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Prediction markets face scrutiny from Washington after Iran war bets

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Prediction markets face scrutiny from Washington after Iran war bets

WASHINGTON (AP) — As the United States was preparing a daring mission to rescue an airman whose fighter jet was shot down by Iran, there was money to be made.

Users on Polymarket, the world’s largest prediction market, could place bets on when the airman would be rescued. When Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., shared a screenshot of the activity on social media, an April 3 rescue was trading at 15% compared with 63% who were betting on April 4.

After Moulton posted the screenshot and blasted this “dystopian death market,” Polymarket stopped the betting, saying the market “does not meet our integrity standards.”

A former Marine who served four tours in Iraq, Moulton said he was “absolutely not satisfied with Polymarket’s response” and blamed the site for being “completely unwilling to self-regulate when it comes to betting on the lives of our service members.”

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“This is war profiteering and Congress needs to step in and stop it,” he said.

A confrontation is brewing in Washington over prediction markets, the online exchanges that allow users to bet on the outcome of everything from a baseball game to when Jesus Christ will return.

In a highly polarized Congress, the need to guard against the prediction markets being used for insider trading has become rare common ground. Members of both parties pressed the leader of a typically low-profile regulatory agency on the issue during a hearing on Thursday. The market debate is also drawing in the White House, potential presidential candidates and state leaders.

“It’s a national conversation about what it means to have market integrity,” said Kristin Johnson, a former commissioner at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which regulates prediction markets in the U.S.

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In a capital that was slow to respond to the perils of tobacco, opioids and social media, the push to put guardrails on prediction markets has been uncommonly swift.

The markets, which include Polymarket and its chief rival Kalshi, have been criticized for everything from undermining the integrity of sports to contributing to an online betting addiction crisis among young men. Polymarket has come under particular scrutiny as a venue for offshore trades that are beyond the reach of U.S. regulators.

Donald Trump Jr., the president’s son, is on Polymarket’s advisory board and is a paid adviser for Kalshi. 1789 Capital, the venture capital firm where Trump Jr. is a partner, has invested in Polymarket.

Well-timed trades catch Washington’s attention

The Associated Press reported this month that a group of new accounts on Polymarket made highly specific, well-timed bets on whether the U.S. and Iran would reach a ceasefire on April 7, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in profits for these new customers.

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On the same day the report was published, the White House warned staff against using private information to trade on prediction markets.

Earlier this year, an anonymous Polymarket user collected more than $400,000 on a January bet predicting the ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, prompting concerns that someone with access to private U.S. government information may have engaged in insider trading.

Sen. Todd Young, an Indiana Republican and former Marine, said he had been concerned about trading in the sports market, “but I became especially concerned about market distortions, improper decision making, and undermining of public trust through self-enrichment after the news broke about Venezuela.”

Young and Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., have introduced a bill that would bar federal employees from using nonpublic information to make bets on prediction markets. Their bill is among several bipartisan efforts in Congress to regulate prediction markets.

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As he eyes a potential presidential campaign, Democrat Rahm Emanuel proposed a ban on prediction market bets by all federal employees and their families. On Wednesday, he suggested a 10% fee on those markets and online gambling to fund science and health research.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, another potential Democratic presidential candidate, issued an executive order barring his appointees from using nonpublic information to trade on prediction markets.

For now, there’s no immediate path to passage for any of the bills. But the scrutiny has drawn focus to the differing approaches of the main prediction markets.

Polymarket officials say little publicly and didn’t comment for this story. The market, founded in 2020, operates largely offshore with limited functions in the U.S. that were allowed only after President Donald Trump returned to office.

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Kalshi, meanwhile, says it already bans many of the most extreme betting markets and welcomes regulation.

“We support Congress and regulators taking action to police insider trading, keep prediction markets onshore and under federal regulation,” said Kalshi spokesperson Elisabeth Diana. “Not all prediction markets are the same.”

White House spokesman Davis Ingle said Trump has been clear that “members of Congress and other government officials should be prohibited from using nonpublic information for financial benefit.”

Prediction markets bring CFTC into the spotlight

The bet-the-event activity is drawing attention to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which oversees the vast trading contracts industry, including prediction markets.

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Dennis Kelleher, the president and chief executive of Better Markets, a Washington nonprofit that has pressed for stronger oversight of prediction markets, said the agency “certainly has no experience, expertise, budget, technology to actually in any way supervise, regulate or police gambling on everything from whether it’s Iran, Venezuela, whether it’s reality TV, whether Christ is going to come back before the end of the year.”

The agency, which by law is supposed to have a five-member board including representatives of both political parties, is served now by only one member, Michael Selig, a former CFTC law clerk who went on to represent cryptocurrency clients before Trump appointed him to lead the agency.

That’s sparked concern among congressional Democrats. Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., sent Selig a letter in February noting that the number of enforcement attorneys at the agency’s Chicago office had declined from 20 to zero.

During a Thursday hearing of the House Agriculture Committee, which oversees the CFTC, Selig said the agency was hiring new staff and operating more efficiently. He refused to hold off on completing new regulations until new members were added to the board but insisted he was taking the potential of insider trading seriously.

