-
Scotland’s early flu surge adds pressure to overcrowded emergency departments
Scottish doctors say most emergency departments are already working above capacity as flu cases rise unusually early, raising fears that winter pressures will make it harder to treat patients safely. Emergency medicine leaders warn that overcrowding can delay care and make it difficult to isolate people with flu and protect those at higher risk. By…
-
Karl Bushby returns to Britain after 28-year global trek and Channel swim
British adventurer Karl Bushby has completed an extraordinary 28-year global odyssey, swimming the English Channel to return to the UK after departing from Chile in November 1998. The 57-year-old set out with the ambitious goal of becoming the first person to continuously walk around the world, and after travelling through 29 countries across 31,000 miles,…
-
Guadagnino’s comedy revisits OpenAI’s origins but misses tech culture’s wider story
Luca Guadagnino’s *Artificial* reimagines the origins of OpenAI as a campy comedy about Sam Altman and the people around him. The film presents Altman as a manipulative, self-interested figure, but the review argues that its blunt satire offers little insight into the tech elite or the wider culture that embraced them. The story follows AI…
-
Mirror Particle develops AI model to forecast consumer behaviour over time
Mirror Particle is developing an AI model to predict how people behave and why, aiming to give brands more useful consumer insights. Its co-founder argues that language models, often adapted to imitate demographic groups, miss important parts of human behaviour such as visual perception, spatial reasoning and social intelligence. The two-year-old San Francisco start-up says…
-
Sam Wood sacked by wellness company after domestic violence charges
Former The Bachelor star Sam Wood has been terminated from his own wellness company following his arrest on domestic violence charges. The 46-year-old was placed on indefinite leave on Monday and officially sacked by parent company DBG Health on Tuesday. The company has stated it does not tolerate domestic violence in any form and will…
-
Google restricts free Gemini users to Flash Lite from 9 October
From 9 October, Google will limit people on Gemini’s free plan to the Flash Lite model, removing their access to standard Flash and Pro. The change narrows the models available without a paid subscription and also reduces what some existing subscribers receive. Google AI Plus costs $4.99 a month and will provide access to standard…
-
Tyla says Afrobeats label erases Africa’s musical diversity
South African pop star Tyla used her 2024 MTV VMAs acceptance speech to criticise how the Western music industry inappropriately lumps all African music under the umbrella term “Afrobeats.” Her concerns resonate with many prominent African artists, including Tems, Burna Boy, and Wizkid, who argue the label obscures the continent’s genuine musical diversity and disconnects…
-
Neo headphones that fold into portable speakers go on sale in the US
Tomorrow Doesn’t Matter’s Neo headphones are now available in the US after appearing at CES 2026 and raising funds through Kickstarter. Their flexible headband lets them roll up into a Bluetooth speaker, giving them a dual use that sets them apart from conventional wireless headphones. The Neo cost $249 and are sold in black or…