Leaders of Canada and Mexico lash out at Trump steel tariff hike
Canada's Mark Carney calls the 50-percent tariff increase 'illegal', while Mexico's Sheinbaum weighs countermeasures.
Super Trouper meets supercomputer: AI helping Abba star to write musical
Björn Ulvaeus tells audience at SXSW London the technology is ‘very bad at lyrics’ but has helped him break through creative impasses
After bringing a blockbuster hologram version of Abba to a purpose-built venue in east London, Björn Ulvaeus’s next technological exploration is a musical that he’s written with the help of artificial intelligence.
Ulvaeus, 80, told an audience at SXSW London that he was “three-quarters” of the way through writing a new musical which he has created with assistance from AI songwriting tools.
Continue reading...MyPillow’s Mike Lindell faces trial and plans to testify about 2020 election lies
The case, brought by former Dominion employee Eric Coomer, could deepen Lindell’s legal and financial troubles
A trial underway in Colorado could add to the financial problems facing the pillow salesman and prominent election denier Mike Lindell and will serve as another test of whether defamation law can be effective to fight false claims about elections.
Opening statements began Tuesday in a case brought by Eric Coomer, who formerly worked in security and voting technology strategy for voting machine company Dominion. Coomer sued Lindell and a host of others who spread unproven claims that he interfered with the 2020 election. .
Continue reading...Keir Starmer calls Israel’s recent actions in Gaza ‘appalling and intolerable’
PM tells MPs he is considering imposing sanctions on Israeli government members but is resisting ban on arms sales
Keir Starmer has called Israel’s recent actions in Gaza “appalling, counterproductive and intolerable”, as the UK government comes under mounting pressure to take stronger action after the killings of dozens of civilians at food points in recent days.
The prime minister told MPs on Wednesday the UK was considering imposing sanctions on members of the Israeli government, but is so far resisting growing calls for a complete ban on arms sales and immediate recognition of Palestine.
Continue reading...Hungary postpones vote on law to curb foreign-funded organisations
Orbán’s ruling party delays vote on legislation allowing government to ban organisations with foreign funding
Hungary’s ruling party has postponed a planned vote on draft legislation aimed at organisations that receive foreign funding, following weeks of protests and warnings that the law would “starve and strangle” civil society and independent media.
Viktor Orbán’s rightwing populist party, Fidesz, put forward legislation last month that would allow the government to monitor, penalise and potentially ban organisations that receive any sort of foreign funding, including donations or EU grants.
Continue reading...Trump: Putin says Russia will ‘have to’ respond to Ukraine attacks
US president says Putin also suggested he would participate in talks aimed at reaching a new nuclear deal with Tehran.
France plans to begin intercepting small boats at sea, says UK Home Office
Officials have agreed to begin offshore interceptions, it is claimed, in change of policy that NGOs say will risk lives
The French government plans to begin intercepting small boats carrying asylum seekers even if they are already at sea, a Home Office source has said.
In a move that NGOs claim will endanger lives, it was claimed that French officials agreed this week to draw up plans to begin intervening in waters close to beaches and inland canals.
Continue reading...British-Palestinian writer NS Nuseibeh wins Jhalak prose prize for writers of colour
‘Timely’ essay collection explores identity, religion and colonialism as Nathanael Lessore takes children’s and young adult prize and Mimi Khalvati wins for poetry
British-Palestinian writer NS Nuseibeh has won the Jhalak prose prize for writers of colour for a “timely” and “timeless” essay collection, Namesake, which explores identity, religion and colonialism.
The inaugural Jhalak poetry prize went to Mimi Khalvati for a book of collected poems, while the children’s and young adult prize was awarded to Nathanael Lessore for King of Nothing, a teen comedy about an unlikely friendship between two boys.
Continue reading...Ministers offer concessions on AI and copyright to avoid fifth Lords defeat
Exclusive: Data bill faces being shelved amid standoff over plans to allow AI firms to use copyrighted content
Defiant peers have delivered an ultimatum to offer artists copyright protection against artificial intelligence or risk losing a key piece of legislation.
The government suffered a fifth defeat in the House of Lords over controversial plans to allow the AI companies to train their models using copyrighted material.
Continue reading...Russell Simmons sues HBO and film-makers over documentary detailing alleged sexual abuse
Music executive claims defamation in suit seeking $20m from the film-makers and distributors of On the Record
Russell Simmons is suing HBO and the film-makers of a 2020 documentary detailing allegations against the music mogul of sexual abuse, claiming that together they defamed him and ignored his version of events.
On The Record, directed by Amy Ziering and Kirby Dick, expanded on reporting by the New York Times, the Hollywood Reporter, the Los Angeles Times and other publications on numerous allegations against Simmons. It featured the testimony of several women who claim they were sexually assaulted by Simmons in the 1980s and 90s, when he was at the height of his influence as the co-founder of Def Jam Recordings, the hip-hop label behind LL Cool J, Public Enemy, the Beastie Boys and other top acts.
