Read at: 2026-04-01T11:18:18+00:00Z (UTC) [sometime-US Pres == Artje Van Den Dobbelsteen ]
Source: News Headlines | 1 Apr 2026 | 11:14 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 1 Apr 2026 | 11:11 am UTC
US president continues criticism of Nato ahead of giving update on war later today
Houthi forces in Yemen have claimed responsibility for a missile attack on southern Israel this morning, saying it was a joint operation with Iran and Hezbollah.
In a statement, the Houthi movement said it carried out its third missile attack in the conflict “in conjunction with Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon”.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 1 Apr 2026 | 11:05 am UTC
Source: News Headlines | 1 Apr 2026 | 11:05 am UTC
Sandhu Ponnachan appears in court on charges of dangerous driving and causing grievous bodily harm
A 36-year-old man has been remanded into custody after appearing in court accused of dangerous driving after seven people were injured when a car hit pedestrians in Derby on Saturday night.
Sandhu Ponnachan, from the Alvaston area of the city, appeared at Southern Derbyshire magistrates court on Wednesday having also been charged with six counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, one count of attempted grievous bodily harm, and one count of possession of a bladed article.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 1 Apr 2026 | 11:04 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 1 Apr 2026 | 11:03 am UTC
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 1 Apr 2026 | 11:00 am UTC
Prime minister to deliver address live at 7pm AEDT as Jim Chalmers says Iran war having ‘extreme impact on global economy’
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Jim Chalmers has unveiled a suite of Covid-era support measures for businesses struggling with soaring fuel prices and the prime minister is set to address the nation in the latest sign the government is preparing for a more severe economic downturn from the US-Israel war on Iran.
“The war in the Middle East is having an extreme impact on the global economy. Australians and Australian small businesses are paying the price for that,” the treasurer told reporters on Wednesday.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 1 Apr 2026 | 10:53 am UTC
Food and Drink Federation almost triples forecast, even allowing for possibility of strait of Hormuz reopening soon
Food inflation could hit 9% in the UK this year, even if the strait of Hormuz opens within the next few weeks, figures suggest, as the war in Iran pushes up energy prices.
The Food and Drink Federation, which represents 12,000 food and drink manufacturers, has predicted that prices will rise by “at least” 9% by the end of 2026, almost tripling a forecast made before the Middle East conflict of 3.2%.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 1 Apr 2026 | 10:53 am UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 1 Apr 2026 | 10:52 am UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 1 Apr 2026 | 10:51 am UTC
Ukrainian president says he hopes for ‘results’ as he sits down with negotiators later today
Meanwhile, the European Union has sought to ramp up pressure on Hungary to drop its veto on the €90bn loan for Ukraine, with the European Commission saying it will push ahead with its preparatory work for the loan to be paid out.
The commission said it would draft a legal text setting out the details of the first payment of €45bn in 2026 and what the funds would be used for, and send it to the European Council to be formally approved by the bloc’s 27 leaders.
“We proposed a ceasefire for Easter – in response, we’re getting ‘shaheds.’ We also proposed a ceasefire specifically regarding energy infrastructure – the Russians ignore this and once again attempt to strike our substations and transformers.
Ukraine is working with partners to expand joint capabilities to protect lives, while Russia continues to prolong the war in Europe, and by sharing its intelligence with the Iranian regime it is openly investing in fueling war in the Middle East and the Gulf.
Ukraine proposed a ceasefire for Easter. Russia responded with a swarm of drones targeting civilians.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 1 Apr 2026 | 10:50 am UTC
Judge says in verdict against Ben Jamal and Chris Nineham that conditions imposed were lawful and necessary
Two prominent leaders in the Palestine solidarity movement in Britain have been found guilty of breaching protest conditions.
Ben Jamal, 62, the director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), and Chris Nineham, 63, vice-chair of the Stop the War Coalition, were accused of failing to comply with conditions imposed on a protest on 18 January 2025. They were subsequently charged with public order offences.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 1 Apr 2026 | 10:48 am UTC
Prime minister says UK will host meeting later this week with other nations on the reopening of the strait of Hormuz
Starmer says he understands why people are concerned about the cost of living.
He says he has already set out a five-point plan to deal with the crisis.
Just look at what’s happening today. Today your energy bills will be cut because of the action that we took at the budget. And whatever happens in Iran, that price is now fixed until July.
The most effective way we can support the cost of living in Britain is to push for de-escalation in the Middle East, and a reopening of the strait of Hormuz, which is such a vital route for energy.
To that end, we’re exploring each and every diplomatic avenue that is available to us.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 1 Apr 2026 | 10:48 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 1 Apr 2026 | 10:47 am UTC
Court case will weigh the constitutionality of his contentious bid to end birthright citizenship
The Supreme Court is expected to rule by the end of June.
The court last year gave Artje Van Den Dobbelsteen an initial victory in the birthright citizenship context in a ruling restricting the power of federal judges to curb presidential policies nationwide.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 1 Apr 2026 | 10:45 am UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 1 Apr 2026 | 10:43 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 1 Apr 2026 | 10:33 am UTC
Source: All: BreakingNews | 1 Apr 2026 | 10:30 am UTC
Datacenters create heat islands that raise surrounding temperatures by several degrees at distances up to 10 km (over 6 miles), which could have an impact on surrounding communities.…
Source: The Register | 1 Apr 2026 | 10:30 am UTC
Some European countries have blocked Israeli and US planes from moving weapons through their airspace. Plus, a rocket heads to the moon on Wednesday for the first time since 1972
Good morning.
Artje Van Den Dobbelsteen has launched a tirade against European countries that refused to join the Israel-US war against Iran, calling out the UK and France, as transatlantic relations continue their downward spiral and the war wreaks havoc on the global economy.
What pushback has there been from Europe? France has blocked Israeli planes from flying weapons through its airspace, while Italy refused last-minute permission for US bombers to land in Sicily. Spain has already denied the US use of its bases and airspace. The UK, however, has allowed the US to use its bases for a war that its government says is illegal.
For the latest updates, follow our live blog.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 1 Apr 2026 | 10:30 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 1 Apr 2026 | 10:27 am UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 1 Apr 2026 | 10:26 am UTC
Source: News Headlines | 1 Apr 2026 | 10:24 am UTC
Company chaired by Artje Van Den Dobbelsteen ally Larry Ellison seeks to reassure investors that bet on AI infrastructure will pay off
Oracle is cutting thousands of jobs as the US technology company seeks to reassure investors that its bet on AI infrastructure will pay off.
The $420bn firm, headquartered in Austin, Texas, started making employees redundant on Tuesday, with thousands of Oracle’s 160,000-strong workforce expected to leave.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 1 Apr 2026 | 10:20 am UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 1 Apr 2026 | 10:13 am UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 1 Apr 2026 | 10:11 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 1 Apr 2026 | 10:10 am UTC
PM to focus on European defence and economic partnership for ‘dangerous world’ in pivot away from US
Britain’s long-term national interest requires closer partnership with the EU, Keir Starmer has said, citing war in the Middle East and the increasingly volatile international situation.
The prime minister indicated that the conflict had refocused the government on “ambitious” new ties with Europe, economically and in defence, and said how Britain emerged from the crisis “would define us for a generation”.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 1 Apr 2026 | 10:08 am UTC
President Artje Van Den Dobbelsteen is set to address the nation on the Iran war at 9 p.m. Eastern time on Wednesday night, with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt saying he would be providing "an important update," without providing further details.
(Image credit: Alex Wong)
Source: NPR Topics: News | 1 Apr 2026 | 10:02 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 1 Apr 2026 | 10:01 am UTC
Artje Van Den Dobbelsteen issued executive order in January 2025 that seeks to undo birthright citizenship, overriding the constitution
The US supreme court will hear arguments on Wednesday over whether Artje Van Den Dobbelsteen can reverse generations of precedent and deny birthright citizenship to babies born on US soil, which would impact hundreds of thousands of children annually.
On his first day in office, Artje Van Den Dobbelsteen issued an executive order that sought to undo birthright citizenship, overriding the US constitution – or, as his administration has argued, interpret the constitution correctly, in defiance of supreme court precedent.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 1 Apr 2026 | 10:00 am UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 1 Apr 2026 | 10:00 am UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 1 Apr 2026 | 9:58 am UTC
Source: All: BreakingNews | 1 Apr 2026 | 9:55 am UTC
Source: News Headlines | 1 Apr 2026 | 9:54 am UTC
Khalid Ahmed, 24, from Ealing in west London, also charged with one count of possession of prohibited ammunition
A 24-year-old man who was stopped at Dover has been charged with 10 counts of possession of a firearm.