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“Nothing is more important than protecting market integrity,” he said.

Still, the agency’s enforcement authority extends only to prediction markets regulated in the U.S.

For now, that distinction largely applies to Kalshi, which was established in 2018 and promotes its status as a regulated prediction market. Eager to reach American customers, Polymarket has introduced a U.S.-only prediction market platform to conform with U.S. regulations, but that platform currently has a waitlist to participate and is a small fraction of the size of its offshore counterpart.

CFTC’s leadership criticizes Biden and takes on states

Asked at a recent Vanderbilt University forum about the CFTC’s approach to insider trading in unregulated offshore prediction markets, Selig blamed the Biden administration for creating a regulatory environment that he said discouraged companies from operating in the U.S.

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As the debate plays out in Washington, multiple states have tried to curtail prediction markets, arguing they are essentially operating as unlicensed gambling platforms. But the CFTC has responded forcefully to assert itself as the sole regulator, suing Connecticut, Arizona and Illinois this month.

That leaves Washington at a strange juncture, with widespread agreement among lawmakers that something should be done to address the issue of prediction markets. But there are differing thoughts on the scope of a solution.

Young acknowledged his proposal is just a first step, and said lawmakers have a lot to learn about prediction markets.

“But I think we can all agree at this early stage, as usage of these platforms grows and real money is put at stake, that this is a measure that should be taken immediately,” he said.

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Sweet reported from New York. Associated Press writer Susan Haigh in Hartford, Connecticut, contributed to this report.

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Starmer faces ‘judgement day’ and ‘Breakthrough in the Strait’

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Starmer faces 'judgement day' and 'Breakthrough in the Strait'
The headline on the front page of the FT Weekend reads: "Starmer digs in over vetting fiasco."

The FT Weekend says the PM “digs in” as he faces accusations from Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch of lying to save his job. Elsewhere, the paper reports that oil prices have tumbled after the US and Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz open for shipping. Iran’s foreign minister said the critical waterway would be “completely open” for commercial ships for the remainder of the two-week ceasefire, which ends next Tuesday.

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Why is this picture more upsetting than a girl being ‘abused’ on a gossip site? | News UK

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Why is this picture more upsetting than a girl being 'abused' on a gossip site? | News UK
Trolls took issue with Sophie posting a picture of her next to her daughter’s coffin (Picture: Instagram/Sophie May Dickson

It’s a cesspit of a thread – a staggering 49 pages long and counting. Hundreds upon hundreds of comments piled one on top of another, with the words dipped within varying degrees of malice. 

The anonymous comments oscillate between concern, disgust, crude sexualised descriptions of those involved and generally hate-fuelled ranting.

They can be found on the gossip forum Tattle.Life, and are all aimed at influencer Sophie May Dickson, who lost her daughter, 16-year-old Princess, reportedly to suicide, in February.

Sophie, 32, is no stranger to trolls after appearing in the controversial reality show Blinging Up Baby, but what was the reason she invoked such ire this time? Grieve ‘incorrectly’, with the influencer’s decision to share photos from her daughter’s funeral, and posting references to Princess’s death, causing an ongoing backlash.

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For some, enough is enough, and the infamous online forum has also found itself at the centre of this story, with public figures attributing Tattle.Life as a contributing factor to the teenager’s death.

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A letter sent by MP Jess Asato, signed by 20 members of parliament, directly addressed Ofcom about the impact the site had on the teenagers wellbeing.

‘Princess had been the subject of sustained and escalating online harassment, stalking and abuse by the adult users of Tattle.Life,’ the letter read.

Television Programme: Blinging Up Baby, Picture shows: Sophie May Dickson, Princess Bliss Dickson and Precious Belle Dickson.
Sophie May Dickson and her children first came to public attention through the show Blinging Up Baby (Picture: Alaska TV)

‘The abuse included repeated derogatory commentary about her body, appearance, mental health, family and personal life. Users of the site created anonymous and fake accounts to monitor her TikTok activity, comment directly on her content, attend her live streams, screen-record and capture images of her, and then republish that material on Tattle Life for further discussion and ridicule.’

At present, further circumstances around Princess’s death are private, with the coroner’s report yet to be published. It should also be noted that mental health is a complex issue, with a myriad of factors often contributing to someone’s passing.

Yet, the death of a child doesn’t seem to have quelled the braying masses – if anything, it has poured petrol onto a roaring fire. Trolls continue to plague Sophie, with many on Tattle.Life speculating the authenticity of her grief, whether she’s fit to be a mother, and the contents of Princess’s suicide note.

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It’s a tragic new low for a site previously hailed as ‘the most hate-filled corner of the web.’ Established in 2017 as a part of internet snark culture, Tattle.Life quickly became known as a community where users could hold famous names and lifestyle influencers to account.

Princess Dickson and her mother Sophie-May Dickson https://www.instagram.com/sophiemaydickson.dogs/
Sophie’s lifestyle may have been the initial target, but her children soon became collateral damage (Picture: Instagram/Sophie May Dickson)

Celebrities such Katie Price, Zoella and Stacey Solomon (as well as their families) continue to be regularly dissected. One thread, for example, discusses how ugly the children of one TV presenter are.

