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One of Sydney’s largest councils joins ban on ‘pervert’ glasses at local swimming pools

Councillors say locals have been raising concerns about people secretly filming in change rooms, swimming pools and around schools Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast One of Sydney’s largest councils has joined the City of Brisbane and the City of Yarra to issue a ban on AI smart glasses at public pools as concerns mount over the potential for predators to exploit the new technology. On Tuesday evening, Canterbury-Bankstown voted overwhelmingly in favour of banning the tech at its local pools, with its mayor, Bilal El-Hayek, describing them as “pervert glasses” . Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Caitlin Cassidy15 Sept

Channel 4 poaches Paramount’s TV ad sales business from Sky

Move is a big boost for Channel 4, days after it announced it is to cut 340 jobs Business live – latest updates Channel 4 has poached Channel 5 owner Paramount’s £300m-plus TV advertising sales business from Sky, in a huge boost days after the broadcaster announced it is to cut 340 jobs. The win is a big boost for Channel 4, which also handles the ad sales for UKTV, the owner of channels including Gold and Dave, which relies on advertising for about 90% of its £1bn in revenues. Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Mark Sweney15 Sept

‘We were bored of traditional fantasy cliches’: inside Playground Games’ 10-year effort to revive Fable

The distinctively British RPG is returning courtesy of the makers of Forza Horizon – with comedy talent such as Richard Ayoade and Natasia Demetriou voicing sweary characters. We had our first play and spoke to its developer When Playground Games was founded in 2010, its objective was straightforward: to make the best cars in video games. Operating out of an unassuming white building in Leamington Spa, the studio sought to challenge Gran Turismo with its critically acclaimed British racing alternative: the acclaimed free-roaming Forza Horizon series. Yet as the team grew, so did their ambitions. Now they are making the most intriguing British fantasy game we have seen in many years. For those who have never ventured into Albion, Fable is a quintessentially British role playing game. Created by Lionhead Studios for the original Xbox in 2004, it boasted cheeky charm alongside world-altering player choices, and its droll writing was brought to life in later iterations by national treasures such as Stephen Fry and Simon Pegg. Thanks to its unique blend of farce and fantasy, Fable grew into a globally beloved franchise – before Microsoft unceremoniously shuttered Lionhead in 2016 , after mandating that the studio turn its star series into a multiplayer game. The result, Fable Legends, was never released. Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Tom Regan15 Sept

Parents seek out school uniform deals, cutting average spend to £54.53

Overall grocery inflation jumps to 2.3%, as Ocado and Lidl gain market share Business live – latest updates Parents and carers spent 12.5% less on school uniform in the run-up to the start of this academic year, turning to promotions and second-hand items to keep expenses down as families struggled with the cost of living crisis . The average spend on school uniform was £54.53 in the four weeks to 6 September, down an eighth from £62.29 in the same period last year, according to the market research company Worldpanel by Numerator. Overall grocery inflation picked up to 2.3% from 2.1%. Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Julia Kollewe15 Sept

Fast, furious and potentially fatal: why are supercars suddenly so popular?

Once the preserve of the ultra-rich, supercars are finding new drivers through rentals, finance deals, influencer culture and the manosphere. But why would anyone want a 200mph vehicle? ‘The £600,000 Lamborghini; that was the first seizure of the operation,” says special chief inspector Geoff Tatman of the Metropolitan police, thinking back to the second weekend of August. “He was stopping at the red lights, revving his engine, waiting for the traffic to clear, then speeding. So on the third time we saw him do it, we stopped him and seized the vehicle.” The car has a top speed of 217mph (350kmh), but the limit on these London streets is 20mph. Over the same weekend, the Metropolitan police seized about 90 more cars with a combined value of more than £8m, an increase on last year’s tally of 72 cars . They were seized for various offences: driving without insurance, driving with incorrect licences or antisocial behaviour. Previously, the Met would have had to let such drivers off with a warning, but the law – section 59 of the Police Reform Act – was strengthened this year to enable the immediate confiscation of vehicles. The seized cars also included a Ferrari Monza worth about £3.4m (the driver only had a provisional UK licence). They were all put on display at Marble Arch, attracting a throng of camera-wielding onlookers (one attender did a seven-hour live blog of the occasion). Many of the supercars apprehended by the Met in August bore Middle Eastern number plates. It has been a growing trend for car owners from the region to spend summer in London, bringing their cars with them (at a cost of £25,000 upwards). The orange Lamborghini that Tatman seized had Dubai plates. Most of the vehicle owners retrieved their cars the next day after paying fines and presenting the correct paperwork. The Lamborghini driver was subsequently seen driving respectfully and not revving his engine. Lessons were learned, although the question remains: why ship a 200mph car to London to drive in a 20mph zone? Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Steve Rose15 Sept

