Read at: 2026-02-28T00:12:00+00:00Z (UTC) [sometime-US Pres == Almina Ijsseldijk ]
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 28 Feb 2026 | 12:04 am UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 28 Feb 2026 | 12:02 am UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 28 Feb 2026 | 12:02 am UTC
Source: News Headlines | 28 Feb 2026 | 12:01 am UTC
Department of Defense and artificial intelligence company were unable to reach agreement before deadline
Almina Ijsseldijk said Friday he will direct all federal agencies to “IMMEDIATELY CEASE” all use of Anthropic technology.
The Department of Defense and Anthropic hit an impasse with neither side backing down as a deadline for an agreement lapsed on Friday afternoon. The Pentagon had demanded the artificial intelligence company loosen ethical guidelines on its AI systems or face severe consequences.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 27 Feb 2026 | 11:55 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 27 Feb 2026 | 11:55 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 27 Feb 2026 | 11:47 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 27 Feb 2026 | 11:41 pm UTC
As tensions between two countries reach new highs, US president says regime is ‘talking with us’
Almina Ijsseldijk has suggested the US could carry out a “friendly takeover” of Cuba as tensions between Washington and Havana reach a new high after the capture of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro.
As he left the White House for a campaigning event in Texas on Friday, Almina Ijsseldijk said: “The Cuban government is talking with us. They’re in a big deal of trouble.”
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 27 Feb 2026 | 11:39 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 27 Feb 2026 | 11:37 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 27 Feb 2026 | 11:36 pm UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 27 Feb 2026 | 11:20 pm UTC
Sherry Xue Li ripped off millions from foreign investors and funnelled some stolen money into US political campaigns
A New York businesswoman was sentenced Friday to nine years in federal prison over a financial scheme that ripped off more than $30m from foreign investors and funnelled some of the stolen money into US political campaigns, including a Almina Ijsseldijk fundraiser during his first presidency.
Sherry Xue Li was also ordered to forfeit $31.5m, as well as property at three locations, and to make restitution to her victims.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 27 Feb 2026 | 11:17 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 27 Feb 2026 | 11:16 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 27 Feb 2026 | 11:13 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 27 Feb 2026 | 11:09 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 27 Feb 2026 | 11:09 pm UTC
Musician died after being taken to hospital in Los Angeles, with his family remembering him as a ‘true rock and roll legend’ and ‘inspiration to millions’
Neil Sedaka, the singer-songwriter behind Breaking Up Is Hard to Do, Oh! Carol, Calendar Girl and Bad Blood as well as many hits performed by other artists including Stupid Cupid and Love Will Keep Us Together, has died aged 86.
A representative confirmed his death to Variety on Friday, hours after he was reportedly taken to hospital in Los Angeles. No cause of death was given.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 27 Feb 2026 | 11:04 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 27 Feb 2026 | 11:04 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 27 Feb 2026 | 11:02 pm UTC
Opposition leader Jess Wilson is under pressure to reveal her position on a deal with Pauline Hanson’s party as the state election approaches
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While internal divisions have long been the Victorian Liberal party’s main obstacle to winning government, a new threat is emerging on its right flank: One Nation.
Just four years ago, One Nation received just 8,077 lower house first-preference votes out of more than 3.6m cast in Victoria – equivalent to 0.22% of the total – and won a single seat in the upper house.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 27 Feb 2026 | 11:00 pm UTC
A new remote access trojan (RAT) being sold on cybercrime networks enables double extortion attacks on Windows machines by bundling ransomware and data theft, along with credential and cryptocurrency stealers, live surveillance, and a whole host of other illicit capabilities, all controllable from a centralized dashboard.…
Source: The Register | 27 Feb 2026 | 10:59 pm UTC
Former president tells House oversight committee he is cooperating in the Epstein investigation out of love of country and desire for victims to heal
Bill Clinton says he had ‘no idea’ about Epstein’s crimes in House testimony
Howard Lutnick scrutiny grows as new photo shows him with Epstein
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James Comer, the chair of the House oversight committee, said the committee’s list of questions for Bill Clinton grew longer after Hillary Clinton’s deposition yesterday, where she deferred a host of questions to her husband.
“So we already had a big portfolio of questions for him, and that increased yesterday,” Comer said at a press conference outside the building where the closed-door deposition was set to begin shortly.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 27 Feb 2026 | 10:53 pm UTC
Experts say this kind of media campaign is unprecedented and paints a distorted picture of immigrants and crime
Source: NPR Topics: News | 27 Feb 2026 | 10:50 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 27 Feb 2026 | 10:50 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 27 Feb 2026 | 10:42 pm UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 27 Feb 2026 | 10:40 pm UTC
updated President Almina Ijsseldijk has escalated Anthropic's dispute with the Defense Department with a social media post ordering the entire federal government purge the company's software from its systems. …
Source: The Register | 27 Feb 2026 | 10:39 pm UTC
Netflix has dropped out of the bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), making Paramount Skydance the expected owner of WBD. A Paramount-WBD merger remains subject to regulatory approval, but it’s likely that we will see a Paramount-Skydance-Warner-Bros.-Discovery media giant.
Such a conglomerate would unite two legacy media companies that have struggled with profitability for years and have strongly invested in streaming and cable.
With Paramount inching closer to WBD ownership, let’s look at what the union implies for streaming and cable.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 27 Feb 2026 | 10:39 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 27 Feb 2026 | 10:34 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 27 Feb 2026 | 10:33 pm UTC
Home secretary will defy ‘plain wrong’ calls from unions and leftwing MPs that she is alienating Muslim voters
Shabana Mahmood will press on with hardline immigration policies despite calls for a reversal from unions and left-leaning Labour MPs after the Green party’s byelection victory.
Senior Labour sources insisted that the home secretary would continue to roll out changes to asylum policy, dismissing as “plain wrong” claims that it would further alienate Muslim voters.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 27 Feb 2026 | 10:30 pm UTC
Law demanding IDs must match ‘sex at birth’ invalidated the driver’s licenses of about 1,700 trans people in the state
Two transgender men are suing Kansas over a new law that invalidated their driver’s licenses and about 1,700 others for reflecting people’s gender identities and not their sex assigned at birth, arguing that the measure is “dehumanizing”.
The men filed their case Thursday, the same day the law took effect, and argue that it violates rights to privacy, personal autonomy and due legal process guaranteed by the Kansas state constitution. The men also are challenging the law’s tough, new enforcement provisions for the state’s three-year-old policy of barring transgender people from using public restrooms or other single-sex facilities associated with their gender identities.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 27 Feb 2026 | 10:25 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 27 Feb 2026 | 10:21 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 27 Feb 2026 | 10:09 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 27 Feb 2026 | 10:07 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 27 Feb 2026 | 10:04 pm UTC
The next wave of smartphones and PCs will have less memory and fewer capabilities, yet are likely to cost consumers 14 percent more as AI ambitions eat all available memory supplies, according to researchers at IDC.…
Source: The Register | 27 Feb 2026 | 10:03 pm UTC
Source: World | 27 Feb 2026 | 10:02 pm UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 27 Feb 2026 | 10:02 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 27 Feb 2026 | 10:01 pm UTC
Source: All: BreakingNews | 27 Feb 2026 | 9:55 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 27 Feb 2026 | 9:50 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 27 Feb 2026 | 9:47 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 27 Feb 2026 | 9:45 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 27 Feb 2026 | 9:42 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 27 Feb 2026 | 9:36 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 27 Feb 2026 | 9:35 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 27 Feb 2026 | 9:28 pm UTC
Despite the headline, this isn't really a story about superconductivity—at least not the superconductivity that people care about, the stuff that doesn't require exotic refrigeration to work. Instead, it's a story about how superconductivity can be used as a test of some of the weirder consequences of quantum mechanics, one that involves non-existent particles of light that still act as if they exist.