A report by VictimFocus, compiled in July last year, collected data from 150 people who reported to be victims of Tattle.Life. The research found over 90% of victims were repeatedly stalked and harassed, with 89% feeling ‘traumatised, isolated, fearful’ and in some instances ‘suicidal’.

Psychologist Dr Jessica Taylor, the CEO of VictimFocus, has previously been targeted by Tattle.Life users. The comments, she explains, started off in a fairly petty fashion – about her appearance, her qualifications, before they rapidly snowballed into outright lies and stalking.

‘A picture of my wife’s car and number plates was posted on Tattle,’ she tells Metro. ‘Users found the links to our home on RightMove. They discussed my children and their safety.

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‘My thread was emailed to my family, my friends, the university where I had worked, my publishers, my agents and producers, with disgusting, malicious and false information. No stone was left unturned. We felt unsafe – it was one of the worst periods of my life.’

According to the letter Asato wrote to Ofcom, Tattle.Life users had turned their attention towards Princess since she was 14, and faced ‘repeated derogatory comments about her body and appearance’.

Although a dedicated thread about Sophie – where comments about Princess were also posted –  was temporarily disabled after the young girl was targeted, when the section was reinstated, the abuse continued.

‘Tattle,Life was viewed on a computer in school, and children and parents alike made cruel comments in person based on what they had read online. Even without a phone in her own hand, the abuse continued,’ Sophie told the Mail Online in an interview following her daughter’s death.

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‘It was the most unhinged thing from people who know nothing about me’

One lifestyle influencer, who we are calling Lauren, discovered she was featured on Tattle.Life in 2019, after seeing journalist Sali Hughes’s video about being targeted on the site.

‘I read through my entire thread that night, for the first and last time,’ she tells Metro.

The comments Lauren received in the early iterations of her thread were mean-spirited, but escalated as she scrolled further.

‘People said horrible things that I was overweight, or that I was underweight, or that I looked like a man,’ she remembers.

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Depressed woman sitting on sofa at home with mobile
‘There’s no way anyone could expect children to cope with this level of hate’ (Picture posed by model: Getty Images)

While she hasn’t looked at her thread since, other people have informed Lauren at just how personal some of Tattle.Life had become, threatening to spill into the real world.

‘I was told to kill myself. People had tried to contact ex-boyfriends. They called the RSPCA to report me about my dog. This trolling had become stalking,’ she says.

‘It was the most unhinged, abnormal thing from people who know nothing about me.

‘I’ve had friends completely debilitated by trolling on the site. They’ve been forced to stop posting, which means they’ve lost their income. It’s completely ruined their lives.

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‘If I have adult friends who struggled with it, there’s no way anyone could expect children to cope with this level of hate.’

It’s not surprising that anyone who experiences online bullying will feel the impact, but it can be markedly more difficult for young people to deal with, explains Dr Emily Crosby, Child and Educational Psychologist.

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‘They are more likely to believe the comments as they have not developed their self-confidence or self-worth yet which makes them more likely to be influenced,’ she tells Metro.

And while targeting a child may seem extreme, the anonymous nature of a site like Tattle.Life can encourage an escalating scale of abuse – Sophie’s lifestyle may have been the initial target, but her children soon became collateral damage.

”Often those who do not have a sense of belonging in the offline world take to online to seek this,’ Dr Crosby explains. ‘The internet allows people to use all hours of the day and hide behind fake names which makes access to this type of behaviour more readily available. Such language and hate speech escalates as they are so fast paced and each comment influences further comments.’

Tattle.Life claims to have a ‘zero-tolerance policy to any content that is abusive, hateful or harmful’. A statement on the website reads: ‘A team of moderators [is] online 24/7 to remove any content that breaks our strict rules – often in minutes.’

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However, Jess claims that her numerous requests to get content removed were not acted upon.

Neil and Donna Sands were awarded £300,000 in damages after taking Tattle.Life to court (Picture: Peter Morrison)

This was the same case for Northern Irish fashion retailer Donna Sands and her husband Neil, after they were viscously trolled on the site. So the couple managed to hit Tattle.Life where it hurts – in the courtroom.

They argued that the website had ‘profited as a space where users could defame, harass, stalk and attack others online’ and were eventually awarded £300,000 by the Northern Ireland High Court.

Their case also saw Sebastian Bond, vegan cooking influencer and author, unmasked as Tattle.Life’s owner. Yet, despite the ruling, Tattle.Life is still active.

It has previously been reported to have 12 million monthly visitors, with Bond reportedly making between an estimated £180,000-£500,000 a year from advertising revenue.

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Sebastian Bond was unamkes as the owner of Tattle.Life

According to Jess, who explores the motivations and stalking tactics of those who frequent the site in her upcoming book Click.Stalk.Destroy: Inside the minds of online stalkers, there is a massive misunderstanding.

‘Traditional stalkers tend to operate alone. On Tattle.Life, there are hundreds of them. They operate in groups, which means they receive positive reinforcement for everything they post from other stalkers. Being horrible or intimidating is normalised, and they become desensitised to it over time,’ she explains.

