Whether you're making comforting curries, casseroles or chilli con carne, we've tested the top slow cookers for serving up winter warmers The best blenders to blitz like a pro, tried and tested, from Ninja to NutribulletAs January beds in and our craving for cosiness increases, you may be minded to dig out the slow cooker. Coming home to a warm, bubbling meal - with very little effort - is a real treat in the cold and dark. Plus, slow cooking can be an economical method of cooking.If you have yet to experience the comfort and joy of a slow cooker, or if your ancient model has finally died a death, it could be time to treat yourself to a season of stews, casseroles, curries and more. I've spent weeks testing slow cookers to compile a shortlist of the most functional, useful and well-designed recommendations to transform your dinner time.Best overall slow cooker:

X owner and far-right politician appear to agree on everything, as Musk faces accusations of meddling in German electionElon Musk has praised the co-leader of Germany's far-right Alternative fur Deutschland party, as he repeated his claim that only the AfD can save Germany" during a controversial live talk on his social media platform X.The virtual encounter between Musk and Alice Weidel on Thursday took place amid growing criticism over the US billionaire's vocal support of far-right, anti-establishment parties across Europe, and accusations he is meddling in the campaign for Germany's 23 February election. Continue reading...

Tech giants follow footsteps of other major companies, including Amazon, Meta, OpenAI and UberGoogle and Microsoft have donated $1m each to Donald Trump's inauguration fund, following in the footsteps of other major companies including Amazon, Meta, OpenAI and Uber.Google is pleased to support the 2025 inauguration, with a livestream on YouTube and a direct link on our homepage. We're also donating to the inaugural committee," Karan Bhatia, Google's global head of government affairs and public policy, confirmed in a statement to the Guardian on Thursday. Continue reading...

Thierry Breton says EU is not trying to censor tech chief's discussion with Alice Weidel of German far-right partyA former EU leader on tech has accused Elon Musk of lying like hell" by claiming the bloc was trying to stop an interview the owner of X had set up with the co-leader of the German far-right party Alternative fur Deutschland.Thierry Breton, who quit as a European commissioner in September, having overseen the passage of ambitious legislation designed to regulate big tech, said Musk had been disingenuous in claiming the EU was trying to censor his discussion with Alice Weidel, which took place on Thursday evening. Continue reading...

Mark Zuckerberg's move to end factchecking in US reflects president-elect's views on social media, says HaugenMark Zuckerberg has heard the message" from Donald Trump on restricting online content and his Meta platforms will intervene less and less" on users during the president-elect's administration, according to the whistleblower Frances Haugen.Haugen, who revealed the Facebook and Instagram owner's struggles with user safety in 2021, said the US president-elect thought the right way to run social media is with no restrictions". Continue reading...

Rasheed Abueideh's game, based on a folk tale about a mother's escape to Lebanon has been rejected almost 300 times, but he hopes it can be completed even in the event of his disappearanceIn the city of Nablus in the West Bank, Rasheed Abueideh owns a nut roastery, where he works to provide for his family. He is also an award-winning game developer. A decade ago, as the 2014 Gaza war raged, he created a harrowing video game called Lilya and the Shadows of War, about a man trying to find safety for his daughter and himself - but as missiles fall around them, it quickly becomes clear that there is no safety. When the game was released in 2016, it was initially rejected by Apple on the grounds of inappropriate content, a decision reversed after a week of outcry.Despite the acclaim and attention that Lilya received, however, Abueideh has not been able to raise funding for his next game through conventional means. The game he envisions, Dreams on a Pillow, is about the 1948 Nakba, told through a folk tale about a mother in the Arab-Israeli war, in which more than half the Palestinian population was displaced. He tells me that his game has been rejected almost 300 times, by publishers and providers of cultural grants, for being too controversial, too much of a risk. Talking about the Palestinian story was always forbidden," he says. Continue reading...

Meta has provided over $100m for certified organizations to conduct factchecks on its platforms since 2016Mark Zuckerberg's decision to end factchecking on Facebook and Instagram in the US already has factchecking journalists bracing for cuts at their organizations, given the size of Meta's funding.The social media giant has provided more than $100m for outside organizations certified by the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) to conduct factchecks on its social networks since 2016, which would result in posts receiving accuracy ratings and having their reach reduced if false. Major outlets like USA Today and Reuters have partnered with the social media company for these factchecks, as have factcheck specific sites like FactCheck.org. In all, 10 outlets are listed by Meta as current partners in the US. Continue reading...