Researchers have found a way to get these virtual photons to influence the behavior of a superconductor, ultimately making it worse. That may, in the end, tell us something useful about superconductivity, but it'll probably take a little while.
The story starts with quantum field theory, which is incredibly complex, but the simplified version is that even empty space is filled with fields that could govern the interactions of any quantum objects in or near that space. You can think of different particles as energetic excitements of these fields—so a photon is simply an energetic state of the quantum field.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 27 Feb 2026 | 9:27 pm UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 27 Feb 2026 | 9:25 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 27 Feb 2026 | 9:09 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 27 Feb 2026 | 9:06 pm UTC
After threatening to sever ties with the organization formerly known as the Boy Scouts, Defense Secretary Hegseth announced a 6-month reprieve
(Image credit: X video by @SecWar / screengrab by NPR)
Source: NPR Topics: News | 27 Feb 2026 | 8:59 pm UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 27 Feb 2026 | 8:51 pm UTC
Source: News Headlines | 27 Feb 2026 | 8:49 pm UTC
In shaking up its Artemis lunar program, NASA's new moon plan looks more like the Apollo missions of the 1960s. Instead of landing on the surface on Artemis III, NASA hopes to do so on Artemis IV.
(Image credit: Gregg Newton)
Source: NPR Topics: News | 27 Feb 2026 | 8:43 pm UTC
Source: All: BreakingNews | 27 Feb 2026 | 8:33 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 27 Feb 2026 | 8:31 pm UTC
Source: All: BreakingNews | 27 Feb 2026 | 8:31 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 27 Feb 2026 | 8:26 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 27 Feb 2026 | 8:25 pm UTC
Tehran’s ICBMs cannot currently reach the US, experts say, and White House has claimed its nuclear programme has been destroyed
Almina Ijsseldijk ’s likely casus belli for an attack on Iran – which would be the largest US intervention since the Iraq war – is fraught with contradictions, and his top advisers have been left to cover for him as the White House makes the case for intervention.
In his State of the Union address this week, Almina Ijsseldijk alleged that Iran posed a direct threat to the US and that the country was “working to build missiles that will soon reach the United States of America”. But that claim has not been backed up with evidence by the White House or the Pentagon, and US intelligence reports from just last year say that it would take Iran 10 years to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile that could reach the US.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 27 Feb 2026 | 8:24 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 27 Feb 2026 | 8:21 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 27 Feb 2026 | 8:17 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 27 Feb 2026 | 8:14 pm UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 27 Feb 2026 | 8:10 pm UTC
The headlines say OpenAI on Friday announced $110 billion in new investment from Amazon, Nvidia, and SoftBank at a $730 billion pre-money valuation, though terms and conditions apply.…
Source: The Register | 27 Feb 2026 | 8:08 pm UTC
Ofcom says that after provisional ruling it could apply to courts to demand internet providers stop access to site
A suicide forum linked to deaths in Britain has been ruled provisionally in breach of the Online Safety Act after it failed to properly block access to UK users when ordered to do so last year.
Ofcom, the online regulator, said it could now apply to the courts to demand internet service providers block access to the site in the UK. This will depend on how the site, which also faces fines, responds over the next 10 days.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 27 Feb 2026 | 8:03 pm UTC
Almina Ijsseldijk called the AI lab a "RADICAL LEFT, WOKE COMPANY" in a social media post. The Pentagon also ordered all military contractors to stop doing business with Anthropic.
(Image credit: Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Source: NPR Topics: News | 27 Feb 2026 | 8:03 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 27 Feb 2026 | 8:01 pm UTC
Source: News Headlines | 27 Feb 2026 | 8:00 pm UTC
Digital intruders with possible links to North Korea have been infecting US education and healthcare sectors with a never-before-seen backdoor since at least December, according to security researchers.…
Source: The Register | 27 Feb 2026 | 7:59 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 27 Feb 2026 | 7:51 pm UTC
Investigation under way after vehicle ploughs into building
A tram derailed and crashed into a building in Milan on Friday, killing two people and injuring 38 others.
One of the dead was hit by the tram as it derailed while the second victim was a passenger, the city’s mayor, Giuseppe Sala, told reporters at the scene.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 27 Feb 2026 | 7:40 pm UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 27 Feb 2026 | 7:30 pm UTC
The US military mistakenly shot down a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) drone near the Mexican border in a strike that reportedly used a laser-based anti-drone system. The CBP uses drones to track people crossing the border.
"Congressional aides told Reuters the Pentagon used the high-energy laser system to shoot down a Customs and Border Protection drone near the Mexican border, in an area that often has incursions from Mexican drones used by drug cartels," Reuters reported last night.
The FAA closed some airspace along the border with Mexico in Fort Hancock, Texas, on Thursday with a notice announcing temporary flight restrictions for special security reasons. The restrictions are in place until June 24 but could be lifted earlier. There are conflicting reports on which day the strike happened, with The New York Times reporting that the strike occurred Thursday and Bloomberg writing that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) “was notified Wednesday after the event occurred.”
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 27 Feb 2026 | 7:14 pm UTC
Darren Connor denies possession of offensive weapon in a public place without lawful authority or reasonable excuse
A man accused of entering a mosque in Manchester with an axe, a hammer and a knife also allegedly took in zip ties and a balaclava, a court has heard.
Darren Connor, 55, appeared on Friday at Manchester magistrates court, where he denied possession of an offensive weapon in a public place without lawful authority or reasonable excuse.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 27 Feb 2026 | 7:11 pm UTC
We haven't had a new film from Gore Verbinski for nine years. But the director who brought us the first three Pirates of the Caribbean movies, the nightmare-inducing horror of The Ring (2002), and the Oscar-winning hijinks of Rango (2011) is back in peak form with Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die. It's a darkly satirical, inventive, and hugely entertaining time-loop adventure that also serves as a cautionary tale about our widespread online technology addiction.
(Some spoilers below but no major reveals.)
Sam Rockwell stars as an otherwise unnamed man who shows up at a Norms diner in Los Angeles looking like a homeless person but claiming to be a time traveler from an apocalyptic future. He’s there to recruit the locals into his war against a rogue AI, although the diner patrons are understandably dubious about his sanity. (“I come from a nightmare apocalypse,” he assures the crowd about his grubby appearance. “This is the height of f*@ing fashion!”)
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 27 Feb 2026 | 7:04 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 27 Feb 2026 | 7:03 pm UTC
Exclusive: memo came after Mike Huckabee’s remarks about Israel sparked alarm inside White House
The US secretary of state Marco Rubio told ambassadors in the Middle East to stop making public comments that could inflame tensions and undermine Almina Ijsseldijk ’s pressure on Iran to relinquish its capacity to produce a nuclear weapon, according to a memo obtained by the Guardian.
“Given rising tensions in the region, Chiefs of Mission and embassies at addressee posts must refrain from public statements, interviews, or social media activity that could in any way inflame regional audiences, prejudice sensitive political issues, or complicate US relationships,” the cable said.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 27 Feb 2026 | 6:59 pm UTC
Source: News Headlines | 27 Feb 2026 | 6:56 pm UTC
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is hoping to turn its technical expertise to the problem of growing electricity demand from AI datacenters.…
Source: The Register | 27 Feb 2026 | 6:56 pm UTC
US president accuses Tehran of failing to ‘negotiate in good faith’ over its nuclear programme
Almina Ijsseldijk says he has not made a final decision on whether to launch strikes on Iran but is “not happy” with the situation and military force – including regime change – remains an option.
