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Leaders meeting in Ankara urged to show concrete steps towards increasing their budget contribution. Plus, why Madonna’s new album is a triumph

Good morning. Nato leaders will gather in Ankara today for their latest summit after a turbulent six months, hoping to mollify an unpredictable Donald Trump, as Washington continues to pressure its allies to increase defence spending.

On Friday, Trump posted a graphic on his Truth Social platform showing Nato members’ defence budgets, comparing a vast US spend of $999m (£747m) with smaller figures from European states saying the situation was “ridiculous” and “one-sided”. The US is planning to cut the number of troops and materiel it assigns to Europe in the event of a war with Russia.

What is causing tension between the US and the rest of Nato? Since threatening to take control of Greenland from his ally Denmark, Trump has failed to consult European leaders before the US and Israel launched their economically disastrous attack on Iran, and complained countries including the UK did not allow US jets to bomb Iran from their territory. He has bizarrely accused Italy’s Giorgia Meloni of being obsessed with him, and relations with Canada’s Mark Carney are strained after Trump voiced an interest in a takeover of the US’s northern neighbor.

What are the allegations against Platner? In an exclusive Politico report, Jenny Racicot, 41, who previously dated Platner, said he forced her to have sex despite repeated objections. The report cited accounts from a man Racicot later confided in, as well as recent therapist emails, and messages where she warned an acquaintance about Platner in 2023.

How has Platner responded? Platner denied the claims in a statement to Politico. “These allegations are troubling, serious, and false. Any accusation of non-consensual behavior is categorically untrue,” he said.

Reform UK leader reveals he faces second inquiry over financial gifts but says he will fight byelection in Clacton

• UK politics live – latest updates

Nigel Farage has announced he is to resign as the MP for Clacton to fight a byelection, after revealing he is under a second investigation by the parliamentary standards watchdog over undeclared gifts.

In a high-stakes move, the Reform UK leader said it was part of “sticking two fingers up at the establishment” and it would prove that the public wanted him to stay on as an MP.

Когда компания растёт из одного продуктового направления в несколько, технический долг начинает выглядеть иначе. Проблема уже не в «старом коде», устаревших зависимостях или сложной поддержке legacy-системы. Долг начинает накапливаться в расхождении инженерных решений между сервисами.

Для нас в QIC digital hub это особенно заметно на фоне миграции на новый Go-бэкенд. Исторически платформа развивалась на разнородном стеке: разные части системы были написаны на разных технологиях. Сейчас мы постепенно переезжаем на Go. Часть сервисов уже в проде, часть ещё на пути. Именно в такой момент легко создать новый слой техдолга поверх старого: переписать поведение на новом языке, но оставить команды один на один с десятками одинаковых инфраструктурных задач, которые каждая решает по-своему.

Мы стараемся не просто переносить сервисы на новый стек, а одновременно пересобирать инженерную инфраструктуру вокруг них. В нашем случае это несколько взаимосвязанных инструментов:

- go-kit — общая библиотека с переиспользуемыми инженерными решениями;

- go-service-template — шаблон, который делает эти решения стандартным способом запуска нового сервиса;

- shared-renovate-config — общий Renovate-конфиг с единой политикой обновления зависимостей для всех репозиториев.

Ниже — честная инженерная история о том, как мы стараемся замедлить накопление нового техдолга в растущей мультидоменной платформе.

Forecaster says curtailing rising costs such as health and pensions ‘are today’s challenge, not just tomorrow’s’

• Business live – latest updates

Policymakers must act to prevent public debt rising unsustainably in coming decades as the population ages and defence spending rises, the government’s independent economic forecaster has said.

In a fresh illustration of the challenges facing the prime minister in waiting, Andy Burnham, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said that without government action “debt would move on to what would be an unsustainable, ever-upward path from around the 2040s”.

У вас есть дорогая ИСУП, которую внедряли полгода. У вас есть регламенты, ради которых лучшие люди месяцами отрывались от работы, чтобы описать, как надо работать. Формально сделано всё, но проекты все равно живут своей жизнью, важные инициативы буксуют, а проблемы выявляются слишком поздно.

Причина проста. Регламенты, которые должны управлять проектами, на практике почти никто не использует – какие-то правила давно устарели, а какие-то погребены в недрах 200-страничного документа. ИСУП же автоматизирует лишь небольшую часть процессов: управление сроками, иногда деньгами и ресурсами, – оставляя за бортом риски, цели, ответственность, связи между проектами и т.д. 