Brazilian officials also ask tech giant to clarify whether it intends to implement changes in country within 30 daysThe decision by the social media giant Meta to end factchecking in the United States is bad for democracy", Brazil's newly appointed communication minister, Sidonio Palmeira, said on Wednesday.Meta's founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, stunned many with his announcement on Tuesday that he was pulling the plug on factchecking at Facebook and Instagram in the US, citing concerns about political bias. Continue reading...

Politicians criticise Mark Zuckerberg's choice to scrap factcheckers, affecting Facebook, Instagram and Threads

Mark Zuckerberg accused fact-checkers in US of making biased decisions Meta scraps factcheckersThe Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg announced on Tuesday his company, Meta, would be scrapping factcheckers in the US, accusing them of making biased decisions and saying he wanted to enable greater free speech. Meta uses third-party independent factcheckers around the world. Here, one of them who works for the Full Fact organisation in London, explains what they do and reacts to Zuckerberg's dispiriting" allegation.I have been a factchecker at Full Fact in London for a year, investigating suspicious content on Facebook, X and in newspapers. Our bread and butter includes a lot of video disinformation about wars in the Middle East and Ukraine and AI-generated fake video clips of politicians, which are getting harder to disprove. Colleagues work on Covid disinformation, cancer cure hoaxes and there's a lot of climate stuff as we're seeing more hurricanes and wildfires. Continue reading...

Data from the Entertainment and Retail Association shows more and more players leaving physical games behind for digital downloads and subscriptionsAs music sales and streaming revenue reaches a high of 2.4bn - the highest since 2001, not accounting for significant inflation - the UK video game market, which has grown almost continually for decades, has shrunk by 4.4%. The most significant decline was in boxed video game sales, down 35%.Data from Digital Entertainment and Retail Association (ERA) puts the total worth of the UK video game market in 2024 at 4.6bn, double the music market and behind TV and movies at 5bn. Continue reading...

Introducing my kids to games like Link's Awakening has given me a whole new perspective on these old favourites and made me excited for what new video game adventures we'll have together in the futureThanks to some distinctly Scottish weather over the holidays, my family and I ended up celebrating Hogmanay at home rather than at the party we'd planned to attend. My smallest son's wee pal and his parents came over for dinner, and when the smaller members of our group started to spiral out of control around 9pm, we threw them a little midnight countdown party in Animal Crossing.The last time I played Animal Crossing was in the depths of lockdown. Tending my island paradise helped me cope while largely imprisoned in a 2.5 bedroom basement flat with a baby, a toddler and a teenager. (I was far from the only one - the National Videogame Museum compiled an archive of people's Animal Crossing experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic, and it's evident that it was a lifeline for many.) Our guests had brought their family Switch, and we set up the kids with their little avatars so they could join the animals' New Year party. Continue reading...

Helle Thorning-Schmidt, the co-chair of the social media company's oversight board and the former prime minister of Denmark, said 'Meta systems have been too complex', adding there had been 'over-enforcement'. She told BBC Radio 4 that she did not think Nick Clegg left Meta, where he was president of global affairs, because of the change, adding she knew he would agree with her

Tech entrepreneur and family say Ann Altman's claims that abuse started in childhood are utterly untrue'The sister of the OpenAI chief executive, Sam Altman, has filed a lawsuit alleging that he regularly sexually abused her for several years, starting when they were children.The lawsuit filed on 6 January in a US district court in the Eastern District of Missouri alleges that the abuse began when Ann Altman was three and Sam Altman was 12. The filing alleges that the last instance of abuse took place when he was an adult but his sister, known as Annie, was still a child. Continue reading...

Bulk of funds for electric vehicle firm relate to government's plug-in car grant, analysis findsElon Musk's electric vehicle company has received almost 200m in grants from the UK government since 2016, according to analysis.Tesla, which is run by the tech billionaire who has become increasingly vocal about the UK government, has received 191m from Westminster through grants, according to Tussell, which analyses public contract data. Continue reading...

