OpenAI to pause some work on AI model Astra due to security concerns
Posted on Saturday August 08, 2026

Agent found to be able to find and exploit vulnerabilities without human intervention, and to carry out cyber-attacks

OpenAI will pause some work on an artificial intelligence model because of security concerns, the company stated on Friday, following a series of incidents in which AI agents have escaped containment.

The company had evaluated the agent, Astra, and found “significant advancements in agentic coding and cybersecurity”, which had moved to a “critical” threshold where it can find and exploit vulnerabilities without human intervention, or devise and execute cyber-attacks when given only a “high level desired goal”.

Read more...

Bar fight: Hugo cocktail takes aim at Aperol in UK summer of spritz
Posted on Saturday August 08, 2026

The elderflower drink is enjoying explosive growth, with Campari, Sarti Rosa and limoncello varieties also taking off

It’s the summer of spritz as British sales figures show the Hugo elderflower cocktail snapping at the heels of the market-leader Aperol to be this year’s favourite drink.

The number of Hugos ordered in bars nearly tripled in the three months to the end of June while demand for the vibrant red Campari spritz surged 52%.

Read more...

Google DeepMind enters a new era as co-founder Demis Hassabis shifts AI role
Posted on Saturday August 08, 2026

Observers express concern that the division has lost its independence and commercial reality has taken over

When Sir Demis Hassabis said AI had brought the world to a “pivotal moment in human history” last month, he knew another big change was imminent.

This shift was closer to home. The Nobel prize-winning head of Google DeepMind, Google’s AI unit, announced this week he was relinquishing his day-to-day duties as chief executive and becoming chair. He is also taking on the role of chief scientist at DeepMind’s parent, Alphabet.

Read more...

Can Harvey Nichols find its way back to being Absolutely Fabulous again?
Posted on Saturday August 08, 2026

Mike Ashley says it’s in a ‘death spiral’ but a refocus on design could be what the department store needs

Such was the buzz around Harvey Nichols in its 90s heyday that the department store was regularly name-checked in Absolutely Fabulous, with Edina and Patsy’s frequent retail therapy trips to the store reflecting its position at the heart of the fashion industry at the time.

How times change. These days Harvey Nichols is a business in trouble, one that has not turned a profit since the pandemic. Pre-tax losses were £35.3m in 2024. The retail chain – comprising the the original store in Knightsbridge, London, plus stores in cities including Bristol, Leeds and Manchester – was put up for sale in June by its current owner, Sir Dickson Poon, with Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group and Next bidding to take control.

Read more...

Rising number of UK children report seeing explicit deepfakes of themselves
Posted on Saturday August 08, 2026

Exclusive: anonymous flagging service says cases have surged, as watchdog says AI is making sexualised or ‘nudified’ content easier to produce

Children in the UK have reported a surge in explicit deepfake images featuring their likenesses, as a safety watchdog warned AI is making such content easier to produce.

The Report Remove service, which blocks intimate images from appearing online, said there had been a rapid increase in imagery that had been digitally manipulated or “faked” in some way, including with AI and nudification tools.

Read more...

Google DeepMind enters a new era as co-founder Demis Hassabis shifts AI role
Posted on Saturday August 08, 2026

Observers express concern that the division has lost its independence and commercial reality has taken over

When Sir Demis Hassabis said AI had brought the world to a “pivotal moment in human history” last month, he knew another big change was imminent.

This shift was closer to home. The Nobel prize-winning head of Google DeepMind, Google’s AI unit, announced this week he was relinquishing his day-to-day duties as chief executive and becoming chair. He is also taking on the role of chief scientist at DeepMind’s parent, Alphabet.

Read more...

Fifa launches new attack on media over alleged ‘concerted effort’ to undermine Gianni Infantino
Posted on Saturday August 08, 2026

• Fifa issues statement defending under-fire president

• ‘Insinuation should not be presented as fact’

Fifa has issued a new statement alleging there is a “concerted and ongoing effort by some to undermine Fifa and its president” as pressure increases on Gianni Infantino.

The governing body issued the statement in response to Uefa confirming on Saturday that a “departure payment” was made to a female employee who is alleged to have been in a relationship with Infantino while he was the organisation’s general secretary – allegations Fifa dismissed as “categorically untrue”.

Read more...

Premier League managers have never been less English, title-winning or secure in their jobs
Posted on Saturday August 08, 2026

Huge turnover between seasons means 11 clubs start 2026-27 led by people with under a year in their dugout

Nine of the 20 Premier League clubs will begin the 2026-27 season with a different man in the dugout than the one who ended the last campaign. Opta recently revealed that the only other seasons which started with so many men making their managerial debut for top flight clubs were 1888-89 and 1946-47; the inaugural season of league football and the first following the second world war. Neither occurred under normal circumstances yet the level of turnover this summer does not feel unusual. Job security has never meant less in the Premier League.

Adding in the recently appointed pair of Roberto De Zerbi and Michael Carrick – confirmed in March and May respectively – means this season will start with 11 teams led by coaches with less than a year in their hotseat. The median tenure of Premier League managers at the start of each season has never been so low.

Read more...