Единственное решение этой проблемы, которое я нашел, – это создать «DevOps» для регламентов. Живую цифровую модель управления, которая превращает регламенты в рудименты устаревших подходов к проектному управлению. В статье ниже я поделюсь, в чем конкретно проблема ИСУП и регламентов и как работает живая цифровая модель на практике, устраняя эти проблемы.

The revered writer and political exile’s publisher says her ‘legacy in literary history can’t be compared to anyone else’s’

Shahrnush Parsipur, the celebrated Iranian writer whose subversive works of feminist fiction saw her repeatedly imprisoned, has died aged 80.

A pioneer of women’s literature in Iran, Parsipur excoriated the country’s patriarchal culture in novels including Women Without Men and Touba and the Meaning of Night. She was imprisoned four times, under the Shah and then the Islamic Republic.

Duke of Sussex and other prominent figures lost their case over claims the newspaper used unlawful methods to source stories about them

Prince Harry and six other prominent figures are facing a legal bill of up to £50m after losing their case against the publisher of the Daily Mail over claims it used unlawful methods to source stories.

In an emphatic ruling that is likely to signal an end to new litigation relating to the phone-hacking scandal era, the high court dismissed all the group’s claims, stating that the claimants had not proved that any information had been obtained unlawfully.

Farage was under pressure over undeclared gifts, including from crypto gambler and fraudster George Cottrell

• UK politics live – latest updates

Nigel Farage has resigned as the member of parliament for Clacton after he came under pressure over his failure to declare gifts from wealthy supporters.

The Reform UK leader is facing a standards inquiry after he did not make public a £5m gift from the billionaire crypto investor Christopher Harborne before the last election.

Я плотно работаю с финтехом и ритейлом, а это как раз те сферы, где грядёт подключение к платформе цифрового рубля. Готовиться начал заранее, так как 1 сентября 2026 года тестовый контур уже обязан быть в порядке. Полгода собирал базу, расспрашивал знакомых из финтеха, ходил на вебинары – даже на те, что делали для бухгалтеров. Я даже прочитал документы Банка России. В итоге сложилась нормальная методологическая основа.

Всю её выкладывать не буду, но в статье собрал самое рабочее – то, что реально пригодится руководителям продукта, разработки и тестирования. Покажу, что и в каком порядке проверять перед выкаткой в прод.

Более 80 реализованных проектов, 582 активных пользователя системы и всего 4 месяца на запуск. Таких эффектов удалось достичь «Кузбассразрезуглю» на проекте внедрения Directum Projects. Как выбирали ИСУП, с какими трудностями столкнулись и какой подход использовали, мы спросили у Дмитрия Сосенкова, начальника управления развития ИТ-сервисов ООО «Скиф» — дочерней компании «Кузбассразрезуголь».

High court dismisses claims by group including Duke of Sussex that Mail publisher used unlawful methods to source stories about them

Prince Harry and six other prominent figures are facing a legal bill of up to £50m after losing their case against the publisher of the Daily Mail over claims it used unlawful methods to source stories.

In an emphatic ruling that is likely to signal an end to new litigation relating to the phone-hacking scandal era, the high court dismissed all the group’s claims, stating that the claimants had not proved that any information had been obtained unlawfully.

Я не рассчитывал, что через две недели буду сидеть и писать текст про то, как маркетинг сложнее программирования — звучит как банальность, которую все и так знают. Но когда сам через это проходишь, банальность перестаёт быть банальностью, она превращается в конкретную проблему, у которой нет решения ни в одной документации.

Расскажу с самого начала, заодно покажу цифры и то, что получилось собрать.

V&A Dundee
When Kathryn Findlay and Eisaku Ushida joined forces, a sensual kind of architecture was born – resulting in a hairy blue pod in Tokyo and a starfish beach palace in Qatar

‘The future of architecture,” pronounced Salvador Dalí on meeting Le Corbusier in 1922, “will be soft and hairy.” Fast forward over 70 years to Tokyo, and his surrealist prophecy was the stimulus for the Soft and Hairy House, one of a series of startlingly expressive dwellings designed by the talented Scottish-Japanese architectural partnership of Kathryn Findlay and Eisaku Ushida. Melding diverse design cultures – Celtic coiling and Japanese “rawness” – overlaid by an interest in the natural world, as well as fractal geometries and chaos theory, the pair contrived a uniquely sensual and surreal architecture.

