One of largest equity fundraisings ever includes $10bn share sale to US investment group Berkshire Hathaway

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Google’s parent company Alphabet has said it plans to raise up to $80bn (£59bn) in equity to fund its vast artificial intelligence infrastructure investments, raising further questions over the economics of the AI boom.

The move, one of the largest equity fundraisings ever globally, includes a $10bn share sale to the US investment group Berkshire Hathaway, which was led until last year by the retired investment guru Warren Buffett for 60 years.

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• Goalkeeper Earps leaving PSG after two seasons

• Léon has won four Champions Leagues with Barcelona

London City Lionesses are poised to sign Mary Earps and the Barcelona defender Mapi León on free transfers, the Guardian understands, after agreements were reached for them join when their contracts expire at the end of June.

The former England goalkeeper has been keen on a return to the Women’s Super League after two years with Paris Saint-Germain, and London City are understood to have identified her as a key summer target months ago.

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Hampshire police commissioner writes to Keir Starmer over ‘national tragedy’ of Southampton stabbing last December

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The police and crime commissioner for Hampshire is leading calls for a review of religious exemptions on the carrying of knives after the murder of 18-year-old Henry Nowak by a man carrying a “Sikh dagger” in Southampton.

Donna Jones described the stabbing of university student Nowak as a “national tragedy” and said she was writing to the prime minister, Keir Starmer, about the issue.

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Stichting Dieren Steun waarschuwt voor een zorgelijke verspreiding van kattenaids (FIV) in de regio Drechtsteden. De stichting zegt dat in korte tijd veel positief geteste katten zijn aangetroffen in Papendrecht, Sliedrecht en Zwijndrecht. Het zijn met name zwerfkatten die besmet zijn, maar ook enkele huiskatten hadden het virus.

DEN HAAG (ANP) - Netbeheerders nemen dit jaar meer maatregelen om problemen met het overvolle stroomnet tegen te gaan. Dat staat in bindende afspraken met de Autoriteit Consument & Markt (ACM), meldt die toezichthouder. De ACM vond dat de beheerders te weinig voortgang boekten met oplossingen en gaf ze eerder de opdracht om verbeterplannen in te dienen.

Netbeheerders TenneT, Stedin, Liander, Enexis, Rendo, Coteq en Westland Infra beloven nu vaker maatregelen te nemen waarbij flexibel gebruik wordt gemaakt van het stroomnet. Doordat we met z'n allen steeds meer elektriciteit gebruiken, loopt het net op steeds meer plekken tegen zijn grenzen aan.

Netbeheerders kunnen ruimte vrijmaken via alternatieve contracten, waarbij gebruikers van het net op sommige momenten minder of geen stroom kunnen afnemen of terugleveren. Ook verzoeken beheerders aangesloten partijen op drukke momenten om tijdelijk meer of minder stroom te verbruiken. Dit willen ze vaker doen, staat in de verbeterplannen. De ACM houdt de voortgang bij in een openbaar dashboard, dat ieder kwartaal verschijnt.

2E EXLOËRMOND (ANP) - In de nacht van maandag op dinsdag overnachtten 65 asielzoekers in een sporthal in het Drentse dorp 2e Exloërmond. Die heeft de gemeente Borger-Odoorn vanaf maandag tot en met donderdag aangeboden als nachtopvang voor asielzoekers die niet in het overvolle aanmeldcentrum in Ter Apel kunnen overnachten.

Een woordvoerder van het Rode Kruis zegt dat de nacht rustig en zonder bijzonderheden is verlopen. De asielzoekers zijn dinsdagochtend per bus weer naar Ter Apel gebracht. Dinsdagavond brengt de bus mensen weer terug naar de sporthal. Volgens de woordvoerder heeft afgelopen nacht niemand op het gras voor het aanmeldcentrum in Ter Apel geslapen.

Dinsdag geldt in het overgrote deel van Nederland code geel vanwege zware onweersbuien. In het noordoosten, waar Ter Apel ligt, is plaatselijk kans op schade en overlast door windstoten en zware regen. De woordvoerder zegt te hopen dat asielzoekers bij onweersbuien in het aanmeldcentrum mogen schuilen.

Het Rode Kruis biedt zo goed als kan bescherming aan asielzoekers die in Ter Apel overdag buiten moeten verblijven, aldus de woordvoerder. "We hebben kleine tenten die daar niet voor bedoeld zijn, maar wel de ergste regen kunnen tegenhouden. We gebruiken reddingsdekens die gemaakt zijn om mensen warm te houden als tijdelijke droge ondergrond om op te zitten en we geven regenponcho's uit."

Sinds woensdag 20 mei is het zo druk in het aanmeldcentrum in Ter Apel dat het Centraal Orgaan opvang asielzoekers (COA) niet aan iedereen plek kan bieden. Sindsdien hebben meerdere gemeenten beurtelings noodopvang voor de nachten aangeboden.

