Opposition leader ousted as Barbados Labour party wins all 30 seats in assembly

The prime minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, has won her third election victory, with her Barbados Labour party sweeping all seats in the House of Assembly, state TV reported.

Mottley’s BLP won all 30 seats available in the lower house of parliament, unseating the opposition leader, Ralph Thorne, after the prime minister – who has built one of the strongest global profiles of any Caribbean leader – won the support of voters across the island country, CBC Barbados reported early on Thursday.

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(Awal)
On her self-released debut, the singer-songwriter championed by Chappell Roan doubles down on the wonky charm that made her go viral on TikTok

We often hear about the damaging impact of social media on pop, from toxic fan culture to the way online gossip reduces lyrics to a treasure hunt for details about artists’ private lives. But it’s also worth noting its positive effects: how TikTok users can make improbable tracks from pop history go viral; how social media can transform the fortunes of an artist who probably wouldn’t have got past a record company’s reception in our current, risk-averse era.

Which brings us to North Carolina’s Isimeme Udu, better known as Hemlocke Springs, who rose to fame posting homemade videos of her songs on TikTok. There’s always a chance that a label might have gone all in on a bespectacled 27-year-old former librarian fond of neon-coloured wigs, purveying “awkward Black girl anthems” via a lo-fi take on 80s-influenced synth pop, but you wouldn’t bet on it. Self-released, her tracks have racked up millions of streams and attracted the attention of Doja Cat and Chappell Roan, both of whom took her on tour: cue a video of Springs supporting Roan at New York’s Forest Hills stadium last autumn, performing Girlfriend while most of the 13,000-capacity audience sings along.

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Polymarket and Kalshi are less regulated than betting sites, but users can win or lose large sums on the platforms

Yadin Eldar, 21, has been betting on prediction markets since 2019. His friends think he’s “crazy”, he said. But the craze surrounding these platforms is rapidly gathering steam.

Users can bet on virtually anything, from the outcome of Sunday’s Super Bowl to whether the US will invade Greenland, every second of every day.

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After state sees four deaths and 40 hospitalizations, public health officials and foraging experts urge caution

A wet winter in California has produced a surge of wild fungi – a shroom boom that would typically have foragers cheering. But among the chanterelles and porcinis, a much more dangerous fungus called the death cap – also known as the Amanita phalloides – is causing alarm.

The state health department reports that, between late November 2025 and early February 2026, there have been four deaths and 40 hospitalizations linked to consumption of dangerous mushrooms, an outbreak the department describes as “unprecedented”. That’s far above the average for the state, which typically sees fewer than five mushroom-poisoning cases annually.

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• FA assessing whether he brought game into disrepute

• Manchester United co-owner told by Starmer to apologise

The Football Association will look at whether Jim Ratcliffe brought the game into disrepute through his claims that the UK has been “colonised” by immigrants.

The Manchester United co-owner, a billionaire based in Monaco, caused widespread anger with his comments and has been called on by Keir Starmer to apologise. His remarks have not gone unnoticed within the FA, which will examine further before deciding whether he has broken any rules. It is too early to say whether any formal investigation will follow.

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PARIJS (ANP/AFP) - Een Franse rechtbank heeft drie mannen veroordeeld voor een groepsverkrachting in 2020. De moeder van het slachtoffer had bewijsmateriaal een jaar bewaard in een plastic zak, omdat haar dochter aanvankelijk niet met de politie wilde praten.

Dochter Milly was op 18-jarige leeftijd door meerdere personen geslagen en verkracht. Ze verklaarde dat andere mannen lachend toekeken en ze uiteindelijk het bewustzijn verloor.

Haar moeder besloot naderhand dna-materiaal te bewaren en liet een arts een medisch rapport opstellen. "Ik pakte Milly's kleren, die onder de vlekken zaten, stopte ze in een plastic zak en verstopte ze in de kast in de gang", zei ze eerder tegen de krant Le Monde.

Het jaar na de verkrachting deed Milly alsnog aangifte en vonden onderzoekers genetisch materiaal op de kleren. Twee mannen, die 15 jaar waren op het moment van het misbruik, hebben nu 10 jaar cel opgelegd gekregen. Een medeplichtige kreeg 6 jaar cel.

New York is contemplating a bill that adds surveillance to 3D printers:

New York’s 2026­2027 executive budget bill (S.9005 / A.10005) includes language that should alarm every maker, educator, and small manufacturer in the state. Buried in Part C is a provision requiring all 3D printers sold or delivered in New York to include “blocking technology.” This is defined as software or firmware that scans every print file through a “firearms blueprint detection algorithm” and refuses to print anything it flags as a potential firearm or firearm component.

I get the policy goals here, but the solution just won’t work. It’s the same problem as DRM: trying to prevent general-purpose computers from doing specific things. Cory Doctorow wrote about it in 2018 and—more generally—spoke about it in 2011.

Researchers say breaches link identity abuse, SaaS compromise, and ransomware into a cascading cycle

Cybercriminals are turning supply chain attacks into an industrial-scale operation, linking breaches, credential theft, and ransomware into a "self-reinforcing" ecosystem, researchers say.…

Sport has long been a potent tool of Russian soft power. But this time, its athletes are competing without a flag, national anthem or national team.

Sport has long been a potent tool of Russian soft power. But this time, its athletes are competing without a flag, national anthem or national team.