Latest News

Last updated 20 Mar, 04:44 PM

BBC News

Iranian man arrested trying to enter Faslane nuclear base - A 34-year-old man and a 31-year-old woman were arrested at HM Naval Base Clyde, which houses UK's nuclear-armed submarines, on Thursday.

'I feel so grateful to be alive': Meningitis survivor speaks to the BBC - Annabelle Mackay, 21, has spoken to the BBC about her experience surviving meningitis.

Civil case against Gerry Adams over IRA bombings withdrawn - A lawyer for the claimants said on Friday that proceedings would be "discontinued".

Work from home and drive more slowly to save energy, global body urges - People should change how they travel, work and cook to tackle the energy price crisis, the International Energy Agency says.

Officer reportedly leaks location of French aircraft carrier with Strava run - The 35-minute workout reveals the vessel's location as it heads towards the Middle East, Le Monde reports.

The Register

WSL graphics driver update brings better GPU support for Linux apps - Meanwhile, WINE and OpenGL tweaks speed Windows apps on 64-bit hosts Whatever OS you run, you have a better chance to run non-native apps. Running Linux virtualized on Windows is set to speed up slightly, and so is running Windows apps on top of 64-bit Linux and macOS.…

Starship may chauffeur Orion to the Moon, as NASA mulls ditching SLS after Artemis V - SpaceX's still-not-quite-orbital rocket tapped as lunar taxi. Musk's minicab anyone? NASA is reportedly considering using SpaceX's Starship to transport the Orion capsule to the Moon, with some sources calling it a done deal.…

Microsoft breaks Microsoft account sign-ins in Windows 11 with latest update - OneDrive, Office, Teams Free users greeted with phantom 'no internet' errors, restart may help if you're lucky Microsoft has broken account sign-ins in Windows 11 25H2 and 24H2 with a recent update, causing error messages in apps like OneDrive and Office.…

UK police force presses pause on live facial recognition after study finds racial bias - Cams statistically more likely to ID Black people, says new research A UK police force has suspended its deployment of live facial recognition (LFR) technology after a study revealed it was statistically more likely to identify Black people on a watchlist database.…

Feds disrupt monster IoT botnets behind record-breaking DDoS attacks - Millions of hijacked devices powered traffic floods targeting defense systems and beyond The US government has moved to disrupt a cluster of IoT botnets behind some of the largest DDoS attacks ever recorded, including traffic bursts topping 30 terabits per second.…

New Scientist - Home

Private company to land on asteroid Apophis as it flies close to Earth - Apophis will be visited by multiple spacecraft – including landers – when it skims past Earth in three years

A negative attitude towards ageing is making you age faster - We know that a person’s outlook can have a huge effect on their health, and it’s no different when it comes to ageing. Columnist Graham Lawton looks at new evidence of just how powerful our attitude is – and how to use it to age better

New Scientist recommends Cirque du Soleil's insect-themed OVO show - The books, TV, games and more that New Scientist staff have enjoyed this week

How worried should you be about ultra-processed foods? - We are constantly told to watch out for the health risks of eating ultra-processed food, but should you be worried every time you sit down for a meal? Sam Wong takes a look at the evidence

Mathematician wins 2026 Abel prize for solving 60-year-old mystery - Gerd Faltings shocked mathematicians around the world for his 1983 proof of the Mordell conjecture, which brought together seemingly disparate mathematical fields

Hacker News

Oregon School Cell Phone Ban: 'Engaged Students, Joyful Teachers' - Comments

VisiCalc Reconstructed - Comments

ArXiv declares independence from Cornell - Comments

Entso-E final report on Iberian 2025 blackout - Comments

The Los Angeles Aqueduct Is Wild - Comments

Slashdot

Amazon Plans Smartphone Comeback More Than a Decade After Fire Phone Flop - Amazon is reportedly developing a new AI-focused smartphone that doesn't rely as heavily on traditional apps. "The phone is seen as a potential mobile personalization device that can sync with home voice assistant Alexa and serve as a conduit to Amazon customers throughout the day," reports Reuters. From the report: As envisioned, the new phone's personalization features would make buying from Amazon.com, watching Prime Video, listening to Prime Music or ordering food from partners like Grubhub easier than ever, the people said. They asked for anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss internal matters. A key focus of the Transformer project has been integrating artificial intelligence capabilities into the device, the people said. That could eliminate the need for traditional app stores, which require downloading and registering for applications before they can be used. Alexa would likely be a core feature but not necessarily the primary operating system of the phone, the people said. When Amazon launched the Fire Phone in 2014, it aimed to compete directly with offerings from Samsung and Apple. Instead, the device received mixed reviews and failed to impress reviewers, leading Amazon to abandon the effort just over a year later. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