‘They create a fantasy that they are actually social justice warriors, and what they are doing to their victim is righteous. It’s why these threads tend to start with something small and petty, but that small thing cannot sustain that sense of moral grievance for long. So they find something else and it starts to escalate.

‘Tattle.Life has effectively turned trolling and stalking into sport,’ she adds.

Following Princess’ death,a letter from Ofcom has demanded answers from Tattle.Life regarding compliance with new Online Safety Act, a 2023 UK law requiring platforms to protect users online.

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What will happen next for Tattle.Life remains uncertain; as of last year, Bond faces an additional 40 libel lawsuits against him, while regulatory powers may exert pressure for the website to close.

Meanwhile, Jess believes those who use the site should be confronted with the reality of just what they’re doing.

‘Just because they’re doing this sat at home with a glass of wine, doesn’t mean what they’re doing isn’t criminal,’ she says. ‘They are sadists. They are destroying people’s lives, and they’re enjoying it.’

Tattle.Life statement

Metro reached out to TattleLife multiple times for comment, but have yet to receive a response.

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A statement, posted on the site by a moderator on 30 March read:

First and foremost, Tattle Life wishes to express its heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Princess Bliss Dickson. The community on the site has long been concerned for her welfare, having seeing her publicly from a very young age.

The gross misuse of this tragedy by those with vested interest is appalling and we urge everyone look beyond the bias narrative. Organisations such as the Samaritans advise against sensationalising a suicide or attributing it to a single cause, as this is rarely the case.

Tattle Life remains confident in its moderation processes and compliance. We welcome open conversation with any relevant authority. It is essential for the Coroner’s office to be allowed the time and space to perform its duties thoroughly before any conclusions are drawn.

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At this time, it would be inappropriate to comment further.

 

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Two men arrested after knife stolen from Hindley shop

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Two men arrested after knife stolen from Hindley shop

The incident happened in Hindley on Saturday, April 11, after officers from Greater Manchester Police responded to reports of a stolen bladed weapon.

Officers quickly detained two men in the area, arresting both on suspicion of theft.

One man was further arrested on suspicion of possessing a bladed article, possession of an offensive weapon, and police say he was found to be wanted on recall to prison.

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All stolen items and weapons were seized.

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Baby born at 22 weeks ‘struggling to breathe’ would have died without air ambulance

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Cambridgeshire Live

Mia’s baby Clayton might not have survived without the care he received from the East Anglian Air Ambulance.

Mia Cornelius’ son ‘wouldn’t be alive’ if it wasn’t for the air ambulance

A woman who gave birth at only 22 weeks said if her baby had not received care from the East Anglian Air Ambulance, he “wouldn’t be alive”. Mia Cornelius, 21, started feeling stomach pains at home on Sunday, January 12, 2025, before going into premature labour.

She then gave birth to Clayton well before his due date. The East Anglian Air Ambulance sent two crew members, Dr Liam Neale and Critical Care Paramedic (CCP) Jon Locke to her house to help Miss Cornelius and her newborn.

Miss Cornelius, from Haverhill, said: “They came to assess Clayton because of how dire the situation was. He was so tiny and really struggling to breathe. I had lost a lot of blood as well. The East Anglian Air Ambulance did a good job of assessing me as well and checking I was okay and comfortable. If it wasn’t for them, Clayton probably wouldn’t be alive.”

The crew were able to help raise Clayton’s heart rate and oxygen levels using equipment and knowledge that paramedics do not have. Dr Nicola Ebbs, the Deputy Medical Director, sai this care can make a difference in life or death situations.

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She said: “For baby Clayton, he received that hospital level care at home. His oxygen levels and heart rate were low. The treatment that Liam and Jon were able to give him meant they could raise them otherwise he would have had half an hour of none of that care before getting to the hospital.

“It’s that additional care we can deliver that can really make a difference. We can’t fit the whole of a hospital into the back of a helicopter but the key bits of equipment and interventions are what we try and deliver to impact patients’ outcomes.”

Alongside the air ambulance crew, a road ambulance and paramedics also attended. Miss Cornelius described the situation as ‘chaotic’ but said the air ambulance crew helped to “calm everything down”.

She added: “It was quite surreal at first. They were so organised and calm. They took the situation into their own hands and helped us through it so well. It’s not just stressful for patients. I can imagine for them walking into that would be quite scary but they seemed to be so calm. It was so strange how quickly they calmed everything down.”

The East Anglian Air Ambulance is able to bring a higher level of care to patients who are in ‘dire’ need. She continued: “They bring hospital care to people’s homes. The equipment and knowledge they’ve got, you can only find that in intensive care units and in hospitals. Normal paramedics are amazing but these guys bring so much knowledge and experience, they can perform work that you really only see in hospitals.”

As Cambridge Airport is due to close, the East Anglian Air Ambulance has approval to build a new site in Fulbourn – but the charity needs to raise £8.2 million first. Miss Cornelius said her baby might not have survived without help from the air ambulance crew.

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She continued: “It’s very important to have a base so people in this area are able to receive that care. There are so many different accidents and medical emergencies that they see to on a daily basis.

