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- Mali court sentences French embassy official to 20 years for espionage
- Anthropic calls for AI labs to consider a pause amid control concerns
- Most OSAP growth attributed to career college students, documents reveal
- Senate blocks extension of FISA surveillance programme as deadline approaches
- British man arrested for attempted drowning and assault on Benidorm beach
- Girl named Lyhanna goes missing after getting into man’s car in Fleurance
- Toronto uses tax funds to purchase World Cup tickets, nearly all sold
- FDA initiates safety study of abortion pill mifepristone, official confirms
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Mali court sentences French embassy official to 20 years for espionage
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Mali court sentences French embassy official to 20 years for espionage
Jail Sentence
A court in Mali has sentenced French embassy official Yann V. to 20 years in prison for allegedly undermining state security.
A court in Mali has sentenced French embassy official Yann V. to 20 years in prison for allegedly undermining state security.
Diplomatic Impact
The conviction of the French embassy official exacerbates Mali’s deteriorating diplomatic ties with France, reflecting a significant shift in the region’s geopolitical landscape.
The conviction of the French embassy official exacerbates Mali’s deteriorating diplomatic ties with France, reflecting a significant shift in the region’s geopolitical landscape.
Official Response
“Our agent is the subject of legal proceedings involving baseless accusations,” stated the French foreign ministry, affirming that France has not participated in destabilising Mali.
“Our agent is the subject of legal proceedings involving baseless accusations,” stated the French foreign ministry, affirming that France has not participated in destabilising Mali.
Mali jails French diplomat for 20 years for ‘undermining state security,’ sources say
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A court in Mali has handed a 20-year jail term to an official at the French embassy accused of being a spy and “undermining state security,” judicial sources told the AFP news agency on Friday.
The sentence is a new blow to relations between the west African nation, ruled by a military junta since a 2021 coup, and former colonial ruler France.
Detained since his arrest in August 2025, the Frenchman was also hit on Thursday with a €5,400 fine and a 20-year ban on entering Mali, three separate court sources confirmed.
At the time of his arrest, Malian authorities accused the official, identified as Yann V., of working for the French intelligence services and railed against “foreign states” trying to destabilise the insurgency-plagued country.
He was detained on 13 August in the company of several Malian officers, who were allegedly plotting a coup to overthrow the military junta.
France again insisted that the charges against the official, who was working at the French embassy in the capital Bamako, were without merit.
“Our agent is the subject of legal proceedings involving baseless accusations,” the French foreign ministry said on Friday.
“Our official was carrying out a security cooperation mission and under no circumstances has France participated, directly or indirectly, in the destabilisation of Mali.”
Mali has been gripped by a security crisis since 2012, fuelled notably by violence from groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the so-called Islamic State group, as well as local criminal gangs.
Under junta chief Assimi Goita, the country has turned its back on the West, especially France, in favour of closer ties with Russia.
Mali, alongside its neighbours Niger and Burkina Faso, is ruled by military leaders who took power by force in recent years, pledging to provide more security to citizens.
But the security situation in the Sahel region has worsened since the juntas took power, analysts say, with a record number of attacks and a record number of civilians killed both by Islamic militants and government forces.
Additional sources • AP, AFP
Anthropic calls for AI labs to consider a pause amid control concerns
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Get you up to speed: Anthropic urges AI labs to pause, warns humans risk losing control
Anthropic is urging major artificial intelligence labs to collectively pause the development of advanced AI systems due to concerns over the technology’s rapid advancement and the potential for humans to lose control. This proposal follows a warning from researchers at the University of Toronto regarding the risks of AI-driven cyber threats, highlighting an impending crisis in AI regulation.
Anthropic plans to explore potential strategies for a coordinated slowdown in AI development through its internal research institute, though specific actions have yet to be detailed. Regulatory responses remain inadequate, as highlighted by a recent executive order from the Trump administration requiring voluntary cybersecurity testing for AI models before public release.
Anthropic has called for a coordinated pause in AI development, warning that rapid advancements could lead to humans losing control over the technology. In response, rival OpenAI emphasised that decisions about AI innovation should be regulated by democratic governments rather than individual companies, highlighting the need for clear accountability mechanisms.
What remains unclear — It is not specified how Anthropic plans to verify adherence to the proposed coordinated pause among AI labs.
Anthropic calls for AI labs to consider a pause amid control concerns
Economy|TechnologyAnthropic urges AI labs to pause, warns humans risk losing control
It warned that rapid advances in technology could soon allow AI systems to improve themselves faster than society can control the risks.
