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Back to the straight course for the finale, and a chance for the American trainer Wesley Ward, a regular winner at this meeting over the last 15 years, to get another on the board via Bacio, who has been handed the plum draw in stall 31. He arrives with three wins from four starts, the most recent of which was an easy two-length win on firm going at Churchill Downs. Jazl, the winner of his two starts this year including his handicap debut at Leicester last time, is also attracting support despite his low draw in stall five, while Gold Digger, in 10, is another big runner and recently described as potentially being a Group horse in a handicap by his jockey, Saffie Osborne.

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Experts cast doubt on conclusion of government-funded study of factory emitting forever chemicals near Blackpool

Concerns have been raised about the conclusions drawn by a government-funded study that looked at rates of kidney cancer in the vicinity of a factory using forever chemicals near Blackpool.

Pfoa, which is a known carcinogenic forever chemical that was globally banned in 2020, was emitted from the AGC Chemicals Europe factory in Thornton-Cleveleys, a town north of Blackpool, between the 1950s and 2012. During this period, approximately 49 tonnes of Pfoa were emitted into the air. The factory, which AGC Chemicals Europe bought in 1999, stopped using Pfoa in 2012.

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Age verification means that the sector’s biggest players will now have access to information that will only make them richer and more powerful

This week, the UK announced a wide-ranging ban on social media that will soon block users from communicating or accessing information on apps such as X, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, TikTok and Snapchat unless they prove that they’re over the age of 16.

The prime minister, Keir Starmer, called the policy “a line in the sand”. “Tech giants had their chance and failed,” he said, “but we’re stepping in to protect children, back parents and set a new normal for future generations.” All internet users, especially children, should be protected from exploitative systems online, but this new law will only foster more harm and help the largest and most powerful tech companies consolidate power and influence over everyone’s lives.

Taylor Lorenz is a technology journalist who writes the newsletter User Mag and is the author of the bestselling book Extremely Online: The Untold Story of Fame, Influence, and Power on the Internet

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The web giant announced that Artificial, a biopic about the controversial tech executive, ‘will be better served if it were released by a different studio’

Artificial, Luca Guadagnino’s controversial Sam Altman biopic, which is poised for an awards run next year, has been dropped by its distributor, Amazon.

In a statement first reported by Puck, Amazon said that it believes “that Artificial will be better served if it were released by a different studio and are working closely with the film-making team to find the film a new home”.

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Amid UK government proposals for a ban, experts discuss what other activities might really serve children well

When a Lancashire schoolgirl was asked what she would do if the proposed social media ban for under-16s came into effect, her answer hit a national nerve: “Stare at a wall,” she deadpanned.

The clip went viral, not least because it distilled a question many parents have been asking themselves about the consequences of the government’s proposed social media ban.

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ARNHEM (ANP) - De rechtbank in Arnhem heeft vrijdag een 27-jarige man uit Almere veroordeeld voor het verkrachten van een 15-jarig meisje in een mobiel toilet. Dat gebeurde vorig jaar tijdens Koningsdag in het centrum van Arnhem. De man krijgt een gevangenisstraf van 28 maanden, waarvan twaalf maanden voorwaardelijk. De rechtbank legde de Almeerder ook een contactverbod op van drie jaar.

De man had een drankje voor het meisje gekocht en duwde haar in het toilet toen ze wilde plassen. Hij draaide de deur op slot, trok haar kleding naar beneden en verkrachtte haar.

De man was veel ouder dan het meisje en had fysiek overwicht. Hij maakte misbruik van het feit dat ze onder invloed was van alcohol en negeerde haar signalen van verzet en weerstand, aldus de rechtbank in het vonnis. "Hiermee zorgde hij voor een situatie die voor het meisje zó bedreigend en beangstigend was dat zij zich daar niet aan kon onttrekken."

Fotograaf Sarah van Wingerden ging als kind al bij een beetje zon met haar familie de Merwede op. Ze legde het rivierleven vast, nu het wordt bedreigd door de ‘Forever Chemicals’ van de industrie.

The founder of Telegram, Pavel Durov, has suggested Meta might be using its investment in Indian telco Jio to sabotage the messaging service. Durov dropped his theory on X, writing: "Indian telecom Reliance is sabotaging access to Telegram for millions of users OUTSIDE India (including the UAE) via a rogue method called BGP hijacking." Such attacks see miscreants publish inaccurate routing announcements that associate a service with the wrong IP address. Because routers share info with each other using the border gateway protocol (BGP), fake announcements can quickly propagate across the internet. When that happens, netizens can struggle to reach online services. Durov alleged that Reliance's mobile carrier, Jio, had used BGP hijacking to disrupt access to Telegram. "The sabotage seems intentional, as Reliance has ignored multiple reports," he wrote. "This may be part of a competitive war, as Reliance is partially owned by Meta – the company behind WhatsApp." "The decision to ban Telegram in India looks more like a way to help WhatsApp protect its market share than a legitimate regulatory action that can fix anything," he added in another Xeet. Meta has indeed invested in Reliance, to the tune of $5.7 billion – and two weeks ago announced it will use a datacenter operated by the Indian company. Jio has denied misconfiguring any routes. "Jio continues to operate its network in accordance with global internet routing best practices and the highest standards of reliability, security, and transparency," the company said. Durov offered no proof for his theory, but that didn't stop him from suggesting a deeper conspiracy. "Such abuse of global internet routing is alarming. I wouldn't be surprised if Reliance/WhatsApp were also behind the recent lobbying effort to ban Telegram in India." That's a reference to India's decision to block Telegram for six days to prevent scams and other misconduct at the time of a medical studies entrance exam that over two million people will sit. The decision to implement the ban was taken by India's IT ministry, at the urging of the National Testing Agency – an organization that oversees exams. The founder is correct to say that some Indian entities have called for bans and/or tighter regulation of Telegram for reasons including its uncooperative response to requests for assistance from law enforcement, suspicions that the service facilitates content piracy, and its allowance of user anonymity. Indian telcos are also unhappy that services like Telegram – and WhatsApp – provide voice services but aren't governed by the same laws as licensed carriers. Durov's suggestion that Indian authorities have singled out Telegram is therefore hard to sustain. Durov also criticized the exam-time Telegram ban. "This punishes 150M+ ordinary Telegram users in India – not the insiders who leaked the exam materials." he wrote, before observing that the scams and leaks that Indian authorities hoped to prevent would likely move to other apps. ®

Several reports have suggested that stray air defense missiles may have been partly responsible for the destruction at an oil refinery near Moscow.