Man, 23, is arrested on suspicion of rape after woman was attacked in an alleyway
Police responded to a report that a woman was raped in an alleyway off The Tything in Worcester on Saturday morning.
High-flying saleswoman at pest control firm known as the 'royal rat catcher' wins tribunal over changes that sabotaged her £105,000 commission
Dawn Piper had to quit her job at RentoKil Initial Ltd after bosses refused to change a new scheme which threatened to take away her commissions that were the vast majority of her income.
Escape to the country: Clare Balding and broadcaster wife Alice Arnold start new life in the Surrey stockbroker belt after 20 years in London
The couple (pictured) have long spoken about wanting to up sticks and leave the smoke behind, but they have now swapped leafy Chiswick near the Thames for an even leafier alternative in Surrey.
Reform pledge to build dozens of new immigration centres in areas that vote Green - as they step up plans to remove one million foreign nationals
In a provocative move, Zia Yusuf said facilities designed to hold 24,000 people would be placed in areas where the public had backed a party committed to 'a world without borders'.
It's Goodbye Time for Jeeves and Ask.com - Relics of Yesterday's Internet
A 1999 press release bragged "Jeeves" answered 92.3 million questions in just three months. "In the digital wilds of Y2K, we came to him with our most probing questions," remembers the New York Times — whether it was Britney Spears or tamagotchis:
We asked, and he answered: Jeeves, the digital butler of information, the online valet who led us into the depths of cyberspace. Now, like so many other relics of yesterday's internet, Jeeves — and his home, Ask.com — are no more. After almost 30 years, the question-and-answer service and former search engine shuttered on Friday. "To you — the millions of users who turned to us for answers in a rapidly changing world — thank you for your endless curiosity, your loyalty, and your trust," the company said in a notice posted on its now-defunct website...
Created in Berkeley, Calif., in the days of the dot-com gold rush, Ask Jeeves first appeared on computer screens in 1996.... Their mascot, Jeeves, was modeled on the clever English butler character from the famed P.G. Wodehouse book series. Its search function was simple — type in a question, get an answer. But the quality of its responses was uneven, and the website was quickly eclipsed by Google and Yahoo as the world's go-to search engines.
The site was bought by InterActive Corp. for more than $1 billion in 2005, and was given an injection of cash to help it compete as a search engine. It rebranded as Ask.com and as part of the reimagining, the site also ditched the character of Jeeves in 2006. Scrappy but inventive, the site was one of the first to introduce hyperlocal map overlays to its searches and incorporate thumbnails of webpages. "They are doing a lot of clever and interesting things," a Google executive noted of Ask.com at the time. Still, Ask.com struggled to compete and returned in 2010 to its bread and butter: question-and-answer style prompts.
Even then, it faltered against newer, crowdsourced iterations like Quora and Google's unyielding march to the internet fore — the platform now dominates search traffic, and the world's general experience of the internet.
A statement at Ask.com ends "by thanking its millions of users, and saying, 'Jeeves' spirit endures'," notes this article from Engadget:
As sad as it is to see a relic of the early Internet days fade into obscurity, we still have Ask Jeeves to thank for why some users still punch in full questions when querying Google. On top of that, Jeeves was built to provide detailed answers in natural language, which could have arguably acted as a precursor to today's AI chatbots like ChatGPT.
"Now, Ask.com joins the Internet graveyard that includes competitors like AltaVista, which shut down in 2013," the article points out. "With Ask.com gone, alongside AIM and AOL dial-up services also sunsetting, we're truly coming to an end of a specific era of the Internet." And the New York Times argues the memory of Jeeves now rests somewhere between Limewire and Beanie Babies...
Slashdot reader BrianFagioli calls it "a quiet reminder of how quickly the web moves, and how even widely recognized names can drift into obscurity once the underlying technology leaves them behind."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Knifeman stabs woman to death in 'random street attack' in front of terrified bystanders in Barcelona
A photo of the alleged attacker brandishing the weapon he used on his victim emerged overnight as police confirmed they had made an arrest.
Harry Potter swaps King's Cross for Waterloo as new TV show takes over sprawling London train station
Filming for the latest adaptation of JK Rowling 's novels began earlier this year and the show is due to air next year.