Anthropic is calling on major artificial intelligence labs to consider a coordinated and verifiable pause in development [File: Patrick Sison/AP Photo]
Anthropic is proposing that the world’s top artificial intelligence companies come up with a coordinated way to pause development of advanced AI systems, warning that the technology is improving so quickly that there’s a risk humans would lose control.
The company behind the Claude chatbot said in a blog post on Thursday that, as cutting-edge AI gets increasingly faster at carrying out tasks, “it would be good for the world to have the option to slow or temporarily pause” its development.
Anthropic said its internal research institute plans to explore the issue in collaboration with others and “take actions” to help build the systems for a credible slowdown or pause, without being more specific.
Anthropic rival OpenAI argued for a different approach in a report published on Wednesday, saying that “democratic governments — not private companies acting alone — must ultimately determine the rules, safeguards, and accountability mechanisms”.
“Our view is that decisions about the pace of AI innovation should not be left to any one lab, company, or special interest group,” it said.
AI models are getting faster, with rapid increases in how quickly they can carry out software tasks like coding on their own, Anthropic said in its post. Based on current trends and given enough computing power, an AI system could be able to design and develop its own successor, in what is known as “recursive self-improvement”.
Self-building AI would be a major technological milestone that would bring benefits in science, healthcare and other areas, Anthropic said, but it “also might increase the risks of humans losing control over AI systems”.
Some tech industry figures have long warned of such a scenario.
Anthropic’s post comes after a different warning this week from a team of researchers at the University of Toronto who showed how AI tools could be used to create a new kind of AI “worm” that adapts its hacking strategy as it spreads from device to device and takes over a vast computing network.
“I think it’s really important that people understand that it’s not just the biggest, most powerful language models that pose the security concerns,” lead researcher Nicolas Papernot said in an interview.
The authors of the Anthropic post, company cofounder Jack Clark and Marina Favaro, head of its research institute, said the pause would be used to enable “societal structures and alignment research” to keep up with AI advances. Alignment is industry shorthand for making sure the technology matches human values and intentions.
The proposed coordination would let advanced AI labs verify that global rivals have actually stopped or slowed their work, “and that a bad actor could not use the auspices of a coordinated slowdown to jump ahead in secret”.
The company said a coordinated global mechanism is needed because, without it, a slowdown in AI development could let the “least cautious” players catch up and add to pressure on companies and governments as they make tough choices about AI safety.
Fears that advanced AI systems may get out of human control and cause societal harm have risen as the technology becomes increasingly capable. Anthropic’s own Mythos model sent shockwaves through industries, including banking and software, earlier this year with its ability to find vulnerabilities in existing code.
But regulation has been slow, especially in the US, where most leading AI labs are based. A Trump administration executive order earlier this week put the onus on the labs themselves, asking them to voluntarily submit their most capable models for government cybersecurity testing before public release.
Safety focus
AI researchers have also urged a pause before, but have had little success. Elon Musk, who owns AI lab xAI, was among the backers of a 2023 push by the non-profit Future of Life Institute to halt AI development for six months to allow time for safety guardrails.
Anthropic has long positioned itself as a safety-focused AI lab. Earlier this year, it refused to let the US military use its models for domestic surveillance and fully autonomous weapons, prompting backlash from the government, which put it on a national security blacklist, set to take effect later in 2026.
Anthropic’s post comes as the company and ChatGPT-maker OpenAI race to sell shares on the stock market, in an IPO that could value Anthropic at nearly a trillion dollars.
Papernot notified Canadian cybersecurity authorities prior to releasing his report, which shows how researchers developed the worm in a laboratory by using an “open-source” AI tool that is easy for software developers to cheaply access and modify.
“In the past, cyber attackers would focus on targets that are very high value,” he said. “Banking systems, hospitals, electricity grids, water treatment systems, schools.”
Papernot agreed that there should be more collaboration between companies, government agencies and academic researchers to develop countermeasures as AI-powered hacking tools supercharge the search for computer vulnerabilities.
“That old laptop you have in your basement that you don’t check on regularly doesn’t seem like a very high-value target, but it can be used as a launch pad to attack these higher-value targets,” he said. “Anything connected to the internet is now at risk because of how low the cost has become to mount these cyberattacks.”