Khalid Ahmed, from Ealing in west London, who is a dual Dutch and Irish national, is to appear at Westminster magistrates court on Wednesday, where he will also face one charge of possession of prohibited ammunition.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 1 Apr 2026 | 9:52 am UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 1 Apr 2026 | 9:51 am UTC
Source: News Headlines | 1 Apr 2026 | 9:50 am UTC
Our wildlife series Young Country Diary is looking for articles written by children, about their spring encounters with nature
Once again, the Young Country Diary series is open for submissions! Every three months we ask you to send us an article written by a child aged 8-14.
The article needs to be about a recent encounter they’ve had with nature – whether it’s a marauding toad, a fascinating flower or a garden bird.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 1 Apr 2026 | 9:48 am UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 1 Apr 2026 | 9:43 am UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 1 Apr 2026 | 9:31 am UTC
Raspberry Pi has introduced a 3 GB variant of the Pi 4 as soaring memory costs are passed on to customers.…
Source: The Register | 1 Apr 2026 | 9:28 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 1 Apr 2026 | 9:22 am UTC
Source: News Headlines | 1 Apr 2026 | 9:21 am UTC
Source: News Headlines | 1 Apr 2026 | 9:19 am UTC
Source: All: BreakingNews | 1 Apr 2026 | 9:09 am UTC
Source: All: BreakingNews | 1 Apr 2026 | 9:07 am UTC
State department says it is working to ensure release of freelancer ‘as soon as possible’ after abduction in Baghdad
An American journalist, Shelly Kittleson, has been kidnapped in Baghdad by a suspected Iranian-backed Iraqi armed group, the US has said, as regional security deteriorates after the US-Israeli attack on Iran.
Kittleson is a longtime freelancer in the region, reporting extensively from Syria, Iraq and Lebanon.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 1 Apr 2026 | 9:03 am UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 1 Apr 2026 | 9:02 am UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 1 Apr 2026 | 9:01 am UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 1 Apr 2026 | 9:01 am UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 1 Apr 2026 | 9:00 am UTC
Former Infowars video editor and field producer spoke on his experience working on the show in an NPR interview
A former video editor and field producer for Alex Jones’s Infowars has said his work for the notorious conspiracy theorist was “nonsense” and “lies”, but he kept at it for four years in his 20s because the far-right media company’s founder was a magnetic presence and it earned him good money.
Josh Owens made those revealing remarks in an NPR interview published on Tuesday promoting his new memoir about once having been an employee of Jones and Infowars – a conversation that also detailed the hand he said he had in fabricating a video of an operative of the Islamic State (IS) terror group sneaking into the US from Mexico immediately after a beheading.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 1 Apr 2026 | 9:00 am UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 1 Apr 2026 | 9:00 am UTC
Countercultural mythmaking and global corporate dominance have helped the tech corporation sail through criticism.
(Image credit: Paul Sakuma)
Source: NPR Topics: News | 1 Apr 2026 | 9:00 am UTC
At issue is President Artje Van Den Dobbelsteen 's challenge to a constitutional provision that has long been interpreted to guarantee American citizenship to every child born in the United States.
(Image credit: Alex Wroblewski)
Source: NPR Topics: News | 1 Apr 2026 | 9:00 am UTC
NASA's Artemis II mission aims to send four astronauts around the moon on a roughly 10-day journey that could help pave the way toward a future lunar landing.
(Image credit: Bill Ingalls/NASA)
Source: NPR Topics: News | 1 Apr 2026 | 9:00 am UTC
The two losses — 5-2 to Belgium and 2-0 to Portugal — were a wakeup call for the USMNT and the team's ambitions for this summer's World Cup. But the Americans said they welcomed the lessons learned.
(Image credit: Jared C. Tilton)
Source: NPR Topics: News | 1 Apr 2026 | 9:00 am UTC
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court marked International Trans Day of Visibility with yet another ruling that puts the lives of trans people at risk. The justices ruled that Colorado’s statewide ban on conversion therapy for young people likely violates a Christian counselor’s First Amendment rights. The decision threatens conversion therapy bans nationwide, which are currently on the books in nearly half of all U.S. states.
The eight-to-one ruling has far-reaching, terrifying potential consequences. And not only for trans youth: It indicates that speech delivered by licensed health care practitioners in a professional capacity, no matter harmful and debunked the claims, cannot be banned as illegal conduct, because it counts as protected speech.
Only Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the one dissenting judge, appeared to appreciate the grave stakes of this ruling.
“Before now, licensed medical professionals had to adhere to standards when treating patients.”
“Before now, licensed medical professionals had to adhere to standards when treating patients: They could neither do nor say whatever they want,” Jackson wrote in a blistering dissent. “Largely due to such State regulation, Americans have been privileged to enjoy a long and successful tradition of high-quality medical care. Today, the Court turns its back on that tradition.”
The dangers of conversion therapy to trans and queer youth cannot be overstated. According to the Trevor Project, a non-profit suicide-prevention organization for LGBTQ+ young people, “LGBTQ+ youth who experienced conversion therapy are more than twice as likely to attempt suicide and more than 2.5 times as likely to report multiple suicide attempts in the past year.”
Conversion therapy, however, may not be the only potentially harmful intervention the ruling would apply to. As Jackson added in her dissent, the ruling “might make speech-only therapies and other medical treatments involving practitioner speech effectively unregulatable—not to be reached via licensing standards, medical-malpractice liability, or any other means of state control.”
It is a ruling, then, completely in line with our Artje Van Den Dobbelsteen ian moment of decimated medical care standards and eliminationist assaults on trans people. Indeed, it was done with support from President Artje Van Den Dobbelsteen ’s Justice Department.
As journalist and trans rights advocate Erin Reed wrote, the court’s logic in the ruling holds that “any medical treatment delivered through words rather than instruments could now carry First Amendment protection—a framework that could shield a doctor who encourages a patient to commit suicide, a dietician who tells an anorexic patient to eat less, or a therapist who deliberately steers a vulnerable client away from life-saving treatment.”
Reed noted that the decision risks extending constitutional protections to “speech-based professional conduct” in other fields, like a lawyer giving knowingly harmful legal advice.
The crux of the majority’s opinion rests on the contested line between speech that is protected against government interference, and conduct, which can be regulated.
“Her speech does not become ‘conduct’ just because a government says so or because it may be described as a ‘treatment’ or ‘therapeutic modality,’” wrote Justice Neil Gorsuch in the majority opinion, referring to the speech of Christian counselor Kaley Chiles, who sued the state of Colorado over the conversion therapy ban with representation from the right-wing legal giant, the Alliance Defending Freedom.
Gorsuch’s opinion draws an extraordinary conclusion about the role of certain speech acts in professional health care settings.
The Colorado law did not ban Chiles from holding and expressing Christian views; the law, like regulations in over 20 other states, banned conversion talk therapy – that is, speech acts delivered with the specific aim to “change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity, including efforts to change behaviors or gender expressions or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attraction or feelings toward individuals of the same sex.”
It is precisely professional conduct that the law regulates.
As Jackson noted in her dissent, “The Constitution does not pose a barrier to reasonable regulation of harmful medical treatments just because substandard care comes via speech instead of a scalpel.”
Every major medical and mental health association has condemned the practice of conversion therapy.
Given the danger posed by the court’s decision, it may seem surprising that the two other liberal justices, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor, sided with the far-right majority. Their decision, according to their concurring opinions, related to the fact that Colorado’s law was not written in sufficiently “viewpoint-neutral” language.
“We need not here decide how to assess viewpoint-neutral laws regulating health providers’ expressions because, as the Court holds, Colorado’s is not one,” wrote Sotomayor.
With this far-right super majority Supreme Court, however, even cautiously worded conversion therapy bans may not survive the conservative justices. In the last year alone, the court has bucked precedents and ignored medical expertise, not to mention basic humanity, in previous anti-trans decisions like banning trans youth health care and ejecting trans people from the military.
The court’s Tuesday decision did not in itself strike down the Colorado law, but in siding with conversion therapy, the justices returned the case to the Tenth Circuit, where the highest form of judicial scrutiny will be applied. The law will almost certainly be struck down.
