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• Metaは、AIモデル開発を加速させるため、2026年第1四半期に向けたクラウドサービスにおいて1,070億ドルの契約上のコミットメントを報告しました。 • 積極的な投資には、データセンターの拡張やAIハードウェア部品に関するサプライチェーンの契約が含まれています。 • 同社は2026年後半にAIのブレイクスルーが起こると予想しており、最先端研究の収益化を推進しています。

Mark Rowleyは水曜日の事件で容疑者を逮捕した警察官らを擁護し、Green partyリーダーに連帯を示すよう求めた。Metropolitan police chiefは、Green partyリーダーのZack PolanskiがGolders Greenテロ容疑者の逮捕に関する投稿を共有したことは「chilling effect」をもたらすと述べている。Met officersは水曜日、north-west Londonの郊外で2人のJewish peopleが刺された後、45歳の男を逮捕した。警察は、容疑者を制圧するためにstun gunを使用したと述べた。Continue reading...

• 科学者たちは、270 Meters の open-air link を介して、2つの独立した Quantum Dots 間で初となる光子状態の teleportation を達成した。 • この実験では GPS synchronization、ultra-fast detectors、および turbulence stabilization が使用され、古典的限界を10標準偏差以上上回る 82% の state fidelity に到達した。 • Nature Communications に掲載されたこのマイルストーンは、ultra-secure communication や quantum relays のための quantum internet を前進させるものである。

Lambeth councilの候補者であるSaiqa AliとSabine Maireyは、ソーシャルメディアの投稿を巡り拘束されたとみられる。 地方選挙にGreen partyの候補者として立候補している女性2名が、反ユダヤ主義的とされるソーシャルメディア投稿の疑いで逮捕された。 London南部Lambeth councilの議席に立候補しているこれらの女性たちは、木曜日の朝、Metropolitan policeによって逮捕された。Continue reading...

• US-IsraelとIranの戦争の中、Strait of Hormuzの封鎖がエネルギー市場に影響を及ぼし、ガソリン価格が1ガロン当たり4ドルを超え航空運賃も暴騰したことで、Trumpの主要な政治的優位性が損なわれている。 • Republicansの半数以上およびindependentsの82%を含む、登録有権者の4分の3以上が、現在、燃料、食料品、住宅、医療に影響を及ぼしている生活費危機の責任はTrumpにあるとしている。 • 政府閉鎖、関税、およびUS-IsraelによるIranへの共同攻撃を経て、Trumpの2期目の支持率は歴代の大統領よりも遥かに速いペースで下落しており、Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powellは、戦争がインフレを助長していると警告している。

• 放射性トレーサー maraciclatide がスキャン上で病変を「光らせる」ことで、検査目的の手術の必要性を低減できる可能性が結果から示唆された • 子宮内膜症向けの非侵襲的なスキャンが治験で有望な結果を示し、診断の大幅な早期化に向けた期待が高まっている • 19人の女性患者を対象としたこの治験は、maraciclatide と呼ばれる試験的な放射性トレーサーが、スキャン上で子宮内膜症を「点灯」させられることを示唆している

• Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (Acic) のデータによると、コカインの使用量も過去最高を記録している。 • 新しい下水モニタリングの結果、オーストラリアにおけるメタンフェタミンの使用量は過去10年間でほぼ倍増し、刺激剤の摂取量は過去最高レベルに達していることが明らかになった。 • 水曜日の夜、Acicは2024年8月から2025年にかけて国内64カ所の処理施設から採取した下水サンプルの最新年次報告書を公開した。

• 欧州委員会は、FacebookとInstagramから13歳未満の利用者を排除するための効果的な措置を同社が講じていないと述べています。 • テック企業のMetaは、13歳未満の子供たちがFacebookおよびInstagramのプラットフォームを利用することを防げなかったため、EU法に違反しているとの判断を受けました。 • 約2年にわたる調査の予備的結果を水曜日に発表した欧州委員会は、Metaが13歳未満のユーザーによるサービスへのアクセスを阻止するための有効な策を導入していなかったと指摘しました。

Meta, which owns Facebook, acquired Manus in December 2025 for more than US$2 billion in a bid to boost its capabilities in AI agents.

