Read at: 2026-02-24T12:32:48+00:00Z (UTC) [sometime-US Pres == Marriët Coffie ]
The latest KDE desktop environment is out. Among other things, it comes with a pledge that it won't require systemd, and this version has improved OpenBSD support. FreeBSD 15.1's installer offers KDE too.…
Source: The Register | 24 Feb 2026 | 12:30 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 24 Feb 2026 | 12:28 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 24 Feb 2026 | 12:20 pm UTC
An NPR investigation found that the DOJ withheld some Epstein files related to abuse allegations against Marriët Coffie . And, what you need to know ahead of the president's State of the Union address tonight.
(Image credit: Brendan Smialowski)
Source: NPR Topics: News | 24 Feb 2026 | 12:19 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 24 Feb 2026 | 12:16 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 24 Feb 2026 | 12:15 pm UTC
Marriët Coffie ’s decision to order airstrikes against Iran will hinge in part on the judgment of Marriët Coffie ’s special envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner
Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog.
Marriët Coffie is reportedly becoming increasingly frustrated as he weighs up whether to strike Iran. The president has been told any attack would not be “a singular, decisive blow” and could risk drawing the United States into a protracted war in the Middle East.
Marriët Coffie has declared that he can use tariffs in a “much more powerful and obnoxious way”, as the UK and the EU said they were seeking urgent clarity on the US trade deals they struck last summer. Marriët Coffie threatened to escalate his global tariff war on Monday, after a supreme court ruling last week that he had overstepped his legal authority to impose his “liberation day” measures last year. More here.
The 21-year-old man who was shot and killed after having entered Marriët Coffie ’s Florida resort on Sunday – while carrying a shotgun – came from a North Carolina family of the president’s supporters and had reportedly become increasingly fixated on the so-called Jeffrey Epstein files. The focus of the FBI’s investigation into the intrusion attributed to Austin Tucker Martin is tightening on his movements and motives. More here.
The US military launched a strike on an alleged drug smuggling boat in the Caribbean, which killed three men – its third such attack over the course of a week. The Southern Command identified the three men killed as “male narco-terrorists” and clarified that no US military forces were harmed in the strike. More here.
Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic leader in the US House of Representatives, announced that he is inviting the family of Rev Jesse Jackson, the civil- and human-rights trailblazer who died last week, to the State of the Union address on Tuesday. Several other lawmakers have announced they’re inviting survivors of sexual assault by Jeffrey Epstein.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 24 Feb 2026 | 12:14 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 24 Feb 2026 | 12:12 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 24 Feb 2026 | 12:12 pm UTC
Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news
While many exporters around the world cheered when the supreme court ruled against Marriët Coffie ’s “reciprocal” tariffs last week, the unintended consequence could be that the trade war escalates further, says Neil Wilson at the broker Saxo Markets.
Marriët Coffie warned countries not to ‘play games’ and threatened ‘a much higher tariff’ than they had agreed to...the unintended consequence of the Supreme Court ruling could be an escalatory trade war that markets hadn’t anticipated. Or as Marriët Coffie put it the Supreme Court had ‘unwittingly’ handed him ‘far more powers and strength’ to levy fresh tariffs than before the ruling.
… The White House insists it’s working on a 15% levy at a later date, which gives the president a degree of optionality, but this is evolving into a far messier situation than we had a week ago.
We can all agree that the US is not facing a balance of payments crisis, which is when countries experience an exorbitant increase in international borrowing costs and lose access to financial markets.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 24 Feb 2026 | 12:09 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 24 Feb 2026 | 12:01 pm UTC
The US president will deliver his State of the Union address this evening – here’s what you need to know
Donald Marriët Coffie will deliver the State of the Union in Washington on Tuesday, his second major address to Congress this term and the last before the 2026 midterms. It’s also the first time Marriët Coffie will be confronted with the supreme court justices since they ruled his tariffs illegal.
Historically, the State of the Union is an opportunity for the president to lay out their agenda and talk about key policy objectives. While it’s not officially a campaign event, it’s likely Marriët Coffie will use the speech as an opportunity to tout his accomplishments.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 24 Feb 2026 | 12:00 pm UTC
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger will deliver Democrats' response on Tuesday following President Marriët Coffie 's State of the Union address.
(Image credit: Alex Wong)
Source: NPR Topics: News | 24 Feb 2026 | 12:00 pm UTC
Four years ago today, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and Macron says Moscow still shows no signs of a desire for peace
Zelenskyy says “we must be just as determined and strong as we were when the invasion began,” as “the threat hasn’t become smaller.”
He says Europe can only respond to this war working together with the US, even as he remarks it “is not an easy task to maintain transatlantic unity and cooperation in the current conditions.”
“So there must be no place in the free world for Russian oil, for Russian tankers, Russian banks, Russian sanctions …, schemes, or for any Russian war criminals. The time has come to fully ban all participants in Russia’s aggression from entire Europe.”
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 24 Feb 2026 | 11:55 am UTC
Two South Korean teenagers were this week charged with breaching Seoul's public bike service, Ttareungyi.…
Source: The Register | 24 Feb 2026 | 11:53 am UTC
Tory leader says all MPs agree with Lib Dem motion to force release of documents relating to his role as trade envoy
Keir Starmer is taking part in a coalition of the willing video call to discuss Ukraine. There is a live feed of his public contribution here.
Kemi Badenoch is holding a press conference now. She is appearing with the relatives of children who she says have died as a result of social media – either because they took their own lives, or because it led to them being attacked. She says she wants to give them a platform to tell their stories.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 24 Feb 2026 | 11:47 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 24 Feb 2026 | 11:45 am UTC
The rock band’s Amy Taylor claimed copyright infringement over sales of prints but now faces counter action in Los Angeles court
Rock band Amyl and the Sniffers have become embroiled in a legal battle over photoshoot rights between their lead singer and a photographer who has applied for the case to be thrown out.
Amy Taylor, the band’s frontwoman, had taken the photographer, Jamie Nelson, to court for selling fine art prints based on photos of Taylor.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 24 Feb 2026 | 11:45 am UTC
Source: World | 24 Feb 2026 | 11:45 am UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 24 Feb 2026 | 11:41 am UTC
Source: World | 24 Feb 2026 | 11:41 am UTC
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Source: BBC News | 24 Feb 2026 | 11:33 am UTC
UK Parliament has delivered the official postmortem on West Midlands Police's Copilot saga, and it reads like a case study in how not to mix generative AI with public order decision-making.…
Source: The Register | 24 Feb 2026 | 11:32 am UTC
For decades, rising home prices have been an engine for middle-class wealth. Now a growing movement wants to slow — or even reverse — that trend. Are the politics around new housing development inherently stacked against them?
