Why is Anthropic destroying books? | Kathryn James

The AI company apparently found destructively scanning ‘all the books in the world’ easier than dealing with copyright in its quest for training data

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Middle East crisis live: US and Iran signal hope for Hormuz deal but terms unclear

While Trump suggests deal could come as soon as today, Iran indicates that ongoing talks with Oman would not lead to its immediate reopening Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the Middle East. US officials, including Donald Trump, have said a deal over the strait of Hormuz could be reached today, with continued diplomatic efforts potentially paving the way for US-Iran talks to resume. The possible agreement between Iran and Oman on arrangements for vessels to pass through the strait of Hormuz has nothing to do with the immediate opening of the strait. Negotiations regarding arrangements for vessel traffic through the strait of Hormuz are purely Iranian-Omani and have no connection to the United States. If US violations continue, the strait of Hormuz will not open even with an agreement between Iran and Oman. The opening of the strait of Hormuz depends on a change in behaviour and correction of US violations. Continue reading...

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‘Like Backstreet Boys, but less sultry’: how the Jonas Brothers notched up 20 years of pop stardom against the odds

Unlike their Disney peers, the toothesome trio didn’t pivot to being sexy – and they’re now at their stadium-filling peak. Fans and collaborators explain their unique, cheesy appeal

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Drone found at German airport after cargo plane collides with object mid-air

Investigators looking into whether incidents at Leipzig are linked after DHL plane forced to make emergency landing A DHL cargo plane was forced to make an emergency landing after colliding with an unknown object as it was climbing away from Germany’s Leipzig airport, where police later found a drone on the ground. The German government on Wednesday confirmed the incident, which led to serious disruption of air traffic. Continue reading...

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What have you always wanted to know about insects? Grill Patrick Barkham on the natural world

This week, we launched our third annual vote to honour nature’s unsung heroes. The Guardian’s natural history writer – and woodlouse fanboy – Patrick Barkham will be here from 4pm BST (11am EDT) to discuss this year’s poll, your own favourites and why we must celebrate the spineless

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Let’s call Trump’s approach to Iran what it is: kindergarten diplomacy | Moustafa Bayoumi

Amid stop-and-start threats and with a divided staff, it’s clear Trump has no idea how to end a war that shouldn’t have begun

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Former Pakistani minister arrested over alleged child rape in 1990s Manchester

Exclusive: Rukhsar Ahmed was re-elected as an MP in Pakistan last week despite being on police bail in the UK A former Pakistani state minister has been arrested on suspicion of raping vulnerable young girls in Manchester in the 1990s, the Guardian can reveal. Rukhsar Ahmed, who was re-elected as an MP in Pakistan last week after five years out of office, is on police bail in the UK after his arrest in July 2024 on suspicion of rape and trafficking children in care as part of a grooming gang. Continue reading...

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RFK Jr has a new cooking show. Are any Trump officials doing their actual jobs? | Arwa Mahdawi

Shouldn’t the health secretary have his hands full with the cyclosporiasis outbreak, measles or rabbit fever? Not when there are crispy salmon cakes to prepare, writes Arwa Mahdawi

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Man charged in connection with death of girl on camping trip in Scotland

Police say man, 35, was known to nine-year-old girl, who was found seriously injured in industrial estate in Arbroath A man has been charged in connection with the death of a nine-year-old girl who died while on a family camping trip in Scotland. The girl, from West Yorkshire, was found seriously injured just after midnight on Monday morning at the Elliot industrial estate in Arbroath, Angus. Continue reading...

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Andy Burnham reveals wife’s reaction to third Labour leadership bid

Burnham said his wife, Marie-France van Heel, took some persuading after he ran and lost in contests in 2010 and 2015 Andy Burnham has revealed his wife’s dismayed reaction when he told her he wanted to make another attempt at becoming Labour leader. Burnham said that his wife, Marie-France van Heel, had been surprised by his decision to run, having lost contests in 2010 and 2015 to Ed Miliband and Jeremy Corbyn respectively. Continue reading...