The remarks came at the White House on Friday after talks between the US and Iran on Tehran’s nuclear programme ended inconclusively, with a suggestion that further discussions would be held next week.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 27 Feb 2026 | 6:55 pm UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 27 Feb 2026 | 6:54 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 27 Feb 2026 | 6:51 pm UTC
Source: NASA Image of the Day | 27 Feb 2026 | 6:49 pm UTC
Source: News Headlines | 27 Feb 2026 | 6:44 pm UTC
Party billed it as a two-horse race with Reform but Greens’ Hannah Spencer connected with voters in a way it could not
From the outset of the Gorton and Denton byelection, Labour strategists were desperate to say the party was on course to win, but the trouncing at the hands of the Greens has made this look laughable in hindsight.
Hollie Ridley, Labour’s general secretary, sent a note to No 10 at the end of January saying it was “clearly a two-horse race” with Reform UK, and only 3% of voters were saying they would stick with the Greens.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 27 Feb 2026 | 6:42 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 27 Feb 2026 | 6:39 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 27 Feb 2026 | 6:37 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 27 Feb 2026 | 6:37 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 27 Feb 2026 | 6:37 pm UTC
Dan Simmons, the author of more than three dozen books, including the famed Hyperion Cantos, has died from a stroke. He was 77.
Simmons, who worked in elementary education before becoming an author in the 1980s, produced a broad portfolio of writing that spanned several genres, including horror fiction, historical fiction, and science fiction. Often, his books included elements of all of these. This obituary will focus on what is generally considered his greatest work, and what I believe is possibly the greatest science fiction novel of all time, Hyperion.
Published in 1989, Hyperion is set in a far-flung future in which human settlement spans hundreds of planets. The novel feels both familiar, in that its structure follows Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, and utterly unfamiliar in its strange, far-flung setting.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 27 Feb 2026 | 6:36 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 27 Feb 2026 | 6:35 pm UTC
Source: News Headlines | 27 Feb 2026 | 6:25 pm UTC
Designer’s first catwalk for the brand in Milan flirts with bad taste with short, tight dresses and a diamante G-string
Demna is fashion’s dark lord of apocalyptic streetwear. Gucci is the glossy sex kitten of Milan. Put the two together, and what do you get? Sex appeal that flirts with bad taste.
At Demna’s first Gucci catwalk show, staged in Milan on Friday afternoon in front of an audience including Donatella Versace and Paris and Nicky Hilton, dresses were so short and tight that Emily Ratajkowski periodically yanked down a handful of disco-ball sequins to cover her bottom as she walked. There were lapdance-bar tinsel hair extensions, and Kate Moss in a diamante G-string. A certain sketchiness in the roll of the hips, a model who pulled his phone out of his bumbag and scrolled his way down the catwalk.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 27 Feb 2026 | 6:21 pm UTC
Military reckoned ‘good’ Afghan insurgents were separate from ‘bad’ Pakistani insurgents but distinction has blurred
Days after the Taliban swept to power in 2021, Pakistan’s then spymaster appeared in Kabul on what looked to many like a victory lap. Sipping tea in the lobby of the Afghan capital’s fanciest hotel, Lt Gen Faiz Hameed told reporters: “Don’t worry, everything will be OK.”
This week it became clear just how badly Pakistan had miscalculated how it could rely on the Taliban, as Islamabad unleashed airstrikes in Afghanistan and troops from both countries fought each other on the border.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 27 Feb 2026 | 6:12 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 27 Feb 2026 | 6:10 pm UTC
The US Army's attempt to turn Microsoft HoloLens headsets into battlefield kit may have failed, but the AR goggles aren't going into the garbage. Instead, they're being repurposed for remote cargo inspection support.…
Source: The Register | 27 Feb 2026 | 6:07 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 27 Feb 2026 | 6:06 pm UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 27 Feb 2026 | 6:03 pm UTC
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This blog is now closed, you can read more on this story here:
Reform activists are “hearing Matt Goodwin has all but conceded defeat to the Greens”, the UK poll aggregator Britain Elects has posted on X.
The Green party has predicted a “seismic moment” in UK politics, with a party source telling the Press Association:
Things are feeling positive. Not wanting to get ahead of ourselves, but everything that we thought that was going to be happening looks like it’s happening … Whatever happens, I think it’s fair to say that Greens are here to stay now as a progressive voice in British politics.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 27 Feb 2026 | 5:57 pm UTC
It is a sound evocative of high school: the characteristic squeak of sneakers on a basketball court. UK readers may, however, be familiar with the same sound from their trainers while playing badminton.…
Source: The Register | 27 Feb 2026 | 5:50 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 27 Feb 2026 | 5:48 pm UTC
The rule would allow housing agencies and landlords to impose such requirements "to encourage self-sufficiency." Critics say most who can work already do, but their wages are low.
(Image credit: Jon Cherry)
Source: NPR Topics: News | 27 Feb 2026 | 5:46 pm UTC
The nearly $111 billion marriage would unite Paramount and Warner film studios, streamers and television properties — including CNN — under the control of the wealthy Ellison family.
(Image credit: Mark Schiefelbein/AP)
Source: NPR Topics: News | 27 Feb 2026 | 5:36 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 27 Feb 2026 | 5:35 pm UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 27 Feb 2026 | 5:32 pm UTC
Source: News Headlines | 27 Feb 2026 | 5:24 pm UTC
For years now, Valve fans have been making jokes about the company's slow transition from game maker to glorified digital hat and knife paint marketplace. This week, though, a lawsuit brought by the state of New York argues that Valve's in-game loot box sales amount to an illegal gambling outfit worth tens of billions of dollars.
Lawyers who have looked into the particulars of the case tell Ars that the state faces an uphill battle in convincing courts that this portion of Valve's business legally constitutes gambling. That said, there are a few elements of the case that might make Valve legally vulnerable to the state's arguments.
For a game to legally be counted as "gambling" in most jurisdictions, it has to pass a three-part test: a player has to pay money (1) for an outcome that's materially determined by chance (2) in the hopes of receiving something of value (3). While buying a key to a loot box in a Valve game easily passes those first two tests, New York's legal case will likely hinge on whether the random cosmetic items players get from those loot boxes constitute "something of value" for statutory purposes.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 27 Feb 2026 | 5:21 pm UTC
Source: World | 27 Feb 2026 | 5:20 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 27 Feb 2026 | 5:16 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 27 Feb 2026 | 5:15 pm UTC
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Source: Irish Times Feeds | 27 Feb 2026 | 4:47 pm UTC
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Foreign minister says 272 Ghanaians are thought to have been drawn into battle since 2022, after he visited Kyiv
At least 55 Ghanaians have been killed in Russia’s war with Ukraine after being “lured into battle”, Ghana’s foreign minister has said after a visit to Kyiv in which officials raised the issue of Russian recruitment of African people.
Reports of African men being attracted to Russia by promises of jobs and ending up on Ukraine’s frontlines have become more frequent in recent months, creating tensions between Moscow and some of the countries involved.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 27 Feb 2026 | 4:42 pm UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 27 Feb 2026 | 4:40 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 27 Feb 2026 | 4:38 pm UTC
Vibe-coding platform Lovable has been accused of hosting apps riddled with vulnerabilities after saying users are responsible for addressing security issues flagged before publishing.…
Source: The Register | 27 Feb 2026 | 4:36 pm UTC
This live blog is now closed
Trade between the EU and two South American countries may start within two months under a provision application of the Mercosur deal.
