- PM Sharif seeks IMF consent to waive electricity bills in flood areas Samaa TV
- IMF’s nod sought for power relief to flood victims The Express Tribune
- PM Shehbaz asks finance ministry to seek IMF relief on electricity bills for flood affectees Geo.tv
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- Over 1.4m consumers’ power restored in flood-hit areas: Power Division The Nation (Pakistan )
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PM Sharif seeks IMF consent to waive electricity bills in flood areas – Samaa TV
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Roommates Sophia Medina and Laura Raupp strategise in lineup for Brazilian one-two
Surfing is usually an individual sport. Sophia Medina and Laura Raupp made it a team endeavour as they strategised to move out of their repechage heat at the 2025 ISA World Surfing Games together.
When the schedule for Friday, 12 September came out the night before, the two surfers who are also roommates, saw their names next to each other on the start list, alongside Spanish Olympian Nadia Erostarbe and feisty Argentine Lucia Indurain.
“We saw that we were in the same heat and I was just, ‘OK, Sophia, now we need to go through this one together’,” Raupp told Olympics.com.
Raupp was coming off a three-heat marathon on Thursday, which had significantly depleted her energy. She put up a 5.50-scoring wave to start but was struggling to fend off Erostarbe as the heat progressed. An average-scoring wave would be enough for the Spanish surfer to go through while Raupp would be eliminated.
Which is where Medina paddled in to help her teammate.
“At the end of the heat, the girl that was in fourth was needing a four-point ride, and Sophia was the higher priority than her and I said, ‘Sophia, please help me!’,” Raupp said. “And we helped each other and made it through this round.”
Medina won the heat with a total score of 10.63, which marked the first time she has placed first at the 2025 World Surfing Games. The Brazilian surfer fell to the repechage after the fourth round, but quickly bounced back from the setback by finishing in the top two of her repechage heat later the same day and winning the following one.
“I got really disappointed because it was a hard heat and when you can’t make a hard heat, you’re like, ‘OK, when it gets hard, am I able to make it? Am I good enough?’,” Medina told Olympics.com about her exit from the main round. “We all question ourselves, I think, but it’s a mind battle that we have and the good side got to win always and if I think, ‘Am I good enough?’, I’m like, ‘No, I am good enough’.”
Like Medina and Raupp, Peru’s Sol Aguirre and USA’s Eden Walla also progressed to the next repechage round, while their heat rivals, Costa Rica’s Leilani McGonagle and Spain’s Annette Etxabarri, were eliminated from the competition.
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As Drones Swarm Battlefields, Militaries Seek Cheaper Defenses
(Bloomberg) — The proliferation of uncrewed systems in the Ukraine-Russia war has highlighted the importance of drone defense capabilities. But the dilemma militaries around the world face is that the attack weapons tend to be far cheaper than the response to destroy them.
Drone costs can range from just a few hundred to several thousand dollars, and their price tag is rapidly depreciating as innovation and mass production pick up. That’s a fraction of the outlays for most air defense missiles, which at the high end command price tags of tens of millions for a single shot.
Efforts to solve that conundrum were on display this week at the DSEI defense expo in London, where the halls were packed with lasers, missiles, jammers and even other drones designed to defeat small, uncrewed threats. What they all had in common was an attempt to bring down the “cost per kill.”
Drones — or uncrewed systems, as the larger versions are often called — have come to the forefront of warfare since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. As the conflict chews through more conventional battlefield tools like artillery, both sides of the conflict have leaned heavily on drones for surveillance, defense and attack missions.
“In Ukraine, it’s really scaled drone-on-drone warfare,” said Jan-Hendrik Boelens, CEO of anti-drone company Alpine Eagle GmbH. “And our interceptor is essentially a small drone, so it has the price tag of a small drone.”
Electronic warfare, including jamming and spoofing that confuse drones’ controls systems, is another defensive method. Dozens of companies at DSEI promoted such technology, which has the benefit that it can potentially intercept multiple drones at once.
“It would then essentially wipe out the electronics in the entire swarm, and they fall to the ground,” Mike Sewart, the chief technology officer for Thales SA’s UK subsidiary. “Rather than a point-and-shoot model where you are literally targeting those drones one by one.”
Others, like US-based Droneshield and Dedrone, showed off portable systems that can be aimed like rifles. Lasers, which burn drones out of the sky, were on display en masse at the fair, from multiple versions of the well-known Iron Beam from Israel’s Rafael to offerings from smaller competitors such as Electro Optic Systems and IPG Photonics. And while both lasers and electronic-warfare systems are initially expensive and complex to build, they are then cheap to operate.
