At least 16 killed in attack on mosque in Pakistan
At least 16 killed in attack on mosque in Pakistan
Dozens of suspected illegal miners die in Nigerian custody
Dozens of suspected illegal miners die in Nigerian custody
Dozens of suspected illegal miners die in Nigerian custody
Three dead and eight injured in Philippines school shooting
Burnham hosts Ireland’s taoiseach as he bids for UK exemptions from EU’s ‘Made in Europe’ plan – UK politics live
It is the first time the PM has used No 10 North to host an overseas visit
Kemi Badenoch says the Conservative party has “instructed lawyers” to challenge government cuts to a Tory-run London council, which they say amounts to 40%.
These cuts are forcing Wandsworth to increase its council tax by 94%, the Tory leader says.
I think it is outrageous that Wandsworth council is having to put up council tax. But they’re not doing it because they want to.
It is because the government has taken away 40% of their funding. So we have actually instructed lawyers, as the Conservative party, to see if we can challenge the government on this decision.
I’m terrifically excited to be joining the young Palantir team who make the tools that public service workers need to transform how they serve the British people.
Whether that means reducing the time it takes to be diagnosed, treated and discharged from hospital, helping our military personnel keep us safe and secure, or enabling our police to crack crimes and root out corruption, Palantir software can transform the country’s public services.
Continue reading...Andrew Hastie says AI advised him to reply ‘congratulations!’ to man who planned to end life with assisted dying
Liberal MP speaks of AI’s shortcomings as cyber chief tells inquiry the tech is needed to fend off ‘highly capable malicious cyber actors’
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When a man with a terminal illness wrote to his local MP Andrew Hastie, telling him he planned on ending his own life with voluntary assisted dying, Microsoft Copilot suggested Hastie reply with “congratulations!”, “great to hear from you” or “that is wonderful news!”.
Hastie shared the episode at a parliamentary inquiry on Friday to underline the shortcomings of the American-run software as he called for AI run by Australians.
Continue reading...‘We demand the truth’: Olga Tokarczuk and JM Coetzee lead calls for proof of life of disappeared Eritrean writers
More than 180 writers sign letter renewing calls for information on 12 authors detained incommunicado since 2001 crackdown on free speech by Isaias Afwerki
More than 180 writers have signed a letter to Eritrean president Isaias Afwerki calling for proof of life for 12 writers arrested in 2001.
Nobel laureates Olga Tokarczuk and JM Coetzee join prominent writers including Colm Tóibín, Elif Shafak, Isabel Allende, Ben Okri, Yann Martel, Kamila Shamsie and Tsitsi Dangarembga in signing the letter dated 18 September, marking 25 years since a government crackdown on the independent press. “Within days, Eritrea’s free press and the nation’s independent voices were systematically crushed,” opens the letter.
Continue reading...Retail sales bounce back in Great Britain amid brighter signs for economy
Latest data to defy economic gloom shows 0.5% rise boosted by purchases of sports items, aircon units and fans during heatwaves
Retail sales across Great Britain unexpectedly rose last month, the latest economic indicator to defy gloomy forecasts as the chancellor, John Healey, prepares to present next month’s budget.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the volume of goods sold rose 0.5% month on month in August, defying analyst expectations of a 0.2% fall.
Continue reading...Twenty women had breasts removed unnecessarily during NHS cancer care
Patients among hundreds who suffered harm at County Durham and Darlington foundation trust’s breast unit
Twenty women had their breasts removed unnecessarily while being treated for cancer at an NHS trust in north-east England.
The County Durham and Darlington foundation trust (CDDFT) told the BBC that the women were among hundreds of patients who came to harm during treatment at its breast unit.
Continue reading...Japan raises interest rate to new 31-year high to curb rising prices
Japan raises interest rate to new 31-year high to curb rising prices
Japan raises interest rate to new 31-year high to curb rising prices
Japan raises interest rates to 31-year high to curb impact of rising prices
Increase from 1% to 1.25% follows US Federal Reserve and European Central Bank tightening monetary policy
Japan’s central bank has increased interest rates to a fresh 31-year high as it attempts to combat global inflation linked to the war in Iran.
The Bank of Japan voted to raise its target interest rate from 1% to 1.25%, the highest level since 1995.
Continue reading...‘Outright racist’ Daniel Thomas will face full force of law over any crimes, says home secretary
Shabana Mahmood says she wants to distinguish between far-right extremism and legitimate local concerns over asylum sites
Shabana Mahmood has described the anti-asylum activist Daniel Thomas as “a far-right and outright racist” who will feel “the full force of the law” if his organisation commits crimes near contested asylum sites such as Piddington.
In an interview with the Guardian, the home secretary also “wanted to reassure” concerned villagers that asylum seekers due to move in to a neighbouring former defence site would not put pressure on local resources because they would be given self-contained facilities.
Continue reading...South Korea will not send military to support US war on Iran, defying Trump pressure
Seoul resolves recent speculation over sending military to strait of Hormuz, saying ‘there won’t be deployment that would involve or enter war’
South Korea’s president, Lee Jae Myung, has said he will not deploy the military to the Middle East in a way that could draw the country into conflict, resisting calls from Donald Trump to support his war in Iran.
“There won’t be deployment that would involve or enter war. I can tell you that very clearly,” Lee said at a news conference on Friday. “We won’t deploy military assets in any form to that end.”
Continue reading...Indonesia gets its first aircraft carrier amid debate over cost and military ambitions
The gift from Italy has sparked fierce debate among defence analysts and opposition politicians who question its true cost and purpose
Indonesia has received its first aircraft carrier, a former Italian warship that the government says will strengthen the archipelagic nation’s maritime security and disaster response capabilities.
The 41-year-old former ITS Giuseppe Garibaldi, with capacity for short takeoff and vertical landing aircraft and helicopters, arrived Friday morning at a naval base in North Jakarta’s Tanjung Priok port, where it was welcomed with a military ceremony.
Continue reading...Russians go to polls against backdrop of Ukraine war and Putin’s tightening grip
President’s United Russia party faces no meaningful opposition after liberal anti-war party barred from ballot
Russians are going to the polls to elect a new State Duma in a tightly controlled vote stripped of meaningful competition and with little doubt about the result.
Vladimir Putin’s United Russia is expected to extend the grip on parliament it has held for 23 years, alongside a handful of nominal opposition parties that reliably vote with the Kremlin on the issues that matter. The three-day vote begins on Friday, with results expected after polls close on Sunday.
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