Newspaper Lawsuit Against OpenAI Can Proceed
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...AI pioneer OpenAI and Microsoft have suffered a legal setback after a federal judge ruled that a copyright infringement lawsuit can proceed. In December 2023 The New York Times became the first major US media organisation to sue OpenAI (and its main investor Microsoft). Copyright claimsShortly after that NYT lawsuit, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman expressed his surprise at the lawsuit, saying OpenAI’s artificial intelligence models didn’t need to train on the publisher’s data. But the New York Times lawsuit wasn’t the last copyright infringement claim to be filed against OpenAI. Then in May 2024 eight US newspaper publishers had alleged that Microsoft and OpenAI used millions of their articles without payment or permission.
Source:The Times
March 27, 2025 09:53 UTC
Times letters: Rachel Reeves’s plan to cut 10,000 civil servants
Write to letters@thetimes.co.ukSir, There have been successful drives to reduce the size of the civil service: Francis Maude’s was one, as Alice Thomson writes (“Bloated civil service is ripe for Reeves’s axe”, Mar 26). Indeed, between 1980 and 1996 the size dropped from roughly three quarters of a million people to half a million under prime ministers Margaret Thatcher and John Major. The secret lies not in aggressive public statements — they put people’s backs up and create resistance — but in quiet good management by permanent secretaries and senior officials sustained over a period of years, drawing on experience. One thing is, however, essential. The drive needs clear ministerial support in private, and above all political will from
Source:The Times
March 27, 2025 09:43 UTC
UP Tourism: Uttar Pradesh eyes Europe after strong tourist influx from UK, Germany
Prateek Hira, President & CEO of Tornos and Director of River Rhapsody, recently highlighted the state’s tremendous tourism potential during an exclusive interview. Uttar Pradesh is home to the Taj Mahal, one of the most well-known buildings in the world, as well as the historic city of Varanasi, which is occasionally referred to as the oldest surviving city in the world. As interest in Ayurveda, yoga, and Hinduism grows worldwide, the state is establishing itself as a top spiritual tourism destination. Adventurers can take Ganges river cruises or hike the picturesque Vindhya and Shivalik mountain ranges.“We want visitors to see Uttar Pradesh beyond the Taj Mahal,” he noted. "Business travellers can combine their professional commitments with an exploration of the state's cultural diversity.
Source:The Times
March 27, 2025 09:20 UTC
Retailers that innovate and embrace ecommerce have no need to fear Amazon’s Irish website
Fast forward to 2025 and Dunnes Stores is now unabashedly at the premium end of the grocery sector. Immediately there were cries of what this could mean for Irish retailers. The thing is that Amazon has long had a retail presence in Ireland and Irish retailers have long since adapted. Had Dunnes Stores stood pat at the turn of the century, they’d have been in for a bumpy ride. This is where Irish retailers can grow online.
Source:The Times
March 27, 2025 08:45 UTC
Rachel Reeves squeezes benefits as 2025 growth forecast halved in Spring Statement
The Spring Statement was meant to be a routine update on the public finances but Reeves made more extensive changes after her plans were blown off course by lower growth and higher government borrowing costs. Reeves used her statement to announce a further £2.2bn for defence, while a target has been set to reduce the administrative costs of government departments by 15% by 2030. Real household disposable income per person is expected to grow by an average of around 0.5% a year, the OBR said. Economist Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, told BBC Breakfast this was "actually a pretty feeble rate of growth". On social media, Labour MP Jon Trickett said: "I will not be voting for cuts to poorest people on welfare benefits.
