My daughter’s scruffy little pet would fall asleep with me on the sofa, stilling my racing mind. And then he changed my life in an even more significant way …

I never wanted a hamster. My eight-year-old daughter, Lily, on the other hand, had folders. Habitat drawings and wheel specifications – a case for ownership of such rigour it bowled me over. As a boy I’d had a hamster, Jerry, and remembered him as fine – but nothing more than that. So I went to a Cardiff pet shop on a cold January morning in 2021 with no plan whatsoever to fall in love.

At the back of the enclosure was a scruffy one nobody else wanted. Skinny. A bit unkempt. When the staff member lifted him out, he yawned and looked at Lily as if he’d been expecting her. She named him Popcorn Sushi and took him home in a pink carrier.

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I love gardening, hate cooking. After five years learning how to grow fruit and veg, I’m now stuck with, well, a load of fruit and veg. Can I get my own tradwife to make them edible?

I’ve spent much of the last week picking, then sorting through berries, making, straining and freezing various compotes and conserves, washing and batch-cooking chard and spinach, podding and shelling broad beans. I’m not having a granny summer, a Sydney Sweeney summer or a nun girl summer (all of which I’ve seen suggested as themes for 2026); I’m having a tradwife summer. It’s basically Ballerina Farm here, without the rosy-cheeked, tousle-haired children, raw milk or plane-company-heir husband – and my tomatoes aren’t even ripe yet.

It’s taken me five years as the genuinely grateful, happy guardian of a garden to fully appreciate the issue with growing fruit and vegetables: once you’ve done it, you have lots of fruit and vegetables. I understand that’s a privilege, not a problem – and indeed, the whole point of the enterprise. And some produce is pure, easy pleasure: strawberries and raspberries, mangetout and lettuce (at least if, like me, you accept the occasional surprise protein bonus in your salad, thanks to slapdash washing). But other stuff that thrives here requires prepping and cooking to be edible, and with my family and friends dodging my calls offering my various gluts, I find myself resignedly donning an apron and doing what I imagine my ancestors spent centuries wishing they could avoid.

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Two couples start to fall apart during a midwinter break, involving a lot of shouty dialogue that’s neither realistic nor funny

The interesting premise in this laborious and dispiriting relationship dramedy sadly leads nowhere; all we get is strained shouty dialogue and mugging performances in a film which succeeds neither in being funny or realistic.

Alexandra Daddario (from TV’s The White Lotus) is Debs, a book editor with dreams of being an author herself; her platonic best pal from college is Mitch (Josh Gad), a schlubby guy climbing the ladder in investment banking, and maybe nursing feelings for Debs he can never admit. They go to a cosy, picturesque woodland cabin for New Year’s with their respective partners; Debs is with hunky nature photographer Josh (Daveed Diggs) and Mitch is with Melanie (Ashley Park), uptight author of a bestselling cookbook called Emotional Eating (a good title, actually).

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As the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum turns 50, an expansive exhibition celebrates how art has coincided with space

Wearing a shiny silver spacesuit, Alan Shepard clutches his helmet and looks like an archetypal blue-eyed American hero. The 1961 portrait by Bruce Stevenson paid tribute to the first US astronaut in space. It also planted a seed.

James Webb, the then administrator of Nasa, saw the painting and was inspired to start the space agency’s own art programme, believing that artists could bring a unique perspective to exploring the cosmos. From 1962 to 1974 it was led by James Dean, who then became the first art curator at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington.

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Firm reportedly felt it was in public interest to test alibi offered by former duke after Virginia Giuffre accusation

Pizza Express held an internal inquiry to investigate Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s visit to its Woking branch, as he claimed he did on the day he was alleged to have had sex with a teenage victim of Jeffrey Epstein 20 miles away in central London, it has been reported.

According to sources who spoke to the BBC, senior management at the restaurant chain held the investigation because they felt it was in the public interest to test the alibi the former Duke of York had offered. The broadcaster reported that the company had found neither evidence he had been to the restaurant in Surrey, nor evidence to definitively say he had not.