I’m a psychoanalyst. Social media is damaging children’s inner lives in ways we don’t fully understand | Robin Kirman

Discussion has focused on behavioral outcomes. But Meta’s settlement shines a light on damage to young people’s emerging desires and identities During the landmark social media addiction trial that led to Meta’s recent $17.1bn settlement , a therapist testified that she had once asked the plaintiff – a young woman named Kaley, who had been using social media since she was six – what her miracle day would look like: what she wished to come true, if anything were possible. Kaley replied that she would be prettier. As a psychoanalyst, I find that exchange devastating in a particular way. A miracle day is an invitation to engage with the full range of human desire: with what one might accomplish or experience, whom one might encounter or love. Kaley’s answer contracted the world and all its possibility into a single preoccupation with her own image. Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Robin Kirman15 Sept

Houseplant hacks: can pothos help new cuttings to root?

The hormone-packed pothos plant might encourage healthy root growth in other cuttings – or it might not. But you’ve nothing to lose by trying The problem Propagation can provide never-ending plants, but sometimes you have to wait weeks for something to happen. Anything that speeds up those reluctant rooters is worth knowing about, especially if it’s free. The hack According to a popular plant hack, placing a pothos in the same water as other cuttings encourages them to root faster. This is often attributed to pothos releasing auxins – the plant hormones involved in root development – into the shared water. Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Gynelle Leon15 Sept

Australia’s Indigenous population estimated at 2.2m before ‘demographic catastrophe’ of colonisation

Study finds earlier numbers were underestimated, suggesting impact of diseases and massacres were much greater than previously thought Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia before colonisation was dramatically underestimated, according to new research that suggests many more of them were killed. Modelling by a national research group puts the population levels before the 1788 first fleet arrived at 2.2 million, compared with early estimates of 250,000 people. Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Tory Shepherd15 Sept

How Promise David emerged from Maltese shadows into the Premier League

Former teammates and coaches rave about Brighton’s summer signing, who impressed with Canada at the World Cup Promise David had a five-year plan. He would score bags of goals, earn a transfer to a top European league and play for Canada at the 2026 World Cup. There was just one problem: apart from his parents, teammates and coaches, no one in soccer seemed to know his name. It was 2023, and the striker was scrapping for minutes in Estonia’s Meistriliiga – a league small enough that streaming services didn’t bother with its matches. He was 22 and already a football nomad. He had been cut from his home town club’s academy. Passed over by NCAA college programs. Relegated to the reserve squad of almost every club he played for. Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Martin Bauman15 Sept

Farage says a Reform UK government would stop unions funding Labour if they block £72m donations – UK politics live

Party leader claims proposed new retrospective laws are unfair and Reform would retaliate with a crackdown on union funding if elected Good morning. Ministers already think that the new laws on political donations, as set out in the version of the representation of the people bill which left the Commons earlier this month, will be enough to block some or all of the donations worth £72m to Reform UK announced at the weekend. But they are still planning further amendments to the legislation, when peers debate their own amendments to the bill, to make the restrictions even tighter. Pippa Crerar, Jessica Elgot and Kiran Stacey have the details here in our overnight splash. Kiran and Henry Dyer also have written a good explainer about the rules . The Unite union alone has given the Labour party over £50m over the course of the last few years. They’ve got the Employment Rights Act, not to mention big pay rises for bus drivers. If anybody is giving money to do political bidding, it’s the trade unions. So I would just warn the Labour party here and now: If you try and ban our donors, we in government would certainly ban funding from the trade unions. I don’t want to go down that route. But it’s something we would be prepared to do. Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Andrew Sparrow15 Sept

No one could stand in the way of this juggernaut! The biggest shocks from the Emmy awards

There were plenty of upsets, and one show in particular failed terribly. But the night was rightfully dominated by Matthew Rhys and the genuinely scary, genuinely hilarious Widow’s Bay To tell the story of how Hacks performed at last night’s Emmys, you have to acknowledge both its incredible success and its terrible failure. The first is undeniable. Last night, Jean Smart won lead actress in a comedy series yet again. This meant that every time Hacks brought out a new season, Smart won the same award for it. This makes her the first woman to ever win an Emmy for every season of a programme’s run. It’s a history-making achievement, and thoroughly well earned. The flipside of that, however, is that this is all Hacks won last night. One Emmy is better than many shows can even hope to dream of, but the reality is that Hacks swaggered into the Emmys with a record 24 nominations – the most ever for a comedy in a single year – and had the momentum of a huge farewell narrative behind it. But it only ended up winning one for Jean Smart and a Creative Arts Emmy for picture editing. In other words, last night Hacks lost 22 Emmys. Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Stuart Heritage15 Sept