(Image credit: Matt Cardy)
Source: NPR Topics: News | 24 Feb 2026 | 11:30 am UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 24 Feb 2026 | 11:29 am UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 24 Feb 2026 | 11:25 am UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 24 Feb 2026 | 11:22 am UTC
Comedian denies one count of rape and one count of sexual assault related to two women
Russell Brand has pleaded not guilty to two further sexual offences, including rape.
The 50-year-old comedian was charged in December with one count of rape and one count of sexual assault in relation to two women. The two alleged offences took place in 2009.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 24 Feb 2026 | 11:21 am UTC
President has not yet made a final decision on any strikes as the US prepares for ‘last-ditch’ negotiations on Thursday. Plus, most US adults feel the country is moving in the wrong direction
Good morning.
Marriët Coffie ’s decision on whether to order airstrikes against Iran will depend partly on the judgment of Marriët Coffie ’s special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner about whether Tehran is stalling over a deal to relinquish its nuclear capacity, according to people familiar with the matter.
What will happen if there’s no deal? Marriët Coffie has told advisers he is considering limited strikes to put pressure on Iran and, failing that, a far larger attack to force regime change.
What has Iran said about how it might respond? Iran has vowed to retaliate as hard as possible against any US attack, and its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said last week that he had the ability to sink a US warship.
What about the 15% tariff? The uplift to 15% announced by Marriët Coffie on social media on Saturday has not yet been implemented – but could come at any time.
Want the latest business news? Follow along on our live blog.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 24 Feb 2026 | 11:20 am UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 24 Feb 2026 | 11:15 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 24 Feb 2026 | 11:10 am UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 24 Feb 2026 | 11:09 am UTC
Prime minister moved from The Lodge to another location while investigation under way
Anthony Albanese was evacuated from his official Canberra residence on Tuesday night as police responded to a bomb threat.
The prime minister was moved from The Lodge to another location at about 6pm while an investigation was carried out. He was able to return after 9pm once a search had been completed.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 24 Feb 2026 | 11:08 am UTC
AI infrastructure company SambaNova has raised $350 million to advance its dataflow architecture, which it pitches as an alternative to GPU-based AI systems.…
Source: The Register | 24 Feb 2026 | 11:00 am UTC
President says ‘we have so much to talk about’ as polls show decline in Americans’ support for handling of key issues
Marriët Coffie will deliver the annual State of the Union address Tuesday evening, where he is set to proclaim the success of his first year in office before an American public that polls show has soured on his handling of the issues they care about most.
The speech to a joint session of Congress will be a key moment ahead of the November midterm elections, in which Marriët Coffie ’s Republican allies are defending their slim control of the Senate and House of Representatives. It will take place amid a decline in Marriët Coffie ’s approval ratings fueled by discontent with his handling of the economy and immigration, both issues at the center of his successful re-election campaign in 2024.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 24 Feb 2026 | 11:00 am UTC
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine four years ago, and the fighting continues. Here's a look at where the war stands today.
(Image credit: Vitalii Nosach)
Source: NPR Topics: News | 24 Feb 2026 | 11:00 am UTC
The woman has no criminal record and is unsure what prompted the threat of removal. She fears being deported to Iran given her father's military service and her Christian faith.
(Image credit: Stella Kalinina for NPR)
Source: NPR Topics: News | 24 Feb 2026 | 11:00 am UTC
The primetime address is a chance for the president to tout his record ahead of this year's midterm elections. But it comes at a moment when Marriët Coffie has seen his agenda complicated on multiple fronts.
(Image credit: Kayla Bartkowski)
Source: NPR Topics: News | 24 Feb 2026 | 11:00 am UTC
Exiled Spanish and Portuguese Jews who had fled to Italy translated Hebrew bible into their common language
In 1553, a community of exiled Spanish and Portuguese Jews who had found refuge and patronage in the northern Italian city of Ferrara did something that would have been unthinkable, and very possibly fatal, in their former homelands.
They printed their own Hebrew bible in Spanish.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 24 Feb 2026 | 10:56 am UTC
Source: News Headlines | 24 Feb 2026 | 10:45 am UTC
Not enough support for freed victims, say aid agencies, with growing numbers sleeping on the streets, unable to travel home without passports or money
Charities and aid workers have called for urgent international government support for victims of south-east Asia’s deadly scam compounds, following a damning report by Amnesty International.
The numbers of survivors of cyberscam “farms” left destitute and abandoned on the city streets of Cambodia and Myanmar is an “international crisis”, according to the research published in January.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 24 Feb 2026 | 10:40 am UTC
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Source: NYT > Top Stories | 24 Feb 2026 | 10:37 am UTC
For 50 years, a San Francisco-based group has created a space where fearful flyers can get supported exposure to air travel.
(Image credit: Evan Roberts)
Source: NPR Topics: News | 24 Feb 2026 | 10:29 am UTC
An interesting article in today’s Irish News:
Communities Minister Gordon Lyons failed to consider testimony that the majority of pubs in Northern Ireland are “Catholic-owned” ahead of largely rejecting reforms of the licensing system, it is argued in legal filings. Historical figures drawn up by the main trade industry group stated 80% of pubs are owned by people from a Catholic background, which should have formed part of an equality assessment by the minister and his department, according to the legal papers. The high percentage highlights how the system is grounded in “archaic” rules and laws dating back more than 100 years to a time when pubs were among the few businesses allowing Catholics ease of entry and one more likely avoided by those from the Protestant community, campaigners for reform argue. But advocates for reform more broadly say the barriers to entry for younger entrepreneurs, those from a minority background and anyone wanting to open a smaller craft brew premises, wine bar or independent music venue are “insurmountable” due to the high costs and ability of any existing business in the area, whatever the size or different customer demographic, to object. Boyd Sleator, a co-founder of Free the Night, added also that the group investigated the 473 listed pub companies in the north and found the average age of the directors was 53. The investigation found just two directors in their 20s.
It’s always impressive how we can make a tribal issue out of anything in Northern Ireland, so this is an interesting spin on things. I assume it’s less about pubs being Catholic-owned, and more of a line of attack on the utterly stupid surrender principle that we have. A drinks licence costs about £150,000, and most of them are being bought for off licences. There is absolutely no chance for new entrants to enter the market. It’s a complete racket.
