'Deviant misogynist' who strangled his girlfriend to death on the night she planned to leave him is jailed for 35 years
Olivia Wood, 29, was subjected to a campaign of psychological and physical abuse before she was killed by 33-year-old Kieron Goodwin, of Frome, Somerset.
Alibaba's ZeroSearch Teaches AI To Search Without Search Engines, Cuts Training Costs By 88%
Alibaba Group researchers have developed "ZeroSearch," a technique that enables large language models to acquire search capabilities without using external search engines during training. The approach transforms LLMs into retrieval modules through supervised fine-tuning and employs a "curriculum-based rollout strategy" that gradually degrades generated document quality.
In tests across seven question-answering datasets, ZeroSearch matched or exceeded the performance [PDF] of models trained with real search engines. A 7B-parameter retrieval module achieved results comparable to Google Search, while a 14B-parameter version outperformed it. The cost savings are substantial: training with 64,000 search queries using Google Search via SerpAPI would cost approximately $586.70, compared to just $70.80 using a 14B-parameter simulation LLM on four A100 GPUs -- an 88% reduction.
The technique works with multiple model families including Qwen-2.5 and LLaMA-3.2. Researchers have released their code, datasets, and pre-trained models on GitHub and Hugging Face, potentially lowering barriers to entry for smaller AI companies developing sophisticated assistants.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
QUENTIN LETTS: Starmer had the tone of a gopher grateful to a mafia don for not having him rubbed out in the parking lot
This is going to sound like a Barbara Cartland novel but it actually happened. Donald Trump seized Peter Mandelson's hand and went all husky.
Identities of three unknown British children taking over lead Harry Potter roles in TV reboot and set to become overnight multi-millionaires to be revealed 'imminently'
Three currently unknown British children are set to become overnight multi-millionaires when they are announces as the new stars of the Harry Potter TV series.
TULLY POTTER reviews: Die Walkure at the Royal Opera House: The costumes are a mess and there's a giant log in the middle of the set... but the singing and playing are glorious
TULLY POTTER: The new ROH Ring reaches its second evening with the best all-round cast I can recall in Die Walkure.
PETER HOSKIN reviews: Revenge Of The Savage Planet: Why bigger may not be better for the Savage Planet series…
PETER HOSKIN: At the start of Revenge Of The Savage Planet, your undauntable astronaut is quite literally dumped on a faraway world full of fluorescent plants and weirdo creatures.
Trump To End Biden-Era High-Speed Internet Program
President Trump on Thursday attacked a law signed by President Joe Biden aimed at expanding high-speed internet access, calling the effort "racist" and "totally unconstitutional" and threatening to end it "immediately." The New York TimesL: Mr. Trump's statement was one of the starkest examples yet of his slash-and-burn approach to dismantling the legacy of his immediate predecessor in this term in office. The Digital Equity Act, a little-known effort to improve high-speed internet access in communities with poor access, was tucked into the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill that Mr. Biden signed into law early in his presidency.
The act was written to help many different groups, including veterans, older people and disabled and rural communities. But Mr. Trump, using the incendiary language that has been a trademark of his political career, denounced the law on Thursday for also seeking to improve internet access for ethnic and racial minorities, raging in a social media post that it amounted to providing "woke handouts based on race."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Romeo Beckham's girlfriend Kim Turnbull jets off to Ibiza amid rumours of a feud with Brooklyn and Nicola Peltz
Romeo Beckham's girlfriend, 22, posted a photo of the Balearic Islands from a plane window to her Instagram on Thursday, captioning it: 'Back on the island for something exciting.'
Claudia Winkleman fans go wild over picture of The Traitors host without her trademark fringe
The TV presenter, 53, is known for her iconic long dark fringe, heavy eye liner and thick layer of fake tan.
Wreaths at the Abbey... and later a plea from the King to bequeath a better world: ROBERT HARDMAN reflects on the conclusion to Britain's VE Day 80 celebrations
Addressing last night's national concert on Horse Guards Parade, the monarch reminded the world of the VE Day words of his grandfather, King George VI, about the quest for 'lasting peace'.
Beaming William and Kate join King and Queen for VE Day concert at the Horse Guards Parade - as Charles makes moving reference to his mother's post-war celebrations in poignant speech and calls for peace
The Prince and Princess of Wales looked to be in high spirits as they joined King Charles and Queen Camilla at a concert commemorating VE Day on Thursday.
Iconic sitcom Dad's Army RETURNS with huge stars for BBC's VE Day celebration as fans praise the 'amazing' cast and call for TV reboot
The famous comedy originally aired on BBC from 1968 to 1977, and focused on a group of soldiers from the United Kingdom's Home Guard during World War Two.
What does the new American Pope's name mean for his future choices? Inside the history of the name Leo - and the stories of the 13 pontiffs before him
In a historic first, the 69-year-old American missionary has been elected pope - the first American to ascend to the Catholic Church's highest office in its 2,000-year history.
Meet Pope Leo XIV: The tennis-playing cardinal who fired volleys at Donald Trump on social media
The election of Robert Francis Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, is a stunning surprise - and not just because he is the first American to become the successor of St Peter.
ALEX BRUMMER: This is why the UK-US trade deal is NOT the triumph that Starmer wants us to think it is
Anyone listening to the love-in between Donald Trump and Keir Starmer as they announced their trade deal might conclude this was the greatest day in the post-war history of the two peoples.
Coronation Street's Charlie Lawson, 64, reveals something has 'gone seriously wrong' after he was rushed to hospital
Coronation Street's Charlie Lawson has revealed something has 'gone seriously wrong' with his health after he was rushed to hospital this week.
Nicholas Cage's The Surfer is as subtle as a shark bite... but David Attenborough's Ocean documentary is a big splash, writes BRIAN VINER
BRIAN VINER: Almost a year has passed since I first saw The Surfer at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival with the whoops of excitement at the opening titles - ' Nicolas Cage is… The Surfer'
Liam and Noel Gallagher 'given strict health warnings' ahead of Oasis reunion tour
Liam and Noel Gallagher have reportedly been 'given strict health warnings' ahead of their upcoming Oasis reunion tour.
PATRICK MARMION reviews Here We Are at the National Theatre: Top-notch cast... but Sondheim's send-off is flimsy and forgettable
The National Theatre has really pushed the boat out for the last show by the late god of musical theatre, Stephen Sondheim, but not even they can make this mongrel sing.
BRYONY GORDON: Why I'd be in the street in my PJs shouting long before 3am if my neighbours threw a party
I'm all for having fun, but there are limits, aren't there? In my mind, fun should be done and dusted by 10pm, and if you must have fun after this, for goodness sake turn the volume down.