Mobile telcos are linking up with satellite operators to extend coverage beyond their cell towers reach, but actual usage of the technology may fall short of industry expectations. That's the view of Juniper Research, which forecasts monthly active direct-to-cell (D2C) users will grow from 17.4 million in 2026 to 133 million by 2031. Strong growth, but Juniper warns real-world adoption will likely disappoint: D2C is inherently niche, kicking in only when terrestrial signal fails, and it does nothing to solve poor indoor coverage - a complaint that frustrates users day-to-day. “Consumer demand for D2C is currently concentrated to specific trips and travel, such as to national parks and nature reserves, rather than during everyday usage of mobile services,” claimed senior research analyst Alex Webb. Network intelligence biz Ookla reported a few months back that the number of D2C connections rose nearly 25 percent between July 2025 and March 2026. As Reg readers know, D2C lets unmodified smartphones connect directly to low Earth orbit satellites, no specialist hardware required. Satellite companies ally with mobile network operators, borrowing their spectrum to cover areas beyond cell range, essentially like putting a cell tower in space. T-Mobile in the US led the way, offering a D2C capability via SpaceX’s Starlink constellation for roughly a year, and dangling it an an add-on to lure subscribers from rival networks. America is fertile ground for D2C given how quickly signal drops off outside major urban centers. Australia is similarly well-suited. Europe, where terrestrial networks cover most of the continent, was long considered a weaker prospect, though this hasn't deterred operators. Virgin Media O2 has launched its O2 Satellite service in the UK, while VodafoneThree was preparing customers for trials this summer. Juniper predicts the Far East and China will be the biggest market for satellite phone services, followed by India, with Africa, North America, Latin America and West Europe sharing smaller, roughly equal slices. Dense urban settings present a separate problem D2C can't fix. Thick walls, underground spaces and physical obstacles routinely kill signal in cites and no amount of orbital infrastructure changes that, Webb reported. Pricing remains another drag on adoption. The GSMA previously found 40 percent of phone subscribers wouldn't pay anything extra for satellite capability, and another 32 percent would stretch to a 5 percent premium. For now, most D2C services are limited to text messaging and emergency services calls, with voice and full data still to come. Vodafone demonstrated the first mobile video call using a satellite connection using standard 4G/5G handsets in early 2025, showing it is technically possible. The question is when and whether enough users will care. ®

Onderzoeksinstelling TNO rectificeert maandag in een persbericht drie passages uit het rapport over de behandeling van postcovid, dat door het instituut werd gemaakt in opdracht…

The Rattled Generation: A unified theory of this American moment - "We're living through the most disorienting societal moment since World War II. Almost nobody in a position of power is explaining why, or what to do about it."[1]

also btw...

• States of Affordability: "Our findings confirm a challenging economic reality, in which millions of people across the country are struggling to cover the cost of necessities on their current income, or what we refer to as 'making ends meet.'"
• What's a 'G'-shaped economy and are we in one? - "Retired workers now account for a record 19.5% of the civilian working-age population, so their spending and working (or not-working) patterns definitely influence the entire economy. As USA TODAY has previously reported, Americans ages 45 and over control nearly 90% of the nation's wealth, according to household data from the Federal Reserve. Boomers – those born between 1946 and 1964 – hold 51% of American wealth, including real estate, stocks, pension benefits, private businesses and other assets, collectively valued at $90 trillion as of the end of 2025."[2,3]
• Unequal Chances: "Children and economic inequality — finds that the wider a nation's gap between rich and poor, the poorer the physical health, mental well-being, and the skills that children master."
• The Empty Architect: "Rebuilding state capacity is not just about saving money or improving efficiency. It is about reclaiming our collective sovereignty."
• Team Future [ungated] - "Its leaders aim to use technology to make government more responsive and efficient — and to address issues like corruption and Japan's acute labor shortage. They have said savings achieved through A.I. could be used to lower contributions to pension and health care plans for working-class families."
• Meet Anno Takahiro, founder of Japan's hottest political party [ungated] - "Mr Anno entered politics in 2024 with a quixotic campaign for governor of Tokyo. He finished fifth but drew attention with his use of AI and social media to solicit feedback from voters. Last year he founded Mirai and won a seat in the upper house. Earlier this year, Mirai picked up 11 seats in the lower house. While still small—the ruling Liberal Democratic Party holds 316 seats in the lower chamber—Mirai has become a new force in Japanese politics. It is also one of the first political parties anywhere to run successfully on an explicitly AI-friendly agenda."
• Economic Futures in the Age of AI - "A central question is not only what AI can do, but where that value accrues: to workers through wages, to firms through margins, to consumers through lower prices and better services, to governments through the tax base, or to capital owners through rents. For example, if AI generates value as digital goods rather than higher wages, income statistics won't capture it. If labor share goes down, workers' ability to bargain may decrease and GDP may become a worse proxy for welfare. We need measurement that tracks what people can actually do and access, not just what they earn."[3,4]
• berniesanders: "I will soon be introducing a bill to give the public a 50% ownership stake in the largest AI companies in America. This would guarantee that the trillions created by AI are used to improve the lives of all of us — and block oligarch decisions that harm the American people."
• @SenSanders: "I'll be introducing the American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act, a bill giving the public a direct stake to determine AI's future. When a public resource generates wealth, the public should share in that wealth."
• @SenSanders: "AI is built on humanity's collective knowledge. The wealth it generates must benefit humanity — not just Elon Musk, Sam Altman and other AI oligarchs. That's why I'll be introducing the American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act — to give the public a direct ownership stake."