The Meta boss's decision to drastically change Facebook and Instagram's factchecking programme has set the stage for a fact-free four years onlineSocial media has always acted as something of a funhouse mirror to society as a whole. The algorithms and amplifications of an always-online existence have helped accentuate the worst parts of our lives, while tucking in and hiding the best. It's part of why we're so polarised today, with two tribes shouting past one another on social media into a gaping chasm of hopelessness.Which is what makes a declaration by one titan of big tech this week so worrying. Abandon hope all ye who enter: less than two weeks before Donald Trump returns to the White House for a second crack at the US presidency, Meta, the parent company of Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Threads, has made major changes to content moderation, and in doing so appears to align itself with the views of the incoming president.Chris Stokel-Walker is the author of TikTok Boom: The Inside Story of the World's Favourite App Continue reading...

The social media giant enters a more partisan political era as its CEO pursues Donald Trump's approvalMeta is shifting to the right, following the prevailing political winds blowing through the United States. A more partisan era now looms for the social media giant and its corporate leaders, though Mark Zuckerberg himself has few personal politics other than ambition.On Tuesday morning, Meta disbanded Facebook and Instagram's third-party factchecking program. The company will also recommend more political content across its social networks. Continue reading...

Mark Zuckerberg's decision regarding Meta platforms condemned as a full bending of the knee' to Donald TrumpMark Zuckerberg's decision to ditch factcheckers on Facebook and prioritise free speech" weeks before Donald Trump returns to power was condemned on Tuesday as a major step back" for public discourse.The Meta founder announced multiple changes to his platforms including Facebook and Instagram in an attempt to dramatically reduce the amount of censorship". Continue reading...

Social media company adds Trump ally to board in latest maneuver to improve ties with president-electMeta has appointed three new members to its board of directors, including Dana White, the president and CEO of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and a familiar figure in the orbit of the incoming president, Donald Trump.The social media company, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, is also adding the auto tycoon John Elkann and the tech investor Charlie Songhurst, Meta's CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, said in a Facebook post late on Monday. Continue reading...

Mark Zuckerberg says company will dramatically reduce censorship' across Facebook, Instagram and ThreadsMeta will get rid of factcheckers, dramatically reduce the amount of censorship" and recommend more political content on its platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and Threads, founder Mark Zuckerberg has announced.In a video message, Zuckerberg vowed to prioritise free speech after the return of Donald Trump to the White House and said that, starting in the US, he would get rid of factcheckers and replace them with community notes similar to X". Continue reading...

Centrist and globalist Clegg is being replaced by a conservative champion ahead of Trump's second termHello, and welcome to TechScape. Happy New Year! May dry January leave us all with fewer headaches. Today in TechScape: Meta promotes a Trumpian bulldog, TikTok faces mounting problems that aren't a ban, Meta faces backlash against its approach to AI and Elon Musk meddles abroad. Continue reading...

One alert claimed BBC story said Luigi Mangione, alleged murderer of US healthcare CEO, had killed himselfApple has said it will update an artificial intelligence feature that has issued inaccurate news alerts on its latest iPhones, including that a man accused of killing a US insurance boss had shot himself and that the tennis star Rafael Nadal had come out as gay.The tech company said it was developing a software update that would further clarify" when news notifications were actually summaries generated by the company's Apple Intelligence system. It said the update would be rolled out in the coming weeks. Continue reading...

It was chilling to hear my voice' repeating lies - and to discover that deepfake audio is a growing threat to democracy

Exclusive: Concerns raised over role of Faculty AI, which has worked with NHS and government safety bodyA company that has worked closely with the UK government on artificial intelligence safety, the NHS and education is also developing AI for military drones.The consultancy Faculty AI has experience developing and deploying AI models on to UAVs", or unmanned aerial vehicles, according to a defence industry partner company. Continue reading...

Lightwood, Derbyshire: Shine it on a simple green plant like moss or saxifrage and they become glittering, baroque jewelsI'm blaming my fellow diarist KateBlincoe. Recently, she extolled the joys of a UV torch, on the strength of which I bought one, have become addicted and now see the world entirely anew.Ultraviolet is a shortwave, high-energy light normally undetectable to the human eye, but it is also damaging to many life forms. In the late Proterozoic ,most life flourished only under the sea, until the protective UV shield - the ozone layer - formed, 15km to 30km aboveour heads. Continue reading...