Completed in 1994, the Soft and Hairy House was based on a classic courtyard plan form, radically reworked for pre-millennial Tokyo, its softness accentuated by plumply rounded contours, its hairiness by a shaggy fringe of greenery embellishing the roof. A bright blue, porthole-percolated bathroom pod intruded into the courtyard like a giant fungal entity. The interior was suggestive of the glamorous dream space of a Hollywood star, with soft draperies and seductive lighting.

«Моё лицо, когда я читаю про очередное поделие с ИИ». Топ-коммент под моей прошлой статьёй: плюс четырнадцать, больше, чем собрала вся остальная ветка. Гримаса, кстати, знакомая. Я сам так смотрю на каждый лендинг с «AI-powered». Теперь так посмотрели на меня, и было за что: своего бота я подал первой же строкой через «прогоняет ссылки через AI». Пошёл разбираться, почему эти две буквы так бесят людей. Разобрался. Легче не стало: у меня самого это слово оказалось натыкано щедрее, чем я думал, в местах, куда я не догадался заглянуть.

Что за бот, если ты прошлую серию пропустил. Три месяца по вечерам пилю телеграм-бота: кидаешь ему ссылку «на потом», он раскладывает её по категориям, прикидывает время на чтение или просмотр и пинает, пока не прочитаешь. Заодно доводит до конца онлайн-курсы и книги. Да, внутри ИИ. И да, с этого «внутри ИИ» я зачем-то заводил каждый свой текст про бота, для солидности. Вот она мне боком и вышла.

ИИ-агент может написать убедительный ответ и при этом вызвать не тот инструмент, потерять состояние между ходами или принять неверное решение с высокой уверенностью. Для обычной языковой модели это была бы проблема качества текста. Для агентной системы это уже риск в цепочке действий, где результату доверяют другие сервисы и люди — поэтому валидация агентов начинается с вопроса не «насколько точна модель», а «как именно система может дать сбой».

В прошлом году я уже рассказывал об AVI (Aligned/Agreement Validation Interface) — концепции внешнего, гибкого и независимого от модели фильтра, который работает как умный файрвол для LLM: отбивает промпт-атаки на входе, проверяет ответы модели на токсичность, этичность и нарушение закона — на выходе. Недавно мы доработали свою концепцию с точки зрения архитектуры, реализовали и выложили на GitHub рабочий сервис на Python и FastAPI: входной и выходной фильтры, RAG-модуль, докер-сборку с мониторингом (Prometheus, Grafana, Jaeger), а также инструментарий для воспроизведения экспериментов на FinanceBench. 

Под катом расскажу, к какой архитектуре системы мы пришли, как сделали так, чтобы новые правила для фильтрации можно было добавлять одной фразой на естественном языке, как AVI показал себя в тестах и как помогает экономить на обучении ИИ-моделей. 

А по-научному и подробно все описано в журнале MDPI.Electronics (на английском).  

Chain apologises after staff at Hartlepool pub demand proof customer’s companion is genuine guide dog

A blind woman felt compelled to leave a Wetherspoons pub after staff demanded proof that her guide dog, Rosie, was a genuine guide dog.

Joanne Hewitson, 31, said she was “livid” and “shaking” after her experience going for breakfast at a pub in Hartlepool. The pub chain has apologised for the incident, with a spokesperson saying an error was made.

Defunding, mandated in Trump’s 2025 policy, has been blamed for closure of clinics as well as reduction in screenings for cancer and STDs

Planned Parenthood and two smaller regional abortion providers are resuming billing Medicaid for services other than abortion after being cut off for most of a year.

The defunding, which was mandated in Donald Trump’s big tax and spending legislation in July 2025, has been blamed for the closure of multiple clinics as well as a reduction in the number of Planned Parenthood patients being screened for breast cancer or tested for sexually transmitted infections.

Passengers say they paid extra for outside views but were seated beside blank cabin walls instead

A federal judge on Monday rejected United Airlines’ bid to dismiss a lawsuit ⁠by passengers who complained they paid extra money to sit in window seats – only to discover their seats ⁠had no actual windows.

US district judge ​James Donato in San Francisco rejected United’s defense that “window” referred to the location of a seat relative to the ⁠cabin wall and aisle, and the carrier also contended it never contractually promised that seats in the window position would have views outside.

Chain apologises after staff at Hartlepool pub demand proof customer’s companion is genuine guide dog

A blind woman felt compelled to leave a Wetherspoons pub after staff demanded proof that her guide dog, Rosie, was a genuine guide dog.

