Witch

• Dr. Sergey Lagodinsky, Vice Chair of the Greens/EFA Group, warns that Europe is becoming a "digital colony" caught between the AI empires of the U.S. and China. • The urgency is highlighted by the release of Mythos, the most powerful model from AI developer Anthropic, which Lagodinsky argues has made the world less safe. • This shift matters because Europe risks losing economic autonomy and security if it remains dependent on foreign AI infrastructure and platforms.

Climate minister Chris Bowen says country must prepare for changing world and can play bigger role in reducing emissionsAustralia will find exporting fossil fuels increasingly difficult but can switch to exporting clean energy products, the president of the next UN climate negotiations has declared.Speaking at a climate conference in Bonn, Germany, Chris Bowen, Australia’s minister for climate change and energy, argued his country had led the global push to “transition away from fossil fuels” – based on the rapid growth of renewable energy and batteries in its domestic power grids – and that its economy could manage the switch. Continue reading...

Victorian premier says she will always call out ‘misogynist’ views after One Nation leader says ‘if the shoe fits’Jacinta Allan has dismissed leadership speculation and says she will continue to call out “sexist, misogynist, hateful” commentary directed at her, despite One Nation leader Pauline Hanson’s advice to “suck it up, sweetheart”.On Sunday, the Victorian premier criticised a truck-mounted billboard, which has been seen travelling around Melbourne for several weeks, featuring AI-generated images of her wearing a black pointed hat alongside the phrase “ditch the witch”. Continue reading...

Trucks with billboards showing the phrase and Allan wearing a black pointed hat have been seen around Melbourne for about six weeksFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastJulia Gillard and Anthony Albanese have joined a chorus of politicians criticising a truck-mounted billboard featuring Victorian premier Jacinta Allan alongside the phrase “ditch the witch”.The billboards, which have been seen travelling through Melbourne for about six weeks, also ran AI-generated images of Allan wearing a black pointed hat and with warts on her chin, in between advertisements for a brothel. Continue reading...

• The European Parliament announced on Wednesday that it will replace Google with the French search engine Qwant. • This transition is part of a broader strategic effort to enhance "tech sovereignty" by reducing the European Union's reliance on U.S.-based technology. • The move highlights a growing trend of favoring local alternatives to mitigate the dominance of American tech giants in the region.

Historical events like Spanish Inquisition show the ‘velocity’ at which rumours move to conviction, says Celebrity Traitors contestantHistory might explain why Faithfuls find it so difficult to root out Traitors in the hit BBC show, suggests one member of the Celebrity Traitors cohort, who were record-breakingly bad at the game.The roundtable – where contestants discuss who should be cast out – was somewhat “frightening” because of the “velocity in which something goes from a suspicion to belief, to faith, to condemnation”, said the broadcaster and historian David Olusoga. Continue reading...

Previously prohibited use of websites such as Omoggle that connect a streamer to a stranger’s video feed now allowed Last week, at 4am, 19-year-old Sammy Amz was scrolling through X when something caught his eye: a popular Twitch streamer was competing in a 1v1 “mog-off” with a stranger, and losing.The next day he opened the Omoggle gaming website and began to play. Quickly he matched with another user – green dots appeared on their faces onscreen, as the website began to compare their measurements: canthal tilt, palpebral fissure ratio, nose-to-face width ratio and so on. Continue reading...

As communities push for publicly owned electricity, private utilities may be deploying dark money and local front groups to stop themThe utility industry is quietly dispatching a network of front groups to thwart the growing push for public power across the US – a push that comes amid mounting frustration over sky-high utility bills, electric outages, a slow transition to clean energy and private utilities’ soaring profits.Communities from Ann Arbor, Michigan to San Diego, California and St Petersburg, Florida are exploring municipalizing their grids to join the country’s approximately 2,000 public power companies. Continue reading...

Rural dwellers reveal failings in backup plans, as campaigners call for deadline to be extended from 2027 to 2030“Every time there is a power failure I lose all means of communication with the outside world,” says Robert Dewar of life in a remote village in the Scottish Highlands since the landlines were transferred from the old copper cable network to broadband connections.Blackouts also knock out the village’s mobile phone signal. “Our most recent power cut lasted for 42 hours,” Dewar says. The interruption outlasted his five-hour emergency backup battery. “If I had had a heart attack there is damn all I could have done about it, except compose myself, say my prayers, and await the outcome.” Continue reading...