Source:The Times
March 27, 2025 07:15 UTC
UK faces £600bn debt interest bill
UK government debt and stocks rallied on Wednesday after the chancellor was warned of a near-£600 billion debt interest bill over the next five years amid hundreds of billions of pounds of new borrowing. Yields on the UK’s benchmark ten-year bond edged down after the Debt Management Office (DMO), the organisation tasked with selling government debt, said it would issue fewer bonds than investors had envisioned. The DMO’s gross bond issuance will remain at £299 billion in the fiscal year, below forecasts of a jump to about £310 billion anticipated by analysts. Although the figure was lower than expected, it is among the highest ever. The borrowing remit was published amid a swathe of documents that accompanied the chancellor’s spring statement on Wednesday, in which
Source:The Times
March 27, 2025 04:31 UTC
'Extremely regrettable': Global reactions to Donald Trump’s 25% 'permanent' auto tariffs
Poll Do you believe the auto tariffs will negatively impact the U.S. economy? We'll effectively be charging a 25 per cent tariff," Trump told reporters.The tariffs, expected to generate $100 billion annually, will take effect on April 3. However, concerns are mounting over rising costs for automakers, potential job losses, and retaliatory measures from affected nations. "The Trump administration argues the tariffs will boost US manufacturing and reduce the trade deficit. With automakers scrambling to assess the impact, global trade tensions are set to rise.
Source:The Times
March 27, 2025 03:27 UTC
Estonia’s fears after UK cuts British troop numbers
Britain has reduced its military footprint in Estonia by hundreds of troops and to fewer than ten tanks despite pledging to increase it to tackle the rising threat from Russia, The Times can disclose. The military’s financial problems are deemed by allies to be so severe that the UK is struggling to meet its commitments to Nato’s eastern flank, a former commander of the Estonian defence forces has claimed. Riho Terras, now an MEP, told Times Radio that the UK appeared unable to put together a brigade-sized force, typically around 3,000 to 5,000 troops, for an exercise in the spring and it concerned him the UK and others were not “taking seriously our defence”. Riho Terras suggested the UK has problems with “financing” TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER RICHARD POHLE“The UK has difficulties to put together one brigade to participate
Source:The Times
March 27, 2025 02:19 UTC
Macmillan and The Times help readers leave a lasting legacy in their will
Cancer doesn’t just impact the person diagnosed: it affects the lives of everyone who cares about them. Macmillan’s brand partnership with The Times shows readers how they can help all those needing supportLoved ones often find themselves navigating through the emotional strain as they try to provide support of those affected. This sponsored content highlights moving stories of people who are being helped through their or their loved one’s cancer journey by Macmillan. The content encourages readers to learn more about the process of leaving a will by using a QR code.
Source:The Times
March 27, 2025 02:09 UTC
What the papers say – March 27
What the papers say – March 27Reaction to Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ spring statement dominates Thursday’s headlines. The Daily Mirror and The Guardian say the Chancellor has been accused of balancing the budget “on the backs of the poor” after official figures revealed 3 million households could lose up to £172 in yearly benefits. Tomorrow's Papers Today 📰 ANGER AT LABOUR'S WARFARE STATE 🔴 Chancellor under fire again#tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/R0BwgY6BJa — Metro (@MetroUK) March 26, 2025The Financial Times leads on warnings from economists, who say that Ms Reeves may be forced to raise taxes again in the autumn budget. Britain could face five years of record taxes, according to the Daily Telegraph. The front page of today's Daily Telegraph: 'Five years of record taxes' pic.twitter.com/7n6HDskF8v — The Telegraph (@Telegraph) March 27, 2025The Daily Express nicknames Ms Reeves “reckless” and accuses her of “tanking” the economy, while the Daily Mail says the Chancellor’s spending plan has branded her “deluded”.