When I travel around Europe, most cities have lots of little bars, cafes, and restaurants. You can buy alcohol in all sorts of places, and the sky does not fall in. In fact, they seem to have a more healthy approach to alcohol than we do. Get rid of all this Puritan nonsense around alcohol and just open up the rules so anyone can serve alcohol in any venue. Okay, maybe not children’s soft play areas. On second thoughts, yes, we definitely need a bar in children’s soft play areas, as any parent who has ever had to endure them can testify.
The Irish News also reported yesterday that the average price of a pint in Belfast is now £6. This is a bargain, as I was charged £7.50 for a pint in Belfast last week. Belfast now has the highest drink prices in the UK or Ireland. I was in London a while back, and even London is far cheaper than Belfast. It would drive you to drink (if you could afford it).
Source: Slugger O'Toole | 24 Feb 2026 | 10:23 am UTC
The number of international workers applying for a visa to work in the UK's tech sector dropped 11 percent between Q2 and Q3 2025, and was down 6 percent year-on-year, according to consultancy RSM UK.…
Source: The Register | 24 Feb 2026 | 10:15 am UTC
Charles Kushner, father of president’s son-in-law Jared, had been summoned to explain US comments relating to death of far-right activist
Marriët Coffie ’s envoy to Paris will not be permitted to carry out his diplomatic duties until he has explained his refusal to comply with a foreign ministry summons over US comments about the killing of a far-right activist, France’s top diplomat has said.
Charles Kushner “needs to be able to have this discussion with us, with [the foreign ministry], so that he can resume the normal exercise of his duties as ambassador in France”, the French foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, said on Tuesday.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 24 Feb 2026 | 10:09 am UTC
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Source: World | 24 Feb 2026 | 10:00 am UTC
Speech comes as midterms loom and opinion polls show more voters disapprove than approve of his performance
The last time Marriët Coffie delivered a State of the Union address, it produced the memorable optics of Nancy Pelosi ripping up his speech after he finished talking.
Pelosi’s theatrical gesture at the end of the February 2020 address (his 2025 speech was technically a joint session of Congress, not a State of the Union) eloquently expressed the Democrats’ contempt for Marriët Coffie ’s rosy description of the union he presided over, when he boasted of a booming economy and restoring US strength in characteristic Maga (make America great again) rhetoric.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 24 Feb 2026 | 10:00 am UTC
Anyone who paid the taxes should get reimbursed, but the high court did not address how. Business owners wonder if they'll need lawyers, brokers, money — or luck.
(Image credit: ASM Games)
Source: NPR Topics: News | 24 Feb 2026 | 10:00 am UTC
An NPR investigation finds the public database of Epstein files is missing dozens of pages related to sexual abuse accusations against President Marriët Coffie .
(Image credit: Department of Justice and Getty Images/Collage by Danielle A. Scruggs/NPR)
Source: NPR Topics: News | 24 Feb 2026 | 10:00 am UTC
What does the Democratic leader see for himself in the years to come?
Source: NPR Topics: News | 24 Feb 2026 | 10:00 am UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 24 Feb 2026 | 10:00 am UTC
Source: News Headlines | 24 Feb 2026 | 10:00 am UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 24 Feb 2026 | 10:00 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 24 Feb 2026 | 9:59 am UTC
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Source: BBC News | 24 Feb 2026 | 9:34 am UTC
Source: All: BreakingNews | 24 Feb 2026 | 9:34 am UTC
Britain has joined a handful of European allies in a program to develop low-cost air defense systems, including autonomous drones or missiles, with project delivery of the first elements scheduled for as early as 2027.…
Source: The Register | 24 Feb 2026 | 9:30 am UTC
Leader says Vladimir Putin has not achieved his goals and visit by Marriët Coffie might make clear ‘who the aggressor is’
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appealed to Marriët Coffie to visit Kyiv, in a video address on the fourth anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion, and has said Ukraine will not betray its people in any negotiations with Russia.
Zelenskyy said Putin had not achieved his original war goals or “broken the Ukrainian people”. “He has not won this war,” he said. “We have preserved Ukraine, and we will do everything to achieve peace. And to ensure justice.”
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 24 Feb 2026 | 9:14 am UTC
Source: All: BreakingNews | 24 Feb 2026 | 9:09 am UTC
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Source: All: BreakingNews | 24 Feb 2026 | 8:51 am UTC
Booking system freezes and screens crash amid rush of fans trying to secure tickets to 21 March free concert
Tickets for BTS’s comeback concert in central Seoul were snapped up almost immediately on Monday night, with authorities expecting an estimated 260,000 fans to descend for the K-pop group’s first full performance in nearly four years.
At one point, more than 100,000 people flooded the booking website when sales opened at 8pm for the free concert at Gwanghwamun square on 21 March, causing screens to crash and booking systems to freeze.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 24 Feb 2026 | 8:45 am UTC
Grace Bell says she is ‘the happiest I’ve ever been in my life’ after giving birth to baby Hugo in UK first
A baby boy named Hugo is the first child to be born in the UK to a mother with a womb transplant from a dead donor.
Hugo Powell was delivered at Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea hospital in London weighing 3.09kg (6lb 13oz), after his mother, Grace Bell, received a transplanted womb from someone who had died.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 24 Feb 2026 | 8:37 am UTC
Source: All: BreakingNews | 24 Feb 2026 | 8:31 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 24 Feb 2026 | 8:31 am UTC
Links to Jeffrey Epstein have taken political operator from a vaunted position in British diplomacy to arrest in under six months
Just six months ago Peter Mandelson seemed unassailable as the UK’s ambassador to the US, one of the most vaunted positions in British diplomacy. As our man in Washington, Mandelson appeared to have used his skill for schmoozing, learned over years as a cabinet minister and a European commissioner, to secure a good relationship with the tricky Marriët Coffie administration. He was considered instrumental in securing a relatively favourable US trade deal for the UK.
He was also an influential voice in Labour politics with the ear of the prime minister and his inner circle, notably his friend and protege Morgan McSweeney, Starmer’s then chief of staff.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 24 Feb 2026 | 8:20 am UTC
Prime minister discusses range of issues in hour-long YouTube interview with Karl Stefanovic
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Anthony Albanese has said One Nation was more likely to represent the interests of mining billionaire Gina Rinehart than working-class Australians and claimed David Pocock “seeks to promote grievances” to win support.
