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Some National Trust venues are planning to stop baking their own sweet treats, replacing them with products brought in from a central source.

The newlyweds - who met while Hanni worked as a storyline writer and researcher on Coronation Street - shared a passionate kiss as white confetti fell on them after the romantic ceremony.

ANITA ASANTE: Hannah was a former team-mate of mine at Aston Villa, and she's incredibly intelligent. She's multilingual, artistic, creative - and definitely a bit of a character.

Bradford James Gille, 42, faces charges of terrorism and 11 counts of assault with intent to murder over the attack in Traverse City.

Christian Horner offered a glimpse into the 'different horse power' he has been working with ahead of the first Formula One Grand Prix since his sacking by Red Bull.

The president complained from his Scottish golf course that 'nobody talks about' or says 'thank you' when the US provides aid to combat starvation in Gaza. He said more was on the way.

The country has confirmed that it has carried out three airdrops over Gaza, including one in co-operation with the United Arab Emirates.

Proton VPN reported a 1,400 percent hourly increase in signups over its baseline Friday — the day the UK's age verification law went into effect. For UK users, "apps with explicit content must now verify visitors' ages via methods such as facial recognition and banking info," notes Mashable: Proton VPN previously documented a 1,000 percent surge in new subscribers in June after Pornhub left France, its second-biggest market, amid the enactment of an age verification law there... A Proton VPN spokesperson told Mashable that it saw an increase in new subscribers right away at midnight Friday, then again at 9 a.m. BST. The company anticipates further surges over the weekend, they added. "This clearly shows that adults are concerned about the impact universal age verification laws will have on their privacy," the spokesperson said... Search interest for the term "Proton VPN" also saw a seven-day spike in the UK around 2 a.m. BST Friday, according to a Google Trends chart. The Financial Times notes that VPN apps "made up half of the top 10 most popular free apps on the UK's App Store for iOS this weekend, according to Apple's rankings." Proton VPN leapfrogged ChatGPT to become the top free app in the UK, according to Apple's daily App Store charts, with similar services from developers Super Unlimited and Nord Security also rising over the weekend... Data from Google Trends also shows a significant increase in search queries for VPNs in the UK this weekend, with up to 10 times more people looking for VPNs at peak times... "This is what happens when people who haven't got a clue about technology pass legislation," Anthony Rose, a UK-based tech entrepreneur who helped to create BBC iPlayer, the corporation's streaming service, said in a social media post. Rose said it took "less than five minutes to install a VPN" and that British people had become familiar with using them to access the iPlayer outside the UK. "That's the beauty of VPNs. You can be anywhere you like, and anytime a government comes up with stupid legislation like this, you just turn on your VPN and outwit them," he added... Online platforms found in breach of the new UK rules face penalties of up to £18mn or 10 percent of global turnover, whichever is greater... However, opposition to the new rules has grown in recent days. A petition submitted through the UK parliament website demanding that the Online Safety Act be repealed has attracted more than 270,000 signatures, with the vast majority submitted in the past week. Ministers must respond to a petition, and parliament has to consider its topic for a debate, if signatures surpass 100,000. X, Reddit and TikTok have also "introduced new 'age assurance' systems and controls for UK users," according to the article. But Mashable summarizes the situation succinctly. "Initial research shows that VPNs make age verification laws in the U.S. and abroad tricky to enforce in practice."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Ex-Game of Thrones star Hafthor Bjornsson has broken the world deadlift record again after benching an impressive 505kg.

The island's tourism industry is in panic mode as business owners warn that holidaymakers are being driven away.

Our thoughts are with those who have lost a loved one

Amanda Donaghey lost her son Fiongal Greenlaw-Meek, 39, and his husband, Jamie, 45, when the Boeing 787 Dreamliner bound for London Gatwick crashed just seconds after takeoff on June 12.

The president sat down at a ballroom in his Turnberry course in Scotland with the EU Commission president, complaining about 'one-sided' trade, windmills, and immigration.

"Search engines still require users to use critical thinking to interpret and contextualize the results," argues Aaron French, an assistant professor of information systems. But with the rise of generative AI tools like ChatGPT, "internet users aren't just outsourcing memory — they may be outsourcing thinking itself." Generative AI tools don't just retrieve information; they can create, analyze and summarize it. This represents a fundamental shift: Arguably, generative AI is the first technology that could replace human thinking and creativity. That raises a critical question: Is ChatGPT making us stupid...? [A]s many people increasingly delegate cognitive tasks to AI, I think it's worth considering what exactly we're gaining and what we are at risk of losing. "For many, it's replacing the need to sift through sources, compare viewpoints and wrestle with ambiguity," the article argues, positing that this "may be weakening their ability to think critically, solve complex problems and engage deeply with information." But in a section titled "AI and the Dunning-Kruger effect," he suggests "what matters isn't whether a person uses generative AI, but how. If used uncritically, ChatGPT can lead to intellectual complacency." His larger point seems to be that when used as an aid, AI "can become a powerful tool for stimulating curiosity, generating ideas, clarifying complex topics and provoking intellectual dialogue.... to augment human intelligence, not replace it. That means using ChatGPT to support inquiry, not to shortcut it. It means treating AI responses as the beginning of thought, not the end." He believes mass adoption of generative AI has "left internet users at a crossroads. One path leads to intellectual decline: a world where we let AI do the thinking for us. The other offers an opportunity: to expand our brainpower by working in tandem with AI, leveraging its power to enhance our own." So his article ends with a question — how will we use AI to make us smarter? Share your own thoughts and experiences in the comments. Do you think your AI use is making you smarter?

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Thankfully nobody has been injured

Three people were arrested for public order offences but no violence was reported.

Police have arrested a 41-year-old man after a disturbance on a 7am Easyjet flight from Luton to Glasgow.

Peaceful protests took place outside an Essex hotel this afternoon, police confirmed.

Peaceful protests took place outside an Essex hotel this afternoon, police confirmed.

New details about Kristin Cabot's college days emerge, as an insider describes their surprise after kiss cam scandal.