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‍♂️ Official stage start time: 11.10am BST/12.10pm CET
‍♂️ Granollers to Les Angles (195.5km) | Stage two report
‍♂️ You can follow us on TikTok. And also email Andy

Here is ex-racer and Tour de France technical director Thierry Gouvenou with his briefing on the stage three:

It’s a long stage with a gradual climb for most of the way. The stage features a category-one climb, the Col de Toses [9.3km at 6.5%], which should prove quite challenging. But overall, there are no major challenges. It’s a perfect stage for the attackers. The finale will separate the riders, especially on the Col du Calvaire near Font-Romeu and the final 1.5-kilometre climb to Les Angles at a seven per cent gradient. So, this is a huge opportunity for attackers to seek out a stage win and why not even the yellow jersey.

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• Striker may still be able to play in last-16 game in Seattle

• Trump lobbied Fifa three times over Balogun’s red card

The Folarin Balogun controversy has taken a dramatic twist with Belgium granted an appeal against the United States striker’s shock reinstatement for Monday’s last-16 tie in Seattle. There are no guarantees, however, over when the decision will be made or whether Fifa’s reasoning for lifting his suspension will be made public.

The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) expressed “astonishment” on Sunday at Fifa’s decision to rescind Balogun’s one-match ban, with their manager, Rudi Garcia, comparing it to an April Fool’s Day joke. Donald Trump repeatedly lobbied Fifa to lift Balogun’s ban, with sources telling the Guardian the US president made three calls to Fifa, starting on Wednesday, after Balogun was sent off in the USA’s 2-0 last-16 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, to ensure the change was made.

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Spain, Portugal, France and UK face spell of high temperatures, while Super Typhoon Bavi barrels through north-western Pacific

• Europe live – latest updates

Another surge of heat spread across western Europe at the weekend, with Spain, Portugal and France already sweltering and southern parts of the UK joining them on Monday.

Temperatures are once again forecast to climb to 10-15C above average, with highs approaching 40C (104F) in the hottest parts of France and Spain, while the UK is expected to reach the low- to mid-30s celsius.

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Rather than relying solely on regular military forces, authorities have increasingly turned to regional volunteer units and reserve formations to bolster air defense around strategic sites.

"A year ago, the message from many business leaders was that AI was going to wipe out jobs," remembers the Wall Street Journal.But "For the past month or so, tech CEOs have been striking a more optimistic tone."


In late May, OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman — who has long predicted that AI will lead to seismic shifts in the workforce — said during a conference, "We've been roughly right on technological predictions and pretty wrong on the social and economic implications." Soon after, he told CNBC, "Our industry underestimated how much we're going to be able to keep people at the center of everything."

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, who warned in May 2025 that artificial intelligence could eliminate half of entry-level jobs, a year later highlighted more positive scenarios for AI-adopting businesses: "They can do the same thing with less resources, and that leads to things like layoffs, or they can do more with the same amount of resources. But that requires creativity...."

Is the sunnier outlook a move to win back customers and the public who are souring on AI's world-upending promise? Or is the role of AI in the workplace now just better understood...?

Collectively, the narrative has shifted from worker-light doomsday scenarios caused by AI to a future in which workers keep their jobs — and get a productivity boost. The sentiment change isn't limited to tech leaders: A survey by EY-Parthenon found that the percentage of CEOs who believe AI investments will result in significant reductions in head count fell from around 46% in January 2025 to just 20% this May.
"They may have noticed that the labor market is genuinely not changing (i.e., imploding) as rapidly as they expected," said David Autor, a professor of economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "They may have realized it was simply bad business to say that your great new product will destroy the economy."