Russian minister who was sacked from his role 'flees to the US' amid fraud probe as he becomes first high-ranking official to 'escape' Putin's regime
Denis Butsayev, 49, has reportedly managed to escape the country after being fired from his position as Deputy Minister of Natural Resources.
SNL brands Meghan an 'American terrorist' in brutal gag about King Charles's visit
The sketch show ridiculed Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's relationship in one of several risky takes on the King's trip to the US this week.
BBC 'filmed Banksy at the site of a mural in Manhattan EIGHT years ago then did nothing with the footage because a boss's daughter told them not to', reporter claims
Nick Bryant the BBC's former New York correspondent said he saw a man coming out of a coffee shop near a newly completed mural in 2018.
Donatella Versace, 71, puts on an ageless display in embellished minidress as she arrives at Met Gala pre party after appearing to 'reverse' her plastic surgeries
While marking another year around the sun, the fashion designer looked more youthful than ever as she arrived in a figure-hugging little black dress.
Geordie Shore star announces tragic family loss in heartbreaking post as fans rush to share their condolences
A Geordie Shore star announced the tragic loss of their beloved grandmother in a heartbreaking Instagram post on Sunday.
Lindsey Vonn attends Jeff Bezos' party on crutches... as Olympic legend plots major recovery milestone at Met Gala
Vonn suffered a complex fracture - and even faced the threat of losing her leg - after falling during the women's downhill skiing at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Former Nintendo Executive Says Amazon Once Requested 'Illegal' Price Discounts
Amazon once tried to pressure Nintendo to break the law, says former Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aimé. At a recent NYU lecture, he describes a conversation with an Amazon executive, Kotaku reports:
"Amazon was looking to get bigger into the video game space," said Fils-Aimé. "Amazon's mentality back then is they wanted to have the lowest price out in the marketplace, even lower than Walmart... Essentially what Amazon wanted (was an) obscene amount of support, financial support, so they could have the lowest price and beat Walmart. I literally said to the executive, 'You know that's illegal, right? I can't do that'...."
At the time, the Wii and DS were Nintendo's best selling hardware in history. Amazon originally sold books, but in the 2000s rapidly expanded with cheaper discounts to became a one-stop shop for almost everything. Everything except Nintendo, that is.... "Literally we stopped selling to Amazon," Fils-Aimé continued, "and it's because I wasn't going to do something illegal. I wasn't going to do something that would put at risk the relationship we have with other retailers."
"The two sides have since made amends," notes the Verge, "and you can buy a Switch 2 through Amazon. But for a long time, Nintendo consoles had been largely unavailable on the site."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
World Snooker Championship final halted as protester complains about BBC licence fee
The outburst came in the third frame of the final at the Crucible, with Wu Yize preparing to take a shot when leading 67-31, with the woman appearing to shout 'Who f***ing pays their TV licence anyway'.
Outraged James Cleverly accuses travellers of 'gaming the system' after they start building 'illegal' camp in idyllic village just hours after council offices shut for long bank holiday weekend
An army of workers descended on a four-acre wildlife haven in the historic hamlet of Willows Green, near Felsted, Essex, within hours of the local district council closing its doors on Friday.
Fury as Southwest flight to San Diego is delayed by ROBOT passenger that sat in aisle seat
Flight 1568 from San Francisco's Bay Airport to San Diego International Airport had an unusual passenger that stoked fury onboard on Thursday.
Chaos as female Delta passenger is ARRESTED because she wouldn't hang up her phone before takeoff
Around 200 people were forced to deboard because the woman allegedly refused to get off the plane after repeatedly being asked to hang up a call. She is now facing at least one trespassing charge.
Kendall Jenner, Nicole Kidman and glam Lindsey Vonn on crutches lead A-listers at Lauren Sanchez and Jeff Bezos' pre-Met Gala party amid backlash over billionaire couple's involvement in fashion's biggest night
Kendall Jenner put on a stylish display as she led A-listers at Lauren Sanchez and Jeff Bezos' starry pre-Met Gala party in NYC on Saturday.
Mel B and Mel C send fans wild with mini Spice Girls reunion as they perform band's hits on stage for the first time since 2019
Fans screamed in delight as Mel B made an unexpected appearance during Mel C's album launch show in Leeds, before teaming up to perform one of their most enduring hits.