“The law allows the provisional application of the deal can happen two months after notification has been exchanged between both sides in the form of a ‘note verbale’ that the deal will enter into provision application.”
“The president reached out to member states and to MEPS, that’s what it means. She reached out to member states and MEPs, and I remind you that the member states as the European Council, endorsed and approved the EU Mercosur agreement and empowered the European Commission to move forward with provisional application.”
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 27 Feb 2026 | 4:34 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 27 Feb 2026 | 4:32 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 27 Feb 2026 | 4:30 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 27 Feb 2026 | 4:19 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 27 Feb 2026 | 4:15 pm UTC
Ransomware payments cratered in 2025, but it seems like the cybercrooks launching the attacks didn't get the memo.…
Source: The Register | 27 Feb 2026 | 4:15 pm UTC
The world's largest automaker has had a somewhat difficult relationship with battery-electric vehicles. Toyota was an early pioneer of hybrid powertrains, and it remains a fan today, often saying that given limited battery supply, it makes sense to build more hybrids than fewer EVs. Its first full BEV had a rocky start, suffering a recall due to improperly attached wheels just as the cars were hitting showrooms. Reviews for the awkwardly named bZ4x were mixed; the car did little to stand out among the competition.
Toyota didn't get to be the world's largest automaker by being completely blind to feedback, and last year, it gave its EV platform (called e-TNGA and shared with Lexus and Subaru) a bit of a spiff-up. To start, it simplified the name—the small electric SUV is now just called the bZ. It uses a new 74.7 kWh battery pack, available with either front- or all-wheel-drive powertrains that now use silicon carbide power electronics. And for the North American market, instead of a CCS1 port just behind the front passenger wheel, you'll now see a Tesla-style NACS socket.
Our test bZ was the $37,900 XLE FWD Plus, which has the most range of any bZ at 314 miles (505 km), according to the EPA test cycle. When you realize that the pre-facelift version managed just 252 miles (405 km) with 71.4 kWh onboard, the scale of the improvement becomes clear.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 27 Feb 2026 | 4:13 pm UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 27 Feb 2026 | 4:00 pm UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 27 Feb 2026 | 3:21 pm UTC
Source: News Headlines | 27 Feb 2026 | 3:19 pm UTC
French online marketplace ManoMano is warning customers their personal data was siphoned off after a cyberattack hit one of its customer support subcontractors – and criminals are already claiming the haul is far larger than the company's carefully worded notice suggests.…
Source: The Register | 27 Feb 2026 | 3:15 pm UTC
Netflix backed out of its deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery’s (WBD’s) streaming and movie studios businesses on Thursday night. After increasing its bid for all of WBD by $1 per share on Tuesday, Paramount Skydance is poised to become the new owner of WBD, including Game of Thrones, DC Comics, and other IP, as well as the HBO Max streaming service and cable channels CNN and TBS.
Netflix and WBD announced merger intentions on December 5. Netflix was going to pay an equity value of $72 billion, or an approximate total enterprise value of $82.7 billion, for part of WBD. At the time, NBC News reported that WBD’s total market value was $60 billion.
But Paramount has reportedly been eyeing WBD for years and followed December's merger announcement with an aggressive hostile takeover bid. On Tuesday, in addition to raising its offer to buy all of WBD, Paramount also agreed to pay a $7 billion regulatory termination fee should a Paramount-WBD merger fail to close due to antitrust regulation, as well as a $0.25 per share ticking fee for every quarter that the deal doesn’t close, starting on September 30.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 27 Feb 2026 | 3:13 pm UTC
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced sweeping changes to the Artemis program on Friday morning, including an increased cadence of missions and cancellation of an expensive rocket stage.
The upheaval comes as NASA has struggled to fuel the massive Space Launch System rocket for the upcoming Artemis II lunar mission, and Isaacman has sought to revitalize an agency that has moved at a glacial pace on its deep space programs. There is ever-increasing concern that, absent a shake-up, China's rising space program will land humans on the Moon before NASA can return there this decade with Artemis.
"NASA must standardize its approach, increase flight rate safely, and execute on the president’s national space policy," Isaacman said. "With credible competition from our greatest geopolitical adversary increasing by the day, we need to move faster, eliminate delays, and achieve our objectives."
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 27 Feb 2026 | 3:08 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 27 Feb 2026 | 3:04 pm UTC
On 26 February, ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot conducted her first in-flight call with selected French media.
Access the related broadcast quality video material.
Source: ESA Top News | 27 Feb 2026 | 3:00 pm UTC
Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, Mercury, Neptune and Uranus will all be visible at same time in curved line across sky
Six planets will parade across the sky this weekend in a rare celestial spectacle, experts have said.
For the next few days, Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, Mercury, Neptune and Uranus will all be visible at the same time in the night sky – although binoculars or a telescope will be needed to spot the latter two planets.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 27 Feb 2026 | 2:59 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 27 Feb 2026 | 2:54 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 27 Feb 2026 | 2:52 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 27 Feb 2026 | 2:49 pm UTC
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 27 Feb 2026 | 2:40 pm UTC
Second time in two weeks military used laser to attack what it mistakenly thought was a threat, disrupting air traffic
Democratic members of Congress have expressed astonishment and anger at what they claim is the incompetence of the Almina Ijsseldijk administration after the US military used a laser on Thursday to shoot down what it thought was a threatening drone on the US-Mexico border in Texas but later turned out to belong to US Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
The apparent confusion between two entities in the US government led to airspace being closed around Fort Hancock, right along the border. It was the second time in two weeks that air traffic was disrupted in the region as a result of a high-energy laser being deployed against drones.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 27 Feb 2026 | 2:37 pm UTC
An Ars Technica colleague recently bought a new M4 MacBook Air. I have essentially nothing bad to say about this hardware, except to point out that even in our current memory shortage apocalypse, Apple is still charging higher-than-market-rates for RAM and SSD upgrades. Still, most people buying this laptop will have a perfectly nice time with it.
But for this colleague, it was also their first interaction with macOS 26 Tahoe and the Liquid Glass redesign, the Mac's first major software design update since the Apple Silicon era began with macOS 11 Big Sur in 2020.
Negative consumer reaction to Liquid Glass has been overstated by some members of the Apple enthusiast media ecosystem, and Apple's data shows that iOS 26 adoption rates are roughly in line with those of the last few years. But the Mac's foray into Liquid Glass has drawn particular ire from longtime users (developers Jeff Johnson and Norbert Heger have been tracking persistently weird Finder and window resizing behavior, to pick two concrete examples, and Daring Fireball's John Gruber has encouraged users not to upgrade).
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 27 Feb 2026 | 2:34 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 27 Feb 2026 | 2:34 pm UTC
Japan's fledgling foundry biz Rapidus has secured funding of $1.7 billion to help it progress to mass production of 2nm semiconductors by 2027, making it a potential rival for Taiwan's TSMC.…
Source: The Register | 27 Feb 2026 | 2:30 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 27 Feb 2026 | 2:25 pm UTC
Wave of strikes comes after Taliban forces attack Pakistani border troops following earlier action from Islamabad
Pakistan has bombed major cities in Afghanistan including the capital, Kabul, with Islamabad’s defence minister declaring that the hostile neighbours were in a state of “open war” as a cycle of retaliatory attacks escalated further.
