French Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s fragile coalition government faces near-certain defeat on Wednesday in no-confidence motions brought by the hard left and the far right that threaten to topple his government and deepen the country’s political impasse. Source link
Two women have claimed Gregg Wallace inappropriately touched them – as yet more allegations surface against the MasterChef presenter. It comes as the BBC said it was pulling the MasterChef Christmas specials due to “current circumstances”. Wallace, 60, now faces claims from more than a dozen people across a range of shows over a 17-year period. He has temporarily stepped down from the cooking show while the complaints are externally reviewed. Wallace’s lawyers say “it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature”. On Tuesday, the BBC reported claims Wallace touched and “groped” a woman’s bottom, while another alleged he laughed after touching her bottom “with his waist and penis” when brushing past her. A third woman said Wallace’s penis was partially exposed in his dressing room in what she felt was a “power play”. The Guardian also reported a complaint that Wallace had asked a sign language interpreter to translate “big boobs” and “sexy bum” in front of the audience at the BBC Good Food Show. Sky News has …
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails A Vietnamese tourist sparked a controversy after she posted pictures of herself doing yoga poses in front of South Korea’s Gyeongbokgung Palace, a national heritage site. Gyeongbokgung Palace was the main royal residence and the seat of government during the Joseon period, from 1392-1910. Kieu Hoa, 37, from Hanoi visited South Korea late in October and posed near Gwanghwamun, the main and largest gate of the palace. After she posted her photos, she received criticism from both South Korea as well as her native country Vietnam, with many questioning whether her behaviour or her clothing were appropriate considering the palace is both a sacred and a cultural institution for Koreans. “The palace is a sacred place in their country, much like our Hue Imperial City. Her behaviour is disgraceful,” said one user. “Rude and offensive. Such acts create a negative …
Buy now, pay later (BNPL) giant Affirm is launching in the U.K., its first market outside North America. Its long-anticipated arrival comes as U.K. lawmakers mull new rules to bring BNPL firms into line with other traditional consumer credit services, though such laws aren’t expected to come into effect until at least 2026 — long enough for Affirm to build traction, and curry favor with consumers and regulators alike. Founded in 2012, Affirm emerged from a startup incubator called HVF, setup by PayPal co-founder Max Levchin (pictured above) who eventually took the reins at Affirm in 2014 to drive its commercial push. The company expanded beyond the U.S. and into Canada in 2022, and it has struck lucrative partnerships with major ecommerce companies through the years — Affirm has been Shopify’s major financing partner for close to a decade, not to mention Walmart, and Amazon, which tapped Affirm as Amazon Pay’s first BNPL partner in the U.S. last year. More recently, Affirm also secured the mighty Apple as a customer. ‘Normalizing debt’ The BNPL model …
A rumoured I’m A Celebrity contestant lined up for this year’s series is said to have pulled out of the show with just weeks to go. It’s been reported that Tommy Fury, the former Love Island star and professional boxer, was expected to fly to the jungle to take part in this year’s series but has withdrawn after receiving a better offer. © Getty ImagesTommy Fury has reportedly pulled out of the line-up According to The Sun, the 25-year-old had been in talks with the ITV show for months before being offered a more lucrative project, with speculation rife that he pulled out to take part in a boxing match with KSI. Earlier this month, Tommy fuelled rumours that he would be heading to Australia after keeping his cards close to his chest when asked about the speculation. “Listen, a lot of things in my life, it’s like a rollercoaster at the minute, there’s so many things that I might do; could he be doing this, could he be doing that?” he told Heart Radio “To …
King Charles heckled by Australian senator: ‘Give us our land back’ Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email The King faced indigenous activists questioning the supremacy of the British monarchy for a second day as he tours Australia. When Charles met First Nations elders during a visit to the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence (NCIE) in Sydney, Elder Allan Murray from the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council told him their goal was “sovereignty”. The visit came after the King was accused on Monday of “genocide” against Australia’s First Nations by senator Lidia Thorpe who told him “You are not my King”. The Indigenous senator has spoken out to explain why she confronted him after his parliamentary adress. Senator Lidia Thorpe shouted at the monarch “you are not my king” and demanded a treaty between Australia‘s First Nations and its government on Monday. Ms Thorpe, an Indigenous woman from Victoria, has long advocated for a treaty between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians to …
The European Union’s top court has sided with a privacy challenge to Meta’s data retention policies. It ruled on Friday that social networks, such as Facebook, cannot keep using people’s information for ad targeting indefinitely. The judgement could have major implications on the way Meta and other ad-funded social networks operate in the region. Limits on how long personal data can be kept must be applied in order to comply with data minimization principles contained in the bloc’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Breaches of the regime can lead to fines of up to 4% of global annual turnover — which, in Meta’s case, could put it on the hook for billions more in penalties (NB: it is already at the top of the leaderboard of Big Tech GDPR breachers). The CJEU ruling follows an earlier opinion on the case, published by a court adviser back in April, which also backed limits on the retention of personal data for ad targeting. Contacted for a response, Meta spokesman Matt Pollard said the company is waiting to …
SEND and private VAT plan dominate the schools agenda during Commons exchange SEND and private VAT plan dominate the schools agenda during Commons exchange More from this theme Recent articles Education secretary Bridget Phillipson and her ministerial team took their first set of education questions from MPs today after winning July’s election. They were quizzed about SEND, funding and private schools. Here’s what we learned… 1. Phillipson urges Tory ‘reflection’ on SEND The previous government placed a “statutory override” on SEND budget deficits, allowing councils to keep them off their revenue books until 2026. Today Phillipson was quizzed by shadow education minister James Wild on whether she would extend the override. The new education secretary said she was “genuinely surprised” Wild thought the question “is a source of strength”. “It represents significant failure over 14 years that we ended up in such a desperate position facing our council[s].” She said government “will of course look closely at all of this”, but added: “what I would say to him is that after 14 years where he …
ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Taliban on Monday rejected concerns and criticism raised by the United Nations over new vice and virtue laws that ban women in Afghanistan from baring their faces and speaking in public places. Roza Otunbayeva, who heads the U.N. mission in the country, UNAMA, said Sunday that the laws provided a “distressing vision” for Afghanistan’s future. She said the laws extend the “ already intolerable restrictions ” on the rights of women and girls, with “even the sound of a female voice” outside the home apparently deemed a moral violation. Zabihullah Mujahid, the main spokesman for the Taliban’s government, issued a statement warning against “arrogance” from those who he said may not be familiar with Islamic law, particularly non-Muslims who might express reservations or objections. “We urge a thorough understanding of these laws and a respectful acknowledgment of Islamic values. To reject these laws without such understanding is, in our view, an expression of arrogance,” he said. Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers on Wednesday issued the country’s first set of laws to discourage vice …
Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More Hugging Face, the open-source AI powerhouse, has taken a significant step towards democratizing low-cost robotics with the release of a detailed tutorial that guides developers through the process of building and training their own AI-powered robots. The tutorial, published today, builds upon the company’s LeRobot platform launched in May and marks a significant move to bring artificial intelligence into the physical world. The wait is finally over!!! ? We just dropped an in-depth tutorial on how to build your own robot! Teach it new skills by showing it a few moves with just a laptop. Then watch your homemade robot act autonomously ? 1/?? pic.twitter.com/ReeDvNlrg9 — Remi Cadene (@RemiCadene) August 19, 2024 This initiative marks a pivotal moment in the field of robotics, traditionally dominated by large corporations and research institutions with substantial resources. By providing a comprehensive guide that covers everything from sourcing parts to deploying AI models, Hugging Face is empowering developers of all …