LA tech entrepreneur Mike Johns nearly missed his flight after he became trapped in a malfunctioning self-driving car. 'I got my seat belt on. I can't get out of the car. Has this been hacked? What's going on?' Johns can be heard saying. The issue was resolved after a few minutes, Waymo said in a statement. Johns ultimately managed to catch his flight from Arizona to southern California, which he said was delayed

Mike Johns' self-driving car started circling a parking lot, but he recognizes there are glitches that need stitches'A tech entrepreneur based in Los Angeles became trapped in a malfunctioning self-driving car for several minutes last month, causing him to nearly miss a flight, he said.Mike Johns was riding in an autonomous Waymo car on his way to Sky Harbor airport in Phoenix when the vehicle began driving around a parking lot repeatedly, circling eight times as he was on the phone seeking help from the company. Continue reading...

French president accuses world's richest man of intervening directly in continent's democratic processesEmmanuel Macron has added his voice to a growing chorus of European criticism of Elon Musk, accusing the world's richest man of intervening directly in the continent's democratic processes, including Germany's snap federal elections next month.The French president joined the Norwegian and British prime ministers and a German government spokesperson on Monday in responding to a barrage of hostile posts by Musk backing far-right political parties and attacking leftwing politicians in Europe. Continue reading...

The Earth is dying and the only hope is a distant planet in a game that is a playable blend of Alien and The ThingSupermassive's games have always been cinematic, from the persuasive performances of slasher-horror Until Dawn to the chillier atmosphere of interactive ghost story Man of Medan. This time around, with sci-fi horror Directive 8020, the studio wears its Hollywood influences even more brazenly on its sleeve.The Earth is dying, and humanity's last hope is a planet called Tau Ceti F. Yet as the crew of colony ship Cassiopeia survey the promising planet, they soon discover that they aren't alone. Stalked by a horrifying alien organism that can chillingly mimic its prey, the crew of the Cassiopeia must outwit these predators and return home, with each former friend and crewmate now a potential threat. In other words, it's a playable blend of Alien and The Thing. Continue reading...

Sim-swap' fraud has affected three readers - and dealing with their mobile phone company hasn't been easyWhat some O2 customers may have wanted for Christmas was a phone number, since long-cherished ones have had a habit of going astray. Whether they got lucky is another matter, as O2's customer services can be as hard to pin down as LordLucan.JD's number was taken from her when fraudsters, pretending be her, tricked O2 into transferring it to a sim they'd acquired from another provider. Continue reading...

Proposed space launches within next two years could ultimately deliver mobile phone signal even to most remote areasAmazon is hoping to offer a satellite broadband service in the UK within the next two years as it prepares to launch a constellation of spacecraft that could ultimately deliver a mobile signal even to the most remote areas.The tech company, founded by Jeff Bezos, said it would seek access to British radio frequencies over the next one to two years" as it prepares to offer satellite internet, according to a regulatory filing first reported by the Sunday Telegraph. Continue reading...

Watch Duty - which began in California and has expanded across 14 states - alerted the public to more than 9,000 wildfires in 2024Cristy Thomas began to panic as she called 911 for the second time on a warm October day but couldn't get through. She anxiously watched the plume of black smoke pouring over her rural community in central California get larger.Then she heard a familiar ping. Continue reading...

World's richest man has been voicing support for Germany's far-right AfD party while insulting its current leadersWhen the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, was asked in an interview about the barrage of insults being directed at him and other German leaders by Elon Musk, the world's richest man, his reply was: Don't feed the troll."Speaking to the German weekly Stern, Scholz described the criticisms as nothing new. You have to stay cool," he said in the interview. As Social Democrats, we have long been used to the fact that there are rich media entrepreneurs who do not appreciate social democratic politics - and do not hide their opinions." Continue reading...

The SpaceX chief's powerful new system is set to slash the cost of missions, leaving Nasa in the dustIt was one of the most striking technological events of the year. On 13 October, Starship, the world's largest and most powerful rocket, blasted into space from a launchpad in Texas. Its main booster reached an altitude of more than 65km before it began to hurtle back to Earth at a velocity greater than the speed of sound.A crash was averted when the rocket - built by Elon Musk's SpaceX company - reignited its engines and slowed down until it hovered tantilisingly over the tower from which it had been fired aloft only seven minutes earlier. Pincer claws grasped the giant launcher and held it firmly in their grip, ready forrefurbishment and relaunch. Continue reading...

Nisha Desai is part of growing conservative push to curtail diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in corporate USPayPal has been sued by an Asian American businesswoman who accused the digital payments company of racial bias for restricting part of a $535m investment program to Black and Hispanic applicants, costing her millions of dollars.Thursday's complaint by Nisha Desai and her New York-based venture capital firm Andav Capital is part of a growing push among some conservatives to curtail diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in corporate America. Continue reading...