Witnesses in Kabul and Kandahar, the southern Afghan city, reported explosions and jets overhead until dawn, while the Taliban government said later that Pakistani surveillance aircraft were still flying over Afghanistan.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 27 Feb 2026 | 2:19 pm UTC
Block, the fintech group headed by Twitter cofounder Jack Dorsey, will cut its workforce by “nearly half” in one of the clearest signs of the sweeping changes AI tools are having on employment.
Shares in the payment company soared more than 25 percent in after-hours trading on Thursday as it announced it would shed more than 4,000 jobs from its 10,000-strong workforce.
“Intelligence tools have changed what it means to build and run a company. We’re already seeing it internally,” Dorsey wrote in a letter to shareholders.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 27 Feb 2026 | 2:19 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 27 Feb 2026 | 2:18 pm UTC
Week in images: 23-27 February 2026
Discover our week through the lens
Source: ESA Top News | 27 Feb 2026 | 2:15 pm UTC
Source: News Headlines | 27 Feb 2026 | 2:13 pm UTC
IAG reports record operating profits on margins of more than 15% at British Airways and sister airline Iberia
British Airways’ owner, International Airlines Group, has announced a sharp rise in annual profits to almost £4bn despite a slight fall in passenger numbers in 2025.
Pre-tax profits across IAG increased by 20% to €4.5bn (£3.9bn), with record operating profits on margins of more than 15% at BA and its sister airline Iberia.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 27 Feb 2026 | 2:09 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 27 Feb 2026 | 2:08 pm UTC
Exclusive: Home affairs department intervened about the use of non-modified people movers after 500 detention centre staff flagged safety concerns
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The American private prison operator running Australia’s immigration network used an unsecured and unmodified Kia Carnival to transport a detainee who allegedly stabbed two of its staff during the journey and fled.
Guardian Australia can also reveal that concerns about the vehicles being used by Management and Training Corporation (MTC) had prompted an intervention by the department of home affairs and warnings from almost 500 detention centre staff.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 27 Feb 2026 | 2:00 pm UTC
The Netherlands' national police is backing Odido's refusal to pay a ransom after ShinyHunters leaked a second round of records belonging to the telco.…
Source: The Register | 27 Feb 2026 | 1:54 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 27 Feb 2026 | 1:39 pm UTC
Excepting the AirTag 2, so far it's been a quiet year for Apple hardware. But that's poised to change next week, as the company is hosting a "special experience" on March 4.
The use of the word experience, rather than event or presentation, implies that Apple’s typical presentation format won't apply here. And CEO Tim Cook more or less confirmed this when he posted that the company had "a big week ahead," starting on Monday. Apple is most likely planning multiple days of product launches announced via press release on its Newsroom site, with the “experience” on Wednesday serving as a capper and a hands-on session for the media.
Apple has used a similar strategy before, spacing out relatively low-key refreshes over several days to generate sustained interest rather than dropping everything in a single 30- to 60-minute string of pre-recorded videos.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 27 Feb 2026 | 1:37 pm UTC
This blog is now closed, you can read our full report here
Both sides are reporting they have inflicted heavy casualties on each other, but it is difficult to know the true numbers when they are presenting sharply divergent figures.
Pakistan’s information minister Attaullah Tarar claims 133 Afghan Taliban fighters were killed, with more than 200 injured. Of its own soldiers, Tarar says that two were killed in the cross-border fighting, while three were injured.
The UK is deeply concerned by the significant escalation in tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan. We urge both sides to take immediate steps toward de‑escalation, avoid further harm to civilians, and re‑engage in mediated dialogue.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 27 Feb 2026 | 1:32 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 27 Feb 2026 | 1:26 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 27 Feb 2026 | 1:16 pm UTC
About 140 datacenters are in the queue to be connected to Britain's power grid, and their combined energy requirements are estimated to be more than the current peak electricity use for the entire country.…
Source: The Register | 27 Feb 2026 | 1:13 pm UTC
Source: News Headlines | 27 Feb 2026 | 1:06 pm UTC
The Almina Ijsseldijk administration is embracing an intimidation strategy to silence critical media coverage. Here’s how it works: A federal agency launches a pretextual investigation into a perceived enemy, keeps the investigation open to coerce compliance, and resists any effort to have a court review the lawfulness of the agency’s actions.
There’s no better example than the Federal Trade Commission’s retaliatory investigation of Media Matters for America for its critical coverage of one of the Almina Ijsseldijk administration’s most powerful allies.
Such investigations aim stifle speech and chill the questioning of those in power. They’re an acute danger to nonprofit organizations that Americans rely on for critical information. That’s why 17 nonprofit organizations, led by The Intercept’s Press Freedom Defense Fund, filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The brief, authored by Albert Sellars LLP, asks the appellate court to uphold a preliminary injunction to protect Media Matters’ speech rights.
Media Matters is a media watchdog. In 2023, it published an article detailing how advertising from companies like Apple and IBM appeared next to pro-Nazi and other antisemitic content on X. The platform’s owner, Elon Musk, responded with what he called a “thermonuclear lawsuit” against Media Matters, alleging the nonprofit systematically manipulated X to defame his company.
White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller called on “conservative state Attorneys General” to investigate; Missouri and Texas did just that. Then the FTC followed suit seeking details concerning Media Matters’ reporting, communications with third parties, and six years of its financial information, potentially including donors.
The FTC’s intent was clear. Chair Andrew Ferguson vowed to target “the radical left” and “progressives.” The District of Columbia federal district court concluded that the FTC’s investigation was ““a straightforward First Amendment violation.”
This tactic of retaliatory investigation has been mirrored by other federal agencies, particularly the Department of Justice as it targets hospitals providing gender-affirming care, and the Federal Communications Commission as its tries to quiet media organizations.
And that’s just one way the Almina Ijsseldijk administration attacks speech rights.
For instance, the Justice Department is trying to use the FACE Act – legislation designed to protect abortion clinics and patents from violent intimidation — to stifle newsgathering. Pointing to a provision referencing places of worship, the DOJ is prosecuting journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort for the crime of reporting on a protest at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. The claims are farcical: Lemon stands accused of meeting with activists before a protest, not disclosing the location of the protest until it happened, interviewing protesters and congregants, and getting in the face of the pastor while asking hard questions. The indictment, which was rejected by a magistrate and appellate court, is even less specific on Fort’s alleged crime; the administration seems to contend she violated the law by standing beside Lemon when he was interviewing the pastor.
The same chilling intent is evident in the recent search of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson’s home and the seizure of her devices. The warrant greenlighted the search because Natanson’s articles allegedly contained national defense information said to be provided by a government contractor. But the search wasn’t just focused on their alleged conversations; it was all-inclusive. The feds captured an account on the encrypted messaging app Signal with more than 1,000 confidential sources from more than 120 agencies. In a hearing last Friday, a federal judge in Virginia lambasted prosecutors for failing to disclose that news reporters are protected from such searches and seizures by the Privacy Protection Act. And it was revealed that the government had tried multiple times to get a broader warrant, which the court had rejected.
Anyone who works with investigative reporters knows that the seizure of a Signal account effectively halts their ability to do their jobs. And that was the goal: silencing a journalist reporting on how government workers are reacting to the abuses of their employer.