“Not having an air base in the area could affect the service majorly. There are people that are going to need this care.”

There are many ways people can get involved to help raise the money needed for the new air base. You can donate online, text BASE10 or BASE20 to 70480 to donate £10 or £20 or return a donation using an appeal envelope that will be delivered to households across the region.

People who donate £175 or more will have their chosen name added to one of the charity’s helicopters. For more information about donating, you can visit the East Anglian Air Ambulance website.

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Mother in stem cell donor plea to give young sons ‘a chance at a normal life’

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Mother in stem cell donor plea to give young sons ‘a chance at a normal life’

Marcela Zberea, 29, and Stelian Dorin Nica, 36, have issued an urgent appeal to try and find stem cells donors for their two sons, Cezar Nica, aged two, and David Nica, 10 months. The boys have been diagnosed with rare and life-threatening genetic disorder Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome (WAS). Neither parents are a match and the family are now working with the charity DKMS to raise awareness of its stem cell register (Family handout/DKMS)

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Lebanon truce is key to ending Iran war but challenges remain

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Lebanon truce is key to ending Iran war but challenges remain

BEIRUT (AP) — A truce took hold Friday between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, providing relief on both sides of the border and an opening for Iran and the United States to reach a deal to end the wider war.

The ceasefire appears to have led Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, easing the global energy crisis. But major obstacles remain, as Hezbollah has not formally agreed to the truce and wants Israel to withdraw. Israel says it is “not finished” dismantling the Iran-backed militant group and has announced plans to occupy a swath of southern Lebanon.

The 10-day truce appeared to be mostly holding on its first day, as thousands of Lebanese returned to their homes in the south. Hezbollah had launched missiles into Israel in early March, two days after the U.S. and Israel launched their war on Iran. Israel had responded with heavy bombardment and a ground invasion.

Here’s a look at the ceasefire deal.

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The agreement says only Israel can act in self-defense

U.S. President Donald Trump announced the ceasefire on Thursday, describing it as a deal between Israel and Lebanon, whose government had been largely sidelined in the war. Israel has long accused Lebanon of failing to disarm Hezbollah in line with previous agreements and the government’s own plan.

The U.S. State Department published a text of the deal and described it as a gesture by Israel “to enable good-faith negotiations” toward a permanent peace agreement with Lebanon. It said the 10-day truce could be extended by mutual agreement if the talks progress and “Lebanon effectively demonstrates its ability to assert its sovereignty.”

The agreement calls for the Lebanese state to prevent Hezbollah and other armed groups from attacking Israel, as did the ceasefire agreement that halted the last Israel-Hezbollah war in November 2024.

The 2024 agreement stated that both Israel and Lebanon would have the right to act in “self defense,” without elaborating. Israel continued to regularly strike what it said were militant targets, often killing civilians, while Hezbollah held its fire until last month.

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The new agreement, according to the U.S., gives Israel the “right to take all necessary measures in self-defense, at any time, against planned, imminent, or ongoing attacks.” It does not mention any similar right for Lebanon or Hezbollah.

Israel wants Hezbollah disarmed. Hezbollah wants Israel out

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel agreed to the truce at Trump’s request but was “not finished yet” with Hezbollah. Israel has said it will occupy a 10-kilometer (6-mile) deep buffer zone in southern Lebanon — and prevent people from returning — until all threats are eliminated.

With elections later this year, Netanyahu is under mounting pressure to show that he vanquished Israel’s enemies in the wars sparked by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack out of Gaza — which happened on his watch.

Israel and the U.S. want Lebanese authorities to disarm Hezbollah, by force if necessary. But while Beirut had taken significant steps to assert its control over southern Lebanon before the war, authorities have been unwilling to risk a civil war by fully confronting the heavily armed militant group.

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Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun said his objective is to “secure the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the occupied southern territories” and for the Lebanese army to take control of the border area.

Hezbollah said it will adhere to the ceasefire as long as it is “comprehensive across all Lebanese territories, including border areas, and includes a full halt to hostilities and restrictions on the enemy’s freedom of movement, serving as a prelude to Israeli withdrawal.”

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The statement implied that Hezbollah may resume its rocket attacks if Israel continues to target it and remains in southern Lebanon.

U.S. and Iran claim credit

On Truth Social, Trump said Israel is now “PROHIBITED” by the U.S. from bombing Lebanon, an unusually direct assertion of American control over an ally. The U.S. has portrayed the truce as the result of direct Israeli-Lebanese negotiations held in Washington — the first in decades.

Iran and Hezbollah say the deal is actually the result of the larger negotiations between Tehran and Washington and was brought about by Iranian leverage.

Mohsen Rezaei, a military adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, said in a post on X that “while the Lebanese government and Trump are attempting to claim this ceasefire as their own initiative,” it was “the resistance of Hezbollah’s fighters and Iran’s multifaceted pressures” that led to the truce.

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Hassan Fadlallah, a member of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc, told reporters Friday that Iran had informed Hezbollah leaders of the ceasefire agreement early Thursday, long before Trump announced it.