MARSS from the UK has developed ground-launched interceptors designed to keep costs down and reduce the risk of accidental damage by simply flying through enemy targets. The small, X-shaped missiles use battery-powered propellers to hit speeds of more than 200 miles (320 kilometers) an hour, then crash through targets protected by a titanium nosecone. The interceptors were developed for use around oil fields, which would be more sensitive to explosives.
“Nine times out of ten it’s about bang for buck or cost per kill,” said Robbie Draper, the company’s operations director.
The surge in demand for anti-drone equipment has attracted investment. Tytan Technologies, a Munich-based startup building drones that intercept UAVs, recently raised $19 million from European investors, and the Ukraine and German armed forces have tested its interceptors.
While the focus of modern battlefield warfare has been on Ukraine and Russia, other countries fearful of military incursion are also looking for ways to bolster their drone capabilities. Only last week, Russian drones were shot down over Poland.
NATO faces a critical shortfall of anti-drone defenses, according to Bloomberg Economics defense lead Becca Wasser. Taiwan, concerned about an invasion from China, has said its current stockpile of just a few thousand drones was far too small for its needs.
The Pentagon last year announced a $1 billion initiative exploring drone warfare around Taiwan, drawing lessons from Ukraine, where maritime drones largely neutered Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. Germany recently announced large-scale drone purchases, although at a level lower than other European countries.
Companies all over the world have sprung up to provide the weapons, and established players have sought to develop their own offerings, such as Lockheed Martin Corp.’s Indago 4 and BAE Systems Plc’s Malloy T-150.
The growing number of drone threats means the variety of defensive systems must expand at a faster pace, said Fabian Hinz, an analyst at the International Institute of Strategic Studies.
“There is a lot of focus on affordability of counter-UAV solutions, but a more important metric might be availability and scalability of production,” Hinz said. “In other words: even if the money was available, we would not be able to acquire enough.”
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
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U.K. Economy Stagnated In July – GBPUSD At A Crucial Point – Seeking Alpha
- U.K. Economy Stagnated In July – GBPUSD At A Crucial Point Seeking Alpha
- UK economy saw zero growth in July BBC
- UK real GDP grows 0.2% QoQ, 1.2% YoY in May-Jul 2025: ONS Fibre2Fashion
- Voices: Zero change. Zero growth. Zero hope of Rachel Reeves being rescued Newswav
- Sterling slips as economy stagnates; eyes on BoE Reuters
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Amazon Suspends Palestinian Engineer Over Letter to CEO Andy Jassy Criticising Israel Ties | Companies
He also alleged that another engineer was recently warned for sharing articles about doctors volunteering in Gaza. (Representative Image)
Photo : iStock
Amazon has suspended a Palestinian software engineer, Ahmed Shahrour, after he openly criticized the company’s business dealings with Israel, particularly its role in the controversial Project Nimbus cloud computing contract. The move has ignited fresh debate about free speech within Big Tech firms and their handling of Israel-Palestine-related dissent.
Suspension Over Internal Letter to CEO Andy Jassy
According to a CNBC report, Shahrour, who works for Amazon’s Whole Foods division in Seattle, was placed on paid suspension after posting on internal Slack channels and sending a direct letter to CEO Andy Jassy and other executives.
The letter, described as “threatening” in internal communications, reportedly said Shahrour was “left with no choice but to…” while voicing his disapproval of Amazon’s role in Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion cloud contract jointly signed by Amazon, Google, and the Israeli government in 2021.
In his message, Shahrour wrote that he lived in “constant dissonance” while building technology for a company he believes enables Israeli actions in Gaza.
Allegations of Targeting Pro-Palestinian Voices
Shahrour claims that Amazon has systematically suppressed pro-Palestinian employee voices, citing examples where content critical of Israel was deleted while anti-Palestinian posts remained untouched.
He also alleged that another engineer was recently warned for sharing articles about doctors volunteering in Gaza, and a French employee was terminated after social media criticism of Israel.
An Amazon spokesperson, Brad Glasser, declined to comment on Shahrour’s specific case but stated:
“Amazon does not tolerate discrimination, harassment, or threatening behavior or language of any kind.”
The company has revoked Shahrour’s access to email and internal tools while the investigation continues.