Most OSAP growth attributed to career college students, documents reveal
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Get you up to speed: Most OSAP growth came from career college students, documents show
The province allocated $465 million more for OSAP grants between the 2023-24 and 2024-25 academic years, with 95 per cent directed towards private college students. This financial commitment highlights a significant shift in funding distribution within the province’s educational support system.
Between the 2023-24 and 2024-25 academic years, the province allocated $465 million more for OSAP grants, with 95 per cent directed towards private college students. The impact of these increased funding levels on public institutions remains unclear, as current data does not specify how much was distributed to them.
Ontario officials have noted that the increase in spending on OSAP grants reflects a prioritisation of financial support for private college students, with $465 million more allocated for the 2024-25 academic year. Moving forward, the government has indicated plans to assess the impact of this funding on accessibility and student outcomes within the province’s education system.
What remains unclear — It is not specified how the increased funding for OSAP grants will impact the accessibility of education for public college students.
Most OSAP growth attributed to career college students, documents reveal
Data shows that between the 2023-24 and 2024-25 academic years, the province spent $465 million more on OSAP grants, and 95 per cent of that went to private college students.
Senate blocks extension of FISA surveillance programme as deadline approaches
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Get you up to speed: Senate fails to extend FISA surveillance program as deadline nears, with 7 Republicans joining Democrats
The Senate blocked an extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, with a vote of 47-52 on Friday in Washington. Seven Republicans joined Democrats in opposing the procedural motion, effectively ending the warrantless surveillance programme unless further intervention occurs by June 12.
The Senate is expected to revisit the surveillance legislation when lawmakers return next week, but any agreement will require a 60-vote threshold to proceed. Concerns over the appointment of Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence have contributed to the current legislative impasse, as both parties expressed reservations about his qualifications.
The Senate’s decision to block the extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act has prompted Senate Majority Leader John Thune to announce plans for a renewed attempt to pass the legislation next week, describing the Democrats’ stance as “irresponsible.” As concerns grow over warrantless surveillance, bipartisan critics, including Senator Ron Wyden, echoed the sentiment that the vote demonstrates a refusal to permit indiscriminate spying on law-abiding Americans.
What remains unclear — It is uncertain how legislators plan to resolve the differences over the digital currency provision in the House before any potential agreement can progress.
Senate blocks extension of FISA surveillance programme as deadline approaches
Washington — The Senate on Friday blocked an extension of a key warrantless surveillance program used by U.S. intelligence agencies, meaning Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act will expire on June 12 without further intervention.
Seven Republicans joined Democrats in the 47-52 vote against a procedural motion that would have set up a final vote on the extension next week. The vote comes amid concerns over President Trump’s controversial pick of federal housing finance regulator Bill Pulte to serve as acting director of national intelligence.
But a key objection from Republicans who blocked the reauthorization is that the law can be used to spy on Americans without a warrant. The seven Republicans who voted with Democrats were Sens. Josh Hawley of Missouri, Mike Lee of Utah, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Eric Schmitt of Missouri, Rick Scott of Florida, John Kennedy of Louisiana and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama. Democratic Sen. John Fetterman was the only Democrat who voted to move ahead with the reauthorization vote.
“No warrant to protect Americans? No FISA,” Lee posted on X.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said following the vote that the Senate “will take another run at it” next week but that Democrats’ opposition is a “terribly irresponsible position,” even though some of the conservatives in his conference voted with Democrats.
“The naming of Pulte to that position, although the timing arguably wasn’t the best, I still don’t think it ought to derail something that’s this important,” Thune said.
Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, a longtime critic of the surveillance system, said the bipartisan vote was proof that “reform efforts transcend red and blue.”
“It’s a message that Americans aren’t going to stand for law-abiding people being spied on,” Wyden told The Associated Press.
The vote marked the latest setback for Mr. Trump and intelligence officials, who have spent months pushing to extend a key provision of FISA that allows agencies such as the CIA, National Security Agency and FBI to collect communications from foreign targets without a warrant.
Concerns that the program can incidentally sweep up Americans’ communications left Republican leaders only able to pass short-term extensions while negotiations continued. Critics wanted a warrant requirement when those communications are accessed.
Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee who had worked to negotiate the bill, voted against it. He said earlier Thursday that he and committee Chair Sen. Tom Cotton had reached what he described as a “compromise” on a “strong bill,” but that the “complete irresponsibility of putting forward” Pulte had changed the equation.
Pulte has seen pushback to his appointment from both Democrats and Republicans for his lack of experience and past controversies. Thune said the position shouldn’t be “weaponized” and the office should be led by “professionals.”
