AI firms must be clear on risks or repeat tobacco’s mistakes, says Anthropic chief 17. November 2025 (12:35) Artificial intelligence will become smarter than ‘most or all humans in most or all ways’, says Dario AmodeiBusiness live – latest updatesArtificial intelligence companies must be transparent about the risks posed by their products or be in danger of repeating the mistakes of tobacco and opioid companies, according to the chief executive of the AI startup Anthropic.Dario Amodei, who runs the US company behind the Claude chatbot, said he believed AI would become smarter than “most or all humans in most or all ways” and urged his peers to “call it as you see it”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
WPP shares leap amid takeover bid speculation 17. November 2025 (12:09) Advertising group declines to comment on reports of interest from rival Havas and private equity groups Apollo and KKRBusiness live – latest updatesShares in WPP have risen sharply amid speculation that the advertising group could be the subject of a takeover by a rival or a private equity buyer.Its French rival Havas, which was listed on Euronext in Amsterdam in December and is controlled by the billionaire Vincent Bolloré, has reportedly held internal talks about a potential bid as WPP’s share price languishes at levels not seen since the mid-1990s. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Starmer braced for backlash from Labour MPs as Mahmood sets out asylum plans – UK politics live 17. November 2025 (11:56) Home secretary to announce a drastic tightening of rules, including requiring asylum seekers to wait 20 years before getting the right to permanently settle in UKMomentum, the leftwing Labour group, has also denounced the government’s asylum plans. In a statement it says:The home secretary’s new immigration plans are divisive and xenophobic.Scapegoating migrants will not fix our public services or end austerity.Draconian, unworkable and potentially illegal anti-asylum policies only feed Reform’s support.The government has learnt nothing from the period since the general election.Some of the legal changes being proposed are truly frightening:Abolishing the right to a family life would ultimately affect many more people than asylum-seekers. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Weather tracker: Storm Claudia brings more flooding to Portugal and Spain 17. November 2025 (11:51) Heavy rainfall hit Galicia region first before slowly moving across western parts of the Iberian peninsulaPortugal and Spain are again recovering from flooding after Storm Claudia brought heavy rain and strong winds last week. The storm developed from an area of low pressure that had earlier driven early season cold and snowy conditions through eastern parts of Canada and the north-eastern US through early November.The system tracked eastwards across the Atlantic during the second weekend of November before slowing and stalling to the north-west of the Iberian peninsula, caught in the trough of an increasingly amplified, or wavy, jet stream. Spain’s meteorological service AEMET named the storm last Monday before the arrival of several bouts of heavy rainfall, which slowly pushed through during the rest of the week. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Explosion on Polish railway was ‘unprecedented act of sabotage,’ says PM – Europe live 17. November 2025 (11:50) Donald Tusk says ‘worst fears confirmed’ over damage on route used to ferry aid deliveries to UkraineOver in Berlin, German chancellor Friedrich Merz has warned about “a deep rift” in Europe’s relations with the US, the growing threat from China and the rapidly progressing systemic challenges to the world order that required a united European response.In a wide-ranging speech at the Süddeutsche Zeitung’s Economic Summit, Merz said that Germany faced “a deep rift in transatlantic relations that calls into question almost everything that we have considered right and necessary for decades.” Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump continues Taylor Greene attacks despite his call to release Epstein files – US politics live 17. November 2025 (11:46) President repeats assertion that former ally is a ‘traitor’ even as he urges fellow Republicans to vote for release of documents relating to sex offenderPresident Trump is set to meet with the White House Task Force at 2pm ET today, as plans ramp up ahead of next summer’s soccer World Cup.The meeting will take place in the Oval Office at the White House. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