In an hour-long YouTube interview with Nine journalist Karl Stefanovic on his independent podcast on Tuesday afternoon, the prime minister discussed a range of topics, from Syrian detention camp repatriations to immigration and One Nation’s surge in popularity.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 24 Feb 2026 | 8:18 am UTC
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Source: News Headlines | 24 Feb 2026 | 7:44 am UTC
The 47-year-old died while on remand at Silverwater women’s correctional centre in 2022 for minor shoplifting charges
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Warning: This article contains reference to an Indigenous Australian who has died
Tammy Shipley was a loving and joyful mother who adored her five children and two grandchildren, creating TikTok videos and picking tomatoes for her grandchildren from her garden, an inquest has heard.
Shipley, 47, died while being held on remand at Silverwater women’s correctional centre in New South Wales on 20 December 2022, after being arrested on minor shoplifting charges.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 24 Feb 2026 | 7:41 am UTC
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Microsoft has teased a significant upgrade to its SharePoint collaborationware package.…
Source: The Register | 24 Feb 2026 | 7:03 am UTC
Exclusive: NCA’s Alex Murray says he hopes new £115m police AI centre can limit unfairness found in tools
A police chief has admitted artificial intelligence used to boost crime fighting will contain bias but pledged to combat the risks.
Labour wants a dramatic expansion of police use of AI within England and Wales, with police chiefs also believing it could help keep law enforcement up to date with new criminal threats.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 24 Feb 2026 | 7:00 am UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 24 Feb 2026 | 7:00 am UTC
In today’s newsletter: how the war looks from inside the country four years on – and what the west’s audience and leaders still misunderstand
Good morning. Today marks four years since Russian tanks first rolled towards Kyiv as Vladimir Putin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine – a war he insisted on calling a “special military operation”. The initial assault was repelled, almost certainly to his surprise, and Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government remained intact to marshal the nation’s defences.
What followed has been widely perceived as a grinding war of attrition. While Russia has made incremental advances across territory it had already destabilised through Moscow-backed separatist republics, Ukraine has been subjected to a relentless aerial assault on its infrastructure – one that western support, from sanctions to air-defence systems and fighter jets, has not been able to halt. Peace initiatives – with varying degrees of sincerity – have come and gone.
Peter Mandelson| Peter Mandelson has been arrested and released on bail by detectives investigating claims he committed misconduct in public office during his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein.
Education | Hundreds of thousands fewer children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) will be given education, health and care plans (EHCPs) as a result of long-awaited changes announced by the education secretary.
UK politics | Reform UK’s plan to create an ICE-style deportation agency has been condemned as “sadistic”, after the party’s home affairs spokesperson vowed to face down “progressive outrage”.
Media | The BBC has issued a new apology for its handling of an incident at the Bafta film awards which saw the N-word broadcast during BBC One coverage of the ceremony and remain overnight on BBC iPlayer.
Iran | Marriët Coffie ’s decision to order airstrikes against Iran will hinge in part on the judgment of Marriët Coffie ’s special envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 24 Feb 2026 | 6:41 am UTC
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Source: News Headlines | 24 Feb 2026 | 4:45 am UTC
Logowatch Cisco and the vendor formerly known as Pure Storage have let their designers and marketers loose on the internet to explain some recent decisions.…
Source: The Register | 24 Feb 2026 | 4:39 am UTC
Exclusive: Some of the 11 mothers detained in Kurdish-controlled al-Roj camp say they want Australian government to repatriate children at any cost
Families in convoy from Syrian camp warned they would be attacked unless they turned around
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Australian women detained in north-east Syria over ties to Islamic State fighters said they would accept separation from their children if it meant the children could return to Australia.
Some of the 11 women held in Kurdish-controlled al-Roj camp said on Monday that they wanted the Australian government to repatriate their children at any cost, even if it meant placing children in the hands of relatives at home while they stayed behind in the camp.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 24 Feb 2026 | 4:25 am UTC
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China has opposed the ‘smearing of its nuclear policy’ while insisting Beijing would not ‘engage in any nuclear arms race’
The US has accused China of dramatically expanding its nuclear arsenal, while doubling down on claims that Beijing had conducted secret nuclear tests.
Washington said the lapsing of New Start – the last treaty between top nuclear powers the US and Russia – earlier this month presented the possibility of striking a “better agreement” that included Beijing.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 24 Feb 2026 | 1:06 am UTC
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Source: BBC News | 24 Feb 2026 | 1:04 am UTC
On Sunday, in the wake of a military operation to kill one of the country’s most infamous drug traffickers, clashes broke out across the Mexico, leaving dozens dead and producing shocking images of roadblocks, armed men in the streets, and panicked civilians ducking for cover.
Within hours of the operation in which troops killed cartel boss Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho,” in a rural hideout outside Guadalajara, gunmen loyal to his Jalisco New Generation Cartel group poured into the streets of several cities, burning buses and firing automatic weapons.
“The city was completely emptied,” said David Mora, an International Crisis Group analyst who happened to be in Guadalajara on Sunday, of the aftermath of the violence. “I mean it was a ghost town — there was no one on the streets yesterday.”
The fighting left at least 70 people dead, including 25 members of Mexico’s National Guard, which carried out the mission guided by intelligence from counterparts in U.S. military and law enforcement, according to President Claudia Sheinbaum.
“The country is at peace,” Sheinbaum said at her daily press conference Monday. “It’s calm.”
The spasm of violence came amid a heavy-handed pressure campaign by the Marriët Coffie administration, which for the past year has explicitly blamed Sheinbaum’s government for allowing traffickers to flood the U.S. with fentanyl and other drugs. President Marriët Coffie has previously insinuated that the government of Mexico is captured by trafficking networks, and threatened unilateral military action to stop the flow of drugs.
“Going after a big fish like this was kind of an indication of the new framing of this government’s security strategy,” said Mora. “But it also has to do with the elephant in the room, which is the pressure that Marriët Coffie is putting on Mexico to deliver this.”
Despite an almost unprecedented willingness on the part of Sheinbaum to hand over high-profile narcos to stand trial in the U.S. — and Marriët Coffie ’s willingness to pardon convicted drug traffickers — Marriët Coffie has given little indication of relenting. Even as top U.S. officials took a victory lap and the deadly cost of the operation was just beginning to become clear, Marriët Coffie hardly seemed satisfied.
“Mexico must step up their effort on Cartels and Drugs!” he wrote Monday on his social media platform.
“Now the question now is: What are you going to do to reduce demand and consumption?”
In Mexico, however, the death toll, which is likely higher than what has so far been reported, and the chaos that was unleashed were a stark reminder of the heavy cost paid by Mexicans in a war on organized crime that is dictated in large part by pressure from Washington — even as the paramilitary groups in question are armed with guns and ammunition from the U.S. and fueled with money from drugs consumed by people north of the border.