The article notes Amazon founder Jeff Bezos "has a history of predicting that AI will create new jobs," and in June said AI could even lead to a labor shortage. "When asked on CNBC in May about people being afraid of AI taking jobs, he said the reason they're afraid is because 'all these smart people keep saying that.'"
The article then adds that "Fewer people are saying it now."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

PARIJS (ANP) - De Franse president Emmanuel Macron heeft zijn solidariteit getoond met de getroffenen van de bosbranden in het zuiden van Frankrijk. Daar zijn duizenden mensen geëvacueerd. Macron laat via X ook weten dankbaar te zijn voor de inzet van veiligheids- en hulpdiensten en lokale bestuurders. "Laten we overal alert blijven en de veiligheidsvoorschriften strikt opvolgen", aldus de president.

De grootste brand woedt in Trévillach bij de stad Perpignan, waar meer dan 10.000 mensen zijn geëvacueerd. De brand is sinds zondagochtend bijna verdrievoudigd in omvang. Volgens de lokale autoriteiten is 4600 hectare aan natuur verwoest, qua oppervlakte vergelijkbaar met twee keer de stad Delft.

Minister van Binnenlandse Zaken Laurent Nuñez heeft tegen tv-zender TF1 gezegd dat het bosbrandenseizoen dit jaar eerder is begonnen. Er is volgens hem al 11.000 hectare aan natuur verloren gegaan. Dat was vorig jaar rond deze periode 5700 hectare. Hij gaat maandag naar Trévillach.

We denken vaak dat een weekje weg genoeg is om de batterij op te laden, maar onderzoek laat iets anders zien: pas na circa veertien vrije dagen raken veel werknemers écht ontspannen en los van hun werk. Dat zet de klassiek geplande ‘midweek’ of korte zomervakantie in een ander licht.

Gemiddeld hebben werknemers ruim twee weken nodig om hun energiepeil te herstellen, blijkt uit Europees onderzoek van hr- en salarisdienstverlener SD Worx. In een recente steekproef onder werknemers in zestien landen geven medewerkers aan dat ze rond de 17–18 vakantiedagen nodig hebben om zich op te laden, waarbij Nederlandse werknemers zelfs iets boven dat gemiddelde uitkomen. Een deel van hen blijft tijdens verlof bovendien mail checken en telefoontjes aannemen, wat het herstel verder vertraagt.

Arbeids- en organisatieadviseur Willem Goedhart (Arbo Unie) wijst er in het AD op dat acht dagen verlof volgens de literatuur in principe genoeg zou moeten zijn om van werk te herstellen, maar dat dit sterk afhangt van het type werk en iemands belastbaarheid. Wie al overbelast is of aan langlopende projecten werkt, heeft langer nodig om mentaal afstand te nemen. Tegelijkertijd zijn de natuurlijke pauzes in de werkdag afgekalfd: efficiëntere software, hogere werkdruk en minder ‘tussenmomenten’ maken dat we gemiddeld meer hersteluren nodig hebben dan vroeger.

Die spanning tussen theorie en praktijk leidt tot één centrale observatie: onze vakanties zijn vaak te kort om echt tot rust te komen. Formeel bouwt een fulltime werknemer minimaal vier weken wettelijke vakantie op per jaar, met daarbovenop vaak extra dagen via cao of werkgever. Toch worden vrije dagen versnipperd over het jaar, waardoor veel mensen het nooit langer dan een week achtereen uithouden zonder werkmails, deadlines of zorg voor lopende projecten. Het advies van HR-professionals om minstens één keer per jaar twee tot drie weken aaneengesloten verlof te nemen, botst dan snel op agenda’s, targets en de reflex om verlof ‘efficiënt’ te verdelen.

Statistisch gezien krijgt een automobilist ongeveer eens per 70.000 tot 100.000 kilometer een lekke band. Toch hoef je in Nederland geen reservewiel bij je te dragen. Zelfs een plakset is niet verplicht. AD-lezer Marianne Steenbergen vraagt zich af waarom dat zo is.

Vraag: "Waarom is een thuiskomertje, oftewel reserveband, in Nederland niet verplicht en in veel andere landen wel?"

