BrianFagioli shares a report from NERDS.xyz: Microsoft has made WSL Containers generally available, giving Windows 11 developers a built-in way to build, run, and deploy Linux containers through Windows Subsystem for Linux. The release includes wslc.exe for managing containers, GPU support, networking improvements, health checks, storage mounts, and integration with Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and Intune. Microsoft also claims up to twice the performance when Linux environments access files stored on Windows. Docker Desktop, Podman Desktop, and Rancher Desktop are not going anywhere, but developers who only need basic container functionality now have another option built around WSL. One notable feature is still missing: Compose support. Microsoft says adding it is now a priority.

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An anonymous reader quotes a report from CNBC: Mistral Chief Executive Arthur Mensch has accused leading global artificial intelligence companies of using the debate over the safety of the technology as a cover-up for their "negligence." "The debate that we've seen in the U.S. has been a cover for the negligence of some of our competitors," Mensch told CNBC's Annette Weisbach, adding that it was necessary to make systems that can contain the AI agents. [...]

"When you give them a lot of tools, those systems [AI agents] are very dynamic, so they can go and do things that you do not expect," Mensch told CNBC. "You need to have the right monitoring in place, and the enterprises we work with, we give them those kind of monitoring systems," he said.

Mistral also develops AI models but takes a different approach to OpenAI and Anthropic by working with individual companies to create custom AI tools to suit their needs and integrate them with their businesses. But unlike its competitors, Mistral has no plans to slow down development of advanced models. The lead that U.S. labs have is "not extremely large," Mensch said, adding that his company was confident that its next-generation model will close the gap "very significantly."

"We have been raising the capital needed to scale the compute that we need to train bigger and more powerful models, in order for us to own our own destiny," he said. Earlier this month, Mistral raised 3 billion euros ($3.5 billion) in fresh funding led by memory chip giant Samsung, as it looks to position itself as a European alternative to rivals like OpenAI and Anthropic.

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McDonald's is reportedly using AI-powered pricing tools to recommend menu prices based on what customers near individual restaurants are willing to pay. Franchisees technically retain control over final prices, but some told Reuters they feel pressured to follow the algorithm's recommendations. "A corporate document reviewed by the publication shows that McDonald's tracks adherence to the platform, and notes any deviations from the algorithm's price recommendations," reports Engadget. From the report: Reuters got a look at the interface that franchisees use to access this technology and it's pretty creepy. Messages show stuff like "your restaurant is showing MEDIUM SENSITIVITY to price" based on "customer willingness to pay in your area." Cost differences at nearby locations can be stark. Researchers found that a Bic Mac at a Fresno, California store cost $5.69, but the same burger cost $6.89 at another branch two miles down the road. That's a 21 percent difference.

The company acknowledges that using this dynamic pricing system could open up franchisees to legal hurdles, all while continuing to push the platform. The pricing portal's terms of service reportedly warns that owners "may be competitors of each other" and "it is particularly important for all Users of the Tool to understand and comply fully with antitrust and competition laws." The document also reiterates that franchisees are "always free to determine the final price," thus potentially absolving corporate from any antitrust concerns.

McDonald's has decried Reuters' reporting as "speculative and uninformed." The company says the pricing portal is "a tool, not a mandate, designed to provide restaurant-specific recommendations to help franchisees deliver value for customers and make informed business decisions." The company has been using some version of this technology since at least 2019, according to Reuters. In 2023, however, CEO Kempczinski boasted to investors that it had developed proprietary tools to evaluate pricing at individual restaurants.

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A six-month British Transport Police trial of live facial recognition at London railway stations scanned more than 500,000 faces, cost over 320,000 pounds, and produced just one alert with no arrests directly resulting from the technology. That one alert ended up being a false positive.

Despite those results, BTP has extended the pilot through November and expanded it to selected Underground stations. The Guardian reports: British Transport Police said that since the extension there had been three positive confirmed alerts of people who were subsequently confirmed to be complying with sexual harm prevention orders or other imposed court conditions. When Transport for London announced its support for the extension of the trial, it said LFR technology "will target and identify people on police watchlists at key stations chosen for maximum impact" and would "specifically tackle violence against women and girls, whose travel behaviors are shaped by experiences of sexual harassment and sexual offenses."

Fraser Sampson, a former biometrics and surveillance camera commissioner for the UK, said the police needed to show that the use of the technology was proportionate. "There many variables and all need to align: the choice of location, times of day, make up of the watchlist and likelihood of people being present and many more." Sampson, who is now a non-executive director of Facewatch, a company that operates facial recognition systems in shops, added: "We know the technology works, but using it in supermarkets to deter shoplifters and prevent attacks on staff is very different from deploying it to catch people on a public transport network."