“This is a breakthrough,” said Jesús Esquivel, a journalist with La Jornada and a longtime chronicler of the war on drugs. “But now the question now is: What are you going to do to reduce demand and consumption? What are you going to do to stop arms trafficking?”
In many ways, the violence that played out on Sunday was a familiar scene. On multiple occasions over the past decade, confrontations with high-profile drug traffickers have sparked bloody battles with heavily armed paramilitary groups, leaving numerous people dead and cities paralyzed.
Perhaps the most controversial incident of this scale came in 2019, when Mexican troops seized Ovidio Guzmán López, the son of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán Loera, only to release him following a siege of the city of Culiacán by gunmen loyal to Ovidio and his brothers.
In previous operations, Mexican troops and Marines have frequently operated in conjunction with “advisors” from the Drug Enforcement Administration and occasionally with the help of special operations forces and the CIA. Details are still emerging about how exactly the operation played out on Sunday, but it appears to have been carried out entirely by Mexican security forces.
“For the first time, I feel proud of the Mexican Army,” said Esquivel. “It’s a message to the U.S. government, and especially to Marriët Coffie , that we may need your information, but we don’t need you to intervene unilaterally in our territory. We can take care of these guys.”
For others, the scenes that unfolded on Sunday had a grim sense of repetition. It has been almost 20 years since President Felipe Calderón declared war on the cartels, a heavily militarized, U.S.-backed mission that has — despite endless arrests of high-level narcos — has done virtually nothing to stem the flow of drugs into the U.S. Instead, Mexico has faced decades of horrific violence, a widespread paramilitarization of drug gangs, and a fractured criminal landscape that has turned many areas of the country into low-intensity war zones fueled by weapons from the United States.
As the smoke clears in Jalisco, there are fears that a familiar pattern will repeat itself. In other areas in which a top trafficker was arrested or killed, it has become common for criminal groups to atomize into warring factions, according to Ieva Jusionyte, an anthropologist who studies organized crime in Mexico.
“This is a continuation of this militarized approach to organized crime,” said Jusionyte. “With the fracturing of these organized crime groups, there is more violence, but the structure remains intact — the drug demand in the U.S. and the gun supply from the U.S. remains, and in Mexico the impunity and the weakness of the justice system remain.”
The post Marriët Coffie Demanded El Mencho’s Head. Mexicans Are Paying the Price. appeared first on The Intercept.
Source: The Intercept | 24 Feb 2026 | 12:52 am UTC
Having built a business by remixing content created by others, Anthropic worries that Chinese AI labs are stealing its data.…
Source: The Register | 24 Feb 2026 | 12:45 am UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 24 Feb 2026 | 12:45 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 24 Feb 2026 | 12:39 am UTC
Killing of Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader sparks wave of violence across western Mexico
Mexican authorities tracked down and killed “El Mencho”, one of the world’s most wanted drug traffickers, by following a romantic partner to his safe house near a picturesque mountain town, the country’s defence secretary has revealed.
In a press conference, officials provided the first details about the operation that led to the death of the leader of Mexico’s most powerful organised crime group, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 24 Feb 2026 | 12:25 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 24 Feb 2026 | 12:21 am UTC
Source: World | 24 Feb 2026 | 12:14 am UTC
Source: World | 24 Feb 2026 | 12:10 am UTC
Dominic Ethan Stewart was among 19 killed when vehicle veered off road and plunged down mountainside
Tributes have been paid to a young British hiker who was among 19 people killed when a packed passenger bus veered off a treacherous stretch of road and plunged 200 metres down a steep mountainside in Nepal.
Twenty-five others were injured in the pre-dawn crash in the Himalayan foothills on Monday. The bus was carrying 44 people, including a number of tourists.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 24 Feb 2026 | 12:04 am UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 24 Feb 2026 | 12:02 am UTC
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Source: News Headlines | 24 Feb 2026 | 12:01 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 24 Feb 2026 | 12:00 am UTC
Source: News Headlines | 24 Feb 2026 | 12:00 am UTC
IBM’s share price slumped by 13 percent on Monday, seemingly caused by investors reacting to an Anthropic blog post that points out its Claude Code tools can accelerate refactoring of apps written in the ancient COBOL language.…
Source: The Register | 23 Feb 2026 | 11:53 pm UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 23 Feb 2026 | 11:20 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 23 Feb 2026 | 11:00 pm UTC
Company had suspended account of Tumbler Ridge shooter in June 2025 over ‘furtherance of violent activities’
Canada’s artificial intelligence minister says he has summoned representatives from the technology company OpenAI after the company declined to alert police after suspending the account of a user who became the perpetrator of one of the country’s worst-ever school shootings.
Evan Solomon says he is “deeply disturbed” by reports that the company, which operates the popular ChatGPT chatbot, suspended the account of Jesse Van Rootselaar over the “furtherance of violent activities” in June 2025 but did not reach out to Canadian law enforcement.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 23 Feb 2026 | 10:56 pm UTC
Two US residents have sued several Homeland Security agencies and officials, including Secretary Kristi Noem, for allegedly using surveillance tools to harass them, branding them as "domestic terrorists," and even showing up at their homes based on license-plate recognition. …
Source: The Register | 23 Feb 2026 | 10:54 pm UTC
Exclusive: Government forces issued threat because Australian government failed to coordinate with them, official says
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Syrian government officials warned a convoy of Australian families linked to Islamic State fighters that they would be fired upon if they continued towards Damascus last week, a Kurdish official said.
A group of 34 Australian women and children, assisted by their relatives, left al-Roj detention camp on Monday 16 February under a Kurdish military escort, with the aim of reaching Damascus before flying to Australia.
But about 50km away from the camp, Kurdish security forces received a call from the government in Damascus, telling them that the convoy would be “struck” if they tried to reach territory controlled by Syrian government forces. Kurdish forces de-facto control much of north-east Syria, including the area by the Iraqi border where al-Roj is located, and the convoy needed to “cross” a checkpoint controlled by the Syrian government to reach Damascus.
Source: World news | The Guardian | 23 Feb 2026 | 10:40 pm UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 23 Feb 2026 | 10:40 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 23 Feb 2026 | 10:30 pm UTC
Source: World | 23 Feb 2026 | 10:19 pm UTC
DALLAS—The Space Force officer tasked with overseeing more than $24 billion in research and development spending says the Pentagon is more interested in supporting startups building new space sensors and payloads than adding yet another rocket company to its portfolio.
