The UK has paused a clinical trial on puberty blockers for children after the medicines regulator raised new safety concerns. The agency warned about uncertain long-term biological risks and called for a minimum age of 14. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency will meet King’s College London next week. They will review the study design and address wellbeing issues. The Department of Health and Social Care confirmed that recruitment will not begin yet. The Pathways trial followed a recommendation from the Cass review. That review found weak evidence for benefits in young people with gender dysphoria. Dr Hilary Cass…
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The USA Winter Olympics Highlights show a historic performance as Team USA closed the 2026 Winter Games in Milan‑Cortina with a record medal tally. The United States captured 12 gold medals, the most in its Winter Olympic history, and finished second in overall medals behind Norway. The standout achievement came from the men’s hockey team, who stunned Canada 2‑1 in overtime for gold. The gold medal in men’s hockey ended a 46‑year wait, marking the first victory since the legendary “Miracle on Ice” in 1980. The game was tense throughout regulation, tied 1‑1, and moved into sudden-death overtime. Jack Hughes…
Big Tech faces a historic legal battle. A major trial over social media addiction has begun and could reshape the technology industry. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified before a jury for the first time over allegations that social media harms young people. His testimony came more than four years after leaked internal documents suggested the company knew its platforms could cause harm. Internal documents presented in a Los Angeles courtroom appeared to confirm long-standing concerns. Meta knew preteens used its apps. The company aimed to maximize scrolling time. It also ignored expert advice on safety, though Meta said the documents…
China has regained its position as Germany’s top trading partner, overtaking the United States in 2025.Total trade between Germany and China reached €251bn, according to official data. Germany imported €170.6bn in goods from China while exporting €81.3bn.Trade with the US fell to €240bn, partly influenced by tariffs and weaker demand. Chancellor Friedrich Merz will travel to Beijing for talks with Xi Jinping and Li Qiang.His visit will focus on trade, the war in Ukraine and human rights. Germany’s car industry remains deeply tied to the Chinese market.Companies such as Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes-Benz depend heavily on sales and production there.…
Budapest Demands Pipeline Repairs Before Sanctions Move Forward Hungary has announced it will block the EU’s 20th sanctions package against Russia until Ukrainian oil shipments to the country resume. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that the EU would also withhold the €90 billion war loan already approved for Ukraine. Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said Hungary will not back the sanctions package, which is scheduled for discussion at a meeting of EU foreign ministers on Monday, until the Druzhba pipeline, damaged by a Russian strike, is repaired and oil deliveries to Hungary restart. The Energy Security Council also raised concerns over…
The European Union faces criticism after a report revealed massive subsidies for foods that worsen the climate. Experts call on the EU to introduce a Plant-Based Action Plan to encourage sustainable diets and help farmers move away from meat and dairy. Red meat and other high-emission foods receive disproportionate EU subsidies, raising concerns over misuse of taxpayer money. Charity Foodrise published a report showing that in 2020, the EU’s common agricultural policy (CAP) directed far more funding to animal-based foods than to plant-based options. Animal-sourced foods received roughly 77 percent of total CAP subsidies, totaling €39 billion of the €51…
The US Supreme Court ruled that President Donald Trump exceeded his authority when he imposed sweeping global tariffs last year.The court decided by six votes to three that Trump could not use a 1977 emergency law to tax imports from nearly every country.The judges said only Congress can create new taxes under the Constitution. The ruling left open whether consumers and companies could receive refunds for the estimated $130bn generated by the tariffs.The court did not address refunds, and further legal disputes are expected.Hours after the decision, Trump signed a proclamation under a different law to impose a new 10%…
OpenAI considered notifying the Royal Canadian Mounted Police about a user later responsible for a deadly school attack.The company flagged the account in June for activity linked to the furtherance of violence. At the time, it decided the case did not meet the threshold for referral.Its policy requires evidence of a credible and imminent risk of serious harm.The firm said it found no sign of immediate planning. The suspect, Jesse Van Rootselaar, killed eight people in British Columbia before taking their own life.Police said the victims included a teaching assistant and five students aged 12 to 13.The attacker had previous…
US researchers say a single nasal spray vaccine could protect against coughs, colds and flu. The vaccine could also prevent bacterial lung infections and may even reduce allergies. Scientists at Stanford University tested the universal vaccine in animals and still need human clinical trials. They describe the approach as a radical break from more than 200 years of vaccine development. Experts called the findings exciting but emphasized that the research remains at an early stage. Existing Vaccines Focus on One Illness Current vaccines train the immune system to fight a single infection. A measles vaccine protects against measles, and a…
Amazon’s cloud division suffered outages last year that were reportedly triggered by its own AI systems.One 13-hour disruption in December occurred after an AI agent deleted and recreated part of its environment, according to reports. AWS runs large parts of the internet’s infrastructure, so any failure raises wider concerns.Another incident in October knocked dozens of websites offline and renewed debate about reliance on a few major providers. Amazon said the events were caused by user error, not artificial intelligence.It added that only one incident affected customer-facing services and that extra safeguards are now in place.These include stricter access controls and…