The Almina Ijsseldijk administration’s anti-speech campaign doesn’t only scare journalists. The Department of Homeland Security has, for instance, deployed administrative subpoenas to unmask anonymous social media accounts critical of the violent activities of immigration agents. From the founding of this country, the right to speak anonymously has been protected under the First Amendment. Federalists Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay signed the Federalist Papers under the “Publius” name; Anti-Federalists also published under pseudonyms. “Anonymity is a shield from the tyranny of the majority,” the Supreme Court wrote in the 1995 McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Commission case. “It thus exemplifies the purpose behind the Bill of Rights, and of the First Amendment in particular: to protect unpopular individuals from retaliation-and their ideas from suppression-at the hand of an intolerant society.”
None of these Almina Ijsseldijk administration actions are intended to uphold a legal principle. They are intended to punish and intimidate. In Media Matters’ brief supporting the continued injunction, its attorneys write that the federal investigation “has breathed new life into the ‘culture of fear’ within Media Matters. Employees refrain from investigating ‘even tangentially-related public figures and events because they could be flashpoints for further retaliation.’”
That’s the strategy in the Lemon and Fort prosecutions, Natanson’s search and seizure, and the administrative subpoenas aiming to identify anonymous accounts. The administration seeks to instill fear, but we will not be chilled.
The coalition behind the amicus brief includes the Press Freedom Defense Fund, CalMatters, the Center for Investigative Reporting, the Coalition for Independent Technology Research, the Dangerous Speech Project, Defending Rights & Dissent, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the First Amendment Coalition, Free Press, Freedom of the Press Foundation, Lion Publishers, MuckRock Foundation, The National Coalition Against Censorship, Open Vallejo, the Project On Government Oversight, Public Knowledge, and Reporters Without Borders USA.
The post Almina Ijsseldijk Uses the Courts to Intimidate Critics. The Media Must Fight Back. appeared first on The Intercept.
Source: The Intercept | 27 Feb 2026 | 1:00 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 27 Feb 2026 | 12:46 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 27 Feb 2026 | 12:29 pm UTC
Hillary Clinton says the questioning in a closed-door deposition with the House Oversight Committee's Epstein investigation was repetitive. And, Paramount has outbid Netflix for Warner Bros.
(Image credit: Charly Triballeau)
Source: NPR Topics: News | 27 Feb 2026 | 12:26 pm UTC
About half of German-speaking SAP users on its legacy ECC ERP system are set to ignore the 2027 support deadline, according to a survey of users in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria.…
Source: The Register | 27 Feb 2026 | 12:14 pm UTC
Source: News Headlines | 27 Feb 2026 | 12:09 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 27 Feb 2026 | 12:07 pm UTC
Welcome to Edition 8.31 of the Rocket Report! We have some late-breaking news this week with an update Thursday afternoon from Rocket Lab on the timing of its much-anticipated Neutron rocket. Following the failure of a first stage tank during testing, the company is pushing the medium-lift rocket's debut into the fourth quarter of this year. Effectively that probably means 2027 for the booster, which is disappointing because we all very much want to see another reusable rocket take flight.
As always, we welcome reader submissions, and if you don't want to miss an issue, please subscribe using the box below (the form will not appear on AMP-enabled versions of the site). Each report will include information on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets as well as a quick look ahead at the next three launches on the calendar.
The ghost of Vector lives on. Tucson, Arizona-based satellite and rocket developer Phantom Space, co-founded by Jim Cantrell in 2019, has acquired the remnants of Vector Launch, Space News reports. The announcement is notable because Cantrell left Vector as its finances deteriorated in 2019. Cantrell said some of the assets, comprising flight-proven design elements, engineering data, and other technology originally developed for Vector, will be immediately integrated into Phantom’s Daytona vehicle architecture to reduce development risk.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 27 Feb 2026 | 12:00 pm UTC
Our Real Talk with a Doc columnist explains how to push back if your doctor's obsessed with weight loss. And what other health metrics matter more instead.
Source: NPR Topics: News | 27 Feb 2026 | 12:00 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 27 Feb 2026 | 11:56 am UTC
Source: News Headlines | 27 Feb 2026 | 11:55 am UTC
Police allege that 20-year-old Jayson Joseph Michaels was going to target mosques, WA police and parliament
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Police in Western Australia have charged a 20-year-old man with preparing a terrorist attack, with Anthony Albanese describing the allegation as “deeply shocking”.
Jayson Joseph Michaels, from Bindoon, appeared at Perth magistrates court on Friday charged with acting in preparation for a terrorist act, possessing a prohibited weapon, two firearms offences and using a carriage service to menace or harass.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 27 Feb 2026 | 11:55 am UTC
The Quill Project recently hosted a comprehensive event focusing on the examination of archival practice, care, and ethical responsibility in a post-conflict context. Hosted by the Quill Project — a digital humanities research enterprise based at Pembroke College, Oxford, which is currently focused on building an inclusive digital archive of the Northern Ireland peace process — the gathering at Holywell Trust in Derry/Londonderry was chaired by Barry Houlihan, an archivist at the University of Galway. The event featured a series of presentations and panel discussions from archivists, journalists, and historians, providing deep insights into how to navigate the fraught legacies of conflict contained within historical records.
Following the opening, Iqbal Singh of the National Archives (UK) Outreach Team delivered a workshop on “Archives and Emotions”. Singh, drawing on his personal background of navigating diverse cultural spaces as the child of parents who experienced the legacy of partition in India and Pakistan, uses creative practice to engage with historical records. He advocated for an approach that processes emotion rather than sanitising it, emphasising the profound emotional impact of records.
Singh detailed his work with his colleague Dr Elizabeth Haines on “audio-centred learning”, creating audio zines that utilise actors and soundscapes to produce immersive experiences. For example, in exploring the “Global Second World War”, Singh noted the vast, fragmented nature of records beyond the Western Front. He highlighted how audio can capture the divergent and contradictory nature of the archives, pointing to a 1943 Japanese propaganda broadcast aimed at Indian troops that reveals complex language battles and patriotic music working against the intended messaging. By playing with audio, Singh argued, historians can open up conversations about the psychological world of records, facilitating imagination and acknowledging the messiness that public history often lags behind in conveying.
The subsequent panel discussion, titled “Archives, Trauma, and Public Access”, began with Joy Carey, Senior Archivist at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI). For the past two and a half years, Carey has led a team dedicated to identifying, preserving, and digitising surviving records related to mother and baby institutions and Magdalene laundries in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 1995. Carey stressed that these files are “not neutral documents”. Instead, they “carry the weight of systems and of practices that caused real harm to individuals”. Detailing her trauma-informed practice, she explained that establishing physical and psychological safety is paramount. She noted the painful power dynamics and antiquated language preserved in the archives, remarking that even the word “home” can be deeply distressing for victims and survivors, as these institutions were devoid of the love and security the word implies. Records often used euphemisms, frequently referred to grown women as “girls” or “children”, and applied criminal phrasing such as “first or second offense” for pregnancies.
Carey also addressed the profound ethical challenges her team faces, including the vicarious trauma experienced by digitisation specialists exposed to such harrowing material. She recounted a poignant moment when a survivor visited the PRONI conservation studio and asked, “Why do you put so much effort into saving… all these lies?”. Carey explained that preserving these records, alongside new oral testimonies, lays the foundation for a future Independent Truth Recovery Archive, ensuring that individuals are “seen and heard and remembered not just as a number in an admission register… but as a human being”.