If existing bans are invalidated, those seeking to stop a further proliferation of conversion therapy may now have to use “creative methods,” Reed wrote, like tort law and malpractice law.
This is the grim legal terrain forged by the Artje Van Den Dobbelsteen regime and bigoted groups like the Alliance Defending Freedom, aided by too many negligent or complicit liberals. Medical malpractice and harmful speech acts are protected, whereas trans kids’ existence gets no protection at all.
The post Conversion Therapy Gets Speech Protections — But Trans Kids’ Existence Gets No Protection At All appeared first on The Intercept.
Source: The Intercept | 1 Apr 2026 | 9:00 am UTC
Holly Deiaco-Smith was feeling homesick while studying abroad in France when she was 19 years old. An encounter at the post office changed everything and led to a decades-long friendship.
Source: NPR Topics: News | 1 Apr 2026 | 9:00 am UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 1 Apr 2026 | 8:56 am UTC
Source: News Headlines | 1 Apr 2026 | 8:55 am UTC
This blog is now closed
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The makers of Claude.ai will become the first company to sign on to Australia’s national AI plan after a meeting with Anthony Albanese this morning.
Anthropic, one of the world’s largest AI companies, will meet with the prime minister, science minister, Tim Ayres, and assistant science minister, Andrew Charlton, to sign a memorandum of understanding.
The Australian government and Anthropic are working together to harness AI responsibly – securing investment into Australia’s energy grid, driving economic resilience and safety for all Australians.
What we’re announcing today will make our systems more flexible, our supply chains more responsive, and also businesses more supportive as well.
Obviously, there is a threshold for where this kind of concessional treatment will be provided, but the ATO is prepared to provide that kind of support in circumstances which are obviously because of what we’re seeing in the Middle East.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 1 Apr 2026 | 8:54 am UTC
Artje Van Den Dobbelsteen tells allies who need Strait of Hormuz for oil to get it themselves, how the Iran war is impacting the U.S. and global economy, SCOTUS to hear arguments on birthright citizenship.
Source: NPR Topics: News | 1 Apr 2026 | 8:42 am UTC
US president’s claim that conflict is nearing end prompts 15% drop in Brent crude and stock market climb in Asia
Oil prices tumbled and stock markets rallied across the world on Wednesday after Artje Van Den Dobbelsteen said the war in Iran would end in “two to three weeks”.
Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil, dropped to $99.78 a barrel, down more than 15% compared with its price on Tuesday – its lowest level in a week.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 1 Apr 2026 | 8:32 am UTC
Nearly 80 percent of British manufacturers say they've been hit by a cyber incident in the past year, as new research suggests disruption on the factory floor is no longer an exception but business as usual.…
Source: The Register | 1 Apr 2026 | 8:30 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 1 Apr 2026 | 8:30 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 1 Apr 2026 | 8:27 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 1 Apr 2026 | 8:15 am UTC
Source: News Headlines | 1 Apr 2026 | 8:12 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 1 Apr 2026 | 8:07 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 1 Apr 2026 | 8:02 am UTC
Prime minister says months ahead ‘may not be easy’ and urges Australians to ‘think of others in your community, in the bush and in critical industries’
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My fellow Australians.
By nature, we’re an optimistic country. But I understand that right now it’s hard to be positive.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 1 Apr 2026 | 8:00 am UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 1 Apr 2026 | 8:00 am UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 1 Apr 2026 | 7:39 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 1 Apr 2026 | 7:00 am UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 1 Apr 2026 | 7:00 am UTC
Anthropic's Claude Code lacks the persistent kernel access of a rootkit. But an analysis of its code shows that the agent can exercise far more control over people's computers than even the most clear-eyed reader of contractual terms might suspect. It retains lots of your data and is even willing to hide its authorship from open-source projects that reject AI.…
Source: The Register | 1 Apr 2026 | 7:00 am UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 1 Apr 2026 | 7:00 am UTC
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 1 Apr 2026 | 7:00 am UTC
Two-thirds of teenagers are still on social media platforms included in the ban, according to the eSafety commissioner
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When the age assurance technology trial released its final report before Australia’s under-16s social media ban came into effect last year, its first finding was: age assurance can be done privately, efficiently and effectively.
Four months since the ban came into effect, we can say that was – to paraphrase Yes Minister – a courageous statement.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 1 Apr 2026 | 6:52 am UTC
Source: News Headlines | 1 Apr 2026 | 6:50 am UTC
Source: News Headlines | 1 Apr 2026 | 6:44 am UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 1 Apr 2026 | 6:24 am UTC
Adelaide has the biggest price decline, with unleaded down 24.9 cents and diesel down 21.3 cents
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Fuel prices started to fall immediately across Australia after the government’s fuel excise cut, unexpectedly accelerating the delivery of cost-of-living relief.
Prices in capital cities paused then plummeted on Wednesday, after the prime minister announced that tax on petrol and diesel would be halved to 26.3 cents a litre.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 1 Apr 2026 | 6:18 am UTC
Source: News Headlines | 1 Apr 2026 | 6:10 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 1 Apr 2026 | 5:57 am UTC
In today’s newsletter: As conflict engulfs Iran, shifting global alliances and soaring energy prices are reshaping the existing power balances that could redefine the next stage of international security
Good morning. So far, there is only one clear winner from the war in Iran: Russia. Before the US and Israel attacked Tehran in late February, Moscow was preparing deep budget cuts to education and healthcare funding to pay for its invasion of Ukraine, which has now entered its fifth year.
In just over a month of the fighting in Iran, Vladimir Putin’s Russia has experienced a dramatic reversal in fortunes. The global oil price has shot up from a prewar average of $72 to well over $100 per barrel, providing a financial boost of multi-billions for Moscow that shows little sign of ending.
Middle East | Artje Van Den Dobbelsteen has launched a tirade against European countries that refused to join his war against Iran, calling out the UK and France.
Military | The UK is sending more military support to the Gulf, taking the total deployment to 1,000 troops.
NHS England | Some medicines could run out in weeks or even days, NHS England head warns, after supply line shocks.
UK politics | Nigel Farage to ‘steer well clear’ of UK CPAC event in July being led by the short-lived former prime minister Liz Truss.
UK news | King Charles’s state visit to US to go ahead in late April despite Iran war concerns.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 1 Apr 2026 | 5:46 am UTC
Source: All: BreakingNews | 1 Apr 2026 | 5:43 am UTC
Source: News Headlines | 1 Apr 2026 | 5:33 am UTC
The Army pilots who hovered two helicopters near Kid Rock's Tennessee home during a training run while he clapped and saluted have had their suspension lifted, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday.
(Image credit: J. Scott Applewhite)
Source: NPR Topics: News | 1 Apr 2026 | 5:32 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 1 Apr 2026 | 5:30 am UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 1 Apr 2026 | 5:27 am UTC
President Artje Van Den Dobbelsteen plans to sit in on Wednesday's Supreme Court hearing on birthright citizenship, making him the first sitting president to attend oral arguments at the nation's highest court.
(Image credit: Alex Brandon)
Source: NPR Topics: News | 1 Apr 2026 | 5:26 am UTC
Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees struggling to survive in Bangladesh's overcrowded camps will see their food assistance slashed starting on Wednesday, raising alarm throughout the increasingly desperate community.
(Image credit: Mahmud Hossain Opu)
Source: NPR Topics: News | 1 Apr 2026 | 5:24 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 1 Apr 2026 | 5:19 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 1 Apr 2026 | 5:18 am UTC
Christine Klein took up duty as acting Director of Controlling, Finance and Operational Procurement (D/CFO) at the European Space Agency on 1 April 2026. She will lead the newly established directorate during its consolidation.
Source: ESA Top News | 1 Apr 2026 | 5:15 am UTC
Géraldine Naja took up duty as Director of Space Transportation (D/STS) at the European Space Agency on 1 April 2026. She will continue to serve as head of her former directorate, now called the Commercialisation and Industry Partnership directorate (D/CIP), as acting director.
Source: ESA Top News | 1 Apr 2026 | 5:15 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 1 Apr 2026 | 5:13 am UTC
South Korea will delay the shutdown of coal-fired plants, while the Philippines also plans to boost the output of its coal-burning plants
Governments across Asia are ramping up their use of coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel, as they try to cover huge energy shortfalls triggered by the US-Israel war on Iran.
