Why ‘Smart’ Products Have Started to Look Like the Dumb Choice
How Wi-Fi-connecting, app-based tech led to a backlash in the name of simplicity
SUNDAY, 31 MAY 2026, 20:44
How Wi-Fi-connecting, app-based tech led to a backlash in the name of simplicity
Ishmael Reed, provocateur and playwright, has a few words for the billionaires of Silicon Valley.

The Airports Company of South Africa (ACSA) has appointed insider Charles Shilowa as its acting Chief Executive Officer, effective 1 July 2026. Shilowa, currently Group Executive for Capital Infrastructure Asset Management, will take over when current CEO Nompumelelo Mpofu’s contract expires on 30 June 2026. Mpofu will also step down as an executive director at […]

Discovery Bank today announced a major expansion of its AI-powered’ banking capabilities, alongside new security and servicing enhancements, streamlined access to life insurance, and a rewards partnership with DStv, as it continues to build a single, intelligent digital banking platform for everyday spending, protection and rewards. Hylton Kallner, CEO of Discovery Bank, says, “We are […]
After a series of political victories under President Trump, firms are lobbying Congress for a sweeping framework they helped shape.

You may think you know when someone’s trying to deceive you, but there’s a clever trick very few people are aware of – one that has eluded AI and Traitors contestants alike
Can you tell if someone is lying?
Close your eyes. You’re already twice as good as you were before.
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Madeleine Finlay sits down with co-host and science editor Ian Sample to discuss three eyecatching stories from the week, including an update on hantavirus. Also on the agenda is the Pentagon’s release of a tranche of never before seen documents relating to UFOs, and a study looking at the link between taking part in cultural activities and slower biological ageing
Clips: News Nation
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Two mothers fought British bureaucracy to obtain lifesaving cannabis medicines for their children. But most patients are having to go private – at huge cost
In the summer of 2012, Britain was in a festive mood. It was the year of the queen’s diamond jubilee and the London Olympics, and the country was celebrating. But for former hairdresser Hannah Deacon and her young family in Warwickshire,...

Molar found in Siberia features deep hole that appears to show earliest known evidence of dental treatment
Neanderthals used stone drills to treat cavities almost 60,000 years ago in what is the earliest known evidence of dental treatment.
The single molar, which was unearthed in a cave in southern Siberia, features a deep hole that appears to have been created using a sharp, thin stone tool...
Fervo Energy, which uses drilling techniques from the oil and gas industry to produce power from the earth’s heat, raised $1.9 billion in an initial public offering.

My husband Peer Bork, who has died unexpectedly aged 62, was a bioinformatician with a remarkable ability to identify new directions in science and carry out world-class research to push them forward.
During his career, he progressed from the statistical analysis of the sequences of individual protein molecules, via the analysis of the human genome, to the bioinformatics analysis of whole...
Dozens of long-shot bets on Polymarket, from the war with Iran to the cryptocurrency market, have defied the odds, according to a New York Times examination.
Electric vehicle sales have soared in Europe and much of the rest of the world, but Americans are still hesitant.

Researchers say rise not inevitable and it is important to unpick what is behind differences in obesity trends
A continuing rise in obesity around the world is not inevitable, research suggests, with rates in some countries levelling off or potentially in decline.
Researchers say focusing on what has been described as a global epidemic of obesity hides large variations in trends across...

A cyber security expert says deleting chat history could lead to a lack of accountability if things go wrong.

A new book by linguistics professor Valerie Fridland, who was raised in Memphis by parents with French accents, explores the power behind the way we speak
Valerie Fridland writes in her new book, Why We Talk Funny: the Real Story Behind Our Accents, that humans instinctively use accents to categorize those around us. “We learn to recognize other people as being like us through the way that...

The regulator said the forum had not done enough to protect UK users – but critics accuse Ofcom of acting too slowly.
OpenAI and Anthropic are opening offices in Washington, hiring lobbyists and spending more than ever to win over federal lawmakers.
Recursive Superintelligence, founded by former Google, Meta and OpenAI researchers, is part of a growing effort to automate the creation of artificial intelligence.
Apps from Apple, Google and others can assist in making your online accounts more secure, even as new ways of logging in continue to take off.
“If you think there’s a lot of money in politics now,” Marc Andreessen said in 2000, “you haven’t seen anything yet.” His firm is now the biggest known spender on this campaign cycle.