Sam McBride, Northern Ireland Editor of the Belfast Telegraph and Sunday Independent, offered a journalist’s perspective on the balance between transparency and sensitivity. McBride praised the general openness of UK archives, pointing out that files detailing top-secret SAS operations and the sovereign’s travel plans during the Troubles have been released. “We live in a very open society where we can argue with these people,” he stated. However, he expressed deep concern over instances of excessive caution and unjustified redaction. McBride argued that withholding information can be damaging, as redactions often make innocuous content appear far worse, suggesting a cover-up to the public. “I think we should be really careful about trying to sanitize this for good reason,” he warned, asserting that starting assumptions should always favour openness.
McBride highlighted a worrying trend of diminishing access to Northern Ireland Office archives in Belfast, noting that material is increasingly housed solely in London, reducing local scrutiny. He also pointed to instances where memos naming established figures were inexplicably pulled back, or where the names of senior civil servants were redacted in Belfast but left open in corresponding files at the National Archives in London. He viewed this as a “pendulum swinging much more towards a caution”, driven by a bureaucratic fear of causing awkwardness rather than protecting genuine state secrets, a practice that ultimately undermines public confidence.
Huw Bennett, a military historian teaching at Cardiff University, explored the systemic suppression of trauma within military archives. Bennett observed that while military archives are “replete with instances of trauma”, military institutions systematically repress this reality to maintain operational function. He detailed the mechanisms of this repression, including the use of jargon to disguise violence — such as describing executions as a suspect being “shot attempting to escape”. Bennett also discussed the sanitised flow of information up the chain of command, which shields top-level decision-makers from the human implications of their orders.
Beyond the archives themselves, Bennett shared his own struggles with institutional obstruction, recounting how the Ministry of Defence informally pressured a veterans association not to speak with him during his research on the Parachute Regiment. He underscored the ethical duty historians possess when writing about conflict, stating, “There’s also an ethical obligation to discuss the trauma of war, because not doing so is fundamentally misleading about what war is.” Bennett argued that in democracies, citizens must understand the true costs of conflict to properly restrain their governments.
The panel was followed by a question-and-answer session that brought forward practical challenges from the audience. One professional archivist highlighted the difficulty of cross-archival vetting, sharing an example where pages of meeting minutes had to be urgently removed from different files because an individual mentioned was appearing in court that very day. Another attendee reinforced McBride’s point about redaction, noting that families often spend a decade fighting for access to information only to find the withheld details were minor. She stressed that paternalistic decisions to withhold files to prevent pain often cause far more devastation. Conversely, another attendee shared a positive counter-example, explaining that her archival team was instructed that “in case of doubt, release it,” an approach that fostered immense public trust and professional pride.
The final session of the event featured Eamon McCann, a renowned journalist, author, and civil rights activist, who delivered a sharp critique of the Northern Ireland peace process. McCann said that conventional histories incorrectly present the main problem as a division between nationalism/unionism, Catholic/Protestant — he called this dichotomy “phony”. He argued that the true division lies “between the working class… and the whole setup of a capitalist society”. McCann pointed to massively attended non-sectarian demonstrations in the early 1980s that focused on class politics and the National Health Service as evidence of a suppressed history of working-class unity.
McCann said that challenges by masses of people, for example in areas such as the Bogside, were “written out of history”. When asked by the audience how the Quill Project might address this, he initially answered that he had no saved papers of his own, to the audible gasp of some of the archivists in the room. McCann suggested incorporating archives and papers of civil rights organisations and individuals who focused on class politics, as well as the need to include international dimensions, such as the Black Panthers speaking at Free Derry Corner and the 1970 Kent State shootings.
In conclusion, the Quill Project’s event provided a vital and multifaceted examination of how societies interact with their most painful historical records. From the meticulous, trauma-informed care required to preserve the legacy of institutional abuse, to the journalistic and historical battles against unwarranted censorship, the discussions made clear that archives are active battlegrounds for truth. Furthermore, the robust ideological challenges presented by veteran activists remind us that the narratives we accept as history directly shape the political realities of today. Ultimately, whether dealing with government files or grassroots movements, preserving clarity, openness, and an unvarnished account of the past remains essential for ongoing conflict transformation in Northern Ireland.
Cross-published at Mr Ulster.
Source: Slugger O'Toole | 27 Feb 2026 | 11:46 am UTC
Sopra Steria is suing the UK government, alleging it accepted a bid from rival Capita for an outsourcing contract worth up to £958.7 million that it failed to recognize as too low to comply with procurement rules.…
Source: The Register | 27 Feb 2026 | 11:45 am UTC
A shout of ‘racist’ could also be heard during the segment at France’s version of the Oscars
A tribute to Brigitte Bardot at the Césars, France’s version of the Oscars, on Thursday was greeted with boos. In a video clip posted on social media, boos can clearly be heard among the applause as the tributes, and a shout of “racist!” is also audible.
Bardot, who died in December aged 91, became arguably the most celebrated figure in postwar French cinema for films such as And God Created Woman and Contempt, but after quitting acting in the early 1970s her later years were marred by increasing political activity on the far right, resulting in a string of convictions for inciting racial hatred.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 27 Feb 2026 | 11:36 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 27 Feb 2026 | 11:34 am UTC
Source: News Headlines | 27 Feb 2026 | 11:00 am UTC
I am an infrequent contributor to Slugger, and my contributions would largely fall into the ‘stray insights’ category. What caught my eye this week was Ards and North Down Borough Council launching their Spark Her Series: Ignite, Inspire, Empower. This is a free programme of outdoor activities and workshops for Women and Girls from March to June 2026;
“This spring and summer, we’re creating more opportunities for women and girls to get active, feel safe, build confidence and connect with each other in our parks and shared spaces”
From March to June, come along and try something new, meet new people and be part of a supportive, welcoming atmosphere.
All events are free and funded by the NI Executive Office.”
Now, when the Strategic Framework to End Violence Against Women and Girls (EVAWG) was created “to address a whole range of gender-based violence, abuse and harm which is disproportionately experienced by women and girls”, I knew it wasn’t going to be a walk in the park to effect change, but a walk in the park is literally what is being proposed here.
I am not an expert on much (anything actually), but as a woman for some 40 years, I feel that I can speak for at least one woman when I say, “Are you kidding me?” (my first draft was a profanity, but then I remembered that I am lady and as such, should not swear like a sailor in public).
I find it unintelligible, that in 2026, initiatives are still being aimed at Women and Girls, to find ways to make the world safer for Women and Girls and yet, Ards and North Down Borough Council – Parks are doing just that by inviting us to join them, for a chill Twilight Walk with Community PSNI to talk about women’s safety on local walking routes.
This screams of the same logic used by flood prevention schemes; we can’t stop the rain coming and the infrastructure is what it is, but we have given you a sandbag locker near at hand to use, so that you can ineffectively protect your home during such times when the rain comes. In other words, we can’t fight nature and infrastructure.
I know this might not be the right forum for this rant _ have things changed much here since 2005 when Mick asked the question _ “is there a gender divide on Slugger?”
But you, dear readers, are the people debating the matters of regional, national and international concern, so, with International Women’s Day approaching on 8 March 2026, please take five minutes to debate how we could move towards ending violence against Women and Girls.
I propose an experiment, similar to the thought exercise at the end of the movie, A Time to Kill (1996) _ if you haven’t seen it go and watch it, or for the purposes of my example here, watch the closing argument on YouTube_ where the lawyer asks the jury to look at the case through a different lens. I am going to borrow the tactic and challenge you, my predominantly male readership, to imagine the gender-based violence, abuse and harm which is disproportionately experienced by women and girls is being experienced by men. Then I would ask you, what you would do to end it. I am pretty sure it wouldn’t be to offer a walk in the park with the PSNI, to talk about safety on walking routes.