Lebanon truce appears to be part of the wider ceasefire

Iran — as well as the mediator, Pakistan — had said Lebanon was included in the wider ceasefire reached with the U.S. in separate negotiations earlier this month. That was denied by the U.S., as well as Israel, which launched a massive bombardment of Beirut after it took effect.

Two Pakistani officials told The Associated Press on Friday that Pakistan played a role in securing the ceasefire in Lebanon. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door talks.

Lebanon’s government has been against the war from the beginning and was eager to end it but had little leverage over Hezbollah. Instead, the task fell to Iran, which many Lebanese will see as yet another infringement on their sovereignty.

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In a speech Friday, Aoun thanked the U.S. and Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, for their efforts to secure a ceasefire. He did not mention Iran.

Tehran appears to have used its control over the Strait of Hormuz, and Trump’s desire to end an increasingly unpopular and economically painful war, to halt Israel’s campaign against its proxy.

As the Lebanon truce went into effect, both Trump and Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, announced that the strait had been reopened, something the U.S. had been unable to do through weeks of heavy bombardment and the sinking of much of Iran’s navy.

Araghchi directly linked it to the Lebanon ceasefire.

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Associated Press writers Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut and Munir Ahmed in Islamabad contributed.

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No prizes for guessing what won Best Game at Bafta 2026 Games Awards

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No prizes for guessing what won Best Game at Bafta 2026 Games Awards
A very unsurprising winner (Credits: Getty Images for BAFTA)

The last major video games award event of the season has honoured narrative game Dispatch with three awards, but it didn’t win Best Game.

At this point, the only possible surprise that could have come from the BAFTA 2026 Games Awards is if Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 hadn’t dominated the night. But while BAFTA has had some very dubious winners in the past, not even they were contrary enough not to award it Best Game, as well as Debut Game for developer Sandfall Interactive, and Performer in a Leading Role for Jennifer English as Maelle.

Expedition 33 has won Best Game in virtually every award event and top 10 of the year list, including our own, so the win is definitely deserved, even if the recognition is a bit redundant at this point.

The Telltale Games style superhero adventure Dispatch also picked up three awards, for Animation, Audio Achievement, and Performer in a Supporting Role for Jeffrey Wright as Chase.

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BAFTA always favours narrative games over other genres, and has a tendency to ignore Japanese games, so while Ghost Of Yōtei did pick up two awards, for Music and Technical Achievement, it was made in the US.

Other winners included Rebellion’s Atomfall for British Game, Death Stranding 2: On The Beach for Artistic Achievement, and Blue Prince for Game Design. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 won Narrative and Arc Raiders won the Multiplayer award.

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The most controversial award of the night had already been announced in advance, with the BAFTA Fellowship going to Supercell CEO and co-founder Ilkka Paananen, who is not a creative. Supercell is best known for mobile games like Clash Of Clans (which is currently running a promotion for a foot fetish cosmetic pack).

According to BAFTA, the Fellowship is awarded to those, who ‘have driven innovation, creativity, and positive change in the screen arts over the course of their career.’ Previous winners include Shigeru Miyamoto and Will Wright.

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Bafta 2026 Games Awards full list of winners

ANIMATION
Battlefield 6
Death Stranding 2: On The Beach
Dispatch – WINNER
Ghost Of Yōtei
Hades 2
Hollow Knight: Silksong

ARTISTIC ACHIEVEMENT
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Death Stranding 2: On The Beach – WINNER
Dispatch
Ghost Of Yōtei
Hollow Knight: Silksong
South Of Midnight

AUDIO ACHIEVEMENT
Arc Raiders
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Death Stranding 2: On The Beach
Dispatch – WINNER
Ghost Of Yōtei
Indiana Jones And The Great Circle

BEST GAME
Arc Raiders
Blue Prince
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – WINNER
Dispatch
Ghost Of Yōtei
Indiana Jones And The Great Circle

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BRITISH GAME
Atomfall – WINNER
Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector
Mafia: The Old Country
Monument Valley 3
Powerwash Simulator 2
Two Point Museum

DEBUT GAME
Blue Prince
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – WINNER
Consume Me
Despelote
Dispatch
The Midnight Walk

EVOLVING GAME
Fallout 76
Helldivers 2
Hitman World Of Assassination
No Man’s Sky – WINNER
Vampire Survivors
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2

FAMILY
Donkey Kong Bananza
Is This Seat Taken?
Lego Party! – WINNER
Mario Kart World
Powerwash Simulator 2
Two Point Museum

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GAME BEYOND ENTERTAINMENT
The Alters
And Roger
Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector
Consume Me
Despelote – WINNER
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart Of Chornobyl

GAME DESIGN
Ball x Pit
Blue Prince – WINNER
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Ghost Of Yōtei
Hades 2
Split Fiction

MULTIPLAYER
Arc Raiders – WINNER
Dune: Awakening
Elden Ring Nightreign
Lego Party!
Peak
Split Fiction

MUSIC
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Death Stranding 2: On The Beach
Dispatch
Ghost Of Yōtei – WINNER
Hollow Knight: Silksong
Indiana Jones And The Great Circle

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NARRATIVE
The Alters
Blue Prince
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Death Stranding 2: On The Beach
Indiana Jones And The Great Circle
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 – WINNER