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‘If we don’t fight back, we don’t have a future’: the journalist taking on the ‘tech fascists’ of Silicon Valley

As Elon Musk, Peter Thiel and their peers have grown richer and more influential, Gil Durán argues they have all but abandoned democracy – and found the perfect government to enable them

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Analogue evil: why today’s horror film-makers are obsessed with obsolete tech

From Obsession to Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, a new wave of movies are ditching minimalism for retro settings

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Mass funeral held in Gaza for victims of 2023 Israeli strike

Remains of 112 victims, including 40 children, recovered from rubble more than two years after residential block was destroyed Mourners gathered in central Gaza on Tuesday for a mass funeral for 112 people, including 40 children, who were killed in 2023 in one of the deadliest Israeli strikes of the Gaza war. Their bodies could not be recovered until now because of Israel’s continuing strikes, which have slowed, though not halted, since the ceasefire in October. Continue reading...

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Ted Lasso season four review – TV’s most wholesome football comedy is back

It looked like it was gone forever, but Jason Sudeikis’s hugely popular show returns with a premise that’s all twee nonsensicality. If you love messages of positivity and togetherness, you’ll be thrilled

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Sterling Point review – this teen drama from Gossip Girl’s creators is brilliant escapist TV

Set on an idyllic Canadian island, this coming-of-age series is juicy stuff. It swaps the darkness of recent YA TV for warmth, humour and a surprisingly compelling mystery

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War! What is it good for? Absolutely humongous oil company profits | First Dog on the Moon

Mission accomplished

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Right turn on green: is the Telegraph changing its tune on the climate?

Flurry of articles has raised eyebrows and prompted a response from Kemi Badenoch defending stance on net zero

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The ‘Cockroach Lord’ who names new species after Tolkien and Pokémon characters

Cristian Lucañas has discovered multiple species of cockroach in the Philippines, and believes there’s far more to the much-maligned insect than meets the eye

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‘I just want to find them’: deadly cloudbursts devastate Kashmir’s mountain communities

Increasingly erratic weather patterns due to climate change mean people are losing homes, crops and livestock

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Burnham considering public inquiry into UK activities of Jeffrey Epstein

Minister says PM has agreed to meet victims of sex offender – and is mulling separate inquiry into Mohamed Al Fayed Andy Burnham is considering launching a public inquiry into the UK activities of the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a minister has said. The victims’ minister, Alex Davies-Jones, said the prime minister had agreed to meet Epstein’s victims, was “looking into” an inquiry and was “taking this very seriously”. A separate inquiry into the alleged actions of the former Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed is also being considered. Continue reading...

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OpenAI and Anthropic models ‘went rogue’ during UK cybersecurity test

AI Security Institute says tools engaged in potentially harmful activity and incident reveals new type of risk Advanced AI models developed by OpenAI and Anthropic went rogue during a cybersecurity test and showed a new type of risk posed by the technology, according to the UK’s AI Security Institute. AISI described the actions carried out by the agents, the term for AI systems that can perform tasks without human help, as a “serious incident”. In one example, an agent powered by Anthropic’s Mythos model sent targeted emails to people. Continue reading...

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Badenoch defends decision to allow man jailed for antisemitism to stand as councillor

Tory leader praises Joshua Bonehill-Paine’s ‘contrition’ but says she has higher thresholds for MP candidates Kemi Badenoch has defended her party’s decision to allow a former neo-Nazi who was jailed for subjecting a prominent Labour politician to antisemitic abuse to stand as a councillor. Badenoch said her party was not giving Joshua Bonehill-Paine, who is standing for election in Somerset, a “national platform”. Continue reading...