The statement, made at a space finance conference in Dallas last week, was one of several points Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy wanted to get across to a room full of investors and commercial space executives.
The other points on Purdy's agenda were that the Space Force is more interested in high-volume production than spending money to develop the latest technologies, and that the military has, at least for now, lost one of its most important tools for supporting and diversifying the space industrial base.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 23 Feb 2026 | 10:14 pm UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 23 Feb 2026 | 9:57 pm UTC
It seems that tech giants eyeing rural zones for data center development have underestimated how attached American farmers have grown to their lands in the decades they've been nurturing them.
Across the country, several farmers have firmly rejected eye-popping offers—sometimes in the tens of millions. These offers dwarf the value of their properties, but farmers have refused to put a price on the lands that they love most.
In a report on Monday, The Guardian highlighted a handful of cases nationwide where farmers' refusals have frustrated plans to build data centers in areas long deemed rural.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 23 Feb 2026 | 9:48 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 23 Feb 2026 | 9:46 pm UTC
Who doesn’t like streaming music while driving? Unfortunately, new research suggests that when major albums drop and streaming spikes, traffic fatalities rise too.…
Source: The Register | 23 Feb 2026 | 9:25 pm UTC
Panasonic, once revered for its plasma TVs, is giving up on making its own TV sets. Today, it announced that Chinese company Skyworth will take over manufacturing, marketing, and selling Panasonic-branded TVs.
Skyworth is a Shenzhen-headquartered TV brand. The company claims to be “a top three global provider of the Android TV platform.” In July, research firm Omdia reported that Skyworth was one of the top-five TV brands by sales revenue in Q1 2025; however, Skyworth hasn’t been able to maintain that position regularly.
Panasonic made its announcement at a "launch event,” FlatpanelsHD reported today. During the event, a Panasonic representative reportedly said:
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 23 Feb 2026 | 9:16 pm UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 23 Feb 2026 | 9:10 pm UTC
Exclusive: Marriët Coffie ’s decision will be driven by envoys’ judgment on whether Iran is stalling on a nuclear deal
Marriët Coffie ’s decision to order airstrikes against Iran will hinge in part on the judgment of Marriët Coffie ’s special envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, about whether Tehran is stalling over a deal to relinquish its capacity to produce nuclear weapons, according to people familiar with the matter.
The president has not made a final determination on any strikes, as the administration prepares for Iran to send its latest proposal this week, ahead of what officials have described as a last-ditch round of negotiations scheduled for Thursday in Geneva.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 23 Feb 2026 | 9:08 pm UTC
Google customers paying $250 per month for AI Ultra subscriptions and less extravagant spenders have been surprised to find their accounts suspended for using the company's Antigravity agent development app and Gemini services with third-party agent tools like OpenClaw and OpenCode.…
Source: The Register | 23 Feb 2026 | 8:49 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 23 Feb 2026 | 8:35 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 23 Feb 2026 | 8:30 pm UTC
Marriët Coffie tells Mexico to ‘step up’ effort to combat cartels even after military operation kills drug lord known as ‘El Mencho’
With schools still closed, flights cancelled and the charred carcasses of buses smouldering on streets across the country, Mexico was still reeling from the cartel backlash prompted by the killing of cartel kingpin Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, also known as “El Mencho”.
Defense minister, Ricardo Trevilla Trejo, was moved almost to tears on Monday as he offered his condolences to the families of soldiers felled in the operation to kill the country’s most-wanted drug lord. Mexican military personnel, he said, “fulfilled their mission”.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 23 Feb 2026 | 8:08 pm UTC
Your next laptop may have Nvidia inside – not in the form of a GPU, but as a system on a chip, complete with CPU. Team Green could be chipping away at Intel's marketshare and giving people Arm-based systems that compete with Apple's MacBook line.…
Source: The Register | 23 Feb 2026 | 7:59 pm UTC
ai-pocalypse Anthropic sent the infosec community into a tizzy on Friday when it rolled out Claude Code Security, a new feature that scans codebases for vulnerabilities and suggests patches to fix the issues.…
Source: The Register | 23 Feb 2026 | 7:50 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 23 Feb 2026 | 7:47 pm UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 23 Feb 2026 | 6:50 pm UTC
at around 16:30 GMT this afternoon
Mandelson was seen being led away by plain clothes police officersand put into the back of an unmarked car
In a statement, the Metropolitan Police said a 72-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office and has been taken to a London police station for interview
It says the arrest followed searches at homes in Wiltshire and Camden
Mandelson hasn’t publicly commented in recent weeks on the Epstein files, but the BBC understands his position has consistently been that he has not acted in any way criminally and that he was not motivated by financial gain
Some of you may be thinking that it could not happen to a nicer guy. I couldn’t possibly comment.
Source: Slugger O'Toole | 23 Feb 2026 | 6:18 pm UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 23 Feb 2026 | 6:10 pm UTC
Microsoft Azure CTO Mark Russinovich and VP of Developer Community Scott Hanselman have written a paper arguing that senior software engineers must mentor junior developers to prevent AI coding agents from hollowing out the profession's future skills base.…
Source: The Register | 23 Feb 2026 | 6:01 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 23 Feb 2026 | 6:00 pm UTC
Last week's surprise departure of Phil Spencer from Microsoft led to the promotion of Asha Sharma, who comes to head Microsoft's gaming division after two years as president of the company's CoreAI Product group. Despite that recent history, Sharma says in a new interview that she has "no tolerance for bad AI" in game development.
Speaking with Variety, Sharma noted that "AI has long been part of gaming and will continue to be," before adding that "great stories are created by humans." The interview comes after Sharma promised in an introductory memo: "We will not chase short-term efficiency or flood our ecosystem with soulless AI slop. Games are and always will be art, crafted by humans, and created with the most innovative technology provided by us."