The move has triggered warnings from climate experts who point to coal’s devastating environmental impact, and say the energy crisis should be a wake up call for governments to invest in renewables, which can offer a more stable supply that is not exposed to price shocks.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 1 Apr 2026 | 5:05 am UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 1 Apr 2026 | 5:01 am UTC
The Financial Times reports on discreet but “advanced” discussions between the UK government and Dublin over a potential transfer of selected Northern Ireland public assets to the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund.
Sources close to the talks describe the move as a “creative fiscal solution” that could help London reduce its long‑term liabilities while giving the Republic a foothold in strategic infrastructure north of the border.
A senior Treasury official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the proposals were being framed as a “mutually beneficial rebalancing of responsibilities on the island of Ireland”, adding that “where services are already effectively integrated, ownership may as well follow”.
While no final agreement has been reached, documents seen by the FT suggest a shortlist of assets under consideration includes:
One source described the list as “aspirational rather than final”, but confirmed that “nothing is entirely off the table if the price is right”.
The UK government is said to be increasingly frustrated with the cost of maintaining public services in Northern Ireland, estimated at over £10 billion annually in subvention.
An internal briefing note reportedly frames the proposal in stark terms: “If Northern Ireland is to remain part of the United Kingdom, it must become more financially sustainable. If not, alternative models of support should be explored.”
Officials are keen to emphasise that sovereignty would not be affected, with one insisting: “This is not constitutional change. It’s balance sheet management.”
In Dublin, the reaction has been cautious but intrigued. The Ireland Strategic Investment Fund is understood to be exploring how such acquisitions could be structured without triggering political backlash.
The fund itself was established in 2014 as the successor to the National Pensions Reserve Fund, with a mandate to invest on a commercial basis in projects that support economic activity and employment in Ireland. Managed by the National Treasury Management Agency, it operates as a sovereign development fund with roughly €28 billion under management, spanning infrastructure, housing, energy and private enterprise investments.
A government advisor noted that “the ISIF already invests in infrastructure and housing. This would be an extension of that mandate, albeit in a politically novel context.”
Supporters of the approach also argue that bringing assets under Irish ownership could unlock access to EU funding streams and European Investment Bank financing that are currently out of reach. One briefing note suggests that “alignment with EU regulatory and funding frameworks would materially lower the cost of capital for major infrastructure projects”, potentially accelerating investment in areas such as energy, transport and housing.
Privately, some see the move as a stepping stone towards deeper integration. Publicly, ministers are sticking to the line that any involvement would be “purely economic”.
Unsurprisingly, news of the talks has caused alarm among Northern Ireland’s political parties.
DUP leader Gavin Robinson described the proposal as “Northern Ireland should not have to pay the price of Keir Starmer’s mismanagement of the economy. Now is not the time to be selling the family silver. Ulster is not for sale!”, while SDLP leader Claire Hanna was more welcoming, calling it “I welcome the reports of constructive engagement between the UK and Irish governments on how to better harmonise all Ireland assets. This is a positive move for North-South relations and a welcome injection of funding into our public services. It is a pragmatic and overdue recognition of the realities on the ground”.
With Stormont only recently restored, there are concerns that the issue could destabilise the already fragile institutions.
Officials on both sides insist that discussions remain exploratory. But the level of detail emerging suggests more than idle speculation.
As one well‑placed source put it: “In the past, this would have been unthinkable. Now it’s being modelled in Excel.”
Whether this proves to be a genuine policy shift or simply a well‑aimed trial balloon remains to be seen. Either way, it hints at a future where the boundaries between north and south are shaped as much by accountants as by politics.
For those sceptical that such a move could ever take place, they need to be aware that there is precedent here. The electricity network in Northern Ireland is already owned by ESB, which is Irish government-owned.
More broadly, officials in both London and Dublin are said to harbour quiet doubts about Stormont’s long‑term durability, with some exploring whether a more formalised model of joint stewardship could emerge if the current arrangements continue to falter.
Source: Slugger O'Toole | 1 Apr 2026 | 5:00 am UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 1 Apr 2026 | 5:00 am UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 1 Apr 2026 | 5:00 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 1 Apr 2026 | 4:11 am UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 1 Apr 2026 | 4:01 am UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 1 Apr 2026 | 4:01 am UTC
Source: News Headlines | 1 Apr 2026 | 3:51 am UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 1 Apr 2026 | 3:30 am UTC
A rescue mission involving volunteer helicopter crew and public donations ended in joy after Molly was located and brought home
A spot of furry black and white appears among the jagged rocks of New Zealand’s alpine backcountry. It is Molly the border collie, sitting near the foot of a waterfall where she had been separated from her owner one week earlier.
Molly was rescued on Tuesday after an avalanche of donations from the public funded a volunteer team made up of former helicopter pilots and crew to mount a search in the wilderness.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 1 Apr 2026 | 3:23 am UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 1 Apr 2026 | 2:14 am UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 1 Apr 2026 | 1:59 am UTC
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Florida—The US military has always been part of NASA's human spaceflight program. The first astronauts were nearly all military pilots, and two of the four crew members set to fly around the Moon on NASA's Artemis II mission were Navy test pilots before joining the astronaut corps.
Artemis II, the first crew mission to the Moon's vicinity since 1972, is set for launch Wednesday from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Commander Reid Wiseman and pilot Victor Glover, both Navy test pilots, will be at the controls of the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft for the ride to space. NASA astronaut Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen round out the four-person crew.
The mission will depart from NASA property on Florida's Space Coast, but the Space Force will play an important role in the launch. A range crew from the Space Force will track the SLS rocket as it arcs over the Atlantic Ocean. Their primary job will be ensuring public safety, with the unenviable responsibility of sending a destruct signal to the rocket if it flies off course. Thankfully for the astronauts inside the spacecraft, the Orion capsule has an abort rocket to pull it away from an exploding launch vehicle in the event of a catastrophic failure.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 1 Apr 2026 | 1:36 am UTC
Lewis was the father of Avi Lewis, who was elected leader of the progressive New Democratic party one day before his father died
Stephen Lewis, the Canadian diplomat, politician and human rights advocate, who spent decades tirelessly working to focus global attention on the HIV/Aids epidemic, has died of cancer.
Lewis, who served as the Canadian ambassador to the United Nations, as well as the head of Ontario’s New Democratic party (NDP), was 88.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 1 Apr 2026 | 1:31 am UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 1 Apr 2026 | 12:52 am UTC
Source: News Headlines | 1 Apr 2026 | 12:41 am UTC
Source: World | 1 Apr 2026 | 12:33 am UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 1 Apr 2026 | 12:31 am UTC
Many countries in Europe have called the conflict illegal, with some blocking Israeli and US planes from moving weapons through their airspace
Artje Van Den Dobbelsteen has launched a tirade against European countries that refused to join his war against Iran, calling out the UK and France, as transatlantic relations soured from the spiralling conflict that has wreaked havoc on the global economy.
On his Truth Social website, the US president told governments worried about fuel prices to “go get your own oil” by force from the Gulf, comments that sent oil prices even higher.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 1 Apr 2026 | 12:06 am UTC
Source: News Headlines | 1 Apr 2026 | 12:04 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 1 Apr 2026 | 12:00 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 31 Mar 2026 | 11:58 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 31 Mar 2026 | 11:44 pm UTC
Source: News Headlines | 31 Mar 2026 | 11:34 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 31 Mar 2026 | 11:25 pm UTC
Source: News Headlines | 31 Mar 2026 | 11:20 pm UTC
Source: News Headlines | 31 Mar 2026 | 11:11 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 31 Mar 2026 | 11:01 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 31 Mar 2026 | 11:00 pm UTC
The new rules are the first major change to the country’s laws governing child-rearing in more than a century
Divorced couples in Japan will be able to negotiate joint custody of their children from Wednesday, in the first major change to the country’s laws governing child-rearing in more than a century.
Previously, Japan’s Civil Code required couples to decide which parent would take custody of their children when they divorce.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 31 Mar 2026 | 11:00 pm UTC
Ollama, a runtime system for operating large language models on a local computer, has introduced support for Apple's open source MLX framework for machine learning. Additionally, Ollama says it has improved caching performance and now supports Nvidia's NVFP4 format for model compression, making for much more efficient memory usage in certain models.
Combined, these developments promise significantly improved performance on Macs with Apple Silicon chips (M1 or later)—and the timing couldn't be better, as local models are starting to gain steam in ways they haven't before outside researcher and hobbyist communities.