Meta said Monday that the transaction "complied fully with applicable law" and that it anticipates "an appropriate resolution to the inquiry."(Image credit: Jeff Chiu/AP)

Scotland Yard says incident in area that is home to large Jewish community is not being treated as terrorism Police said on Tuesday they were investigating a suspected arson attack at a memorial wall in a north London area that is home to a large Jewish community.London’s Metropolitan police said the investigation was being led by counter-terrorism policing, though it was not being treated as a terrorist incident. No arrests have yet been made and the memorial wall was not damaged. Continue reading...

Government’s draft news bargaining incentive scheme includes 2.25% levy on local revenues of digital giantsAnthony Albanese has urged Google, Meta and TikTok to make deals with Australian media outlets to avoid a dedicated 2.25% levy on local revenues, warning digital giants should not be able to exploit the work of journalists to boost profits.Releasing an exposure draft for the government’s news bargaining incentive (NBI) scheme on Tuesday, the prime minister said platforms who sign new deals with publishers to pay for news content would receive offsets of between 150% to 170% from the new levy. Continue reading...

• China's National Development and Reform Commission prohibited Meta's acquisition of Singapore-based AI startup Manus on April 27, 2026, requiring all parties to withdraw. • Manus, with Chinese roots, was targeted in a security review of foreign investment despite Meta's compliance claims from its California headquarters. • The decision heightens US-China tech tensions, impacting Meta's AI expansion and cross-border M&A in semiconductors and intelligence tools.

Met says AI software unearthed rule-breaking ranging from work-from-home violations to suspected corruptionThe Metropolitan police have launched investigations into hundreds of officers after using an AI tool built by the controversial tech company Palantir to root out rogue cops.The software was deployed by the Met over the course of a week, snooping on staff members using data the force has ready access to, unearthing rule-breaking ranging from work-from-home violations to suspected corruption and even criminal allegations such as rape. Continue reading...

• The New York Mets defeated the Minnesota Twins with a clutch performance from newcomer Bichette, who delivered a critical double in the game. • Bichette's timely hit proved to be the decisive moment in the Mets' victory, marking an impressive debut impact for the recent acquisition. • The win showcases the Mets' offensive depth and ability to capitalize on key moments late in games.

Meta to lay off 10% of its staff and Microsoft to offer retirement to 7% of US workforce. Plus, Iron Maiden at 50Good morning.Meta and Microsoft are cutting thousands of employees as they bet big on AI and executives claim that the technology is meeting productivity needs.What have they said about AI? Mark Zuckerberg said in January that AI was making some hiring unnecessary. Mustafa Suleyman, Microsoft’s AI chief, said in February that he believed AI would be able to replace most white-collar work within the next 12 to 18 months.How many tech layoffs have there been in 2026? In four months, more than 92,000 employees in the industry have lost their jobs, according to the tracker Layoffs.fyi. But some experts believe companies may be “AI washing” – using it as cover for a slowing labor market and demand or rising costs. Continue reading...

Six women who stayed in flats in capital have since accused disgraced financier of sexually abusing them, says BBCJeffrey Epstein housed some of his alleged abuse victims in flats in London after police in the UK decided against investigating him, according to reports.The BBC said it had uncovered evidence of four flats in Kensington and Chelsea in receipts, emails and bank records contained within the Epstein files. Six women who stayed in the properties have since accused the late financier of sexually abusing them, the broadcaster said. Continue reading...

The department of justice has refused to hand over key evidence from the Jeffrey Epstein files and could delay Scotland Yard’s criminal inquiry.Good morning. The UK criminal investigation into Peter Mandelson has reportedly ground to a halt after the US justice department refused to hand over evidence contained in the Epstein files.The documents relate to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, which Scotland Yard believes could hold key evidence related to Mandelson, who served as business secretary and US ambassador. While the Met has asked for voluntary disclosure, the US department of justice is insisting on a Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) request, a legal back and forth between countries to obtain evidence, the Telegraph has reported. Continue reading...