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Bank battle: history suggests Burnham faces fight if he opts for windfall tax

As lenders’ profits soar, calls grow for a levy to help new PM ease cost of living pressures on households

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‘Our new champion’: Philippines swept up in tennis fever after Alex Eala’s historic win

WTA event win earns 21-year-old a presidential reception in the Philippines as interest in tennis surges in home country

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Justice minister defends early release of PC Andrew Harper’s killers amid possible legal challenge – UK politics live

Jake Richard acknowledges ‘unimaginable pain’ of Harper’s family but says government faces an ‘unenviable position’ Good morning and welcome to the UK politics blog. Ministers continue to defend the release of PC Andrew Harper’s killers as part of the government’s early prisoner release scheme, despite a potential legal challenge from the Police Federation. Well, look, we understand that people are angry. The Harper family are, of course, angry. The police are angry too. We’re angry that we’re in this situation where we face the unenviable position of having to make sure that we have a sustainable prison system, which is so vital to a functioning law and order system in our country, but also that we do right by victims as far as possible. Because without a functioning prison system, it means it’s difficult for police to make arrests, it’s difficult for our courts to try cases, and it could mean to the collapse of law and order in this country. We cannot be in that situation, so that is the challenge that we face as government ministers and the prime minister faces ultimately. I feel sick to my stomach, if I’m really honest with you. I’ve had a gut wrenching feeling in my stomach the past couple of weeks with this, and it doesn’t go away. And arguably, I would say that many of my members across Thames Valley also have this gut wrenching feeling, even at the prospect of these two killers being released in the space of weeks, potentially. Ministers will scrap the requirement for companies to prove their green and progressive values before they are awarded government contracts, and instead ask firms to prove they will help young people back into work. Women should not feel pressurised into experiencing an “ideal birth”, the new health secretary, Yvette Cooper, has said, promising a root-and-branch reform of standards after several damning maternity scandals. An official investigation has been launched into charities in England and Wales donating funds to illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine. Andy Burnham has inherited a Labour membership that is sceptical about increased welfare spending, supportive of higher defence spending, and ranks the climate crisis as one of the country’s biggest challenges, according to new polling. BP’s chief executive has urged Andy Burnham to make use of the UK’s oil and gas resources even as the oil company prepares to sell its North Sea business after 60 years in the ageing basin. The Conservative party leader, Kemi Badenoch, has defended the selection of a former neo-Nazi activist as a candidate for a local election in Somerset despite him being jailed in 2016 after he was convicted of racially aggravated harassment of the former Labour MP Luciana Berger. Pupils in Scotland’s schools received their exam results this morning, with exam pass rates at all levels having risen this year, including a record number of National 5 passes. Continue reading...

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Democracy is at stake when foolish humans bet on machines being intelligent | Rafael Behr

We need an enlightened US president to make the case for global AI regulation. Donald Trump is the exact opposite of what is needed, says Guardian columnist Rafael Behr

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El Niño could push 50m people into acute hunger before end of next year

UN forecasters warn of worsening conditions in 45 countries currently experiencing severe food insecurity About 50 million people are likely to be pushed into acute hunger before the end of next year by the rapidly developing El Niño weather system, according to forecasting. This is in addition to the hundreds of millions of people already facing dangerous levels of hunger, owing to years of drought in parts of Africa and pressure on food prices from the war in Iran. Continue reading...

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Zelenskyy rails at lack of anti-missile defences amid deadly Russian attack on Kyiv – Europe live

Ukrainian president tells allies that anti-ballistic measures could have saved lives as at least 17 die and more than 40 are injured in huge attack Ukraine shot down 98 of the 115 drones fired by Russia overnight, the country’s air force said. But it was unable to shoot down any of the missiles, preliminary statistics from the air force showed. Kyiv can intercept the vast majority of drones, but still relies on supplies from allies to counter missiles, AFP noted. Continue reading...

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The mystery of the missing president – podcast

Guardian reporters Eromo Egbejule and Giovanni Wanneh tell Annie Kelly how the country is managing without its leader, and why Cameroonians still have hope for the next chapter

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‘Magic from the shadows’: the dreamlike visions of Paolo Roversi – in pictures

A new exhibition showcases the Italian fashion photographer’s technical mastery, where light, blur and even mistakes contribute to an image’s beauty

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