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Refusal to Testify in Epstein Probe Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted former associate of Jeffrey Epstein, declined to answer questions from the US House Oversight Committee during a deposition on Monday. Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence in a Texas federal prison for sex trafficking, invoked her Fifth Amendment rights in a video call with lawmakers. The committee is investigating individuals who may have helped Epstein carry out decades of abuse. Clemency as a Condition for Testimony Maxwell’s attorney, David Oscar Markus, told lawmakers that she would speak openly if granted a pardon by former President Donald Trump. Markus claimed…
Discord will soon require users worldwide to verify their age before accessing adult content. Users must confirm their age with a face scan or upload an official ID. The platform says it has more than 200 million monthly users. The company says the new safety system will place all users into a teen-appropriate environment by default. Discord already requires age checks in the UK and Australia to comply with online safety laws. The platform will expand the system globally from early March. Savannah Badalich, Discord’s policy head, said teen safety remains a central priority. She added that teen-by-default settings strengthen…
Ice-Free Routes Come at a High Cost As global temperatures rise, Arctic sea ice is melting faster than ever, opening waterways that were previously frozen year-round. This has led to a surge in cargo ships, fishing vessels, and even cruise liners navigating the region. But the environmental cost is steep: soot, or black carbon, from ship engines darkens ice and snow, causing it to absorb more heat from the sun and accelerating melting. “It ends up in a never-ending cycle of increased warming,” says Sian Prior, lead adviser for the Clean Arctic Alliance. The effects ripple far beyond the Arctic,…
People who drink a couple of teas or coffees a day may face a lower risk of dementia, according to a large US study. Researchers analysed health data from more than 130,000 people followed for up to 43 years and found that those who drank two to three cups of caffeinated coffee or one to two cups of caffeinated tea daily had a 15–20% lower risk of dementia than non-drinkers. The study, published in Journal of the American Medical Association, also found slightly better cognitive performance among caffeinated coffee drinkers compared with those who chose decaf. Lead author Yu Zhang…
The Seattle Seahawks crushed the New England Patriots with a dominant defensive performance, winning the Super Bowl 29-13 at Levi’s Stadium. The victory marked Seattle’s second championship in franchise history. Two of the NFL’s toughest defences clashed in the season’s biggest game, and Seattle controlled the field from the first snap. Briton Aden Durde became the first overseas coach to lift the league’s top prize in the United States. Dark Side Defence Takes Over Seattle’s 46-year-old defensive coordinator has built the league’s most feared unit, nicknamed “the Dark Side.” On Super Bowl Sunday in Santa Clara, California, the Patriots struggled…
Voters Deliver a Strong Mandate Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi appeared headed for a decisive victory in Sunday’s snap election, with early media projections showing her ruling bloc securing a two-thirds majority in the lower house. If confirmed, it would mark the Liberal Democratic Party’s strongest showing since 2017, during the tenure of her mentor, former prime minister Shinzo Abe. Estimates suggest the LDP won around 300 of the chamber’s 465 seats, comfortably regaining its majority and potentially doing so without the support of junior coalition partners. LDP secretary general Shunichi Suzuki said voters had endorsed Takaichi’s “responsible, proactive fiscal…
BP faces growing pressure from shareholders as it prepares to publish full-year results this week. Analysts expect weaker profits after a third consecutive year of falling oil prices, with earnings forecast at about $7.5bn, down from nearly $9bn in 2024. A sharp drop in crude prices late last year is expected to hit fourth-quarter results. Incoming chief executive Meg O’Neill is under pressure to outline a clearer long-term strategy. Investor groups want BP to explain how it will manage spending on oil and gas as demand weakens. Activists led by Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility and supported by Nest have…
Gigafactory ambitions put on ice Plans to build massive electric vehicle battery plants in Italy and Germany have been scrapped by Automotive Cells Company (ACC), as demand for EVs continues to grow far more slowly than expected. The decision was confirmed by Italy’s metalworkers’ union UILM, which said ACC management had officially ruled out the projects in both countries. According to the union, the long-discussed gigafactory planned for Termoli in Italy will not go ahead, and the same fate has met the proposed site in Germany. Both projects had already been paused since 2024 while the company reassessed market conditions.…
A South Korean cryptocurrency exchange accidentally sent customers more than 40 billion dollars in bitcoin. The mistake briefly turned some users into multimillionaires. The company had intended to give a small reward of 2,000 won, worth about 1.37 dollars. Instead, it sent 2,000 bitcoins to customers on Friday. The platform Bithumb apologised for the error and explained the incident. The company said it quickly noticed the mistake and recovered nearly all missing tokens. It restricted trading and withdrawals for 695 affected customers within 35 minutes of the glitch. Exchange Recovers Almost All Erroneous Bitcoin Bithumb said it retrieved 99.7 percent…
Researchers say menstrual blood testing could provide a convenient alternative to cervical cancer screening.A sanitary pad fitted with a sample strip can detect human papillomavirus, the main cause of cervical cancer.Women could use the test at home, avoiding invasive clinical procedures. The study, published in BMJ, analysed data from more than 3,000 women in China.Researchers compared menstrual blood samples with clinician-collected cervical samples.The pad-based test detected serious cervical abnormalities with similar accuracy. The menstrual test showed 94.7% sensitivity for detecting high-grade cell changes.Clinician-collected samples showed a sensitivity of 92.1%.Both methods performed equally well at ruling out disease after negative results.…