NEW INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
The Alters
Arc Raiders
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Dispatch
South Of Midnight – WINNER
Split Fiction

PERFORMER IN A LEADING ROLE
Aaron Paul as Robert Robertson in Dispatch
Ben Starr as Verso in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Erika Ishii as Atsu in Ghost Of Yōtei
Jennifer English as Maelle in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – WINNER
Tom McKay as Henry Of Skalitz in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
Troy Baker as Indiana Jones In Indiana Jones And The Great Circle

PERFORMER IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Alix Wilton Regan as Lea Florence Monad in Lies Of P: Overture
Charlie Cox as Gustave in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Jane Perry as Lia Cain in Dead Take
Jeffrey Wright as Chase in Dispatch – WINNER
Kirsty Rider as Lune in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Troy Baker as Higgs in Death Stranding 2: On The Beach

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TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT
Arc Raiders
Death Stranding 2: On The Beach
Doom: The Dark Ages
Ghost Of Yōtei – WINNER
Indiana Jones And The Great Circle
Split Fiction

Bafta 2026 Games Awards
Predictable but deserved (Credits: Getty Images for BAFTA)

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NewsBeat

Sarah Ferguson afraid to return to UK as she claims royals have ‘abandoned’ her

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Daily Record

Sarah Ferguson has reportedly been staying at a £2,000-a-night ski chalet in Austria, where she is said to be keeping a low profile amid ongoing fallout linked to the Epstein scandal

Sarah Ferguson is said to be reluctant to return to the UK after reportedly feeling “abandoned” by the Royal Family, sources have revealed. The former Duchess of York, who lost her title alongside her ex-husband Andrew amid scrutiny over their links to Jeffrey Epstein, has reportedly kept out of the public eye for months following action taken by King Charles last October.

Fergie has not been seen publicly since attending the christening of her one-year-old granddaughter Athena at London’s St James’s Palace on December 12. However, she has now reportedly been spotted staying at a £2,000-a-night ski chalet in Austria, where she is said to have been moving around the alpine village discreetly.

Uncertainty had surrounded her whereabouts after she was repeatedly named in a batch of documents released by US investigators examining the crimes of late financier Epstein.

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A source close to the York family claimed Sarah has not been contacted by any member of the Royal Family since being stripped of the title she had used for decades, despite having been divorced from Andrew for 30 years.

One friend said: “Sarah is living in fear right now. She’s not immune to everything that is happening. She realises how serious everything is, and she is not coping with it.

“She is definitely worried about returning home to the UK and is relying on the kindness of friends to help her through the situation. But she knows she can’t keep moving around forever. Sarah feels she has been abandoned by the royal family and has been treated very unfairly. She is at a complete loss over what to do.”

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Back in February, Fergie reportedly checked into one of the world’s most exclusive wellness clinic, following details about her close friendship with Epstein were revealed, the Mirror reports.

The luxury Paracelsus Recovery Clinic – where stays can cost around £13,000 a night – is understood to have offered her treatment free of charge, having previously worked with her as an ambassador.

Other reports suggest Sarah has been moving between a number of wellness retreats across Europe, with unconfirmed stays in Switzerland, Ireland and the Middle East. Sources also claim she has been offered the chance to stay with her sister in Australia.

Meanwhile, speculation in publishing world continues to grow that she is planning a comeback with a tell-all memoir, reportedly seeking a fee of more than £1 million. A source said:”One thing is for certain, she is desperately short of cash.”

It comes as the first image of Fergie since the release of the Epstein files have surfaced, showing her appearing stony-faced as she stepped out of a blacked-out people carrier wearing glasses and a baseball cap, covering her trademark red hair.

Sources say she has largely avoided the spotlight since her last public appearance at the Duchess of Kent’s funeral at Westminster Cathedral in September, instead keeping a low profile in the Alps and rarely venturing out.

Epstein has also been central to the downfall of her ex-husband, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who was stripped of his titles by King Charles over what were described as “serious lapses of judgement” in relation to his friendship with the late paedophile.

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Fergie also lost her courtesy royal divorcee title and reverted to her maiden name. More recently, she was stripped of the freedom of the city of York after councillors unanimously voted to remove the honour due to her links to Epstein.

She and Andrew were originally granted the honour as a wedding gift from the city in 1987 during an official visit.

The Epstein scandal intensified for Fergie last September when it emerged she had written to the convicted sex offender, describing him as a “supreme friend” despite previously distancing herself publicly – a revelation that led to several charities dropping her as a patron.

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Further documents released in January appeared to show Fergie writing in an email to Epstein: “I am at your service. Just marry me.” In another email, she made a crude remark about her daughter Princess Eugenie’s love life, while also referring to Epstein as the “brother I have always wished for” and calling him a “legend”.

Another exchange reportedly suggested she had asked the disgraced financier for a job as a house assistant. It also emerged that she appeared to have taken her daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, to visit him in Florida just days after his release from prison in 2008.

The revelations prompted a US lawmaker to contact the former duchess, urging her to testify before Congress about Epstein. Congressman Suhas Subramanyam requested that she provide evidence as part of a government investigation into Epstein’s sex trafficking operations.