A new reboot of the 1999 horror hit will feature two of the original stars and the directing team as executive producersThe reboot of The Blair Witch Project will now boast those involved with the original as producers after they voiced their frustration.The 1999 indie smash was made for $35,000 but made $248m, becoming one of the most profitable films ever made. Continue reading...

US representatives Jared Huffman and Jamie Raskin earlier this month called agreements outrageous and unlawfulSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxThe Trump administration blocked two permitted US wind energy projects from development this week, with an agreement to pay millions of dollars in refunds to the companies behind them if those funds are reinvested in oil and gas.US Department of the Interior officials framed the canceled agreements as a way to “promote US energy security and affordability” by funneling funds “away from intermittent, higher-cost energy sources toward proven conventional solutions”, in an announcement issued Monday. Continue reading...

• Cisco Systems unveiled its first universal quantum switch, positioning it as a foundational component for building a scalable quantum internet infrastructure. • The switch represents a significant advancement in quantum networking technology and has garnered industry recognition this week. • The development signals Cisco's strategic pivot toward quantum computing infrastructure as enterprises begin exploring quantum-enabled applications.

Campaigners say banks and web platforms are being told to collect data on customers visiting blocked sitesMajor Russian companies have been conscripted into a “witch-hunt” against users trying to circumvent online controls, researchers have said, as the Kremlin continues trying to cut its citizens off from the global internet.Banks and web platforms are collecting data on users of virtual private networks (VPN) tools, which obscure an individual’s real location and allow them to access sites blocked in Russia, according to an investigation by RKS global, an advocacy group for internet freedoms. Continue reading...

The Kissing Booth’s Joey King and Game Of Thrones’ Maisie Williams star alongside the original cast members as the next generation of the cursed Owens familyGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailThe midnight margaritas are officially back on the menu. Within 24 hours of its debut, the first official teaser for Practical Magic 2 has surged into the Google Trends top 10, attracting millions of views and signalling an enthusiastic appetite for the return of the Owens family and all things witchy.Academy Award winners Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman will return as sisters Sally and Gillian, with Kidman sharing a video of her and her fellow star on set last year, captioned: “The witches are back”. Continue reading...

Richard Blumenthal says company acts like it has ‘get-out-of-jail-free card’ as records show it upping fees to cut lossesTicketmaster quietly raised other fees after US crackdown on hidden chargesSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailSenators slammed Ticketmaster for raising ticket fees following a regulatory crackdown on hidden charges as revealed in a report by the Guardian last week.The Federal Trade Commission last May began requiring Ticketmaster to disclose concert ticket fees upfront – a practice known as all-in pricing. The company eliminated the order processing fee it charged at the the end of a transaction to comply with the rule. Continue reading...

Leader understood to have spoken to 10 trade unions after party claimed working class voters are turning to themZack Polanski has kicked off a charm offensive designed to convince trade unions to stop funding Labour and throw their weight behind the Green party, as he delivered the first in a series of speeches to union conferences.The Green leader has had “good conversations” with 10 trade unions, including some affiliated to Labour, according to party sources, and is due to address the University and College Union and the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union, not affiliated with Labour, in the coming months. Continue reading...

• Scientists have discovered a molecular mechanism that explains the effectiveness of exercise in reversing age-related muscle deterioration. • The finding provides new insight into the cellular processes through which physical activity combats muscle aging at the molecular level. • This breakthrough could lead to targeted therapies mimicking exercise benefits for individuals unable to maintain regular physical activity.

Managing director Hugh Marks defiant the ABC will not back down on staff demands despite severe disruption to television, radio and digitalFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastMore than 2,000 ABC staff around Australia have walked off the job for a 24-hour strike, forcing ABC services across TV, radio and digital to use BBC World Service and repeat programming.The ABC managing director, Hugh Marks, is defiant the ABC will not back down on staff demands despite the severe disruption. Continue reading...

Summer holidaymakers opting for ‘more familiar, easy-to-reach locations’ as travel industry counts cost of Middle East conflictHolidaymakers who had planned to visit the eastern Mediterranean this summer are moving their trips to the west and the Caribbean because of the US-Israel war on Iran, travel companies have said.Travellers from the UK and mainland Europe are increasingly swapping their holiday destinations away from Cyprus, Turkey and Greece towards Italy, Spain, Malta and Croatia, as the region around the Middle East grapples with flight cancellations and airspace closures. Continue reading...