Source:The Times
March 27, 2025 01:13 UTC
Glowing blue spiral over Europe dazzles and perplexes. There’s an explanation familiar to SoCal
A blue and white spiral in the night sky is seen from Sweden. A large, bright blue spiral spotted over Europe on Monday night sparked chatter on social media about what might have caused the mysterious vortex. Videos posted on X showed a blue orb in the night sky that was visible in the U.K., France and other countries. What are we thinking this spiral, now appearing in the night sky over Europe, could be? pic.twitter.com/wUyAdb8KsD — Conspiracy Kitchen Podcast (@Conspirakitchen) March 25, 2025AdvertisementIn a post on X, AccuWeather said the mesmerizing blue spiral might have been caused by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
Source:The Times
March 26, 2025 22:20 UTC
Trump’s tariffs threaten to wipe out UK’s economic growth
Rachel Reeves faces having to raise taxes or cut spending if President Trump follows through on his threat to impose tariffs on Britain next week, the official budget watchdog has warned. The chancellor was forced to announce a £14 billion package of cuts to repair the public finances in her spring statement after the Office for Budget Responsibility halved growth forecasts. But the budget watchdog warned that there was a 50 per cent chance that Reeves would be forced to return with further cuts or tax rises as soon as October amid concerns that the UK’s economic outlook will deteriorate still further. • The spring statement in full: who are the winners and losers? It said that Reeves’s decision to leave herself with a “tiny”
Source:The Times
March 26, 2025 22:20 UTC
UK set to cut public spending by billions of pounds
Britain's finance minister Rachel Reeves is set to detail billions of pounds of spending cuts in her Spring Statement on Wednesday to address the country's ailing public finances.The spending update comes as the Labour government, elected in July after a landslide election win, faces sluggish economic growth and rising borrowing costs.In a glimmer of good news, Britain's annual inflation rate eased to 2.8 percent in February, down from 3.0 percent in January, according to the Office for National Statistics.But despite the slowdown, inflation remains elevated above the Bank of England's two percent target. The central bank kept interest rates unchanged last week after a series of cuts, warning of "economic uncertainty".Reeves has warned that since her inaugural budget in October, "the world has changed. "Heightened global uncertainty over US tariffs and the war in Ukraine have added to the UK's economic woes, chipping away at the Labour government's £9.9 billion ($12.8 billion) fiscal cushion.Prime Minister Keir Starmer has recently pledged to hike spending on defence, with the government announcing late Tuesday a £2.2 billion boost next year. "This moment demands an active government stepping up to secure Britain's future," Reeves said in a press statement ahead of the fiscal update.An advocate of iron discipline over public finances, Reeves is set to detail cuts to welfare payments and government departmental budgets in Wednesday's highly-anticipated update.An accompanying forecast from the Office for Budget Responsibility, the country's spending watchdog, is expected to paint a gloomy picture of the outlook for the UK economy. "The Chancellor (Rachel Reeves) is unlikely to announce much today that will help quell the fears around the UK economy," commented Lindsay James, investment strategist at wealth management firm Quilter.
Source:The Times
March 26, 2025 22:02 UTC
Irish Times readers pick Claire Keegan’s Small Things Like These as the best Irish book of the 21st century
The Irish Times assembled a panel of 60 experts – authors, critics, academics, festival curators, booksellers and journalists – to decide the best Irish novels and short story collections of the years 2000-2025. The result was a ranked list of 100 works of fiction, with Milkman by Anna Burns (2018) decided as the best Irish book of the 21st century. With almost 2,000 votes cast, Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (2021) was chosen by readers as the best book. Although the expert panel favoured Milkman, Keegan’s haunting story of institutional abuse by the Catholic Church was not far behind in fourth place. To determine the best books of the 21st century so far, our experts initially each submitted 50 favourites.
Source:The Times
March 26, 2025 21:50 UTC
‘Santosh’, UK’s Oscar entry, blocked in India?
Censors’ decision disappointing and heartbreaking: SuriSantosh, the UK’s official entry in the Oscars’ international feature category and a Bafta nominee for best debut feature, has been blocked by Indian film censors, according to a report in UK daily Guardian.Written and directed by British-Indian filmmaker Sandhya Suri , the film was made in India and is in Hindi. According to the Guardian report, Central Board of Film Certification refused to clear the film over concerns about its negative portrayal of police — “depicting deep-rooted misogyny, discrimination against Dalits and the normalisation of mistreatment and torture by police officers.”Several CBFC board members TOI spoke to said they were unaware of reasons behind uncertainty over the release in India. Only the chairman is privy to the board’s day-to-day functioning.” Other board members declined to comment, saying only CBFC chairperson Prasoon Joshi would speak on the issue. Only an insecure society censors art in any form Art, creativity, and literature form the soup that nourishes society. But in the end it was just too difficult to make those cuts and have a film that still made sense, let alone stayed true to its vision,” the Guardian report quoted Suri as saying.
Source:The Times
March 26, 2025 21:40 UTC