Big Tech Under Fire: Similar Protests at Google, Microsoft
Shahrour’s suspension comes against the backdrop of mounting employee unrest across Silicon Valley:
- Microsoft fired four employees in August 2025, including two who staged a sit-in at President Brad Smith’s office, as part of the “No Azure for Apartheid” campaign.
- Google terminated 28 employees in April 2024 following coordinated protests against Project Nimbus.
- Both companies have since tightened security at offices and corporate events.
The controversy underscores how Project Nimbus has become a flashpoint in the Israel-Palestine debate within Big Tech, with employees caught between company policies and personal convictions.
While Amazon insists the matter is under investigation, critics argue the suspension signals a crackdown on pro-Palestinian expression at the workplace. With scrutiny on how global tech giants navigate geopolitics, the case is expected to spark further employee activism — and intensify questions around Big Tech’s neutrality.
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Anne-Lise Coste: Pussybilities, Dance Club – Announcements
This fall, artist Anne-Lise Coste takes over the entire top floor of the museum with her exhibition Pussybilities, Dance Club.
Driven by a rebellious spirit and the subversion of language in the tradition of Dada, the artist often produces her works in a burst of spontaneity and urgency using the materials around her. Here, she plays on the contrast between the historic location and the deliberately contemporary nature of her work: collages, assemblages, neon lights, and a new photographic collaboration.
In this former attic marked by a monumental 16th-century wooden framework, the artist imagines an alternative horizon, a place of celebration as much as resistance. She revisits the imagery of the dance club, a place where individual and collective experiences intertwine, but also a symbol of queer and feminist struggles; a place for all “pussybles.”
Born in 1973 in Marignane (France), Anne-Lise Coste lives and works in Paris. Her work has recently been featured in solo exhibitions at Frac Occitanie-Montpellier Hors-les-Murs in Castelnau-le-Lez (2025), Kunsthaus Baselland in Basel (2022), URDLA in Villeurbanne (2021), Dortmunder Kunstverein in Dortmund (2020), and CRAC Occitanie in Sète (2019).
Her work is included in the collections of the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, MACBA in Barcelona, Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst in Zurich, Centre national des arts plastiques in Paris, MRAC in Sérignan, FRAC Corse, Ile-de-France, and Pays de la Loire.
Anne-Lise Coste is represented by Prats Nogueras Blanchard in Madrid and Barcelona, Ellen de Bruijne Projects in Amsterdam, Lullin + Ferrari in Zurich and Elisabeth & Reinhard Hauff in Stuttgart.
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We don’t need these AI tutors: Elon Musk’s xAI says in internal memo to employees as it asks 500 Grok trainers to exit
Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence (AI) startup, xAI, has laid off at least 500 workers on its data annotation team, a report claims. The company’s employees were reportedly notified via email that the company was downsizing its team of generalist AI tutors. The report cited internal messages to claim that the laid-off workers were told they would be paid through either the end of their contract or November 30. Their access to company systems was terminated the day they received the notice, the report notes.
What xAI said about laying off
Grok trainers According to a report by Business Insider, the internal email sent to xAI employees about the latest job cuts read: “After a thorough review of our Human Data efforts, we’ve decided to accelerate the expansion and prioritisation of our specialist AI tutors, while scaling back our focus on general AI tutor roles. This strategic pivot will take effect immediately. As part of this shift in focus, we no longer need most generalist AI tutor positions and your employment with xAI will conclude.”The layoffs come after xAI recently announced on social media platform X that it was hiring and planned to grow its team of specialist AI tutors by “10X.”