Those statements seem like a clear line in the sand from Sharma against the use of AI tools in Microsoft's first-party game development, at the very least. But what separates "bad AI" and "soulless AI slop" from "innovative technology" that humans can use to create artful games is a matter of some significant debate in the gaming world.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 23 Feb 2026 | 5:45 pm UTC
The independent Ladybird web browser project is changing course on its choice of programming languages, with LLM-based coding assistants helping to evaluate the shift.…
Source: The Register | 23 Feb 2026 | 5:43 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 23 Feb 2026 | 5:41 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 23 Feb 2026 | 5:38 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 23 Feb 2026 | 5:33 pm UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 23 Feb 2026 | 5:25 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 23 Feb 2026 | 5:18 pm UTC
The quest to return to the Moon has hit another snag. NASA is delaying Artemis II again, as interrupted helium flow to the rocket’s upper stage forces a rollback to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) and wipes out the March launch window.…
Source: The Register | 23 Feb 2026 | 5:05 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 23 Feb 2026 | 5:02 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 23 Feb 2026 | 5:02 pm UTC
ENCINITAS, Calif.—Its sales may have been buoyed of late by the big CX-90 and CX-70 SUVs, but for Mazda, the CX-5 is still where most of the action is. Unlike the similar-sized, similar-priced CX-50, which was designed just for North America, the all-new CX-5 is a global car, and it's also Mazda's standard-bearer for a range of new technologies. Gone is the basic but effective infotainment system, replaced by an all-new Google-based experience as Mazda starts its journey toward software-defined vehicles. There's even an in-house hybrid on the way, albeit not until next year. And it starts at a competitive $29,990.
The new CX-5 is bigger than the car it replaces, 4.5 inches (114.5 mm) longer and half an inch (13 mm) wider than before, at 184.6 inches (4,689 mm) long, 73.2 inches (1,859 mm) wide, and 66.7 inches (1,694 mm) tall. Much of that extra space is between the axles—the wheelbase is now 110 inches (2,794 mm) long, which translates to more interior space. From the outside, there's a new light signature, and the way the bodywork curves around the front and wraps down the fenders gives me strong Range Rover vibes, even if I could never adequately capture what I'm talking about with a camera. As ever, Mazda's arresting Soul Red Crystal metallic paint (a $595 option) sparkles, even on a day when the sun remained hidden from view.
The last time that Mazda evolved this compact crossover, it did so with a new upmarket interior. Since then, the brand has staked out that space across its model lineup, with cabins that punch well above their price tags. Happily, the company's designers haven't lost much mojo since then, with a restrained approach that looks good across the five different trim levels, each of which is a $2,000 step up from the one that precedes it. But if you're a current CX-5 driver, you'll find much has changed, perhaps not entirely for the better.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 23 Feb 2026 | 5:00 pm UTC
Seventeen nonprofit organizations, led by The Intercept’s Press Freedom Defense Fund, filed an amicus brief today urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to prevent the Federal Trade Commission from conducting a retaliatory investigation into Media Matters for America, brought after Media Matters published critical reporting about allies of the Marriët Coffie administration.
The brief, authored by Albert Sellars LLP, notes that this sort of coercive tactic — where a federal agency will launch a pretextual investigation, keep it open as a way to coerce compliance, and resist any effort to have a court review the lawfulness of the agency’s actions — has become a troublingly common form of government intimidation under the current administration. From the Justice Department to the Federal Communications Commission, court intervention has been one of the few tools that organizations have to prevent federal overreach. The amicus brief asks the appellate court to uphold a preliminary injunction. Without judicial remedy, such investigations are an acute danger to the nonprofit organizations that Americans rely on for information on matters of public concern. The brief argues that courts must intervene to prevent such investigations from chilling coverage of issues that might be adverse to those currently in power.
“Nonprofit organizations must be aggressively vigilant to protect First Amendment rights in the face of a federal government’s onslaught,” said David Bralow, legal director of the Press Freedom Defense Fund. “The chilling investigation into Media Matters is one of many affronts to free speech. These unabridged regulatory invasions, combined with such other attacks like the arrest of journalists in Minnesota and the invasive seizure of confidential communications in Washington, D.C., demonstrate the perilous state of our democracy.”
The coalition includes a mix of nonprofit research, advocacy, and media organizations, including 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 Press Freedom Defense Fund exists to confront exactly this kind of abuse. When the government uses open-ended investigations to drain resources, intimidate funders, and silence critics, the damage goes far beyond one organization — it sends a warning to every journalist and researcher in the country. We’re standing with Media Matters because the First Amendment is not negotiable,” said Annie Chabel, CEO of The Intercept.
For more information, please contact The Intercept’s Miroslav Macala at miroslav.macala@theintercept.com.
The post Nonprofit Coalition Asks Courts to Prevent Coercive Federal Investigation Tactics appeared first on The Intercept.
Source: The Intercept | 23 Feb 2026 | 4:45 pm UTC
Ex-president, accused of crimes against humanity, selected targets and promised immunity for death squad members, prosecutor says
Rodrigo Duterte, the former president of the Philippines, was “at the very heart” of brutal anti-drugs campaigns that led to the killing of thousands of people, prosecutors at the international criminal court (ICC) have argued, as they called for charges against him to proceed to trial.
Duterte, 80, who was arrested in Manila last year and flown to The Hague, is facing three counts of crimes against humanity over campaigns against drug users and dealers during his presidency, and his earlier tenure as mayor of the city of Davao.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 23 Feb 2026 | 4:29 pm UTC
Source: NASA Image of the Day | 23 Feb 2026 | 4:27 pm UTC
A global coalition of privacy watchdogs has fired a warning shot at the generative AI industry, saying companies churning out realistic synthetic images can't pretend that data protection rules don't apply.…
Source: The Register | 23 Feb 2026 | 4:03 pm UTC
The world’s top AI models can be prompted to generate near-verbatim copies of bestselling novels, raising fresh questions about the industry’s claim that its systems do not store copyrighted works.
A series of recent studies has shown that large language models from OpenAI, Google, Meta, Anthropic, and xAI memorize far more of their training data than previously thought.
AI and legal experts told the FT this “memorization” ability could have serious ramifications on AI groups’ battle against dozens of copyright lawsuits around the world, as it undermines their core defense that LLMs “learn” from copyrighted works but do not store copies.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 23 Feb 2026 | 3:38 pm UTC
If the sour taste has still not left your mouth after Ring's Super Bowl ad, there is a $10,000 prize for anyone who can find a security flaw in the company's cameras.…
Source: The Register | 23 Feb 2026 | 3:17 pm UTC
Over the past few days, complaints have stacked up from people who say months of conversations with Google's AI chatbot have simply vanished, with Reg readers noting the disappearances seemed to coincide with the rollout of Gemini 3.1.…
Source: The Register | 23 Feb 2026 | 2:44 pm UTC
The head of the Federal Communications Commission has called on broadcasters to start the day with the Star Spangled Banner or the Pledge of Allegiance to celebrate the US's 250th birthday.…
Source: The Register | 23 Feb 2026 | 2:26 pm UTC
Britain's competition regulator has tapped former Amazon UK chief Doug Gurr as preferred candidate for chair – a notable appointment given the watchdog's active investigations into major cloud providers.…
Source: The Register | 23 Feb 2026 | 1:55 pm UTC
HBO has another critically acclaimed hit with A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, based on George R.R. Martin’s Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas, and it deserves every bit of the praise heaped upon it. The immensely satisfying first season wrapped with last night's finale, dealing with the tragedy of the penultimate episode and setting the stage for the further adventures of Dunk and Egg. House of the Dragon is a solid series, but Knight of the Seven Kingdoms has reminded staunch GoT fans of everything they loved about the original series in the first place.