Auto-expert Niek Schenk antwoordt: "In bijna alle Europese landen is een reservewiel niet meer verplicht. De wetgeving is de laatste jaren gewijzigd omdat veel nieuwe auto’s (vanwege gewichtsbesparing) met een reparatieset in plaats van reservewiel worden geleverd. Zo’n ‘plakset’ kan helpen om bij een lekke band in elk geval veilig thuis te komen.

Je zou misschien verwachten dat in plaats van het reservewiel dan zo’n plakset wettelijk verplicht is, maar dat is niet het geval. De enige uitzondering is Spanje. Daar moet je óf een reservewiel (met reserveband of thuiskomertje) óf een reparatiekit bij je hebben, inclusief het benodigde gereedschap (krik en wielsleutel).

Hier zijn goede redenen voor. Anders dan in Nederland, waar de pechhulpverlening langs de weg doorgaans goed geregeld is, bestaat er in Spanje meer kans dat je ergens in een verlaten landschap met een lekke band stil komt te staan. Hulp is daar niet gauw ter plaatse, dus ben je meer op jezelf aangewezen. Bovendien is de kans op een lekke band groter in landen met veel onverharde wegen, zoals Spanje.

Heb je in plaats van een reservewiel zo’n reparatieset? Controleer dan regelmatig de houdbaarheidsdatum van de vloeistof in de spuitbus. Want het is heel vervelend als die onbruikbaar is op het kritieke moment.

Tot slot: het is onverstandig om op een snelweg zelf een lekke band te verhelpen met een reservewiel of plakset. Zelfs op de vluchtstrook ben je niet veilig. Het is daarom verstandiger om professionele hulp in te schakelen (die de situatie ook kan beveiligen) en in afwachting hiervan achter de vangrail te wachten.”

Bron: AD

MADRID (ANP/RTR) - Spanje verwacht dit jaar voor het eerst meer dan 100 miljoen buitenlandse toeristen te ontvangen. Dat heeft de Spaanse toerismeminister Jordi Hereu maandag gezegd.

Vorig jaar kwamen bijna 97 miljoen buitenlandse toeristen naar Spanje, hoofdzakelijk uit andere Europese landen. Zij gaven tientallen miljarden uit tijdens hun vakantie in Spanje. De toeristische sector is dan ook van groot belang voor de Spaanse economie.

Wel is er steeds meer tegenstand in Spanje tegen massatoerisme, bijvoorbeeld omdat huizen worden verhuurd als vakantiewoningen en er daardoor een woningtekort is ontstaan. Op verschillende plekken in Spanje zijn er demonstraties geweest tegen massatoerisme, waaronder in Barcelona en op de eilanden Mallorca en Tenerife.

Het vijfde seizoen van ‘Kloostergasten’ (KRO-NCRV) was een mengsel tussen het kloosterleven en een interview met een BN’er. Totdat Yvon Jaspers kwam en het programma helemaal overnam.

Rechtse stemmingmakers roffelen zich graag op de borst over de superieure westerse meerderheidscultuurt, maar zodra het over migratie gaat gedragen ze zich als een belaagde inheemse minderheid.

Vandaag precies vijf jaar geleden werd Peter R. de Vries op klaarlichte dag neergeknald in Amsterdam. Natuurlijk niet omdat onze nationale knuffel-R in de kofferbak van wat zigeuners rommelde of omdat hij spannende televee maakte over Joran van der Sloot, maar omdat hij als adviseur van de kroongetuige zijn hand overspeelde in een gruwelijke zaak met keiharde criminelen. Naast adviseur van de kroongetuige was-ie dus misdaadverslaggeverrrrr, probeerselpoliticus, journalist, grensrechterbetweter, God, plaskenner, vader, Hebdo-kraker, makelaar, Kasemfluisteraar, Ajacied, vriend, Boulevarddeskundige, Calimero, tafelheer en nog 1.000 dingen die u niet wil weten. Vandaag mag iedereen weer even bidden tot God of z'n prach-tige monument op het Leidse aanraken. Vijf jaar dood. Rip.

