Super

• Recursive Superintelligence, con sede a Londra e fondata nel 2025 da ex leader di OpenAI, Google DeepMind, Meta AI e Uber AI, ha raccolto 650 milioni di dollari con una valutazione di 4,65 miliardi di dollari in un round guidato da GV e Greycroft, con la partecipazione di AMD Ventures e NVIDIA. • L'approccio tecnologico principale della startup si concentra sull'automazione del processo di ricerca dell'IA stesso, sviluppando sistemi capaci di migliorare la propria architettura, i metodi di addestramento e i processi di valutazione senza una costante supervisione umana. • L'azienda opera attualmente dagli uffici di San Francisco e Londra con oltre 25 ricercatori e ingegneri, e prevede di utilizzare i nuovi fondi per assicurarsi un'infrastruttura di calcolo su larga scala e avviare il suo primo sistema di addestramento autonomo di Livello 1.

• Un fondo di riserva di un super PAC da 140 milioni di dollari è pronto ad attaccare il democratico dell'Ohio Sherrod Brown, mentre quest'ultimo punta al ritorno in Senato nel 2026. • I finanziamenti provenienti da donatori repubblicani mirano a mettere in risalto il record di voto di Brown e le sue politiche economiche in questo stato chiave. • L'escalation è cruciale per la difesa della ristretta maggioranza del GOP in Senato in un contesto di elezioni di metà mandato ad alta tensione.

• Un'indagine su 27.000 prodotti dei supermercati australiani ha rivelato che alcuni articoli che vantano benefici ambientali presentano emissioni significativamente più elevate rispetto a quelli non etichettati. • I ricercatori australiani hanno scoperto che i prodotti nei supermercati che utilizzano termini ambientali come “naturale” o “sostenibile” si avvalgono per lo più di un linguaggio di marketing, piuttosto che di rivendicazioni verificate. • Oltre 27.000 alimenti confezionati venduti nei supermercati Coles, Woolworths, Aldi, IGA e Harris Farm di Sydney sono stati valutati dai ricercatori del George Institute for Global Health. Continua a leggere...

• Il computer quantistico a superconduzione indipendente di quarta generazione della Cina, "Origin Wukong 180", è entrato ufficialmente in funzione il 9 maggio 2026 e ha iniziato ad accettare task di calcolo quantistico da utenti di tutto il mondo. • Il sistema a 180 qubit rappresenta un significativo avanzamento nelle capacità di calcolo quantistico della Cina e segna un progresso verso la costruzione di un'infrastruttura tecnologica quantistica indigena indipendente dai sistemi stranieri. • Il lancio dimostra l'impegno della Cina nel raggiungere l'autosufficienza tecnologica nei domini di calcolo emergenti e nel competere con le iniziative di ricerca quantistica negli Stati Uniti e in Europa.

• Il 7 maggio 2026, il Ministero della Scienza e dell'ICT della Corea del Sud ha annunciato la creazione di una rete nazionale di supercalcolo AI, integrando 16 data center esistenti in un'unica piattaforma con una capacità di elaborazione totale superiore a 40 exaFLOPS. • La rete, finanziata con 12 trilioni di ₩ (circa 9 miliardi di dollari), fornirà accesso agevolato alla potenza di calcolo per startup nazionali, università e produttori automobilistici, con particolare enfasi sull'addestramento di LLM in lingua coreana e modelli di guida autonoma. • Seoul posiziona questa rete come contrappeso ai cluster AI sostenuti dallo Stato della Cina e agli hyperscaler degli Stati Uniti, intensificando al contempo i controlli sulle esportazioni di GPU di fascia alta integrate nella rete.

• A super PAC with a $140 million war chest is preparing to challenge Ohio Democrat Senator in the 2026 election cycle. • The funding aims to prevent the incumbent's return, intensifying Republican strategies as reported on May 8, 2026. • This financial firepower underscores the high stakes for Senate control amid Trump's midterm focus.

Holder went back to woman’s Cheltenham flat after night out and refused to stop assault even when she began cryingA co-founder of the clothing company Superdry has been jailed for eight years for raping a woman after a night out in Cheltenham.James Holder, 54, had been due to get a taxi back to his home in the Cotswolds with a male friend. Instead, the pair got into the victim’s taxi and went to her flat in the Gloucestershire town, where Holder raped her.Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, or 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html Continue reading...