In the X post, xAI wrote: “Specialist AI tutors at xAI are adding huge value. We will immediately surge our Specialist AI tutor team by 10x! We are hiring across domains like STEM, finance, medicine, safety, and many more. Come join us to help build truth-seeking AGI!”xAI’s data annotation team, which is the company’s largest unit, is responsible for training Grok by categorising and contextualising raw data. Before the layoffs, the main Slack channel for data annotators had over 1,500 members. However, screenshots from later that evening showed the number had dropped to just over 1,000 and continued to fall during the reporting period, the report added.Layoff notices followed shortly after several senior employees, including the former head of the team, had their Slack accounts deactivated earlier in the week, the report highlighted.In the days that followed, workers said they were called into one-on-one meetings to review their responsibilities and projects, and were asked to highlight colleagues they felt deserved recognition.Earlier this week, xAI told staff to prepare for a reorganisation of the team. In a company-wide message, workers were instructed to prioritise a series of tests due by the next morning, which would help determine their future roles.Screenshots viewed by Business Insider revealed that the tests aimed to categorise annotators and supervisors by their strengths and interests.The notice was posted by Diego Pasini, whom ten workers identified as the new leader of the team. Pasini, who joined xAI in January and is currently on leave from his undergraduate studies at the Wharton School, asked staff to complete at least one test by the next morning.The tests covered fields such as STEM, coding, finance, and medicine, as well as areas like Grok’s “personality and model behaviour” and “shitposters and doomscrollers.” Additional tests focused on chatbot safety, red-teaming, and handling audio and video content.The announcement noted that the tests targeted supervisors and generalist tutors. xAI’s teams are divided into specialities such as STEM, coding, finance, legal, and media, along with generalist tutors who take on a broad range of assignments. Workers said some of the assessments were conducted on CodeSignal, while others were hosted on Google Forms.As per to the screenshots, more than 200 workers responded to Pasini’s post with a green check-mark emoji, while over 100 left comments and questions.
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Huawei could host grand launch event on September 26 for these products – Huawei Central
- Huawei could host grand launch event on September 26 for these products Huawei Central
- Huawei teases updated battery life for Watch GT 6 series – GSMArena.com news GSMArena.com
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- Huawei Watch GT 6 early bird deal in UK reveals major upgrades Huawei Central
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Early diagnosis and modern therapies improve Crohn’s disease prognosis
Crohn’s disease, a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), impacts millions worldwide. The disease is chronic and highly unpredictable, manifesting symptoms such as abdominal pain, diarrhea — sometimes with blood — and severe fatigue. The inflammation can also cause narrow sections in the intestines and create channels from the intestines to other organs, known as fistulas. For many, the disease significantly impacts their lives, making social interactions, school, work, and leisure activities challenging.
Now, recent findings from Norway give cause for optimism. Led by Professor at the University of Oslo, Marte Lie Høivik, the IBSEN III research initiative followed over 400 adults diagnosed with Crohn’s disease between 2017 and 2019. Researchers observed that one-year post-diagnosis, most patients reported minimal or no symptoms. “This is great news and provides significant cause for optimism,” says Charlotte Lund, a PhD candidate at the University of Oslo and a physician at Oslo University Hospital.
Crohn’s patients experience milder symptoms
Crohn’s disease can affect the entire digestive system. However, in this study, 80% of the patients were diagnosed with uncomplicated Crohn’s disease, meaning inflammation in the intestines without severe complications such as intestinal narrowing or fistulas. Additionally, half of the patients had inflammation only in the small intestine.
These findings suggest that more patients now have a milder form of Crohn’s disease at the time of diagnosis.
We believe this may be because patients are being diagnosed earlier. Partly due to increased awareness of the disease, encouraging earlier doctor visits, and improved diagnostic practices.”
Marte Lie Høivik, Professor, University of Oslo
Biological medications can be crucial for IBD
Biological medications have revolutionized the treatment of Crohn’s disease over the past decades. These medications greatly differ from those provided in the 1990s, when the first IBSEN study took place. Biological medications target the immune pathways involved in inflammation, dramatically altering patient outcomes.
Within a year of diagnosis, nearly 40% of patients in the study began biological treatment, underscoring its crucial role in disease management. Lund emphasizes the importance of timely intervention with biological medications.
“Early initiation of biological treatment can be crucial in slowing disease progression and reducing the risk of complications,” she explains.
Fewer patients with Crohn’s require surgery
For patients with severe complications, surgery remains a vital treatment option.The study shows fewer patients requiring surgical intervention than before. The researchers compared their results with one-year data from the initial IBSEN study in the 1990s, to find a significant decrease in surgical needs, from approximately 16% to just 5%.”Milder disease at diagnosis and early initiation of biological medications might be contributing factors,” explain Vibeke Strande, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Oslo and a senior consultant at Lovisenberg Diaconal Hospital.
Insight into disease progression over time
Patients involved in the IBSEN III study were diagnosed between 2017 and 2019. During these years, anyone diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in Southeastern Norway had the opportunity to participate in the study. “Since Southeastern Norway covers an area equal to over half of Norway’s population, the study can provide a good representation of how Crohn’s patients are faring across Norway today,” Lund states.
IBSEN III is primarily a descriptive study, not designed to establish causative factors. However, its comparative approach provides valuable insights into the shifts in disease progression over time. “By comparing data from IBSEN and IBSEN III, we can gain insights into how the disease progression has changed over time, especially before and after the introduction of biological treatment,” Lund explains.