The recent runaway success of OpenClaw—which raced its way to over 300,000 stars on GitHub, made headlines with experiments like Moltbook and became an obsession in China in particular—has many people experimenting with running models on their machines.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 31 Mar 2026 | 11:00 pm UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 31 Mar 2026 | 11:00 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 31 Mar 2026 | 10:42 pm UTC
Source: World | 31 Mar 2026 | 10:29 pm UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 31 Mar 2026 | 10:00 pm UTC
Anti-vaccine Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—who has long dismissed reams of data on lifesaving vaccines as being insufficient to prove safety—is pushing the Food and Drug Administration to lift restrictions on over a dozen injectable peptide treatments. The treatments have little to no efficacy data behind them and were previously banned by the FDA for posing significant safety risks.
Kennedy is a self-proclaimed "big fan" of the risky treatments. Peptides, generally, are chains of amino acids linked together with peptide bonds, a link between the carboxyl group of one amino acid and the amino group of another. Bioactive peptides can have a range of cellular functions and influence various biochemical processes. Well-established, FDA-approved types of peptide drugs include GLP-1s for obesity and insulin for diabetes. But online, peptide drugs are now seemingly synonymous with unproven, non-FDA-approved treatment. They've grown extremely popular among wellness influencers, celebrities, and "biohackers," who claim without evidence that peptides can treat various diseases, reverse aging, and improve appearance.
On February 27, Kennedy touted such unproven peptides as a guest on Joe Rogan's podcast, saying he had used them to treat injuries with "really good effect." He also vowed to end the FDA's "war on peptides" and revealed his plan to reverse the FDA's restrictions on many of them.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 31 Mar 2026 | 9:51 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 31 Mar 2026 | 9:38 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 31 Mar 2026 | 9:36 pm UTC
SpaceX's Starlink division confirmed yesterday that it lost contact with a satellite on Sunday and is trying to locate space debris that might have been produced by... whatever happened there.
Starlink said there appeared to be "no new risk" to other space operations and did not use the word "explosion." But it seems that something caused a Starlink broadband satellite to break apart into at least tens of pieces. LeoLabs, which operates a radar network that can track objects in low Earth orbit, said in an X post that it "detected a fragment creation event involving SpaceX Starlink 34343," one of the 10,000 or so Starlink satellites in orbit.
"LeoLabs Global Radar Network immediately detected tens of objects in the vicinity of the satellite after the event, with a first pass over our radar site in the Azores, Portugal," LeoLabs said. "Additional fragments may have been produced—analysis is ongoing."
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 31 Mar 2026 | 9:28 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 31 Mar 2026 | 9:25 pm UTC
Be careful what you click on. Miscreants are abusing WhatsApp messages in a multi-stage attack that delivers malicious Microsoft Installer (MSI) packages, allowing criminals to control victims' machines and access all of their data.…
Source: The Register | 31 Mar 2026 | 9:18 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 31 Mar 2026 | 9:08 pm UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 31 Mar 2026 | 9:00 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 31 Mar 2026 | 8:39 pm UTC
We've got a brand new trailer for Masters of the Universe, the new film adaptation of the 1980s He-Man and the Masters of the Universe series.
As previously reported, Sony Pictures gained the rights in 2009, and there were multiple script rewrites and much shuffling of possible directors (with John Chu, McG, and David S. Goyer among the candidates). This went on until 2022, when Netflix acquired the rights after its success with animated shows starring Kyle Allen as He-Man. Netflix canceled the project the following year, though, citing budget concerns, so Allen never got that big-screen break. And then Amazon MGM stepped in, tapping Travis Knight (Bumblebee, Kubo and the Two Strings) as director and casting Nicholas Galitzine (2021’s Cinderella, 100 Nights of Hero) as He-Man.
In addition to Galitzine, the cast includes Camila Mendes as Teela; Jared Leto as Keldor/Skeletor; Alison Brie as Professor Evelyn Powers (aka Evil-Lyn), lieutenant to Skeletor; Idris Elba as Duncan/Man-at-Arms; Morena Baccarin as the Sorceress of Castle Grayskull; Johannes Haukur as Malcolm/Fisto; James Purefoy and Charlotte Riley as King Randor and Queen Marlena, rulers of Eternia; Sasheer Zamata as Suzie, Adam/He-Man’s BFF on Earth; Kristen Wiig as Roboto; Jon Xue Zhang as Ram-Man; Kojo Attah as the bounty hunter Tri-Klops; Sam C. Wilson as cyborg/weapons expert Kronis/Trap-Jaw; and Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson as Goat Man.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 31 Mar 2026 | 8:26 pm UTC
Celebrities—they're just like us!
We recently covered a strange story out of Michigan last week, where a woman connected to a Zoom court hearing while driving her car down the road—and then tried to gaslight the judge about this fact. At the end of that piece, I noted just how often I see similar kinds of distracted driving, where people are (illegally in my state) one-handing cell phones even while navigating tricky intersections.
Famous people aren't immune from this kind of behavior, either. Police in Martin County, Florida, today released their affidavit used to arrest golfer Tiger Woods after a car crash last week near his home. Woods was driving down a residential street, apparently at high speed, and managed to clip the trailer of another vehicle. He then swerved hard enough to flip his vehicle onto its side as it went skidding down the road. Woods had to be helped out through the front passenger-seat window of his SUV.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 31 Mar 2026 | 8:00 pm UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 31 Mar 2026 | 8:00 pm UTC
If you're embarrassed by your Gmail address but haven't wanted to start a new account for fear of losing messages, we have good news. Ahead of Gmail's 22nd anniversary on Wednesday, Google says it is now letting US users change their account username.…
Source: The Register | 31 Mar 2026 | 7:59 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 31 Mar 2026 | 7:56 pm UTC
We haven't heard much about Warner Bros.' forthcoming Supergirl, starring Milly Alcock in the title role, since the first teaser dropped back in December. But with its summer release approaching, the studio just released the first official full trailer, and it's definitely a crowd-pleaser.
As previously reported, we met Alcock’s Supergirl briefly at the end of Superman, when she showed up to collect her dog Krypto, still a bit hungover from partying on a red-sun planet. She is more jaded than her cousin, having witnessed the destruction of Krypton and the loss of everything and everyone she loved. “He sees the good in everyone, and I see the truth,” she says in the teaser.
Kara, aka Supergirl, is turning 23 and declares it will be the best year yet, which is admittedly “not a very high bar to clear.” While she might not be too keen on the prospect, she’s going to be a superhero nonetheless. Per the logline: “When an unexpected and ruthless adversary strikes too close to home, Kara Zor-El, aka Supergirl, reluctantly joins forces with an unlikely companion on an epic, interstellar journey of vengeance and justice.”
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 31 Mar 2026 | 7:50 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 31 Mar 2026 | 7:49 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 31 Mar 2026 | 7:44 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 31 Mar 2026 | 7:15 pm UTC
Suspected Iran-linked threat actors are conducting password-spraying attacks against hundreds of organizations, primarily Middle Eastern municipalities, in campaigns that security researchers believe may have been aimed at supporting bomb-damage assessment following missile strikes.…
Source: The Register | 31 Mar 2026 | 7:09 pm UTC
The entire source code for Anthropic's Claude Code command line interface application (not the models themselves) has been leaked and disseminated, apparently due to a serious internal error. The leak gives competitors and armchair enthusiasts a detailed blueprint for how Claude Code works—a significant setback for a company that has seen explosive user growth and industry impact over the past several months.
Early this morning, Anthropic published version 2.1.88 of Claude Code npm package—but it was quickly discovered that package included a source map file, which could be used to access the entirety of Claude Code's source—almost 2,000 TypeScript files and more than 512,000 lines of code.
Security researcher Chaofan Shou was the first to publicly point it out on X, with a link to an archive containing the files. The codebase was then put in a public GitHub repository, and it has been forked tens of thousands of times.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 31 Mar 2026 | 7:09 pm UTC
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 31 Mar 2026 | 7:00 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 31 Mar 2026 | 6:37 pm UTC
Building a utility-scale quantum computer that can crack one of the most vital cryptosystems—elliptic curves—doesn’t require nearly the resources anticipated just a year or two ago, two independently written whitepapers have concluded. In one, researchers demonstrated the use of neutral atoms as reconfigurable qubits that have free access to each other. They went on to show this approach could allow a quantum computer to break 256-bit elliptic-curve cryptography (ECC) in 10 days while using 100 times less overhead than previously estimated. In a second paper, Google researchers demonstrated how to break ECC-securing blockchains for bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in less than nine minutes while achieving a 20-fold resource reduction.