• Indian Premier League 2026's 48th match pits Delhi Capitals against Chennai Super Kings at 7:30 PM IST on May 5, 2026, in Delhi. • The high-stakes clash continues IPL's thrilling season, drawing massive viewership across India. • Both teams vie for playoff positioning in the competitive T20 league, blending cricket with entertainment spectacle.

• Chennai Super Kings defeated Mumbai Indians by eight wickets on Saturday at MA Chidambaram Stadium, chasing 160 runs comfortably in IPL 2026. • Captain Ruturaj Gaikwad and Kartik Sharma scored unbeaten fifties to lead the successful chase, highlighting CSK's dominant batting form. • The loss leaves MI in ninth place with only two wins from nine matches and four points, their playoff hopes fading fast.

• The Trinamool Congress (TMC) moved the Supreme Court on Friday for an urgent hearing challenging the Election Commission of India's decision to appoint only central government employees as counting supervisors for West Bengal Assembly elections. • Chief Justice of India Surya Kant directed an urgent hearing for Saturday, with the plea to be heard by a bench of Justices PS Narasimha and Joymalya Bagchi, indicating high-priority consideration of the electoral dispute. • The challenge reflects ongoing political tensions in West Bengal regarding electoral fairness and governance, with TMC opposing what it views as potential bias in vote counting procedures.

• A newly formed super PAC aligned with Republicans has amassed a $140 million war chest aimed at defeating an incumbent Ohio Democrat seeking to return to the Senate in 2026, according to campaign‑finance disclosures. • The Democrat, who previously served multiple terms in the Senate and is viewed as a key target in the GOP’s strategy to expand its majority, faces a crowded primary and is under pressure on several policy fronts. • Democrats warn that the spending could overwhelm small‑donor‑based campaigns and reshape the state’s media landscape, while Republicans argue the money will keep the candidate’s record under scrutiny.

Court heard woman asked fashion boss to stop but he did not even when she started cryingJames Holder, a co-founder of the clothing firm Superdry, has been found guilty of raping a woman after a night out in the Gloucestershire town of Cheltenham.Gloucester crown court heard Holder, 54, had been due to get a taxi back to his mansion in the Cotswolds with a male friend. Instead, the pair got into the victim’s taxi and went to her flat, where the fashion boss raped her. Continue reading...

Spy tech firm says it’s just ‘a software company’ amid pressure for a ban on new contracts with government agenciesFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastJust weeks after it implied some cultures are inferior to others in a manifesto described by one UK MP as the “ramblings of a supervillain”, the US spy tech company Palantir says it is just “a software company” amid calls for Australian government agencies to ban any new contracts with the controversial company.In Australia, state and federal contracts with Palantir have reached nearly $80m, and federal investment in the company is reportedly more than $160m. Continue reading...

Billionaire Alexei Mordashov’s vessel, Nord, reportedly able to cross blockaded strait with US and Iranian approvalA superyacht owned by the Russian billionaire Alexei Mordashov was able to transit the blockaded strait of Hormuz after undergoing maintenance in Dubai because neither Iran nor the US objected, a source close to Mordashov said on Tuesday.It has been unclear how the multi-deck pleasure vessel, worth more than $500m (£370m), gained permission to sail on Saturday through the commercially important waterway at the heart of the US-Iran conflict, where traffic has been severely restricted since February. Continue reading...

2026 estimates for wolves on island highest since late 1970s but moose population declining dramaticallyWolves on a remote island in Lake Superior appear to be thriving, but they’re making deep dents in the moose population that they rely on as a leading food source, according to a report released Monday.Isle Royale is a 134,000-acre (54,200-hectare) national park in far western Lake Superior between Grand Marais, Minnesota, and Thunder Bay, Canada. The island is a natural laboratory, offering scientists a rare opportunity to observe wolves and moose largely free from human influence. Continue reading...

• Elon Musk's xAI closed a $6 billion Series C on April 25, 2026, backed by Sequoia and a16z, to build a 100,000-GPU supercluster in Memphis, Tennessee. • Funding supports Grok-3 development, targeting 5x faster inference than GPT-5, with first phase online by December 2026. • Initiative aims to repatriate AI compute to US soil, creating 1,200 high-tech jobs amid national security concerns over overseas data centers.

• A $140 million super PAC war chest is poised to challenge Ohio Democrat Sherrod Brown's 2026 Senate return. • Funded by Republican donors, the group aims to exploit Brown's vulnerabilities in a key battleground. • This escalation underscores high stakes for Senate control amid Trump's midterm focus.