As OpenClaw Enthusiasm Grips China, Kids and Retirees Alike Raise 'Lobsters' - An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: Fan Xinquan, a retired electronics worker in Beijing, has recently started raising a "lobster," hoping that the AI agent he has been training can help organize his specialized industry knowledge better than chatbots like DeepSeek. "OpenClaw can actually help you accomplish many practical things," the 60-year-old said at a recent event hosted by AI startup Zhipu to teach people how to use and train the AI agent, which has gone viral in China, with its various local versions earning the "lobster" nickname. In the past month, OpenClaw, which can connect several hardware and software tools and learn from the data produced with much less human intervention than a chatbot, has captured the imaginations of many in China, from retirees looking for side income to AI firms hoping to generate new revenue streams. [...] Huang Rongsheng, chief architect at Baidu's smart device unit Xiaodu, said at an event on Tuesday that parent group chats for his daughter's primary school class have become overwhelmed by OpenClaw discussions. "My daughter came to me and asked: Dad, I see you raising a lobster every day," he said. "Can I have one too?" Bai Yiyun, another attendee at the Zhipu event, said she hopes to use the agent to start a side hustle during her retirement. "If DeepSeek marked a milestone for open-source large language models, then OpenClaw represents a similar turning point for open-source "agents," said Wei Sun, chief AI analyst at Counterpoint Research. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Opera GX Web Browser Comes To Linux - BrianFagioli writes: Opera GX has officially landed on Linux, bringing its gamer-focused browser experience to Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, and openSUSE-based systems. The browser includes GX Control for limiting RAM and network usage, a Hot Tabs Killer to shut down resource-heavy tabs, and built-in sidebar integrations for Discord and Twitch. Opera says this is not just a one-off port, but a long-term effort with ongoing updates and community engagement. "PC gaming has long been associated with a single dominant platform, but that's changing," says Maciej Kocemba, Product Director at Opera GX. "Bringing GX to Linux users -- who are renowned for the control they like to exert over their tools -- means gamers and developers can manage browser resources, customize their setup, and keep their system performing exactly the way they want." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

China Is Helping Drive Cuba's Solar Boom - AleRunner writes: "China is helping Cuba race to capture renewable solar energy as the United States imposes an effective oil blockade on the Caribbean island, creating its worst energy crisis in decades," reports The Washington Post. Later in the article, it states that "China's decades-long push into clean energy technology is now helping to protect it from the soaring oil and gas crisis spurred by Trump's war against Iran," and that "Chinese exports of solar equipment to Cuba skyrocketed from about $5 million in 2023 to $117 million in 2025 and show no sign of stopping." According to researchers from Ember, solar could be responsible for as much as 10% of Cuba's electricity generation. "That would be among the fastest expansions of solar energy anywhere [...] and place Cuba ahead of most countries -- including the U.S. -- in the share of electricity generated by sun power," the report says. As the Iran war drives energy prices higher, countries around the world are working overtime to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels. China sees this as a big opportunity. "Chinese authorities have made clear that they intend to replicate what they're doing in Cuba elsewhere," reports the Washington Post. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

EU Cloud Lobby Asks Regulator To Block VMware From Terminating Partner Program - An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Register: A lobbying trade body for smaller cloud providers is asking the European Commission to impose interim measures blocking Broadcom from terminating the VMware Cloud Service Provider program, calling the decision a death sentence for some tech suppliers and an illegal squeeze on customer choice. As The Reg revealed in January, Broadcom shuttered the scheme, a move sources claimed affects hundreds of CSPs across Europe and curtails options for enterprises buying VMware software and services. The Cloud Infrastructure Service Provider in Europe (CISPE) trade group, representing nearly 50 tech suppliers, filed the complaint today with the EC Directorates-General, accusing Broadcom of bully-boy tactics, and calling for authorities to halt what it terms as "ongoing abuse." Francisco Mingorance, CISPE secretary general, said of the complaint: "Businesses -- both cloud providers and their customers -- are being irreparably damaged by Broadcom's unfair actions, which we believe are illegal. "After imposing outrageous and unjustified price hikes immediately following the acquisition of VMware, Broadcom is now applying the 'coup de grace'. We need urgent intervention to force them to change. The only way to stop bullies is to stand up to them." CISPE claims that, since Broadcom completed its $69 billion takeover of VMware in October 2023, prices have risen tenfold, payment is demanded upfront, products are bundled regardless of customer need, and minimum commitments are based on potential rather than actual consumption. The VMware Cloud Service Provider (VCSP) program officially closed in January and all transactions must be complete by March 31. After that date, only a select group of suppliers will be able to sell VMware subscriptions -- either standalone or as part of a broader service. Across Europe, we're told this equates to hundreds of businesses losing their authorization. For some, the loss of VCSP status effectively destroys their market. Those whose operations were built around VMware must now hand customers to another authorized supplier or begin the costly migration to an alternative platform. Broadcom said in a statement responding to the complaint: "Broadcom strongly disagrees with the allegations by CISPE, an organization funded by hyperscalers, which misrepresent the realities of the market. We continue to be committed to investing significantly in our European VMware Cloud Service Provider partners... helping them offer alternatives to the hyperscalers and meet the evolving needs of European businesses and organizations." Read more of this story at Slashdot.