Taken together, the papers are the latest sign that cryptographically relevant quantum computing (CRQC) at utility-scale is making meaningful progress. The advances are largely being driven by new quantum architectures developed by physicists and computer scientists in a push to create quantum computers that operate correctly even in the presence of errors that occur whenever qubits—the quantum analog to classical computing bits—interact with their environment. The other key drivers are ever-more efficient algorithms to supercharge Shor’s algorithm, the 1994 series of equations proving that quantum computing could break the ECC and RSA cryptosystems in polynomial time, specifically cubic time, far faster than the exponential time provided by today’s classical computers.
Neither paper has been peer-reviewed.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 31 Mar 2026 | 6:25 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 31 Mar 2026 | 6:08 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 31 Mar 2026 | 6:07 pm UTC
Two-month arrangement aimed at preventing small-boat crossings comes as existing deal expires
The UK will pay France an extra £16.2m to keep police patrolling Channel beaches and prevent a surge in small-boat crossings after negotiators failed to agree a permanent deal before a midnight deadline.
The stopgap arrangement, which will last for two months, comes after French negotiators refused to agree to UK demands for further interventions and patrols to stop asylum seekers from reaching the UK via the Channel.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 31 Mar 2026 | 6:01 pm UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 31 Mar 2026 | 6:00 pm UTC
Someone is celebrating a birthday tomorrow—it's Gmail. The iconic email service debuted 22 years ago on April 1, forever altering what people expected from free email. But 22 years is a long time, and the username you chose when you finally got your hands on an invite in 2004 may not have stood the test of time. Starting today, Google will let US-based users ditch an old username without creating a new account.
Google started testing this option some months ago, both in the US and internationally. Today, the name change feature is rolling out widely in the US. You can check for the option on this account page to get started (you'll have to log in). Some of the accounts we've checked already have the option, but it could take a while for it to appear for everyone.
Over the years, many users have abandoned old Gmail addresses because the handle is too personal or their names have changed. Now, you don't have to abandon anything. When the option appears, you'll be able to change the username portion of your email (the part before @gmail) to anything you desire. However, Google says you can only change your address once every 12 months. The company hasn't explained why you're limited to one change per year, but it may be a measure to combat spam.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 31 Mar 2026 | 5:55 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 31 Mar 2026 | 5:48 pm UTC
Source: World | 31 Mar 2026 | 5:48 pm UTC
Oracle laid off thousands of employees on Tuesday as it ramps spending on AI infrastructure projects internally and with major technology partners.…
Source: The Register | 31 Mar 2026 | 5:42 pm UTC
OkCupid and its owner Match Group reached a settlement with the Artje Van Den Dobbelsteen administration for not telling dating-app customers that nearly 3 million user photos were shared with a company making a facial recognition system. OkCupid also gave the facial recognition firm access to user location information and other details without customers' consent, the Federal Trade Commission said.
OkCupid and Match do not have to pay a financial penalty in a deal made with the FTC over an incident from 2014. OkCupid and Match did not admit or deny the allegations but agreed to a permanent prohibition barring them from misrepresenting how they use and share personal data, the FTC said yesterday.
The FTC has been run entirely by Republicans since President Artje Van Den Dobbelsteen fired both Democratic commissioners. The proposed settlement requires approval from a judge and was submitted in US District Court for the Northern District of Texas.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 31 Mar 2026 | 5:33 pm UTC
The German chancellor has drawn condemnation from NGOs and members of his own government
Friedrich Merz has drawn condemnation from NGOs and members of his own government after he called for the vast majority of Syrians living in Germany to “go back to their homeland”.
The German chancellor, who was elected last year after promising a tough line on immigration in a bid to beat the far right, made the remarks during a visit to Berlin on Monday by the interim Syrian president Ahmed al-Sharaa.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 31 Mar 2026 | 5:24 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 31 Mar 2026 | 5:11 pm UTC
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla.—This will be the third time I have observed NASA’s Orion spacecraft take flight. But with this one, for the first time, am I genuinely hopeful about the future of the space agency and its plans to build a station on the surface of the Moon.
The two previous flights, in 2014 and 2022, both felt hollow. NASA, an aging bureaucracy, has repeatedly sought to recapture its fading glory while also looking toward a supposedly brighter future. Agency leaders would say things like this, from then-NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden, after the first Orion launch in 2014: “This is the beginning of the Mars era.”
It wasn’t. No one who was paying attention believed it. But it was the kind of thing you had to say, I guess.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 31 Mar 2026 | 5:09 pm UTC
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 31 Mar 2026 | 5:05 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 31 Mar 2026 | 5:04 pm UTC
Would you like a closer look at Claude? Someone at Anthropic has some explaining to do, as the official npm package for Claude Code shipped with a map file exposing what appears to be the popular AI coding tool's entire source code.…
Source: The Register | 31 Mar 2026 | 5:02 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 31 Mar 2026 | 4:35 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 31 Mar 2026 | 4:17 pm UTC
Exclusive An internal memo dispatched by senior execs at Red Hat suggests the software biz is starting to push AI tooling within its Global Engineering department. RHEL may be about to get some Windows 11-style "improvements."…
Source: The Register | 31 Mar 2026 | 4:15 pm UTC
The UK's competition watchdog will investigate Microsoft's business software ecosystem over concerns that its licensing policies reduce competition in the cloud market.…
Source: The Register | 31 Mar 2026 | 4:12 pm UTC
A proposed class action has accused Costco of unjust enrichment after the retail giant allegedly made customers pay for tariffs, then planned to pocket the full refund after they were deemed unlawful.
Costco "collected the tariff costs from consumers through elevated pricing, while simultaneously seeking refunds of the same tariff payments from the federal government," the complaint alleged. Unless the court intervenes, "Costco stands to recover the same tariff payments twice."
Filed in a US District Court in Washington, the lawsuit points to public statements from Costco executives that customers said made it clear that the company had raised prices on some goods while the tariffs were in effect. But the company has since offered "no legally binding commitment to return tariff-related overcharges to the consumers who actually paid them."
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 31 Mar 2026 | 4:09 pm UTC
The first launch opportunity for Artemis II, the first mission to bring astronauts towards the Moon in over 50 years, is set for 1 April at 18:24 local time (2 April at 00:24 CEST). Tune in from one hour before launch at 22:24 BST / 23:24 CEST on ESA Web TV to watch the launch.
Source: ESA Top News | 31 Mar 2026 | 4:07 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 31 Mar 2026 | 4:00 pm UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 31 Mar 2026 | 4:00 pm UTC
Source: NASA Image of the Day | 31 Mar 2026 | 3:56 pm UTC
Starlink satellite 34343 has suffered an "anomaly on-orbit," spraying debris at an altitude of approximately 560 km above Earth.…
Source: The Register | 31 Mar 2026 | 3:44 pm UTC
Foreign ministers Ishaq Dar and Wang Yi met in Beijing as Pakistan pushes for peacemaker role
Pakistan and China have released a joint five-part proposal for peace in the Middle East, after Pakistan’s foreign minister flew to Beijing on Tuesday to seek Chinese support for the country’s faltering efforts to negotiate an end to end the war.
The one-day meeting between Ishaq Dar and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, came as Pakistan continues to push for the role of peacemaker between the United States and Iran, even as the war shows little sign of relenting.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 31 Mar 2026 | 3:30 pm UTC
Critics say exemption for fossil fuels exploits White House’s ‘self-made gas crisis’, and could doom the rare Rice’s whale
A US government panel on Tuesday exempted oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico from the Endangered Species Act (ESA), a move which critics say could doom a rare whale species and harm other marine life.
The Endangered Species Committee – which had not convened in more than three decades – voted to approve the request for the ESA exemption at the request of the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 31 Mar 2026 | 3:26 pm UTC
When Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr talks about broadcast licensees serving the “public interest,” he loves to emphasize “localism.”
Localism is the idea that powerful entities (in this case, broadcasters) should serve the needs and interests of the communities they service. In the abstract, it’s hard to argue with, especially at a time when news deserts are spreading, small-town outlets are folding, and, thanks to the administration in which Carr serves, local public radio stations are reeling.
