68 m. ago It’s grand theft AI and UK ministers are behind it. Oppose this robbery of people’s creativity | Andrew Lloyd Webber and Alastair Webber

The plan to weaken copyright law, allowing tech firms to profit for free from people’s talent, is an outrage, and the nation would sufferWe are father and son: one has written 16 musicals and counting, the other cofounded The Other Songs, a leading independent record and publishing company. Our work has employed thousands globally, nurturing the next generation of talent. Copyright is the foundation that protects this, and all creative work: from music, theatre and literature to film and art. Copyright ensures creators retain control and are fairly compensated. It underpins the creative economy. Put simply, it allows artists and creatives to make a living. Endless studies have shown what a benefit that creativity – music, theatre, dance, art, film, TV, the list is endless – has on the rest of society.Yet, today, the UK government is proposing changes that would strip creators of this protection. Under the data (use and access) bill, AI companies would be allowed to take works, past ...

Politics

68 m. ago UK creative industries launch campaign against AI tech firms’ content use

A government consultation on weakening copyright law is due to conclude on Tuesday

Economics

2 h. ago More than 160 Gazan medics held in Israeli prisons amid reports of torture

Senior doctors claim they were subjected to months of physical abuse, as UN calls for release of those still detained‘No rules’: Gaza’s doctors say they were tortured, beaten and humiliated in Israeli detentionAt least 160 healthcare workers from Gaza, including more than 20 doctors, are believed to still be inside Israeli detention facilities as the World Health Organisation expressed deep concern about their wellbeing and safety.Healthcare Workers Watch (HWW), a Palestinian medical NGO, said it had confirmed that 162 medical staff remained in Israeli detention, including some of Gaza’s most senior physicians, and a further 24 were missing after being taken from hospitals during the conflict. Continue reading...

Events

3 h. ago Nicholas Prosper's chilling YouTube confessions before he killed mum and siblings

Nicholas Prosper murdered his mother, sister and brother at the family home in Luton, Bedfordshire, and the teenager will be sentenced at Luton Crown Court next month

Events

3 h. ago Woman was passed over for promotion because she was not gay, Supreme Court case claims

The US Supreme Court is set to weigh in on the case of a straight white woman from Ohio who claims she was passed up on a promotion for not being gay.

Events

4 h. ago Glimmer of hope as No10 'recognises the strength of feeling' over Big Tech AI raid

Downing Street conceded that its controversial proposal to give AI firms a copyright exception may not emerge as the final option following a powerful campaign by the Mail.

Politics

7 h. ago Make It Fair: National World among UK publishers calling for copyright protection from AI companies

We’re calling on the Government to spur growth in the creative and tech sectors by protecting copyright

Politics

7 h. ago Musicians protest against AI copyright plans with silent album release

Kate Bush and Annie Lennox are among the high-profile artists who helped write the protest album.

Economics

7 h. ago Daily Star fights Big Tech to stop AI grab for news and creative content in copyright row

The Daily Star is part of a fight against the 'threat' of Big Tech using copyrighted content to train their generative AI tools for free - it is pushing for AI companies to pay up

Politics

8 h. ago Leader of 'trans murder ring' linked to six deaths makes outrageous courtroom complaint

Jack 'Ziz' LaSota, 33, the leader of the Bay Area vegan trans 'death cult' known as the 'Zizans', made an outrageous demand in court just two days after she was arrested.

Events

9 h. ago California judge accidentally fired gun shot that killed his wife, lawyer says

The lawyer for a Southern California judge has acknowledged that his client fired the deadly shot that killed his wife, but he contends it was an accident

Events

9 h. ago Judicial branch employees – which Trump does not oversee – got Musk’s email asking for their accomplishments

Legal experts condemned the move, with one branding it a ‘fundamental failure’ in understanding the separation of powers, given the court system is not part of the executive branch

Politics

10 h. ago Shocking moment boy, 16, squeals and collapses in court after being told he'll be tried for murder as an adult

Sean Simpson broke down in court sobbing and screaming on learning he'd be tried under a harsher new law.

Events

10 h. ago US court upholds Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes’s conviction

Holmes, who is serving nine years, attempted to overturn conviction over multimillion-dollar investor fraud scandalA US court upheld the conviction of the Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes for defrauding investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars while operating her failed blood-testing startup, once valued at $9bn, rejecting her multi-year appeal. The court also upheld the conviction of Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, once Holmes’s romantic partner and president of Theranos.A three-judge panel for the 9th US circuit court of appeals in San Francisco rejected claims of legal errors at their separate trials held in 2022. Continue reading...

Events

10 h. ago ICC urged to investigate Biden for ‘aiding and abetting’ Gaza war crimes

US-based nonprofit Dawn also accuses ex-secretary of state Antony Blinken and ex-Pentagon chief Lloyd AustinA US-based nonprofit organization has urged the international criminal court to investigate former president Joe Biden and two of his cabinet members for complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.The request, submitted by the Democracy for the Arab World Now (Dawn) last month but made public by the group on Monday, urges the ICC to investigate Biden, as well as former secretary of state Antony Blinken and former defense secretary Lloyd Austin, for their “accessorial roles in aiding and abetting, as well as intentionally contributing to, Israeli war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza”. Continue reading...

Events

11 h. ago Clarence Thomas wants to ‘explicitly overturn’ protections against protest

Supreme Court rejects anti-abortion group challenge to buffer zones, which Thomas called an ‘abdication’ of their duty

Events

11 h. ago Displays at latest Lanarkshire Philatelic Society's meeting focus on German Occupation of Jersey and island's stamps

Ian Smith of Largs Philatelic Society began his display with a show of covers dating from 1794.

Events

11 h. ago Merz examines using outgoing parliament to loosen debt brake

German election winner says he will hold talks with other parties to adopt constitutional change in next 30 days

Politics

12 h. ago The Guardian view on Germany’s election result: Merz’s task is formidable | Editorial

The victorious CDU leader is likely to be more proactive on the European stage. He will also need to forge broad alliances at home to see off the far rightFriedrich Merz, the leader of Germany’s centre-right Christian Democratic Union party (CDU), has a reputation for being blunt. On Sunday evening, as it became clear that the CDU had won the snap election triggered by the outgoing Social Democrat chancellor, Olaf Scholz, he did not disappoint. “For me,” said Mr Merz in a post-election television debate, “the absolute priority will be to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that, step by step, we can really achieve independence from the USA.”As recently as a fortnight ago, such a statement from a German chancellor-elect would have been inconceivable. But these are new and extraordinary times. A convinced transatlanticist, Mr Merz has previously played down the dangers to western unity posed by Donald Trump. But crude electioneering on behalf of the extreme right Alternat...

Politics

12 h. ago The Guardian view on AI and copyright: creativity should be cherished, not given away | Editorial

The government’s consultation was weighted towards big tech. Now is the time for a rethinkIt’s a seductive promise: let our computers scrape the internet for ideas, images, forms of words, stories, music, jokes and our industry will make your country rich. For a UK government desperate for economic growth, the demands of tech companies for copyright laws to be relaxed – in order that their artificial intelligence (AI) systems can access as much online content as possible without having to pay or seek permission – have been hard to resist. The US and China are the global leaders of this new tech race. But the UK has a chance to compete that ministers are desperate not to miss.To AI businesses, copyright is an irritant. Three years ago, it appeared that their lobbyists were on the verge of getting their way when a government agency, the Intellectual Property Office, recommended an exemption for data mining. This would grant bots free rein and – so the argument...

Politics