“Does anybody think it makes good sense to give him the keys to the 18 intelligence agencies?” Warner said.
Mr. Trump on Thursday said Pulte would not be his “permanent” choice for the critical security post. But the president may not have helped his case for Pulte’s appointment when he said he may investigate “rigged elections.” Tulsi Gabbard, the outgoing director, raised eyebrows even among Republicans when she joined an FBI search of an election center in Fulton County, Georgia, earlier this year.
“It’s an acting position, it’s not permanent, he’s not going to be permanent because, you know, I don’t think he’d want to be permanent,” Mr. Trump said in the Oval Office. “But he’s a very smart guy and he may find out some things about the rigged elections, etc., etc. I think he’d like to do it. I’d like to — I think he wants to do it very much. Got a lot of energy. But he’ll be very good. Again, it’s not a permanent position. We’re looking at, we’re interviewing people right now. But it’s somebody just to take it over for a little while.”
The Senate is expected to revisit the legislation when lawmakers return next week.
Any agreement would still need to clear the chamber’s 60-vote threshold before heading to the House, where lawmakers have yet to resolve differences over a provision restricting a central bank digital currency that House Republican leaders added to secure support for the bill.
British man arrested for attempted drowning and assault on Benidorm beach
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Get you up to speed: British tourist ‘tries to drown woman before attacking child’ on Benidorm beach | News World
A 44-year-old British man has been arrested for attempting to drown a woman and suffocate a boy on Poniente Beach in Benidorm. He is currently undergoing mental health evaluations at Villajoyosa Hospital under guard and on suicide watch.
The British man, currently undergoing mental health evaluations at Villajoyosa Hospital under guard, was arrested for attempted homicide, wounding, and threats after incidents on Poniente Beach. The National Police have not yet released a timeline for further updates regarding their investigation into the attacks, which took place on Tuesday.
A British man has been arrested in Benidorm for attempted homicide following two assaults on a beach, with the National Police yet to release an official statement regarding the incident. The individual is currently undergoing mental health evaluations at Villajoyosa Hospital while under police supervision, and additional measures may be considered pending further assessment of his condition.
What remains unclear — The National Police have not provided details on the man’s motives for the attacks.
British man arrested for attempted drowning and assault on Benidorm beach
The unnamed man is said to have gone berserk at Poniente Beach, Benidorm’s longest and largest beach (Picture: Getty Images)
A British man has been arrested after two attacks on a beach in Benidorm.
The 44-year-old is accused of trying to drown a woman and suffocate a boy on Poniente Beach.
It is alleged that he grabbed the Norwegian 34-year-old woman’s neck and pushed her head under water while she was swimming with her boyfriend, who came to her rescue.
He is then said to have grabbed a five-year-old Spanish boy by the neck and tried to suffocate him by forcing his face into the sand and holding him down.
The boy’s mum went to help her son while other sunbathers and a lifeguard performed a citizen’s arrest, restraining him until police arrived.
He was arrested for attempted homicide, wounding, and threats.
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The man in custody was staying at a hotel in the Costa Blanca resort.
He is now undergoing mental health evaluations at Villajoyosa Hospital under guard and on suicide watch.
The National Police are yet to make any official statements about the incident, which happened on Tuesday.
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Girl named Lyhanna goes missing after getting into man’s car in Fleurance
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Girl named Lyhanna goes missing after getting into man’s car in Fleurance
Girl Missing
A girl named Lyhanna went missing on 29 May near Fleurance after being last seen entering a man’s car.
A girl named Lyhanna went missing on 29 May near Fleurance after being last seen entering a man’s car.
Child Safety Concerns
Lyhanna’s disappearance highlights urgent issues surrounding child safety and community vigilance, prompting discussions on protective measures and response protocols in similar incidents.
Lyhanna’s disappearance highlights urgent issues surrounding child safety and community vigilance, prompting discussions on protective measures and response protocols in similar incidents.
Community Concern
“We urge anyone with information to come forward and assist in bringing Lyhanna home safely,” said a local representative working with the search efforts.
“We urge anyone with information to come forward and assist in bringing Lyhanna home safely,” said a local representative working with the search efforts.
France's president blasts 'unacceptable' lapses over 11-year-old girl's suspected murderer
A girl, named in the press only as Lyhanna, went missing on 29 May near the town of Fleurance after she was last seen getting into a man’s car.
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