Comment on BlackBerry users in Gulf may have services cut off (Reuters)

The artificial intelligence (AI) enhanced search engine Perplexity is introducing new features to improve the experience for paid users. Perplexity is an AI search engine that sits at the intersection of ChatGPT and Google Search. It can provide summarised answers to queries along with links to sources for further information. Providing links to sources makes it more reliable and less likely to hallucinate answers to user’s queries. One of the key features of Perplexity AI is its ability to search the web in real-time, ensuring responses are up to date, something that other AI chatbots cannot do.

Social media site Instagram is introducing several new safety features in the hopes of combatting rising rates of sextortion on the platform. The new safety features are designed to complement the recently introduced Instagram Teen accounts, which were introduced in September. Teen accounts are private as standard, but malicious accounts can still request to follow, and teens can allow the request and follow back accounts that may be harmful. Sextortion is a term for a rising kind of scam particularly being targeted at teens and young people.

A fresh national poll conducted by Fox News has indicated Donald Trump leads Kamala Harris in the U. S. Presidential race with a lead of around 2%.  As the 45th POTUS and the incumbent Vice-President face off for control of the White House for the next term, the final stretch beckons ahead of the election on Tuesday 5 November.  The Fox survey represents Trump’s best position since Harris was named as the Democrat nominee, after President Joe Biden withdrew from the contest, reversing the figures from last month when the former California senator had a similar slim lead in the poll.  Fox has suggested Trump’s advantage should be tempered by the figures showing Harris is ahead by six points among the electorate in six of the seven swing states.   Fox News Poll: Trump ahead of Harris by 2 points nationally https://t.co/ROOhefpn72 — Fox News (@FoxNews) October 17, 2024 Overall, the survey reflects the fine margins in the race at this critical time, with both candidates doing their utmost to win over undecided voters at this late stage. Have Polymarket’s odds been compromised? Over on the blockchain-based prediction platform Polymarket, Trump has surged ahead in its election forecast offering.

Elon Musk’s X has updated its terms of service to limit legal disputes to a court in Texas whose judge is well known for favoring conservative outcomes. An update to X’s terms of service which comes into effect on November 15 seeks to restrict any disputes raised against the social media platform to the U.

Gavin Isaacs, the chief executive of Ladbrokes and Coral parent company Entain has reacted with fury following reports suggesting the Labour government is set to hit the sector as part of a drive to raise £3 billion in taxes.  With the sentiment shared across the British gambling industry, he said ministers should be wary of the impact of a “punitive” tax hike on gambling due to the knock-on effect on the wider economy. The head of one of the United Kingdom’s leading betting firms said such a move would jeopardize thousands of jobs and strike a direct blow to horseracing and funding for other sports, including sponsorships.  In July this year, Isaacs was confirmed as the replacement for the outgoing Jette Nygaard-Andersen who was mired in a long-running bribery scandal that hampered the company, contributing to a downward spiral that resulted in significant losses of hundreds of millions for Entain.  After taking up the chief executive position at the top table last month, he said of the potential increased liabilities: “We’d ask ministers to be mindful that further punitive tax increases would have a material detrimental impact on the economic contribution of the gambling industry, put thousands of jobs at risk, reduce funding for horseracing and other sports, as well as benefiting the black market.”  The Guardian reported on Friday 11 October that UK Treasury officials were considering elaborate proposals from two “influential” think tanks to raise up to £3b in taxes from the gambling industry as part of a push to shore up a black hole in public finances. This would include doubling the existing levies placed on some bookmakers operators and casinos.  A paper from the Social Market Foundation (SMF) would see online gaming taxes spike by £900m, while a separate proposal from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) would raise an array of duties placed on the sector by nearly £3bn. While the response from the gambling lobby isn’t a surprise, the government’s position will be cognizant of the harm caused by problem gambling and a desire to address the issue. Online casino style gambling has surged in recent years.

Mortgage interest rates were variable, but one benchmark rate saw a decline. Rates fluctuate daily.