State-backed cyberspies are exploiting ageing infrastructure to penetrate every corner of the US government, it seems - even its phone-tapping systemsYou know the drill. You're logging into your bank or another service (Gmail, to name just one) that you use regularly. You enter your username and password and then the service says that it will send you an SMS message with a code in it which you can use to confirm that it is indeed you who's logged in. It's called two factor authentication" (2FA) and it passes for best practice in our networked world, given that passwords and login details can easily be cracked.Sadly, our world is wicked as well as networked, and that SMS message can be redirected to someone else's phone - that of the criminal who has logged in using your phished personal details - and who is now busily emptying your current account. Continue reading...

Company's own inquiry found money laundering and children performing sexualized acts for digital currencyTikTok has long been aware that its video livestream feature has been misused to harm children, according to newly revealed details in a lawsuit brought against the social media company by the state of Utah. Those harms include child sexual exploitation and what Utah calls an open-door policy allowing predators and criminals to exploit users".The state's attorney general says TikTok conducted an internal investigation in which it discovered adults paid teens to strip, pose, and dance provocatively" using its livestream feature, known as TikTok Live. Another internal investigation showed TikTok Live was used to launder money, sell drugs and fund terrorist groups, according to the lawsuit. Continue reading...

Musk has now used X as a platform to make aggressive interventions in US politics - and in those of other countriesAs a business proposition, Elon Musk's ownership of X, formerly known as Twitter, has so far been a disaster: since he acquired it in late 2022, the social media company, according to one estimate, has lost nearly 80% of its value.As a political proposition, however, Musk's purchase may turn out to be one of the shrewdest investments of all time. Every week, the platform seems to supercharge a news issue that comes to dominate conservative discourse - and often mainstream discourse, as well - with real political repercussions. Continue reading...

The tech scene is booming in the US's largest Black-majority city, with foreign investment and a recent population boostWhen the Book Cadillac hotel opened in Detroit a century ago this month, it crowned the Motor City as one of the most dominant metropolitan powers on the planet.The tallest hotel in the world at the time, it boasted more than 1,100 rooms set across 31 stories. Back then, Detroit was a place where all and sundry wanted to see or be seen as the city's dominant industry - automobiles - fueled the dawn of mass mobility for the wider world. Continue reading...

Technologists claim managers could wish for specific player attributes and AI would suggest perfect youth prospectFootball coaches desperate to boost their team's performance could soon find an answer in an artificial intelligence system aimed at conjuring the next superstar.A kind of sporting Aladdin's lamp is within reach, technologists claim, which could allow managers to simply wish for a new player with the aggression of Erling Haaland or the poise of Jude Bellingham and for an AI to suggest the perfect prospect. Continue reading...

Former UK deputy prime minister, who still has about $21m worth, is leaving role as president of global affairsNick Clegg made almost $19m from the sale of shares in Meta during his six-year term at the owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, filings show.The former British deputy prime minister had sold $18.4m (14.8m) worth of shares in the group before announcing on Thursday that he was leaving his role as its president of global affairs and communications. Continue reading...

Unprompted outbursts on X suggest the Tesla boss is hellbent on making life awkward for Keir StarmerWhile Keir Starmer was trying to enjoy a family holiday in Madeira over the new year, Elon Musk was trying to spoil it. The world's richest man has been using X to lob insults and slurs in the direction of the prime minister, while teasing the prospect of donating tens of millions of dollars to the Reform UK party.This potentially gamechanging money has meant his comments - which have been compared to those of a pub bore" by some users on his own social media platform - have provoked (arguably unmerited) political reaction and media debate. So what issues have been enraging Musk? Continue reading...

As the temperature drops, we've rounded up our top winter warmers to help you brave the coldAfter a mostly mild, overcast December, winter has finally arrived. To help you keep warm, especially if you're reluctant to crank up the thermostat too much, we've rounded up some of our best-loved, tried-and-tested products.From slippers to coats, toasty PJs to the best electric heaters and blankets, these should all help you beat the chill, and even stay stylish while doing so. Continue reading...