"Success in a shop means no such people coming in. Success for the police trying to catch people means people being caught. In that respect the trial doesn't appear to have been very fruitful. Everything depends on the police watchlists; if you're not on a watchlist, the live FRT cameras do not "see" you and they don't retain your image in the same way as CCTV cameras. However, they are processing special category personal data and the technology must be used in a way that is appropriate, proportionate and necessary. It's for the police to show how any deployment meets those criteria and -- as the ICO [information commissioner's office] has recently reported -- for their oversight boards to hold them firmly to account in doing so."

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Chris Medland runs through the biggest talking points as F1 heads to Malaysia for Round 16 of the 2026 season.

F1 is set to return to Malaysia's Sepang International Circuit for the first time in nine years, with the track stepping in to host the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Here are all the timings – along with all the additional information you need – for the 16th Grand Prix weekend of the 2026 season, the Bahrain Grand Prix at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia.

Agnostic Front

Garcés Pérez, who was shot in his car by agents, is accused of striking officer with side mirror while trying to drive away

Federal prosecutors on Tuesday announced an assault charge against a Venezuelan delivery driver who was shot in his car by a federal immigration agent in Texas, accusing the man of striking an officer with his side mirror while trying to drive away.

Wilber Rafael Garcés Pérez, 28, was charged with one count of assaulting, resisting and impeding a federal officer, according to a criminal complaint. Garcés Pérez, whose attorney has said still has a bullet lodged in his back from the 20 September shooting, made an initial court appearance in an Austin federal court on Tuesday, according to the US attorney’s office in the western district of Texas.

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Though not yet approved by any regulatory agency, retatrutide could help improve blood sugar levels and reduce inflammation

The ‘Godzilla’ of weight-loss drugs could help improve blood sugar levels, reduce inflammation and cut a person’s body weight by a quarter, according to the largest study of its kind.

Retatrutide mimics three key gut hormones that help control appetite, blood sugar and metabolism: GLP-1, GIP and glucagon. Unlike other drugs such as Wegovy, which primarily targets the GLP-1 pathway to suppress appetite, or Mounjaro, which contains GLP-1 plus GIP to control blood sugar levels, retatrutide also engages the glucagon receptor, which helps increase energy expenditure.

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• Teenager scores twice in 4-1 win to boost Ballon d’Or case

• Slovenia beat North Macedonia; Faroe Islands hold Moldova

Lamine Yamal scored two goals and set up another as Spain hammered Croatia 4-1 on Tuesday in the Nations League in their first home game since lifting the World Cup.

The 19-year-old was joined on the scoresheet by Marc Pubill and Nico Williams as they extended their unbeaten run to 40 matches, including June’s final triumph over Argentina in the US.

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Company’s product comes weeks after Meta introduced its own artificially intelligent agent Muse

Less than 24 hours after OpenAI announced it would scrap the launch of an artificial intelligence model over safety concerns, the company debuted a whole new suite of AI tools.

During its annual showcase for developers in San Francisco on Tuesday, Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, enthusiastically unveiled an AI agent called “dots” that he said was “more ambitious” than ChatGPT and a “whole new way to work with AI”.

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The verdict stems from Carroll’s 2023 sexual abuse and defamation civil trial against Trump

Donald Trump has agreed to stop fighting in court the disbursement of E Jean Carroll’s $5m verdict in her 2023 sexual abuse and defamation civil trial against him, a procedural development as these funds were already distributed to her.

While the decision does not change anything about Carroll’s receipt of the payout, its revelation effectively means that Trump will no longer oppose the monetary outcome he had long fought.

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This Northern Ireland-set police drama has never felt like this before … Race riots, organised crime and institutional politics bring it bang up to date

Blue Lights has always been a very modern cop drama. Its tales of everyday callouts, fractious office relationships and complex long-term efforts to smash organised crime have all played out against the backdrop of post-Troubles Belfast, where lingering sectarian resentments make enforcing the law even harder than it is in the rest of austerity-era UK. But it’s never been explicitly topical: it’s never felt as if it is reading today’s national news headlines with the same appalled gaze as the rest of us. Until now.

Our fourth visit to Blackthorn station pitches us and the police into a race riot. A centre offering support and resources to refugees is hosting a fete, which is a positive contribution to the area for those open to it: station sergeant and amateur baker Stevie (Martin McCann) marvels at the texture of Syrian pastry at an event that has been allocated minimal police presence. Minutes later, the whole squad has rushed to the scene to hold a line against an angry mob who want immigrants out of Northern Ireland. Bricks fly. Lives are in danger.