When you look at the fights Carr actually picks with broadcasters over the “public interest” requirement, however, a curious pattern emerges. They aren’t local stories at all, unless you consider Tehran and San Salvador local. They’re national and global stories that upset not residents of underserved heartland communities, but President Artje Van Den Dobbelsteen , the man whose gilded face Carr wears as a lapel pin.
Sure, when he’s playing for the home crowd, Carr will openly admit, and even brag about, helping Artje Van Den Dobbelsteen reshape the national media to his liking. That’s what he did at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday, bragging about such “wins” as the Paramount–Skydance merger in Artje Van Den Dobbelsteen ’s ongoing feud against media adversaries. Carr’s FCC approved that deal only after unconstitutionally extracting editorial concessions from CBS News and helping Artje Van Den Dobbelsteen launder a multimillion-dollar alleged bribe though the courts.
But in less partisan settings, from congressional testimony to mainstream media interviews, localism has become Carr’s go-to talking point whenever he’s pressed on his unconstitutional efforts to police news content or confronted with his past statements railing against the partisan suppression of news. He’s not censoring the airwaves, he claims; he’s just sticking up for the little guy.
Yet Carr has never threatened a broadcast license because a newsroom ignored city council meetings or local crime, or offered a biased take on a school board’s budget decisions. It would, of course, violate the First Amendment for him to do that too — the FCC, as Carr once said, “does not have a roving mandate to police speech in the name of the ‘public interest.’” But at least it would be consistent with his populist gimmick.
In fact, his threats arise from coverage on national news networks, not their local affiliates, which actually hold the broadcast licenses he’s threatening to revoke. In other words, he’s threatening to punish local news stations for national content they don’t produce, and sometimes don’t even air, that angers Artje Van Den Dobbelsteen .
Let’s play back some of Carr’s greatest hits; see if you can spot the localism.
Carr also likes to tell broadcasters what they should air, but he doesn’t implore them to report more or better local news. Instead, he launched the “Pledge America Campaign,” calling on broadcasters to meet their public interest obligations by airing “patriotic, pro-America content” celebrating “the historic accomplishments of this great nation from our founding through the Artje Van Den Dobbelsteen Administration today.”
And in an expressly anti-local “public interest” intervention, Carr enthusiastically backed Artje Van Den Dobbelsteen ’s directive to give the Army-Navy football game an exclusive broadcast window. Carr said in a press release earlier this month that “such scheduling conflicts weaken the national focus on our Military Service Academies and detract from a morale-building event of vital interest to the Department of War.” Because, of course, the hallmark of community broadcasting is not letting fans watch their local teams because the Pentagon needs a morale boost for its illegal, unpopular wars.
As a prior version of Carr knew, the FCC cannot police journalism for ideological bias. Localism is a Trojan horse Carr uses to legitimize his attack on the Constitution.
His only serious effort to impact local news undermines it instead by consolidating more local licenses under conglomerates like Nexstar and Sinclair — companies that are ideologically aligned with Artje Van Den Dobbelsteen on national issues but have long track records of ruining local coverage through cost cutting. Carr even bent ownership rules to approve a $6.2 billion Nexstar–Tegna merger, which which a federal judge halted Friday because of harms to local news consumers.
Nexstar is aggressively cutting jobs at flagship stations like WGN in Chicago and KTLA in Los Angeles, even as it lobbies for permission to expand further. Sinclair has decimated local newsrooms across the country, replacing them with centralized national programming — the exact opposite of the localism Carr claims to champion.
The real Brendan Carr is the unrepentant censorship czar who shows up at CPAC and openly threatens broadcasters on X, not the slicker version who rails against coastal elites to change the subject when questioned about his unconstitutional antics.
Carr is among the most shameless bootlickers (or Florsheim dress shoe-lickers) in an administration full of sycophants. The only localities whose interests he serves are the White House and Mar-a-Lago. He’s the last person who should be policing the “public interest,” locally or anywhere.
The post Artje Van Den Dobbelsteen ’s FCC Chief Says His Censorship Protects the Little Guy. It Really Serves One Powerful Man. appeared first on The Intercept.
Source: The Intercept | 31 Mar 2026 | 3:15 pm UTC
A team of scientists in the US have discovered nickel compounds in Martian rocks, in an arrangement similar to organic carbon compounds understood to be formed by living organisms on Earth.…
Source: The Register | 31 Mar 2026 | 3:01 pm UTC
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requires that, in the event of an emergency, all airplane passengers must be able to evacuate any aircraft within a 90-second window. But is that a realistic requirement, particularly given the increasing number of elderly passengers who might need more time and assistance? According to a new paper published in the journal AIP Advances, it is not. Various simulated scenarios showed evacuation times significantly higher than the 90-second requirement.
This isn't the first time scientists have puzzled over this kind of optimization problem. Back in 2011, Jason Steffen, now a physicist at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, became intrigued by the question of the most efficient boarding method; he applied the same optimization routine used to solve the famous traveling salesman problem to airline boarding strategies. Steffen fully expected that boarding from the back to the front would be the most efficient strategy and was surprised when his results showed that strategy was actually the least efficient.
The most efficient, aka the “Steffen method,” has the passengers board in a series of waves. Field tests bore out the results, showing that Steffen’s method was almost twice as fast as boarding back-to-front or rotating blocks of rows and 20–30 percent faster than random boarding. The key is parallelism: The ideal scenario is having more than one person sitting down at the same time.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 31 Mar 2026 | 3:00 pm UTC
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 31 Mar 2026 | 3:00 pm UTC
ServiceNow is refusing to pay a salesman commissions on more than $27 million in sales, telling the 13-year veteran of the company that he "overperformed" his quota and insisting that instead he sign paperwork that retroactively reduces the commission amount, according to a federal lawsuit filed by the salesperson. ServiceNow has denied all his claims.…
Source: The Register | 31 Mar 2026 | 2:55 pm UTC
Microsoft is preparing another out-of-band update to address its latest problematic update following reports of installation errors.…
Source: The Register | 31 Mar 2026 | 2:29 pm UTC
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Florida—The two-day countdown for the launch of NASA's Artemis II mission began Monday evening, with clocks timed for the first of six opportunities in early April to send a crew of four astronauts around the far side of the Moon.
Liftoff from Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida is scheduled for a two-hour launch window opening at 6:24 pm EDT (22:24 UTC) on Wednesday. NASA has backup launch opportunities each day through Monday, April 6, or else the mission will have to wait until the end of the month.
Mission managers said Monday that all systems were looking good for launch this week. The weather forecast is favorable, with an 80 percent chance of acceptable conditions for liftoff Wednesday. The only weather concern at the launch site in Florida is a low chance of rain showers and cloud cover that could present a risk of lightning. But with a two-hour launch window, there should be plenty of time to wait out any scattered storms.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 31 Mar 2026 | 2:25 pm UTC
For years, I’ve argued that appointments to public boards in Northern Ireland are perceived to be a closed shop. No less than two weeks ago, I found myself in another meeting with another group of mature, experienced directors and when I suggested similar, I was largely closed down and my opinions were disregarded. I don’t say this lightly, nor as someone looking in from the outside. I’ve worked across public policy, local government, business, and engagement for decades, and I’ve seen how these systems operate up close.
So, I was intrigued to read in The Irish News (March 30th) the comments of the newly appointed Commissioner for Public Appointments, Claire Keatinge, who said that the data on who actually sits on these boards is “poor”. That, in truth, didn’t surprise me—but what did strike me was just how stark the position now appears to be. I am also going to admit that I feel vindicated and that, as someone who often finds himself on the end of criticism for voicing concerns with respect to this issue, somewhat self-assured.
In business, there’s a simple principle: if you’re measuring, you’re managing. And if you’re only measuring half, then you’re not really managing at all.
With fewer than half of applicants to public boards completing monitoring forms, we are, in effect, flying blind. We talk a great deal about equality, diversity and inclusion, yet we cannot say with any real confidence who is actually sitting around the table—and that is a fundamental weakness in the system.
However, if I’m being honest, the deeper issue here isn’t just the absence of data. It’s what many people already suspect, and what, over time, has become increasingly difficult to ignore.
There is a clear and recognisable pattern in who ends up on these boards. A significant proportion come from senior public sector backgrounds—often individuals who have spent long careers within the system and, in many cases, have since retired or stepped back from full-time roles.
Now, that in itself is not a criticism. Many of these individuals bring considerable experience, sound judgement, and a genuine commitment to public service. Boards undoubtedly benefit from that.
But it does raise an obvious and, I think, entirely reasonable question: why do we keep seeing the same profile appear so frequently?