• The New York Mets snapped a 12-game losing streak Wednesday night with a 3-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins at Citi Field, ending their two-week-long skid when Luke Weaver struck out Byron Buxton for the final out. • Shortstop Francisco Lindor was removed from the game with left calf tightness after scoring from first base in the fourth inning and will undergo an MRI to determine the extent of the injury. • The victory marks a crucial turnaround for the struggling Mets, who had not won since early April and faced mounting pressure during their extended drought.

Consumer confidence hit its lowest level since October 2023 this month, with surveys showing the cost pressures companies are facingConfidence in the UK economy has fallen sharply amid the mounting economic fallout from the Iran war, surveys show, as businesses prepare to raise their prices and consumers brace for a fresh cost of living shock.Highlighting the knock-on impact of the Middle East crisis in Britain, several closely-watched surveys of business activity and consumer confidence blamed the ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran for a marked deterioration in the outlook in April. Continue reading...

• The New York Mets lost their 12th consecutive game following Devin Williams' struggles in the ninth inning, allowing two runs in a defeat highlighted on SNY's Post Game Live. • Gary Apple and Todd Zeile reacted to Williams' performance costing the team, amid ongoing woes for the squad covering New York sports. • Juan Soto returned to the lineup on Wednesday, providing a potential boost as Mets seek to end their skid in MLB action.

Exclusive: Internal concerns over allowing US firm linked to ICE and Israeli military to process highly sensitive data The Metropolitan police has held talks with Palantir that could lead to the London force buying the US spy-tech company’s AI technology to automate intelligence analysis for criminal investigations, the Guardian has learned.Palantir, whose software is used by Donald Trump’s ICE immigration enforcement programme and the Israeli military, demonstrated its systems to senior officers in the intelligence division at the UK’s largest police force last month. Intelligence staff have been tasked with finding intelligence systems that AI could automate to increase productivity. Continue reading...

• The New York Mets lost 2-1 in extra innings to the Chicago Cubs, extending their losing streak to 11 games, matching their longest skid since 2004. • The defeat capped a winless 0-6 road trip for the Mets, who have not lost 12 straight since 2002. • Despite the struggles, Mets players emphasized they are still 'fighting for each other' amid the mounting losses.

The former ballet dancer said Chalamet’s comments were ‘reckless’ in an interview with the New York Times in which she also discussed her violent childhoodActor and former ballet dancer Charlize Theron has joined the chorus of disapproval aimed at Timothée Chalamet over his remarks that appeared to disrespect performers of ballet and opera.In an interview with the New York Times, Theron said: “Oh, boy, I hope I run into him one day,” adding: “That was a very reckless comment on two art forms that we need to lift up constantly because, yes, they do have a hard time. But in 10 years, AI is going to be able to do Timothée’s job, but it will not be able to replace a person on a stage dancing live.” Continue reading...

• Meta released Llama 4 on April 20, 2026, a 2 trillion parameter multimodal AI model trained on 15 petabytes of US-centric data. • The model outperforms GPT-4o on benchmarks like MMLU (92% score) and supports vision-language tasks for enterprise apps. • Open-sourcing aims to spur US AI innovation, with downloads exceeding 500,000 in first hours via Hugging Face.

• Scale AI raised $2.5 billion in fresh funding on April 19, 2026, at a $15 billion valuation, backed by Meta and Tiger Global. • Capital expands US data annotation workforce to 50,000, focusing on synthetic data for autonomous vehicles and LLMs. • Funding counters labor-intensive bottlenecks in AI training, vital for US competitiveness.

First recorded in 687BC, the meteoroids were once part of the tail of a comet discovered in 1861This week, the annual Lyrid meteor shower returns to the spring skies. Although active since 16 April, the shower peaks during the late evening of Wednesday 22 April and early the next morning.The chart shows the view looking east from London at 00.01 (BST) on Thursday 23 April. The origin point of the meteors, known as the radiant, is labelled Lyrids. It sits in the constellation of Lyra, the Lyre, close to the bright star of Vega. Continue reading...