Top World News
Chinese Researchers Used OpenAI, Anthropic Models To Train Domestic AI: Report
The documents show widespread use of a technique known as "model distillation," in which outputs from a powerful AI system are used to train smaller, specialised models that can be deployed locally
US F-35 Fighter Jet Crashes Near California Military Base, Pilot Ejects Safely
A US F-35 fighter jet crashed Friday near a military base in San Diego, but the pilot was able to eject before impact, officials said.
Death toll in Ceuta border crisis rises to 67 as Spanish government announces plans for barrier – Europe live
Tens of thousands of people crossed from Morocco to the Spanish enclave this weekFrance has been battling one of its most destructive wildfires in decades, with firefighters facing a vast and unpredictable inferno in the south-west of the country. In this feature, my colleague Jason Burke reports from Le Porge, where he explores the extraordinary efforts of those on the frontline, from firefighters and soldiers to volunteers, as they fight to contain a “megafire” that has devastated thousands of hectares of land.We have gone beyond what we thought possible,” said a senior firefighter at Le Porge, downing a litre of water in less than a minute. “We stared into an abyss.” Continue reading...
He Was Called The "Nostradamus" Of AI, Then His Fund Lost Billions Within Days
In Leopold Aschenbrenner's short career as a hedge fund titan, he's seen both the extreme optimism around AI and the intense fear that this is just the latest technology bubble.
Google Rolls Back Earth AI Tool After Backlash Over Fake Satellite Images
The "create image" tool had integrated Google's Nano Banana 2 image-generation technology into Google Earth, letting users zoom into locations and build pictures based on the program's satellite and 3D-mapping data
Knickers in a twist: why M&S selling crotchless panties isn’t as outrageous as it seems
Some have called it ‘S&M’, but partnership with Ann Summers is less a scandal than another step in a century of evolving underwear trends, experts sayThe news that Marks & Spencer is selling Ann Summers crotchless knickers on their website has been greeted – as might be expected – with outrage online, being described as everything from “tawdry” to “S & M”.But it could be this is just the latest evolution in what the UK’s biggest underwear retailer has available for the smalls drawer. In recent years, the store has sold vastly different options through its own products, ranging from full-brief knickers to thongs, period knickers and those that can be used by women who wear stomas. The introduction of other brands in clothing came five years ago, with underwear included. Ann Summers – which is selling bras and chemises as well as knickers on the M&S website – lines up alongside lingerie brands including Pour Moi and Calvin Klein. Continue reading...
‘A symbol of resistance’: the fight to save treehouse built on no man’s land next to Berlin Wall
Supporters fear structure could be torn down as safety hazard and want it to become memorial to postwar foreign labourers in honour of its Turkish creatorSometimes the currents of history converge in a single spot. In Berlin, one of the most intriguing of those places is a small traffic island with a lovingly tended garden and a ramshackle two-storey structure called the Treehouse at the Wall.In 1983, Osman Kalin, a Turkish “guest worker”, was looking in his corner of the city cleaved by the Berlin Wall for a patch of earth in which to plant his onions, garlic and cucumbers. Virtually on his doorstep in the Kreuzberg district was a slice of no man’s land next to the concrete barrier and barbed wire. Although it sat in West Berlin, cold war logic meant the lot officially belonged to the communist East. Continue reading...
The tangled financial web at the heart of Reform UK
Nigel Farage’s £5m gift, the Cottrell family’s links and donations, and Richard Tice’s business dealings form part of an increasingly clear nexus of relationshipsIt has been three months since the Guardian revealed that Nigel Farage had accepted a £5m gift from Christopher Harborne, a billionaire donor to Reform UK.This was not the first story in our continuing investigation. But it has proved the most significant, and the consequences of the disclosure are still being played out. Continue reading...
Strengthening El Nino "Adding Fuel To A Planet Already On Fire": UN Chief
A strengthening El Nino that could shatter all-time records is "adding fuel to a planet already on fire" and pushing the world into "uncharted territory," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Friday.
Trump Orders Iran Strikes As Soon As This Weekend: Report
US President Donald Trump has instructed the military to execute a fresh assault against Iran as early as this weekend, according to a Wall Street Journal report published Friday.
‘Proteinmaxxing’ could lead to higher prices for infant formula, say experts
Whey protein, a key infant formula ingredient, is in growing demand, partly linked to rising use of weight-loss drugsThe rise of “proteinmaxxing” – a trend in which consumers try to eat as much protein as possible – could lead to higher prices for infant formula, experts warn.Whey protein, a key ingredient in infant formula, has surged in popularity over the past year as health professionals emphasise the benefits of protein. Continue reading...
The final hit: Is Glasgow’s 25-year gruesome gangland feud finally over?
The double assassination of two Scots in the Costa del Sol may have ended the war between the Lyons and the Daniels – but the crimes haven’t gone awayIt was a warm evening in Fuengirola on the Costa del Sol last year when two Scottish men met a violent end.The punters of Monaghans seafront bar had barely finished watching the Nations League final on 8 June when a car pulled up outside. A masked gunman emerged and headed to the table of 46-year-old Eddie Lyons Jr, shooting him at point-blank range. The assassin turned the gun on Lyons’ friend, the bar’s owner Ross Monaghan, 43, but it jammed. Continue reading...