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Subramanyam’s letter to her read: “The Committee is seeking information from anyone who has knowledge of Mr Epstein’s criminal operations, and reports and released Department of Justice files reveal your close personal and business ties with him.

“As the Committee seeks justice for the survivors of Mr Epstein’s criminal enterprise, and transparency for the American public, I respectfully request your cooperation with the Committee’s investigation.” As a non-US citizen, Ferguson is not compelled to appear before Congress or respond to the request.

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Whittaker vs Suarez: Fight time, undercard, prediction, ring walks, odds

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Whittaker vs Suarez: Fight time, undercard, prediction, ring walks, odds

Ben Whittaker returns to the ring on Saturday to take on Braian Suarez in a non-title fight in the light-heavyweight division.

Whittaker, 28, claimed the WBC Silver light-heavyweight title in his last outing, knocking out Benjamin Gavazi in the first round back in November last year.

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White House meets with Anthropic CEO over new AI model

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White House meets with Anthropic CEO over new AI model

WASHINGTON (AP) — White House chief of staff Susie Wiles on Friday sounded out Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei about the artificial intelligence company’s new Mythos model, which has attracted attention from the federal government for how it could transform national security and the economy.

A White House official, who requested anonymity to discuss the meeting ahead of time, said the administration is engaging with advanced AI labs about their models and the security of software. The official stressed that any new technology that might be used by the federal government would require a technical period for evaluation.

The White House said afterward that the meeting was productive and constructive, as opportunities for collaboration were discussed as well as the goal of balancing innovation and safety.

The meeting came after tensions had run hot between the Trump administration and the safety-conscious Anthropic, which has sought to put guardrails on the development of AI to minimize any potential risks and maximize its economic and national security benefits for the U.S.

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President Donald Trump tried to stop all federal agencies from using Anthropic’s chatbot Claude over the company’s contract dispute with the Pentagon, with Trump saying in a February social media post that the administration “will not do business with them again!” When Trump was asked Friday while in Arizona if Anthropic had a meeting at the White House, the president said he had ”no idea.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also sought to declare Anthropic a supply chain risk, an unprecedented move against a U.S. company that Anthropic has challenged in two federal courts. The company said it wanted assurance the Pentagon would not use its technology in fully autonomous weapons and the surveillance of Americans. Hegseth said the company must allow for any uses the Pentagon deemed lawful.

U.S. District Judge Rita Lin issued a ruling in March that blocked the enforcement of Trump’s social media directive ordering all federal agencies to stop using Anthropic products.

Anthropic declined to speak about the meeting in advance.

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The San Francisco-based Anthropic has said the new Mythos model it announced on April 7 is so “strikingly capable” that it is limiting its use to select customers because of its ability to surpass human cybersecurity experts in finding and exploiting computer vulnerabilities.

And while some industry experts have questioned whether Anthropic’s claims of too-powerful AI technology were a marketing ploy, even some of the company’s sharpest critics have suggested that Mythos might represent a further advancement in AI.

One influential Anthropic critic, David Sacks, who was the White House’s AI and crypto czar, said people should “take this seriously.”

“Anytime Anthropic is scaring people, you have to ask, ‘Is this a tactic? Is this part of their Chicken Little routine? Or is it real?’” Sacks said on the “All-In” podcast he co-hosts with other tech investors. “With cyber, I actually would give them credit in this case and say this is more on the real side.”

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Sacks said: “It just makes sense that as the coding models become more and more capable, they are more capable at finding bugs. That means they’re more capable at finding vulnerabilities. That means they’re more capable at stringing together multiple vulnerabilities and creating an exploit.”

The model’s potential benefits, as well as its risks, have also attracted attention outside the U.S.

The United Kingdom’s AI Security Institute said it evaluated the new model and found it a “step up” over previous models, which were already rapidly improving.

“Mythos Preview can exploit systems with weak security posture, and it is likely that more models with these capabilities will be developed,” the institute said in a report.

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Anthropic has also been in talks with the European Union about its AI models, including advanced models that haven’t yet been released in Europe, European Commission spokesman Thomas Regnier said Friday.

Axios first reported the scheduled meeting between Wiles and Amodei.

When it announced Mythos, Anthropic said it was also forming an initiative called Project Glasswing, bringing together tech giants such as Amazon, Apple, Google and Microsoft, along with other companies like JPMorgan Chase, in hopes of securing the world’s critical software from “severe” fallout that the new model could pose to public safety, national security and the economy.

“We’re releasing it to a subset of some of the world’s most important companies and organizations so they can use this to find vulnerabilities,” said the Anthropic co-founder and policy chief, Jack Clark, at this week’s Semafor World Economy conference.

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Clark added that Mythos, while ahead of the curve, is not a “special model.”

“There will be other systems just like this in a few months from other companies, and in a year to a year-and-a-half later, there will be open-weight models from China that have these capabilities,” he said. So the world is going to have to get ready for more powerful systems that are going to exist within it.” ___

O’Brien reported from Providence, R.I. AP business reporter Kelvin Chan contributed to this report from London.

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