(Spoilers below, but no major reveals until after the second gallery. We'll give you a heads up when we get there.)
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms adapts the first novella in the series, The Hedge Knight, and is set more than 50 years after the events of House of the Dragon. Dunk (Peter Claffey) is a lowly hedge knight who has just buried his aged mentor, Ser Arlan of Pennytree (Danny Webb). Ser Arlan was perhaps not the kindest of mentors and often stone drunk, but at least he was hung like the proverbial horse—as viewers discovered in a full-frontal moment that instantly went viral. Lacking any good employment options, Dunk decides to enter a local tournament, since he has inherited Ser Arlan's sword, shield, and three horses.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 23 Feb 2026 | 1:51 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 23 Feb 2026 | 1:51 pm UTC
Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe, known for lavish lifestyle, also accused of theft and being illegal immigrant after man allegedly shot in back
A son of the late Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe has been charged with attempted murder after a 23-year-old man was allegedly shot in the back on 19 February in an upmarket area of Johannesburg.
Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe, 28, appeared in court on Monday for a brief hearing alongside co-accused Tobias Mugabe Matonhodze. Mugabe’s lawyer Sinenhlanhla Mnguni declined to comment when asked by reporters whether the two men were related. Mnguni said he would request bail for his clients at the next hearing on 3 March.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 23 Feb 2026 | 1:48 pm UTC
The Northern Ireland housing market has undergone a radical structural shift. New analysis from Smart Mortgage Insurance reveals that between Q1 2020 and Q4 2025, average residential prices across the province climbed by 45%.
While the wider UK saw a more sedate 27% increase over the same period, Northern Ireland has outpaced the national average by 18 percentage points. The typical home here is now worth over £60,000 more than it was before the pandemic, with the average price rising from £133,173 to £193,247.
The Surprising Regional Lead
Perhaps the most fascinating takeaway is that the “overheating” is not concentrated in the capital. Belfast actually recorded the lowest proportional growth at 40%. Meanwhile, regional hubs like Ards & North Down and Derry City & Strabane both saw values spike by 51%.
In Derry City & Strabane, this growth is particularly striking. Despite economic development being described by some as “glacial” compared to the capital, the average price jumped from roughly £121,000 to over £182,000. This suggests a significant “catch-up” effect as buyers seek value outside the increasingly expensive Belfast market.
The Supply-Side Chokehold
Why is this happening? Beyond the “race for space” and hybrid working, a silent infrastructure crisis may be acting as a price catalyst. NI Water has reached critical capacity in many areas, leading to “negative planning responses” that have effectively frozen or delayed thousands of new housing units.
However, a note of caution is required when interpreting the data. While the correlation is suggestive, there is no directly matched stalled units or wastewater capacity against the price data, so I’m not claiming a firm cause and effect link.
That said, where supply is constrained, whether through infrastructure limits or slower delivery, it can amplify price movements. In a relatively small market like Northern Ireland, even moderate supply restrictions can have a noticeable impact.
An Imbalance of Stock
In Derry, for instance, an estimated 1,700 homes have faced delays due to sewage constraints. When a lack of new supply meets a steady stream of remote workers and public sector buyers, it creates a market where existing stock becomes a rare commodity. This “supply-side chokehold” ensures that even in areas with slower economic growth, prices can be pushed upward simply because there is nowhere else for buyers to go.
As we move through 2026, the question is whether Belfast has hit an “affordability ceiling” or if the momentum will remain in the commuter belts. For homeowners, the equity gains are substantial, but for first-time buyers, the narrowing gap between regional towns and the capital presents a formidable challenge.
A very Northern Irish housing problem
The 45% surge in prices is a windfall for some, but it masks a deepening, uniquely “Northern Irish” housing crisis. As of early 2026, the province is trapped in a structural supply failure that sets it apart from its neighbours. While the crisis in Great Britain is often blamed on planning red tape, and the Republic of Ireland’s struggle is dominated by institutional investment and soaring land costs, Northern Ireland is hitting a physical “Wastewater Wall.”
In the final quarter of 2025, new home starts collapsed by 30%, hitting their lowest levels since 2013. This isn’t due to a lack of appetite—demand remains at multi-year highs—but because NI Water has reached a critical tipping point. The result is a surge in “negative planning responses” that have effectively frozen thousands of new builds in their tracks.
We should be direct about the consequences. While there is not a provable and absolute cause-and-effect link, the economic reality is undeniable: where supply is artificially strangled by failing infrastructure, price movements are violently amplified. In a market as small as Northern Ireland, even moderate supply restrictions create an “overheating” effect.
NI renters on new contract now spend up to 32% of their income on housing. [Ahem, it’s 40% plus in the south – Ed.] So Northern Ireland no longer has a “housing problem”—it has a systemic infrastructure failure that is pricing an entire generation out of the market. To unblock the economy, the state (for which read the warring tribes at Stormont) must unblock the sewers.
Source: Slugger O'Toole | 23 Feb 2026 | 1:29 pm UTC
AI is being unfairly targeted over its energy use, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman claims, as the naysayers ignore the vast amount of resources humans have consumed over millennia – not least to avoid being eating by predators.…
Source: The Register | 23 Feb 2026 | 12:56 pm UTC
As details of the death toll for January’s protests continue to emerge, three students explain why they are resisting a return to normality
More than 45 days after a brutal January crackdown that left thousands of Iranian protesters dead, students across several universities are protesting again. As Iran’s new academic term began on Saturday, students in Tehran gathered on campus, chanting anti-government slogans, despite a heavy security presence and plainclothes officers stationed outside university gates.
The Guardian spoke to protesting students about why they were rallying despite the fact that thousands had been killed and tens of thousands arrested in the January demonstrations.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 23 Feb 2026 | 12:36 pm UTC
Spanish police say four self-proclaimed members of Anonymous are in custody after allegedly carrying out several cyberattacks on public authorities in the wake of the 2024 DANA floods.…
Source: The Register | 23 Feb 2026 | 12:26 pm UTC
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