For the first time, the source code of KSOS, backed by the US Department of Defense in the late 1970s and 1980s, is available to the public in the archives of The Unix Heritage Society (TUHS). TUHS volunteers preserve the historical source code and documentation of the original UNIX – or as much of it as is left. A few days ago, in an email to its mailing list, TUHS founder Warren Toomey announced the addition of KSOS to the collection. "KSOS was the US Department of Defense (DoD) Kernelized Secure Operating System (KSOS, formerly called Secure UNIX). KSOS is intended to provide a provably secure operating system for larger minicomputers," he wrote. Despite its age, KSOS sounds surprisingly modern. It was a Unix-compatible OS, implemented in a type-safe programming language, Modula, rather than C. Modula was the late great Niklaus Wirth's successor to Pascal and, in turn, the forerunner to Modula-2 – which we described when it was added to the GNU Compiler Collection in 2022. KSOS was designed to be formally verifiable, so that it could be trusted for use in highly secure systems. It ran on commodity hardware, and its development was sponsored by the US DOD. Very few OS kernels have been formally verified, and one of the best-known modern examples is the seL4 microkernel, as used in the Ironclad OS we covered last year, and also in the new QSOE RISC-V RTOS. KSOS isn't some cutting-edge experimental new Rust effort, like the Asterinas project we described last year or the even newer Maestro project. What became KSOS started in 1978 at Ford Aerospace (yes, that Ford). On the team were Peter Neumann, who later ran the RISKS Digest – The Register was quoting him in 2004 – and Tom Perrine, who described it and its modern relevance in a 2002 article for the USENIX journal ;login:. It's titled "The Kernelized Secure Operating system (KSOS)" [PDF], and at only three and a bit pages long, it's well worth a read. Even then, 24 years ago, projects were struggling to reinvent things KSOS did successfully a couple of decades earlier. That's even more true today. To learn more about how KSOS worked, there's a 1978 Executive Summary [PDF] – which, despite its title, runs to 15 pages. Clearly, executives back then had longer attention spans. Perrine gave a talk about KSOS at DEF CON 20 in 2012, which you can watch on YouTube. KSOS isn't forgotten. For instance, it came up in a talk at last year's FOSDEM: Confidential Computing's Recent Past, Emerging Present, and Long-Lasting Future. Page 8 of the slide deck [PDF] says KSOS was "among the first security-focused kernels, emphasizing formal verification" and "source code was publicly available, rejecting 'security through obscurity.'" KSOS was not confined to academic research. It was used in production. Last October, Perrine explained more in another TUHS email: "KSOS – for PDP-11, originally developed by Ford Aerospace, and then extended at Logicon. It did have a supervisor-mode UNIX-system-call-compatible system. Later, there was also a userland library that implemented something that mostly matched the UNIX system calls. It had no kernel code in common with UNIX. It was written in Modula. "KSOS was used in the Trusted Downgrade System of the multi-level-secure 'all-source' intel fusion system that Logicon built for a few agencies. ACCAT-GUARD and USAFE-GUARD, for example. "KSOS-32 – a VAX 'port' of KSOS (which was then retconned as 'KSOS-11'). The Modula code from -11 was run though Emacs macros to produce Modula-2, and then parts were rewritten as needed. "I worked on both systems at Logicon." It's Perrine we have to thank for KSOS reappearing in public view after 38 years – he found an old tarball of the source code, and with the help of John O Goyo and Thalia Archibald, it made its way to the TUHS code archive. Now there’s a new quest: find the original compiler used to build it. One thing that may help slightly is that KSOS was not self-hosting: it was compiled under UNIX. We have mentioned TUHS's important work before: for instance, when a tape of UNIX V4 was found in University of Utah boffin Robert Ricci's department — and successfully recovered. Bootnote Mr Goyo also found time to email The Reg FOSS desk about the recovery, for which we thank him. ®