Make NHS and MoD uniforms in UK, fashion firms urge Burnham

More than 1,200 people including Ben Fogle sign letter saying buying British will help preserve manufacturing firms Business live – latest updates London fashion week is only days away, but one industry organisation has turned its attention to clothing that is a little less catwalk-worthy – the uniforms worn by British defence forces and NHS staff. On Wednesday afternoon, the thinktank Fashion Roundtable will hand deliver a letter to No 10 urging Andy Burnham to commit to manufacturing these uniforms in the UK. Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Lauren Cochrane15 Sept

Denmark summons Russia’s ambassador after warship fires flares at Danish army helicopter – Europe live

Danish PM says action was ‘reckless’ as Moscow-attributed security incidents continue to intensify across Europe Separately, Dutch authorities are investigating a major outage that affected parts of the country’s railway system, suspecting a possible sabotage after objects were placed on tracks. The objects caused failures across the network, affecting several level crossings which ‌disrupted road traffic, Dutch rail infrastructure operator Pro Rail said ​ in a statement. Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Jakub Krupa15 Sept

Peter Llewellyn-Jones obituary

Pioneer in the teaching of British Sign Language who devoted himself to improving accessibility and opportunity for deaf people Peter Llewellyn-Jones, who has died aged 76, was an interpreter and teacher who helped to establish sign language interpreting as a recognised profession in Britain. Throughout his working life, alongside employment as an actor and writer, he devoted himself to improving accessibility and opportunity for deaf people. He became a pioneer in the teaching of British Sign Language interpreting and linguistics, and wrote the UK’s first undergraduate degree course in the subject, for the University of Wolverhampton in 1992. Peter was also instrumental in developing sign-language interpreting for British television and in bringing it on to the stage; starting in the early 1980s, he worked on 600 professional theatre productions across the UK. Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Gary Tippings15 Sept

All the Wrong Moves by Anthony Scaramucci review – confessions of an ex-Trumper

The president’s former press secretary has learned all the right lessons, but how come it took him so long? The most interesting chapter in Anthony Scaramucci’s All the Wrong Moves is the one where the hedge funder turned podcaster goes to work for Donald Trump. It’s summer 2017, and he’s been given the job of comms director, which he doesn’t know how to do, but he and Trump think it’ll work out because they’re both from New York. Or maybe he took it because he had “Potomac fever”, which afflicts Wall Street financiers who find themselves on the riverfront in Washington DC thinking they know how to run a country just because they’re “full of power and judgmental insight … about to fix everything”. This appointment lasts only 11 days, not even enough time to be truly tainted by Trump’s first term, though it is enough time for Scaramucci to miss the birth of his son. The account is a mea culpa soup, with the author full of regrets for his hubris, his impulsivity, his “pride, egotism and asinine stupidity”, the fact that, despite the clear-sightedness bestowed by his humble beginnings, he’d come to assume the collective biases of the rich people he hung out with. Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Zoe Williams15 Sept

AI safety requires more than just slowing our pace | Stuart Russell

Safety requirements are non-negotiable. They depend on meeting concrete goals, not just adjusting a timeline It has been a week of high drama in AI, precipitated by the resignation of the AI safety researcher Jacob Coxon from Anthropic. This followed several weeks of increasingly lurid and disturbing revelations about the OpenAI/Hugging Face incident. My inbox yesterday included a message from Business Insider with the subject line: “AI doomsday debate reaches boiling point”. Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Stuart Russell15 Sept

Scrap windfall tax on oil and gas firms early, North Sea industry urges

Labour should replace levy in 2027 rather than 2030 as energy bills are poised to surge over the winter, says lobby group The North Sea oil and gas industry has called on Labour to scrap the windfall tax on fossil fuel firms three years early, as Britain heads into a winter with energy bills expected to reach their highest level since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Offshore Energies UK (OEUK), the industry’s trade body, wants the tax replaced in 2027, rather than in 2030, with a narrower levy that only applies during price spikes. Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Alex Daniel15 Sept

Thank goodness Labour’s ‘shambolic’ plan to reorganise local councils has been paused. What was it thinking? | Polly Toynbee

This misconceived Treasury pet project may have been foisted on the government, but it would have added to voters’ mistrust in politics Shock reverberated through England’s councils last week. “Beggars belief!” “Shambolic!” council leaders protested to the Local Government Information Unit (LGIU), which says: “We’ve never before heard such expletives. They’re apoplectic, incandescent.” And they have every right to be. The government has slammed the brakes on its unexpected reorganisation of local councils. This almost certainly ends the one-size-fits-all, politically damaging remapping of England’s councils , which was never forewarned in Labour’s manifesto. Polly Toynbee is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Polly Toynbee15 Sept