world

cross-posted from: lemmy.ca/post/41122378

Cloudflare turns AI against itself with endless maze of irrelevant facts

Summary

Tesla’s EU vehicle sales dropped 49% in January and February 2025, with registrations falling to 19,046.

Analysts link the decline to Elon Musk’s political alignment with Trump and nationalist European parties, sparking backlash, including arson and vandalism at Tesla facilities.

Compounding issues, newer Chinese-made EVs are surpassing Tesla sales in Europe, with Tesla’s market share falling from 18.4% to 7.7% year-to-date.

The draft U.K.-EU agreement is one of several being drawn up ahead of a May 19 summit.

Britain and the European Union are set to sign a formal declaration committing to “free and open trade” in defiance of Donald Trump’s tariff agenda.

A leaked draft seen by POLITICO promises a “new strategic partnership” between London and Brussels based on “maintaining global economic stability and our mutual commitment to free and open trade.”

It comes as Keir Starmer’s U.K. government is locked in negotiations with the Trump administration to try to get a carve-out from the U.S. president’s new tariffs.

The Israeli government did not tamper with the Hezbollah devices that exploded, defense and intelligence officials say. It manufactured them as part of an elaborate ruse.

Two men were found guilty on Friday of cutting down Britain’s ‘Sycamore Gap’ tree two years ago, felling the much-loved landmark whose dramatic silhouette had featured in a Hollywood movie in what prosecutors described as a “moronic mission”.

The sycamore, estimated to be almost 200 years old, stood at the centre of a dramatic dip in the landscape alongside the historic Hadrian’s Wall in northern England, making it a popular spot for photographers, hikers and even marriage proposals.

The felling also caused damage to part of Hadrian’s Wall, built by the Romans almost 2,000 years ago and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

cross-posted from: lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/37774435

Currently developing, little info out yet.

The prison escapee and on-again off-again petty criminal – whose best-known alias was Jack Karlson – shot to fame in 2009, after a clip of his dramatic 1991 arrest outside of a Chinese restaurant in Brisbane was uploaded to the internet and enthralled the nation.

“What is the charge? Eating a meal? A succulent Chinese meal” Karlson theatrically shouted while resisting a string of officers.

“Gentlemen, this is democracy manifest” and “get your hand off my penis” were among his other now immortalised lines.

The seminal moment has inspired thousands of memes, musical remixes, reaction videos and even a few tattoos. Democracy Manifest is also the name of a purebred Australian racehorse.

Members of an “uncontacted” Indigenous group used bows and arrows to attack loggers in the Peruvian Amazon in a confrontation that left at least one person injured, according to a local Indigenous organisation.

The incident came just weeks after more than 50 men and boys from the isolated group known as the Mashco Piro made a rare appearance on a beach in the Peruvian Amazon.

Campaigners warn that the Mashco Piro are under siege from logging activity – both illegal and legal – and the latest clashes are likely to increase calls for the government to finally demarcate their ancestral territory after years of conflict.

“This is a permanent emergency,” said Teresa Mayo, Peru researcher for Survival International, an NGO that promotes Indigenous rights, which released images of the Mashco Piro last month. “It is very tense in the zone. Everyone there is afraid,” she said of the area where logging concessions border the 829,941-hectare (2m-acre) Madre de Dios territorial reserve, a protected area where the tribe lives.

cross-posted from: lemmy.world/post/30324554

Struggling budget chain Poundland has been sold for £1 and now faces a shake-up which could see up to 100 stores close, the BBC understands.

Its owner Polish firm Pepco confirmed it had sold the brand for a “nominal” sum to US investment firm Gordon Brothers.

Poundland has 825 UK stores and around 16,000 staff and was struggling to compete with other discount stores, with sales down this January and February.

Following the sale a proposed restructure will be put to the High Court in England, Pepco said.

It comes after Pepco warned that increased employer National Insurance contributions which kicked in in April would put added pressure on the chain.

Pepco Group has owned Poundland since 2016, but the firm had to auction the brand off after sales slumped over the past year.

Gordon Brothers is a global investment firm which formerly owned fashion label Laura Ashley.

Drug shortages in the UK have risen to their worst level for four years, official figures show, with Brexit considered a key reason so many medications are scarce.

Drug companies notified the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) about disruptions to supply 1,938 times during last year – the highest number since the 1,967 seen in 2021.

Medications to treat epilepsy and cystic fibrosis are among those that pharmacists are finding it hard or impossible to get hold of, creating risks for patients’ health.

The figures have emerged in a new report by the Nuffield Trust health thinktank, which obtained them under freedom of information laws from the DHSC, which oversees the availability of drugs UK-wide.

Summary

Most European countries moved clocks forward one hour on Sunday, marking the start of daylight saving time (DST), a practice increasingly criticized.

Originally introduced during World War I to conserve energy, DST returned during the 1970s oil crisis and now shifts Central European Time to Central European Summer Time.

Despite a 2018 EU consultation where 84% of nearly 4 million respondents supported abolishing DST, implementation stalled due to member state disagreement.

Poland, currently holding the EU presidency, plans informal consultations to revisit the issue amid broader geopolitical priorities.

An underwater camera set up 55 years ago to try and photograph the Loch Ness Monster has been found by accident by a robot submarine.

The ocean-going yellow sub - called Boaty McBoatface - was being put through trials when its propeller snagged the mooring for the 1970s camera system.

It is believed it was lowered 180m (591ft) below the loch’s surface by the Loch Ness Investigation Bureau, a group set up in the 1960s to uncover the existence of Nessie in the waters.

No footage of Nessie has been found on the camera, but one of the submarine’s engineers was able to develop a few images of the loch’s murky waters.

Summary

Denmark and the Netherlands criticized Trump’s demand that foreign companies with U.S. government contracts eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

Denmark called for a coordinated EU response, labeling the move a potential trade barrier.

The Trump administration sent letters to European firms—including in France and Belgium—warning they must comply with a DEI ban or risk losing U.S. contracts.

European officials condemned the letters, defending DEI as essential to corporate responsibility. The EU Commission is reviewing the situation, while the U.S. State Department called the effort a compliance measure.