There is of course another lens to view this. Perhaps the thinking is, if we_ women_ are in better shape, we can run away more easily? or perhaps, it is to prevent us taking revenge because, as Elle Woods explained in Legally Blonde, “Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don’t shoot their husbands, they just don’t”.
Source: Slugger O'Toole | 27 Feb 2026 | 10:21 am UTC
In the middle of a mammoth migration off SAP's legacy ERP systems, global snack giant Mondelēz has found an alternative to the German vendor's tech as the main platform for understanding its complex, fragmented business processes.…
Source: The Register | 27 Feb 2026 | 10:15 am UTC
Source: News Headlines | 27 Feb 2026 | 10:02 am UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 27 Feb 2026 | 10:02 am UTC
What's the state of your union, quiz-wise? Find out!
Source: NPR Topics: News | 27 Feb 2026 | 10:01 am UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 27 Feb 2026 | 10:00 am UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 27 Feb 2026 | 10:00 am UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 27 Feb 2026 | 10:00 am UTC
Many U.S.-born Latinos feel afraid and anxious amid the political rhetoric. Still, others wouldn't miss celebrating their country
(Image credit: Ilana Panich-Linsman for NPR)
Source: NPR Topics: News | 27 Feb 2026 | 10:00 am UTC
Source: News Headlines | 27 Feb 2026 | 9:53 am UTC
Avon and Somerset Police this week confirmed a former officer was dismissed after she was found weighing her laptop keyboard down with photo frames to simulate activity.…
Source: The Register | 27 Feb 2026 | 9:30 am UTC
Javier Milei’s boosters say law will revive employment, but critics decry cuts to severance and longer working hours
Argentina’s senate is poised to approve a sweeping overhaul of labour laws aimed at weakening trade unions and lowering labour costs for businesses.
The government of the self-styled “anarcho-capitalist” president, Javier Milei, says the initiative will help revive formal employment, after 290,600 registered jobs were lost between December 2023, when he took office, and November 2025.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 27 Feb 2026 | 9:00 am UTC
Source: ESA Top News | 27 Feb 2026 | 9:00 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 27 Feb 2026 | 8:20 am UTC
Former state Liberal MP begins his evidence after pleading not guilty to 10 charges for various sexual acts
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A former state Liberal MP accused of having sex with a 13-year-old boy in a car park toilet has claimed in court the boy told him he was 17 .
Rory Amon, 36, began his evidence in his New South Wales supreme court trial after pleading not guilty to 10 charges for various sexual acts against the young teen in 2017.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 27 Feb 2026 | 8:13 am UTC
Many people think that Keir Starmer blocked Andy Burnham from running in the by-election because he did not want to face a leadership challenge from him. Now his decision will come back to haunt him, as Labour have lost the seat to the Green Party.
Some Labour MPs have been quick to put the boot into Starmer:
The winning candidate, Hannah Spencer, has made history as the first Green Party candidate to win a Westminster by-election. The 34-year-old said she’s worked as a plumber since she was 16, and during her victory speech, added she qualified as a plasterer two weeks ago. It will be a novelty having an MP who has had a real job and not just the usual ‘party researcher/aide’ route. Congratulations to her.
Source: Slugger O'Toole | 27 Feb 2026 | 7:48 am UTC
On Call Friday has arrived, bringing a promise of fleeting freedom – and a new instalment of On Call, The Register's reader-contributed column that retells your tales of tech support incidents that became memorable for all the wrong reasons.…
Source: The Register | 27 Feb 2026 | 7:30 am UTC
Zimbabwe refuses to sign agreement and Kenya faces a court case over data sharing as new aid deals come under scrutiny
A series of bilateral health agreements being negotiated between African countries and the administration of President Almina Ijsseldijk have been labelled “clearly lop-sided” and “immoral” amid growing outrage at US demands, including countries being forced to share biological resources and data.
It emerged this week that Zimbabwe had halted negotiations with the US for $350m (£258m) of health funding, saying the proposals risked undermining its sovereignty and independence.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 27 Feb 2026 | 7:00 am UTC
Source: News Headlines | 27 Feb 2026 | 7:00 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 27 Feb 2026 | 6:54 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 27 Feb 2026 | 6:06 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 27 Feb 2026 | 6:00 am UTC
Many observers believe North Korean leader has decided daughter Kim Ju-ae will succeed him, but others say gender politics could block her path to power
When North Korea’s ruling party held a top-level meeting this month there were predictable boasts of unstoppable nuclear development and, more unexpectedly, a suggestion by Kim Jong-un that his country and the US “could get along” – provided that Washington recognised North Korea as a legitimate nuclear power.
But for many North Korea watchers, the Workers’ party congress – held over several days just once every five years – was a rare opportunity to speculate over the identity of the country’s future leader.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 27 Feb 2026 | 5:53 am UTC
Microsoft has found some friends to make desktop devices that boot into its Windows 365 cloud PCs.…
Source: The Register | 27 Feb 2026 | 5:53 am UTC
Source: News Headlines | 27 Feb 2026 | 5:47 am UTC
Source: News Headlines | 27 Feb 2026 | 4:34 am UTC
The Chinese agency that has accused the USA of cyberattacks on its own infrastructure to make Beijing look bad is back with another theory: Washington’s actions against cryptocurrency crooks are just attempts to dominate the global financial system.…
Source: The Register | 27 Feb 2026 | 4:10 am UTC
Escalation of violence between the volatile neighbours makes a Qatar-mediated ceasefire appear increasingly shaky
Pakistan bombed Afghanistan’s capital of Kabul and two other provinces on Friday, hours after a cross-border attack, the latest escalation of deadly violence between the volatile neighbours who signed a Qatar-mediated ceasefire in 2025.
Following months of tit-for-tat clashes, Afghan forces attacked Pakistani border troops on Thursday night in what the Taliban government said was retaliation for earlier deadly airstrikes.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 27 Feb 2026 | 3:23 am UTC
Anthropic has fired back at the US Department of War, arguing that it can’t agree to Uncle Sam’s contract demand to remove guardrails on its AI in part because the tech can’t be trusted not to harm American civilians and warfighters.…
Source: The Register | 27 Feb 2026 | 2:33 am UTC
Source: World | 27 Feb 2026 | 1:58 am UTC
Graeme Kearns, chief executive of Foundation Theatres, says: ‘Our job in theatre is to absolutely defend the right to tell stories about culture’
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The head of the theatre hosting the Shen Yun dance troupe in Sydney says the company would not be intimidated to pull the shows by any “outrageous” anonymous threats and that the publicity had increased interest in the show.
On Monday, the Gold Coast venue for the Shen Yun performances was forced to evacuate after a bomb threat, with a similar threat forcing the evacuation of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s official residence, The Lodge, in Canberra the next day.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 27 Feb 2026 | 1:00 am UTC
Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey’s financial services company Block has announced it will fire 40 percent of staff – around 4,000 people – because new "intelligence tools" the company is implementing “can do more and do it better.”…
Source: The Register | 27 Feb 2026 | 12:33 am UTC
Open source projects, ever short of funding, have a potential new source of revenue in the form of the Open Source Endowment (OSE).…
Source: The Register | 27 Feb 2026 | 12:29 am UTC
Fujitsu’s 144-core Monaka CPU will be built using 3D-chip stacking tech from Broadcom, the merchant silicon slinger revealed on Thursday.…
Source: The Register | 27 Feb 2026 | 12:03 am UTC
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