For Kazakhstan, this presents an opportunity to deepen bilateral ties, demonstrate its growing influence as a stabilizing force, and secure a stake in the region’s new economic and geopolitical landscape.