Continue reading...100,000 UK taxpayer accounts hit in £47m phishing attack on HMRC
MPs on Treasury committee hear that those affected were being contacted and would face ‘no financial loss’
HM Revenue & Customs has lost £47m after a phishing scam breached tens of thousands of tax accounts, a group of MPs has heard.
Two senior civil servants at the tax authority told the Treasury committee that 100,000 people had been contacted, or were in the process of being contacted, after their accounts were locked down in what the officials said was an “organised crime” incident that began last year.
Continue reading...Many of Dead Sea scrolls may be older than thought, experts say
Researchers enlisted help of AI along with radiocarbon dating to produce new insights into ancient texts
Many of the Dead Sea scrolls could be older than previously thought, with some biblical texts dating from the time of their original authors, researchers say.
The first of the ancient scrolls were discovered in the caves of Qumran in the Judean desert by Bedouin shepherds in the mid-20th century. The manuscripts range from legal documents to parts of the Hebrew Bible, and are thought to date from around the third century BCE to the second century CE.
Continue reading...Man linked to fatal bombing of Palm Springs fertility clinic arrested
FBI detains 32-year-old from Washington state over links to blast in which authorities believe bomber died
The FBI arrested a man in connection with last month’s bombing of a facility clinic in Palm Springs, California, US authorities said on Wednesday.
Daniel Park, a 32-year-old US citizen who lives in Kent, Washington, was taken into custody at John F Kennedy airport in New York on Tuesday after he was deported from Poland, said Bill Essayli, a US attorney for California, at a press conference. Park allegedly provided materials for explosives to the person who carried out the bombing, which officials have described as the largest incident of its kind in southern California. Authorities believe the bomber died in the blast.
Continue reading...Condoleezza Rice reveals concerning shift in Putin’s behavior, calls him ‘desperate’ as Ukraine strikes back – Yahoo
Youth workers in London custody centres stop 90% reoffending, says report
Scheme aims to exploit ‘teachable moment’, when someone is wavering between criminality and turning their back on violence
A scheme aiming to turn children arrested for violence away from crime has claimed staggering success, with up to nine out of 10 diverted from further offending, according to a report.
Under the scheme, which is funded by London’s Violence Reduction Unit (VRU), special youth workers are placed in police custody centres across the capital.
Continue reading...Indigenous lawyer to head Mexico’s supreme court after direct election
Hugo Aguilar, who has links to governing party, topped unprecedented and controversial popular vote
An Indigenous lawyer from the state of Oaxaca is set to become the president of Mexico’s supreme court following the country’s unprecedented elections to appoint its entire judicial system by popular vote.
Activists hailed the election of Hugo Aguilar, a member of the Mixtec Indigenous group, as a symbolic victory – while noting that Aguilar, who topped the poll of candidates for the supreme court, had long since shifted from his own roots as an activist to a figure much more closely aligned with the state, and involved in controversial mega-projects such as the Maya Train.
Continue reading...Woman who found Irish sanctuary after years on US death row dies in house fire
Sonia ‘Sunny’ Jacobs spent 17 years in prison for murder she said she did not commit, a story told in books, play and film
After enduring hellish years on America’s death row for a crime she said she did not commit, Sonia “Sunny” Jacobs found an idyll, and healing, in rural Ireland. But in a final, cruel twist, her sanctuary claimed her life.
Jacobs, 78, and her carer, Kevin Kelly, were found dead on Tuesday after a fire at her cottage near the village of Casla, in County Galway.
Continue reading...US- and Israeli-backed group pauses food delivery in Gaza after deadly shootings – AP News
- US- and Israeli-backed group pauses food delivery in Gaza after deadly shootings AP News
- ‘Death and hunger’: Videos, expert analysis and witnesses point to Israeli gunfire in Gaza aid site shooting CNN
- Videos, eyewitnesses reportedly bolster claims IDF behind deadly fire on aid-seeking Gazans The Times of Israel
- At Least 27 Killed After Israeli Soldiers Open Fire Near Gaza Aid Site The New York Times
- What's going wrong with aid in Gaza? NPR
Vietnam ends its longstanding 2-child policy – NPR
- Vietnam ends its longstanding 2-child policy NPR
- Vietnam scraps 2-child policy as aging threatens economic growth AP News
- Communist country dumps decades-old 2-child policy as birth rates plummet to alarming levels Fox News
- Vietnam scraps two-child policy as it tackles falling birthrate The Guardian
- Facing a Demographic Shift, Vietnam Abolishes Two-Child Policy The New York Times
Eleven die in Bengaluru crush as fans gather for IPL victory parade – BBC
- Eleven die in Bengaluru crush as fans gather for IPL victory parade BBC
- Bengaluru stampede: BJP demands Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar's arrest; draws parallel with Allu Arjun case Times of India
- At least 11 people die in a stampede in India as fans celebrate cricket championship NBC News
- Deadly Crowd Crush Mars Celebration for Indian Cricket Championship The New York Times
- RCB victory celebrations turn tragic as 11 die in stampede at Chinnaswamy Stadium The New Indian Express