Alarm caused by posts of Alex Carp, tech firm’s CEO, championing US military dominance and of AI weaponsThe US spy tech company Palantir published a manifesto extolling the benefits of American power and implying some cultures are inferior to others – in what MPs have called “a parody of a RoboCop film” and “the ramblings of a supervillain”.“Some cultures have produced vital advances; others remain dysfunctional and regressive,” wrote Palantir in a 22-point post on X over the weekend, which also called for an end to the “postwar neutering” of Germany and Japan. Continue reading...

Vinegar, Tim Tams and baby rice are among the products to be scrutinised in the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s caseGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe consumer watchdog is back in court and taking on Australia’s largest supermarket chain, alleging Woolworths deliberately misled shoppers with fake discounts.The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) case against Woolworths begins in the federal court in Sydney on Tuesday, almost two months after hearings wrapped up in its very similar case against Coles. Continue reading...

• Elon Musk's xAI announced a $6 billion Series C funding round on April 19, 2026, led by Sequoia Capital, valuing the startup at $24 billion post-money. • Funds will expand the Colossus supercomputer in Memphis, Tennessee, to 300,000 Nvidia GPUs for Grok AI training. • Investment accelerates US AI infrastructure race, countering China's advances and supporting domestic chip production.

Elisabeth Zetland, a senior researcher at MyHeritage, found that the actual Luigi has immigrated to US from ItalyThe Washington state businessman who inspired Nintendo to give the name Mario to its mustachioed, superhero plumber did not have a brother named Luigi like the fictional video game star famously does.But it has only just been determined that Nintendo may have unknowingly named its mascot’s brother after another of the real-life Mario’s close relatives: his father, Luigi, whose biography evokes that of millions of 20th-century US immigrants from Italy. Continue reading...

• Anthropic discovered its AI tool can outperform humans at certain hacking and cybersecurity tasks, marking a significant milestone in autonomous security capabilities. • The findings have prompted discussions among regulators and legislators regarding the implications of advanced AI systems in cybersecurity applications. • The development highlights growing concerns about balancing AI capabilities with security risks, particularly as AI systems demonstrate competency in traditionally human-dominated security roles.

Ministers drawing up contingency plans for ‘reasonable worst-case scenario’ if supply of CO2 is disruptedBusiness live – latest updatesThe UK could face some gaps on supermarket shelves this summer if disruption caused by the Iran war continues, with shortages of carbon dioxide potentially hitting supplies of chicken, pork and fizzy drinks.Government ministers are reportedly drawing up contingency plans for a “reasonable worst-case scenario” if the key shipping lane of the strait of Hormuz does not reopen, disrupting supplies of the CO2 required by the food industry. Continue reading...

• Brookhaven National Laboratory researchers created superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) using transition metal silicides, compatible with silicon manufacturing processes. • The technique adapts standard electronics methods, marking a milestone for scalable quantum systems on April 14, 2026. • This bridges gaps in quantum computing hardware by enabling integration with existing semiconductor fabs.

Typhoon expected to make landfall Tuesday in Northern Mariana Islands and bring heavy winds, rain and floodingA dangerous super typhoon in the Pacific Ocean is barreling toward a group of remote US islands.Super Typhoon Sinlaku is expected to make landfall Tuesday in the Northern Mariana Islands and bring destructive winds, widespread heavy rain and flooding, the National Weather Service said Monday. Continue reading...

Experts say climate pattern could supercharge extreme weather events and push temperatures to record highsThere is a high likelihood that the phenomenon known as “El Niño” will emerge this summer – and it could be exceptionally strong. A so-called “super El Niño” could supercharge extreme weather events and push global temperatures to record heights next year if it develops, according to experts.Meteorologists are keeping a close eye on the climate patterns developing in the Pacific Ocean that will enable stronger predictions about what’s to come in the year ahead. Continue reading...

Rapidly strengthening storm brings destructive winds, flooding risk and dangerous seas to western PacificThe Mariana Islands archipelago in the western Pacific, home to the US territories of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, is bracing for extreme weather early this week as Super Typhoon Sinlaku approaches.The system originated as a cluster of thunderstorms over the seas of Micronesia before strengthening into a tropical storm and then a typhoon on Friday and Saturday. Continue reading...

• OpenAI reached an $852 billion valuation and launched the ChatGPT super app on April 4, 2026, integrating chat, coding, search, and AI agents into a unified platform. • The app serves 900 million weekly users, positioning it as a comprehensive AI workspace for enterprise and personal use. • This launch intensifies competition in multimodal AI tools amid surging demand for integrated platforms.