Study made possible by patient participation
Looking ahead, the researchers aim to continue following these patients’ progress, with five-year evaluations and data analysis already underway. “We hope that these positive trends continue and signify lasting improvements, and a better quality of life for the patients,” says Lund.
She credits the success of the study to patient participation.“The commitment of our participants is what enabled this research. By attending check-ups and sharing experiences, they contribute invaluable knowledge about Crohn’s disease and how treatments can be improved in the future, and they deserve a big thank you” she notes.
Source:
University of Oslo, Faculty of Medicine
Journal reference:
Lund, C., et al. (2024). Low Surgery Rates in Early Crohn’s Disease: Results from a Prospective Population-Based Inception Cohort—The Inflammatory Bowel Disease in South-Eastern Norway III Study. Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. doi.org/10.1093/ibd/izae297
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Mischa Kuball in collaboration with Weltkunstzimmer: space_relations—How to make friends – Announcements
Weltkunstzimmer Düsseldorf, in collaboration with Mischa Kuball, concludes its year-long project space_relations with the closing exhibition How to make friends. Over the course of 2025, the project unfolded as an open laboratory, bringing together more than 30 artists, theorists, and cultural practitioners across disciplines, testing models of collaboration and shared authorship. The project’s conceptual team consists of Lea Schleiffenbaum (Berlin), Vanessa Joan Müller (Vienna), Yukiko Shikata (Tokyo), Marguerite Pilven (Paris), Mischa Kuball (Düsseldorf) as well as Wolfgang Schäfer, Janine Blöß, and Martha Martens from Weltkunstzimmer.
space_relations explores the interdependencies between urban space, society, and artistic practice. Throughout 2025, the project has brought together artists, theorists, and the public in a series of site-specific interventions, performances, and discursive formats. As its final chapter How to make friends celebrates the experimental nature of the project, which enabled new models of collaboration, international encounters and initiated networks across the city.
How to make friends assembles works and interventions that examine the concept of space as a relational practice: How do we shape spaces together? How can shared spaces foster encounters and collaborations? How do artistic strategies redefine public and institutional spaces?
The participating artists of How to make friends are:
Elvire Bonduelle, Rada Boukova, Bidisha Das, Daniela Georgieva, Wanda Koller, Robin Meier Wiratunga, David JongSung Myung, Daria Nazarenko & Moïse Fall, Yoshinari Nishiki, Denise Ritter, Mohamad Moe Sabbah, Katja Stuke & Oliver Sieber, Luca Thiel, Louretta & Dr. Schmitt
How to make friends invites visitors to engage, participate, and reflect on the forms of togetherness we can create — within and beyond institutional walls.
Program
The exhibition will be accompanied by a program of talks, guided tours, and workshops that continue the collaborative spirit of space_relations.September, 17, 2025, 8pm — Opening of space_relations: How to make friends
Weltkunstzimmer, Ronsdorfer Str. 77a, DüsseldorfSeptember 19, 2025, 4:30pm — space_relations x Urban Space Theory Walk
Meeting point: Weltkunstzimmer, Ronsdorfer Str. 77a, DüsseldorfSeptember 28, 2025, 4pm — Guided tour of the exhibition with Mischa Kuball
Weltkunstzimmer, Ronsdorfer Str. 77a, DüsseldorfOctober 10, 2025, 8:30–10am — space_relations x CreativeMornings with Philipp Holstein and Mischa Kuball on space relations
Weltkunstzimmer, Ronsdorfer Str. 77a, DüsseldorfOctober 15, 2025, 7pm — space_relations x WELTKUNSTZIMMER Residency, Opening of the residency presentation
Weltkunstzimmer, Ronsdorfer Str. 77a, DüsseldorfOctober 16–17, 2025 — space_relations x if walls could tell, International Symposium curated by Zoran Eric, Belgrade, with a Keynote by Blanca de la Torre, Valencia
Weltkunstzimmer, Ronsdorfer Str. 77a, DüsseldorfFor more information, please visit: https://weltkunstzimmer.de/spacerelations/
Contact
Weltkunstzimmer Team, info@weltkunstzimmer.deFunded by the LVR Department of Culture, the Cultural Office of the State Capital Düsseldorf, the Art and Culture Foundation of the Stadtsparkasse Düsseldorf, and the Sparkassen Cultural Foundation Rhineland.
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