US added 172,000 jobs in May as labor market shows signs of resilience
Posted on Friday June 05, 2026

Government figures show unemployment rate at 4.3% amid rising inflation and economic uncertainty from Iran war

US employers added 172,000 jobs in May while the country’s unemployment rate held steady at 4.3%, a sign of a resilient labor market despite rising inflation and economic uncertainty brought on by continued conflict in the Middle East.

Economists initially predicted there would be about 80,000 new jobs and a steady unemployment rate of 4.3%. Job figures for March and April were also revised up 29,000 and 64,000, respectively, a 93,000 boost compared with initial figures.

Read more...

British Heart Foundation to close 150 charity shops as costs rise
Posted on Friday June 05, 2026

Shoppers turning to online options also affects BHF, which has carried out review of retail arm

The British Heart Foundation is to close about 150 shops and cut jobs, as rising costs and the shift to online shopping makes about a quarter of the charity’s high street locations commercially unsustainable.

The charity carried out a review of its retail arm, which employs almost 3,700 staff, after net profit across its 640 UK stores plunged from £18.8m in 2024 to £3.6m in the year to 31 March 2025.

Read more...

Anthropic urges AI development ‘pause’ and conversation about risks
Posted on Friday June 05, 2026

US firm says it will convene policymakers, in post detailing progress of its Claude model towards ‘recursive self-improvement’

Anthropic has floated the idea of a worldwide “temporary pause” on AI development – and said it was going to convene “policymakers” to discuss the dangers of advanced AI – in its latest release touting the capabilities of its products.

In a long post on Thursday, Anthropic detailed the progress of its AI model, Claude, towards “recursive self-improvement” – that is, being able to make better and more powerful versions of itself. Recursive self-improvement is a bugbear of AI safety researchers, viewed as the key step for AI to become superintelligent and therefore unleash widespread consequences on humanity.

Read more...

‘It’s not inevitable’: Asda chair on how his turnaround will hold off Aldi threat
Posted on Friday June 05, 2026

Allan Leighton on government help, talk of a reheated merger with Sainsbury’s – and the vital role of bananas

“It’s not bloody inevitable,” that Asda will be overtaken by Aldi as the UK’s third biggest supermarket, Allan Leighton roars as the veteran retail boss insists his turnaround of the ailing business is on track.

Leighton, the chair of Asda, who returned to lead the business in November 2024 after a 20-year absence, is attempting to defy the critics and revive Asda for the second time in his career.

Read more...

New claimants seek to sue Elon Musk’s xAI after Labour MP’s test case
Posted on Friday June 05, 2026

Jess Asato’s lawyer says others want to take action over demeaning sexualised material created by Grok AI tool

New claimants have come forward to take legal action against Elon Musk’s company xAI after the Labour MP Jess Asato launched a test case against the firm over demeaning sexualised material created by its Grok AI tool.

A handful of complainants contacted Asato’s lawyer on Thursday in response to coverage of the MP’s decision to sue Musk’s company for damages over its creation and circulation of fake images of her in a bikini and an AI-created video that she said showed her “being chloroformed and prepared for a sexual assault”.

Read more...

A disease of deforestation: how Ebola is linked to the smartphone in your pocket
Posted on Friday June 05, 2026

As demand for cobalt, gold and other minerals grows, mining is accelerating deforestation in the Congo basin – and increasing the risk of deadly Ebola outbreaks

For decades after the discovery of Ebolavirus in 1976, outbreaks of the disease were relatively small and contained, affecting a few hundred people at most.

Not any more. In recent years, outbreaks of Ebola have been much larger, affecting thousands and even tens of thousands of people across multiple countries. The 2014 outbreak of Ebola in West Africa infected over 28,000 people in 10 countries on three continents. The current eruption, which began in early May and shows no signs of abating, has caused 363 confirmed cases in Democratic Republic of the Congo and has crossed into Uganda.

Sonia Shah is the author of five books including Pandemic: Tracking Contagions, from Cholera to Ebola and Beyond, and writes the newsletter Cross Pollinations on Substack

Read more...

England v New Zealand: first men’s cricket Test, day two – live
Posted on Friday June 05, 2026

Updates from the second day of the series at Lord’s
Sign up for The Spin | Follow us on TikTok

21st over: New Zealand 70-7 ( Smith 10, Jamieson 1 ) Jamieson marches in with intent after Philips loses his off stump. Bangs into a drive, throws the combine harvester at another, but only picks up one run. Smith drives the smiling Tongue’s last ball for four.

Tongue’s first ball of the day fractionally straightens and Philips plays… and misses. A satisfying crunch of stumps.

Read more...

Zverev to face Cobolli in men’s final after Arnaldi withdraws: French Open 2026 men’s semi-finals – live
Posted on Friday June 05, 2026

Arnaldi withdraws from semi-final due to illness
Mail Katy | Andreeva routs Kostyuk to reach final

First set: Mensik* 2-2 Zverev (*denotes next server)

Pacy and punchy from Zverev on his backhand – which is one of the very best in the business – and it’s 30-0. Make that 40-0, with a textbook one-two attack. Now it’s his forehand that does the damage, as he rifles away a winner. The first love hold of this semi-final and Zverev is in the zone.

Read more...