Laura Phillips

NATO's Mark Rutte: “Iran was one of the key enablers of the Russian war effort against Ukraine through these weapons of destruction…and the fact now that Iran is facing this full onslaught of Israel and the US will also degrade their capacity to export their chaos to Russia and therefore to Ukraine.

Sam Altman admits OpenAI can’t control Pentagon’s use of AI CEO’s claims come amid increased scrutiny of US military’s use of the technology and ethics concerns from AI workers * Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told employees on Tuesday that his company does not control how the Pentagon uses their artificial intelligence products in military operations. Altman’s claims on OpenAI’s lack of input come amid increased scrutiny of how the military uses AI in war and ethics concerns from AI workers over how their technology will be deployed. “You do not get to make operational decisions,” Altman told employees, according to reports by Bloomberg and CNBC. Continue reading...

Sam Altman admits OpenAI can’t control Pentagon’s use of AI

Who the hell is answering the phones at the State Department these days? Embedded DOGE boys?

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Just when I thought ICE couldn’t sink any lower.

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Asylum seekers waiting over a year for claim in UK may be allowed to work under new measures Shabana Mahmood hopes to reduce number of claimants in hotels by enabling them to support themselves Up to 21,000 asylum seekers who have waited for a year for their claims to be processed could be allowed to enter the jobs market so they can support themselves, the Home Office has said, as part of a package of measures to be announced on Thursday. As the government seeks to empty asylum hotels, claimants who break the law, work illegally or are found to have enough assets to live without support will from June be ejected and lose their support payments. Continue reading...

Asylum seekers waiting over a year for claim in UK may be allowed to work under new measures

👀 Labour MP Joani Reid said today that she was “not part of my husband’s business activities” after her spouse David Taylor was arrested on suspicion of spying for China

But her former company was loaned money (interest free and with no set repayment terms) by his companies

@javierblas.bsky.social: ‘The Qatari readout of today’s call between the emirate’s PM and the Iranian foreign minister is savage. Doha is saying enough is enough. Rather than turning their back to the Americans, it sounds like a warning they may join them.’

‘As voting continued, the tally in the 100-member chamber was 52-47 not to advance the war powers resolution.’ 2.

Reuters: ‘A majority of the U.S. Senate on Wednesday backed President Donald Trump's military campaign against Iran, voting to block a bipartisan resolution aiming to stop the air war and require that any hostilities against Iran be authorized by Congress.’ 1/

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Reuters: IRAN WILL TARGET ISRAELI NUCLEAR SITE OF DIMONA IF ISRAEL AND US SEEK REGIME CHANGE - IRANIAN MILITARY OFFICIAL SAYS, CITED BY SEMI-OFFICIAL ISNA NEWS AGENCY

“I recently suggested moving the funding of the #BBCWorldService to the Ministry of Defence. It was a provocation but with a point: let’s seize the day and make soft power work in harness with hard power.” 9.

“They know the World Service is worth a hundred embassy parties. Will we wake up?.. There are great opportunities in West Africa, where populations are digitally connected, and also in South America, where the US is withdrawing services.” 8/

“It’s the stated policy of Labour to increase our defence spending swiftly. But a platoon of retired generals wrote to the Financial Times last month to point out that you should not do so without attending to soft power as well.” 7/

“Well, the Foreign Office was cut the most in the recent spending review. The BBC has modestly asked for an increase of £28 million and will probably get half that. The phrase fiddling while Rome burns comes to mind.” 6/

“Just take a moment to contrast that with the toxic,internet slop that’s out there. And think how many oppressed peoples seek+need trusted information.
Doubling the World Service’s audience could be done for as little as £300 million. How are we capitalising on the opportunity? 5/

“You can define it in terms of our national interest. But it’s also an opportunity to promulgate the values of liberal democracy in an illiberal world. And done via independent journalism, empathetic documentaries and trustworthy science shows.” 4/

“World Service reaches an audience of 450 million people. There’s currently a once-in-a-generation opportunity to double that to 900 million, as the US defunds Voice of America and Radio Free Europe.” 3/

“As I write, it’s five weeks before the World Service’s next financial year and it doesn’t yet know what government funding for 2026/7 will be.” 2/

I don’t work for the BBC but… the World Service is Britain’s best soft power asset Sir Peter Bazalgette is the latest industry leader to reveal what matters most to them about the corporation ahead of the charter review

Peter Bazalgette: “Amid whoppers told by #Trump, dark propaganda churned out by #Russian/#North Korean/#Iranian bots and the general corruption of #socialmedia, Britain has a noble antidote. [ #BBCWorldService]” 1/

Turkey has prepared plans for possible migrant flow from Iran, minister says Turkey has drawn up plans to deal with a potential inflow of people fleeing ​the war in neighbouring Iran, Interior Minister Mustafa ‌Ciftci said on Wednesday, with preparations including possible buffer zones along the frontier and tent camps.

Turkey has prepared plans for possible migrant flow from Iran, minister says reut.rs/4rKgqNC

Radio 4 - Listen Live - BBC Sounds Listen live to Radio 4 on BBC Sounds

Is it moral to attack #Iran? The Moral Maze on now. Later at #BBCSounds.

‘“And I need this country's institutions to stand up for me, for other victims, and to protect future victims from similar victimisation."’

‘“The experience of being trafficked is an experience of being conditioned+deprived of the ability to protect yourself,of being instilled with this very,very deep sense of fear+standing up+standing against these people who trafficked me+ arranged for me to be raped is terrifying”3/

‘She claims her passport was taken from her and she was flown by private jet from the UK to a job that did not exist for the purposes of #abuse.”
“She described the network which enabled the abuse as a " #trafficking factory".’ 2/

Al Fayed abuse should be investigated as human trafficking, says former senior Met officer Investigation into claims of sex abuse by the late Harrods owner should include trafficking, says former head of Met's Anti-Trafficking Unit.

Speaking about her experiences for the first time, Anne, not her real name, told the BBC she was #trafficked by #AlFayed to his "sadist" brother Salah Fayed in France.” 1/

Really shocking. Appalling. You can hear this account on today’s edition of #BBCWorldatOne at #BBCSounds

Fellow humans. Can you imagine the upbringing, education, culture and imagination which led to the “swaggering ostentation” [TM BBC’s Tom Bateman] of the War Secretary? Which parent or partner would be proud?

In a less severe scenario where oil stays around $80 a barrel, the UK faces a 0.3 hit to GDP and a 0.5 percentage point rise in inflation. 2.