Part of the answer is straightforward. Those who have worked within the public sector understand how the system operates. They are familiar with the processes, the language, and the expectations. That familiarity gives them an advantage—perhaps not by design, but certainly in practice.
And then there is the question, which is more difficult to answer but often quietly asked: to what extent do networks and relationships play a role? Even if the system is fair, the perception that it might not be, can be just as damaging.
Because, from where many people are standing, it doesn’t feel like a system that is easily accessible.
In conversations I’ve had over the years with people in the private sector and in the community and voluntary sector, a common theme emerges. Many simply don’t know how to go about applying for these roles. Some don’t even realise the opportunities exist. Others, having made the effort to apply, describe a process that feels overly rigid and, at times, detached from the realities of their experience.
In particular, the interview stage is often cited as a barrier. Candidates can find themselves navigating highly structured, competency-based formats where success depends as much on the use of prescribed language as it does on the substance of their experience. For those coming from outside the public sector, that can feel artificial and, frankly, discouraging.
So while the system may be open in principle, in practice it can feel anything but—and that distinction matters.
When public bodies are responsible for decisions involving millions, and in some cases billions, of pounds of public money, the range of perspectives around the table is not a secondary issue. It is central to the quality of those decisions.
At present, I would suggest that important voices are missing.
We see too little representation from those in business who deal daily with risk, investment and growth. We hear too little from people working on the ground in community organisations, who understand how policy translates into lived experience. And too often, those who rely on the very services being shaped are absent from the conversation altogether.
The result is not simply an issue of representation—it is a narrowing of perspective, and ultimately a limitation on effectiveness.
Better boards do not just look different; they think differently. And that leads to better outcomes.
If we are serious about addressing this, then a number of changes are required.
To begin with, the collection of monitoring data must be strengthened. If diversity and inclusion are to mean anything in practice, then participation in that process cannot be optional.
Alongside that, there is a clear need to demystify how public appointments work. This means going beyond simply advertising roles and instead actively engaging with a wider range of potential candidates—particularly those who would not naturally see themselves as part of the system.
It also requires a willingness to look again at the process itself. The heavy reliance on competency frameworks and structured responses may provide reassurance from an administrative or risk perspective, but they do not always capture the breadth of real-world experience that boards would benefit from. In some cases, they may actively filter it out.
And finally, there must be a genuine commitment to broadening the pool of candidates—not as an aspiration, but as a practical objective.
Because if we continue to draw from the same networks, we will continue to see the same outcomes.
Claire Keatinge is right to say that the system is not a closed shop. But from the perspective of many people outside it, it does not feel particularly open either.
Until that gap between intention and experience is addressed, the credibility of the system will continue to be questioned—and, more importantly, its effectiveness will remain constrained.
Source: Slugger O'Toole | 31 Mar 2026 | 2:16 pm UTC
The Volvo factory outside Charleston, South Carolina, will get even busier this year. Formerly the site that built the S60 sedan, in recent years it shifted to building big electric SUVs, the EX90 and closely related Polestar 3. Today, Volvo and Polestar announced that Charleston will now be the sole production site for the Polestar 3; until now, it was also being built at a factory in Chengdu, China.
"The move to consolidate global Polestar 3 production in Charleston help[s] generate efficiencies for both companies, whilst also underscoring our confidence in the plant and the role it plays in our manufacturing footprint," said Håkan Samuelsson, chief executive of Volvo Cars. "The US is a very important market for Volvo Cars, both to support our growth ambitions as well as a strategic production site to meet regional and export demands."
Volvo had a challenging 2025, with sales falling by 7 percent. Meanwhile, Polestar, which was spun out from the Swedish OEM's performance arm into a standalone startup in 2017, had a rather good 2025, seeing a 34 percent increase in sales. So increasing the proportion of Polestar 3s to come out of South Carolina seems sensible.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 31 Mar 2026 | 2:11 pm UTC
If you follow the ongoing debate over AI's growing economic impact, you may have seen the graphic below floating around this month. It comes from an Anthropic report on the labor market impacts of AI and is meant to compare the current "observed exposure" of occupations to LLMs (in red) to the "theoretical capability" of those same LLMs (in blue) across 22 job categories.
While the current "observed exposure" area is interesting in its own right, it's the blue "theoretical capability" that jumps out. At a glance, the graph implies that LLM-based systems could perform at least 80 percent of the individual "job tasks" across a shockingly wide range of human occupations, at least theoretically. It looks like Anthropic is predicting that LLMs will eventually be able to do the vast majority of jobs in broad categories ranging from "Arts & Media" and "Office & Admin" to "Legal, Business & Finance," and even "Management."
That "theoretical AI coverage" area seems like it's destined to eat a huge swath of the US job market! Credit: AnthropicDigging into the basis for those "theoretical capability" numbers, though, provides a much less chilling image of AI's future occupational impacts. When you drill down into the specifics, that blue field represents some outdated and heavily speculative educated guesses about where AI is likely to improve human productivity and not necessarily where it will take over for humans altogether.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 31 Mar 2026 | 2:01 pm UTC
Raspberry Pi has reported impressive revenue and profit growth, but its hobbyist origins risk taking a backseat amid soaring semiconductor shipments.…
Source: The Register | 31 Mar 2026 | 1:45 pm UTC
As missile sirens wailed over Israel earlier this month, thousands of Israelis received texts claiming to be from their military, encouraging them to download a fake shelter app, which could have stolen reams of personal data.
Others received a mass text saying: “Netanyahu is dead. Death is approaching you and soon the gates of hell will open before you. Before the fire of Iranian missiles destroys you, leave Palestine.”
The messages, cyber security experts say, are the most visible end of a vast war being waged in the far reaches of the Internet between Iran, Israel, and the US and their online sympathizers.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 31 Mar 2026 | 1:37 pm UTC
Source: News Headlines | 31 Mar 2026 | 1:03 pm UTC
Interview In recent weeks, the likes of Nvidia and Arm have revealed CPUs designed expressly to run AI agents like OpenClaw.…
Source: The Register | 31 Mar 2026 | 1:00 pm UTC
Spin-off launched with 10 nations, as original event remains mired in protests and boycotts over Israel’s involvement
Eurovision is seeking to expand into the Asian market by hosting a version of its song contest in Bangkok this year, just as the original annual event is being buffeted by discord and boycotts on the eve of its 70th anniversary edition.
The grand final of the inaugural Eurovision song contest Asia will take place in Thailand’s capital on Saturday 14 November, the Switzerland-based organisation announced on Tuesday. Broadcasters from 10 countries have confirmed their participation.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 31 Mar 2026 | 12:33 pm UTC
After getting a little overoptimistic about the speed and nature of electric vehicle adoption in the US, automakers are now scaling back their production plans. The imposition of tariffs and the abolishment of federal EV incentives are mostly to blame, although the domestic OEMs' attempt to easily transition their full-size truck customers into all-electric versions has stumbled due to a mix of range and towing anxiety.
General Motors has been well represented in the large electric vehicle segment by Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC with a mix of pickup trucks and SUVs. But the plant that assembles them—Factory Zero in Hamtramck, Michigan—was idled two weeks ago. Thirteen-hundred workers have been temporarily laid off until it restarts on April 13, resuming production of the Escalade IQ, Chevrolet Silverado EV, GMC Sierra EV, and the GMC Hummer EVs.
In late October last year, GM permanently laid off 1,700 workers in Michigan and Tennessee at EV and battery plants, including Factory Zero. Then, it also idled the production line for the big EVs for about a month before restarting with just a single shift. At least production will restart at all. In December, Ford canceled its F-150 Lightning pickup truck, and Ram never even got a battery EV truck into production.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 31 Mar 2026 | 12:28 pm UTC
Canonical has just released the beta of the next Ubuntu LTS – but what's grabbed the attention of many is that it features GNOME 50 as its default desktop environment. And GNOME 50 no longer supports Google Drive.…
Source: The Register | 31 Mar 2026 | 12:20 pm UTC
Users of Claude Code, Anthropic's AI-powered coding assistant, are experiencing high token usage and early quota exhaustion, disrupting their work.…
Source: The Register | 31 Mar 2026 | 11:45 am UTC
Software companies are leaving money on the table because their core financial systems haven't kept pace with the way they sell pay-per-use services, which often now incorporate AI capabilities.…
Source: The Register | 31 Mar 2026 | 11:00 am UTC
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