The online world is forcing children to grow up before they are ready, and parents need government's help to combat its harmsSmartphone use among children has reached a critical moment. Many of us in the UK are increasingly aware of the dangers associated with them - and as a child and adolescent psychiatrist, I am more worried than most. I am witnessing at first hand the sheer devastation that smartphone use is wreaking on our young people's mental health. The majority of children over 10 I see at my NHS clinic now have a smartphone. An increasingly large proportion of patients have difficulties that are related to, or exacerbated by, their use of technology.We are seeing profound mental illness stemming from excessive social media use, online bullying, screen addiction, or falling prey to online child sexual exploitation. We are seeing children who are disappearing into online worlds, who are unable to sleep, who are increasingly inattentive and impulsive, emotionally dysregulated and aggressive. Children crippled by anxiety or a fear of missing out. Who spend hours alone, cut off from those who love them, who spend hour upon hour speaking to strangers.Dr Emily Sehmer is a consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist in the NHS (and mother of two children)In the UK, the youth suicide charity Papyrus can be contacted on 0800 068 4141 or email pat@papyrus-uk.org, and in the UK and Ireland Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is at 988 or chat for support. You can also text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis text line counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.orgDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

The 2.4bn sector is thriving, says a new report, as online demand grows for authentic cultural content created outside the global north - but there are still challengesVlogs by the Nigerian content creator Tayo Aina, on anything from Nigeria's japa (emigration) wave and voodoo festivals in Benin, to time with the Afrobeats star Davido or the last hunter-gatherer tribes in Tanzania, can garner millions of views on YouTube.Aina, 31, who started his channel in 2017 while working as an Uber driver, says it helped him to see parts of Nigeria he had never had the chance to visit before. Using his iPhone, he began to make mini-adventures of his work trips, taking breaks to document the places he visited, and telling stories not covered by mainstream media. Continue reading...

With firms such as Makani and Boycat, founders answer a growing demand: help their users support PalestiniansAmany Killawi made a breakup playlist every time she was dumped, three in all. The playlists, which feature songs such as Gotye's Somebody That I Used to Know and Apologize by OneRepublic, would make good soundtracks to romantic splits, but that's not what they were. The playlists came together after Killawi was told by three different banks and payment processors they would no longer work with LaunchGood, the crowdfunding platform for the Muslim community she co-founded.Stripe said its banking partner instructed the company to cut ties with LaunchGood after five years of working with the crowdfunding platform. Stripe also told the company it couldn't be associated with any international humanitarian work in sanctioned jurisdictions like Syria - a prerequisite for a crowdfunding platform that caters to the Muslim community. Another bank told the company there were too many Muslim and Arabic names and figuring out if those names belonged to sanctioned individuals was difficult. Continue reading...

Clegg was the tech giant's chief public policy architect when it was facing scrutiny over Cambridge Analytica scandalNick Clegg, Britain's former deputy prime minister and Meta's current president of global affairs, is leaving the company after six years.It truly has been an adventure of a lifetime!" Clegg said in a post on Facebook. I am proud of the work I have been able to do leading and supporting teams across the company to ensure innovation can go hand in hand with increased transparency and accountability, and with new forms of governance." Continue reading...

An endearingly weird game about dating household appliances, with every potential lover - from an unhinged microwave to a fratboy fireplace - brought to life by a different voice actorLike many great things, Date Everything! started off as a joke. Envisioning a game where a lonely remote worker starts chatting up their furniture, Final Fantasy voice actors Ray Chase and Robbie Daymond soon became obsessed with the concept. What if there really was a game where you could date literally everything?Now boasting more than 70,000 lines of dialogue and 100 dateable inanimate objects, their weird game about hitting on household appliances has become a reality. Partnering with Team 17 and fellow voice actor and producer Amanda Hufford, they have brought their silly concept to life, a game that they describe as wholesome, flirty and fun. Continue reading...

First building to open at Huddersfield's National Health Innovation Centre is named after NHS's first black matronIn a full-scale model of a house, a 50,000 mannequin that can breathe, blink and cough waits for the replica of an ambulance.Eerily lifelike technology, some created by model makers who have made bodies" for the BBC's Silent Witness, is being used to tackle the scarcity of placement hours for healthcare students by combining real-world training with simulated settings, including virtual reality. Continue reading...

A Tesla Cybertruck packed with fireworks and gas canisters exploded outside president-elect Donald Trump's Las Vegas hotel on Wednesday, with officials saying they were investigating potential motives for the incident. Las Vegas police said that one person died inside the futuristic-looking pickup truck, while seven people nearby suffered minor injuries.