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Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

AMSTERDAM (ANP) - Hoewel het aantal te koop staande woningen in Nederland groeit en de hypotheekrentes oplopen, zullen de huizenprijzen voorlopig niet dalen. Dat concludeert ING in een rapport over de woningmarkt. "Daarvoor is de koopmarkt nog altijd te krap."

Toch verwacht de onderzoekstak van de bank dat de huizenprijzen tot eind volgend jaar maar beperkt stijgen: met 2,5 procent dit jaar en slechts 1 procent volgend jaar. Daarmee stelt ING zijn eerdere verwachting van juli licht naar beneden bij.

De economen merken ook op dat het aantal woningen dat te koop staat oploopt. "In vijf jaar tijd is het aanbod bij NVM-makelaars meer dan verdubbeld, van 18.000 naar 37.000 te koop staande woningen. Ondanks het recordaantal woningverkopen komen er momenteel meer woningen op de markt dan er worden verkocht", aldus de bank.

Steden

In en rondom stedelijke gebieden neemt het aanbod vooral toe door de verkoop van huurwoningen door beleggers. Dat komt doordat het door belastingmaatregelen van de overheid voor investeerders nog nauwelijks rendabel is om woningen te verhuren. Vorig jaar werden naar schatting zo'n 40.000 huurwoningen verkocht. Dat is ongeveer 1 op 6 van het totaal aantal bestaande woningverkopen in Nederland. In de grote vier steden was dat zelfs 1 op 3.

In landelijke gebieden en aan de randen van Nederland komt het extra aanbod vooral van ouderen die steeds meer woningen te koop zetten. Ook vakantiewoningen worden steeds vaker te koop gezet, als gevolg van ongunstige belastingmaatregelen.

Vraag

Dat het aantal te koop staande woningen oploopt, is volgens ING best bijzonder. Sinds het begin van deze eeuw gebeurde dat slechts twee keer eerder. Tussen 2000 en 2005 gebeurde dit door een afkoelende economie. De tweede periode was van 2008 tot 2013 en volgde na de financiële crisis. "Door de recessie, oplopende werkloosheid en strengere leennormen nam de vraag naar koopwoningen sterk af."

De vraag naar koopwoningen wordt nu vooral geremd door de stijgende hypotheekrente. De gemiddelde aangeboden hypotheekrente voor een annuïteitenhypotheek met Nationale Hypotheek Garantie en een rentevaste periode van tien jaar staat nu op 4,4 procent. Dat is flink hoger dan de 3,6 procent een jaar eerder. Daarmee zijn de maandlasten voor kopers nu ongeveer 6 procent hoger. "De hogere rentes verslechteren de betaalbaarheid en drukken de maximale leencapaciteit", aldus ING.

WASHINGTON (ANP) - De Amerikaanse minister van Defensie Pete Hegseth kondigt naar verwachting binnenkort aan dat het aantal topofficieren in de krijgsmacht met wel 20 procent wordt verminderd. Dat meldde Fox News eerder op dinsdag en is inmiddels ook door functionarissen bevestigd aan The Washington Post.

De mogelijke ingreep kan gevolgen hebben voor de carrières van honderden huidige en opkomende militaire leiders - van generaals en admiraals tot vlagofficieren.

Sinds zijn aantreden in januari 2025 heeft Hegseth zich nadrukkelijk ingezet om de hoogste rangen van de krijgsmacht ingrijpend te hervormen. In april ontsloeg hij nog de stafchef van de Amerikaanse landmacht, Randy George. Eind augustus stapte de minister van het Leger, Dan Driscoll, op uit onvrede over Hegseths hervormingen.

Hegseth diende jarenlang als officier in het middenkader bij de National Guard en werd naar Afghanistan en Irak gezonden. In die periode ontwikkelde hij volgens The Washington Post een kritisch beeld van de cultuur en het leiderschap binnen de krijgsmacht. In een speech vorig jaar voor de legertop sprak hij nog smalend over de "dikke generaals en admiraals in het Pentagon".

From the early 1970s until his death in 2021, Korean artist Kim Tschang-Yeul painted water droplets. From one of the galleries representing his work:

The waterdrop was the starting point for a singular and iconic body of work, which stands at the confluence of lyrical abstraction, Pop art and Chinese calligraphy. This simple and limpid œuvre subtly fuses Taoist wisdom, modern conceptual irony and the tragedy of war.

You can view more of Kim’s work at Colossal and InspirationGrid.

Tags: art · Kim Tschang-Yeul · water