Huge queues form in the Dolomites as influencers trigger demand for selfies in front of world-famous triple peak
Many travel influencers have taken to posting about their hikes in the Dolomites in the last several months, boasting glorious views from the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Fire service update after 'explosion' and huge blaze at Essex industrial estate
Firefighters remain at the scene after a huge explosion and fire tore through an industrial estate near East Hanningfield.
Fire service update after 'explosion' and huge blaze at Essex industrial estate
Firefighters remain at the scene after a huge explosion and fire tore through an industrial estate near East Hanningfield.
Royal Navy officer jailed for murdering two young sailors to stay behind bars after being found guilty of sexually assaulting four more boys and men
Allan Grimson, 66, invited two Navy seamen back to his flat and murdered them both with a baseball bat on two dates exactly a year apart in the 1990s - December 12 in 1997 and December 12 in 1998.
Bin collections update issued by Essex council ahead of 34C heatwave
Bin collections will begin one hour earlier in the Chelmsford Council area this week in response to high temperatures.
Bin collections update issued by Essex council ahead of 34C heatwave
Bin collections will begin one hour earlier in the Chelmsford Council area this week in response to high temperatures.
Jack the Ripper: The astonishing Freemason connection that explains his motive and a chilling cover up. Read it when you sign up to The Crime Desk newsletter
Read about Jack the Ripper and his connection to the Freemasons when you sign up to The Crime Desk newsletter.
My midlife mission to boost my bone health and fend off osteoporosis left me with terrifying nausea and kidney pain. Here's why everyone should know the perils of 'supplement stacking'
After a few weeks of feeling increasingly nauseous, I went to the GP for some blood tests. The next day, they called with frightening news: I had high calcium levels.
Tech giants link hands to praise open AI models after OpenAI - Hugging Face attack
The Open Security AI Alliance says the Hugging Face/OpenAI mess proves frontier labs can't be trusted to properly secure sensitive systems
Judge slams police over eight-year conman probe which took so long one victim pulled out and accomplice died
A judge has criticised police over an eight-year investigation into a callous conman which took so long one victim stopped cooperating and the crook's accomplice died.
Harry's 'Wasp' steps down: The King's aide who prince blamed for being a roadblock in attempts to reconcile with his father steps down after 20 years
He's the man who delivered a King - and, for that matter, a Queen - masterminded the banishment of one particularly problematic relative, while cunningly corralling another.
Labour inches ahead in polls for first time in 16 months - but Burnham insists he would 'rule out' a general election
Just over a quarter of Brits would now vote for Labour in a general election , catapulting the party ahead of Reform for the first time since March last year.
'Unexceptional' classics from the 70s to the 90s gather as mundane cars near extinction: Did you own one?
Poor build quality, rust and accidents have wiped out vast numbers of cars, meaning some are now rarer than classic Ferraris and Lamborghinis.
Big Tech Accused of Stonewalling European Social Media Researchers
European misinformation researchers say TikTok, X, and Meta are obstructing access to platform data required under the EU's Digital Services Act through rejections, restrictive quotas, costly APIs, and burdensome security demands. Although regulators have fined X and pushed platforms to improve access, researchers remain skeptical that the changes will provide reliable, reproducible data at scale. Ars Technica reports: In recent years, social media companies shut down public access tools like Meta's CrowdTangle and replaced them with content libraries, or, like X, paywalled their API data, forcing academics to pay "hundreds of dollars a month," said Duncan Allen, a research officer at Democracy Reporting International (DRI) in Germany. Researchers say that without API access, what Iamnitchi describes as the "black holes" in what society knows about how these platforms recommend content or handle reports regarding sensitive content will only grow. Others, like TikTok, cap how many posts any researcher account can pull each day, which Allen said can make it "impossible to study anything at scale."
The DSA was meant to solve this by allowing vetted researchers at credible institutions to have access to API data if they could show it would help in studying systemic risks, from illegal content to threats to fundamental rights. But two years after the law took effect, researchers say they struggle to meet its security requirements and face narrow interpretations from platforms of what qualifies as a systemic risk. Application forms differ by platform, but most require data to be stored on infrastructure that cannot be compromised -- such as a machine physically disconnected from the Internet -- a resource most universities lack, [said Adriana Iamnitchi, chair of computational social sciences at Maastricht University in the Netherlands, who leads research into online disinformation campaigns.]
Even for researchers who secure approval, "there's no guarantee that the data is good," said L. K. Seiling, coordinator of the DSA40 Collaboratory, a German initiative that tracks 46 DSA applications. API data is often difficult for a colleague to reproduce, so a researcher's work cannot be checked for errors, which Iamnitchi said is a "basic requirement of science." DSA40 data shows that of 46 tracked applications, 20 were approved and 14 rejected. But approval rates vary widely: TikTok approved 11 of 13 applications, while X rejected 11 of 23. The true rejection rate is likely higher because the tracker relies on voluntary reporting, Seiling said. "There's no structured advantage for researchers to use this pathway," Seiling said. "Data access as it's set up right now tries to disincentivize researchers."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Essex crime round-up: Drug dealer, killer and extremist jailed
A drug dealer, a murderer, a rogue trader and a would-be terrorist are among those jailed in Essex in a series of serious cases brought before the courts.
Essex crime round-up: Drug dealer, killer and extremist jailed
A drug dealer, a murderer, a rogue trader and a would-be terrorist are among those jailed in Essex in a series of serious cases brought before the courts.
Update on plans for brand new bowling alley in Chelmsford shopping centre
Work is ongoing ahead of its planned opening date
Now Burnham faces Labour Left mutiny over youth benefits crackdown as it's revealed teens with anxiety get £100 MORE than those working
The Prime Minister suggested his plans for reform could make payments more 'conditional upon people taking opportunities that are presented in front of them'.
Cassette simulator rewinds digital audio to a more analog time in hiss-tory
Is there a simulator for the wail when you realize your precious one-off bootleg has just been chewed up?
Pupils in first borough to ban smartphones in schools are happier and better behaved say heads
Barnet in North London launched its smartphone-free schools scheme almost a year ago, leading to bans in 103 primaries and 23 secondaries.