UKs

Cambridge University said it was suspending donations from fossil fuel companies. Britain's Cambridge University confirmed on Monday that it has adopted a moratorium on new funding from fossil fuel companies after a campaign from students and academics. The decision to halt funding until a review is carried out follows recommendations in a report by former UN climate change envoy Nigel…

Britain's Airlander 10 is being billed as a less polluting alternative to traditional aircraft. Britain's innovative Airlander 10 airship could soon take to the skies to offer leisure passengers panoramic views and far less pollution than traditional aircraft, according to its manufacturer.…

The UK has a weird relationship with Eurovision. We put forward focus-grouped no-hopers (whither “Joe and Jake”???) then get indignant when they inevitably lose. For years, although fans have suggested we follow the rest of Europe and put forward, you know, an actual pop star, that has never happened, for whatever reason – probably because the risk of losing is even higher and even more embarrassing for a known entity. Tap Management, which looks after the likes of Lana Del Rey, Ellie Goulding and formerly Dua Lipa,…

When Standon Calling – the summer music festival during which 17,000 people descend on the Hertfordshire countryside to see headliners such as Bloc Party and Wolf Alice – announced this year would be its last, it became the ninth festival for 2024 to cancel or call time for good.The Association of Independent Festivals’ (AIF) CEO, John Rostron, has called for “urgent government intervention” to assist events hit by rising supply chain costs, debts incurred during the Covid pandemic and slower ticket sales, stymied further…

The UK should concentrate on setting global standards for artificial intelligence testing instead of trying to carry out all the vetting itself, according to a company assisting the government’s AI Safety Institute.Marc Warner, the chief executive of Faculty AI, said the newly established institute could end up “on the hook” for scrutinising an array of AI models – the technology that underpins chatbots like ChatGPT – owing to the government’s world-leading work in AI safety.Rishi Sunak announced the formation of the AI…

Way back in 2000 the Blair government introduced the regulation of investigatory powers bill, a legislative dog’s breakfast that put formidable surveillance powers on the statute book. This was a long time before Edward Snowden broke cover, but to anyone who was paying attention it indicated that the British deep state was tooling up for the digital age. Because the powers implicit in the bill were so sweeping, some of us naively assumed that it would have a tempestuous passage through the Commons.How wrong can you be? It…

Posted in: Comics, Current News | Tagged: "The Great Patriotic War", scholastic, Scholastic ukThe Graphic Novel Prize is a new prize for kids and teengers books from Scholastic UK, but the details of entry are rather intriguing.Article Summary Scholastic UK announces the Graphic Novel Prize for works published in 2023. Three categories for youth: ages 6-8, 9-12, and teens, each with a £1,000 award. Submissions must be from UK/Ireland publishers; self-published work ineligible. Shortlisted titles…

In a move that has sparked widespread criticism from scientists and politicians alike, the UK government has approved plans to install carbon capture technology at Britain’s largest power plant. Under the plans, power generator Drax will install so-called bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) technology at two of four biomass units at the Drax power station in Yorkshire. Drax switched from burning coal to burning biomass — mostly wood pellets — in 2019. The Drax power station,…

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain A new study suggests the UK prison system should learn lessons from Icelandic prisons to transform the lives of foreign national prisoners. The work was published in the International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice. The research was carried out by Professor Francis Pakes from the University of Portsmouth, and helps…

Facebook was flooded with fake advertisements featuring a deepfaked Rishi Sunak ahead of the UK's general election that's expected to take place this year, according to research conducted by communications company Fenimore Harper. The firm found 143 different ads impersonating the UK's Prime Minister on the social network last month, and it believes the ad may have reached more than 400,000 people. It also said that funding for the ads originated from 23 countries, including Turkey, Malaysia, the Philippines and the…