Joanne Hewitson, 31, said she was “livid” and “shaking” after her experience going for breakfast at a pub in Hartlepool. The pub chain has apologised for the incident, with a spokesperson saying an error was made.

Audience of 9.1 million watch live and on iPlayer despite kick-off time, with 48m requests for digital content on Monday

England’s triumph over Mexico in the World Cup attracted a peak live audience of 9.1 million on BBC One and BBC iPlayer despite kicking off at 2am BST – the biggest television audience ever for a live UK broadcast at that hour.

The dramatic 3-2 win drove the biggest day ever recorded for BBC iPlayer, the BBC Sport website and app and for BBC Sport’s social video views, the broadcaster said.

Calls grow for Platner to drop out of Senate race after sexual assault allegation; Platner must end campaign by 13 July for Democrats to replace him on ballot

• Bernie Sanders calls on Platner to quit race

• How could Democrats replace Graham Platner?

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Donald Trump said he had a “very good talk” withVladimir Putin, ahead of arriving in Turkey.

This comes amid a wave of recent Russian strikes across Ukraine that have killed at least 21 people. The US president said that he also spoke with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of the Nato summit.

Passengers say they paid extra for outside views but were seated beside blank cabin walls instead

A federal judge on Monday rejected United Airlines’ bid to dismiss a lawsuit ⁠by passengers who complained they paid extra money to sit in window seats – only to discover their seats ⁠had no actual windows.

US district judge ​James Donato in San Francisco rejected United’s defense that “window” referred to the location of a seat relative to the ⁠cabin wall and aisle, and the carrier also contended it never contractually promised that seats in the window position would have views outside.

• Fans across Belgium watched 4-1 win in early hours

• Victory ‘a real slap in the face for Trump and Infantino’

Belgium fans reacted with jubilation after the national team trounced the USA in a World Cup game that was overshadowed by the controversy over Donald Trump’s lobbying to overturn the suspension of the striker Falorin Balogun.

Belgium’s prime minister, Bart De Wever, has yet to comment on the national team’s triumph, but the official Instagram account of his cat offered a sardonic, albeit indirect sign of satisfaction. Maximus, De Wever’s beloved cat, was shown lying on a rug holding a soft toy in the image of the US president. “I slept really well last night. And you?” reads the speech bubble in Dutch.

The dreaded bloodsucker will be getting his fangs into the Edinburgh fringe this year – in a deeply creepy, liberty-taking show with a sisterly twist. We meet its director

Who is your Dracula? Max Schreck’s toothy Nosferatu, Bela Lugosi in a tux, the lantern-jawed host of Hotel Transylvania? This notorious shapeshifter “exists for us even before we know who he is” says theatre director Yngvild Aspeli, who is bringing a puppet bloodsucker to the Edinburgh fringe this summer. “There were stories of vampires long before Bram Stoker but he gave new life to them.”

After watching her deeply creepy show Dracula: Lucy’s Dream, that eerily waxen, lifesized puppet has for me become as indelible as top-hatted Gary Oldman or gorily grinning Christopher Lee. It matches Jonathan Harker’s assessment of the count in Stoker’s novel: “The general effect was one of extraordinary pallor.” I saw the show on tour in Paris several months ago and it still haunts me: I could swear this Drac disintegrated then reappeared before my eyes, such is the technical sophistication of Aspeli’s French-Norwegian company Plexus Polaire. Thanks in part to Emilie Nguyen’s spectral lighting, stunning transformations take place, with the actors and puppets frequently becoming indistinguishable.

David Streever had emailed acting ICE director after an immigration officer fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis

An upstate New York resident sued US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for sending federal officers to his house with a warning over an email he sent to the agency’s one-time head.

David Streever, who is a US citizen, was on a trip to Finland when two officers showed up to his Rochester home in June and presented his wife with a warning notice informing him that the email he sent months earlier was considered a threat, his attorneys said. Streever sent the email in January to Todd Lyons, then the acting director of ICE, after an immigration officer fatally shot Minneapolis resident Renee Good in a confrontation caught on video during an anti-ICE demonstration.

Я скучал по C#, когда писал на Flutter, и по Flutter — когда писал на C#. Поэтому взял и совместил: Plumix — фреймворк с флаттеровской архитектурой виджетов поверх .NET и Avalonia, который во многом строят ИИ-агенты. Рассказываю про мотивацию, конвейер портирования, текущие фичи и планы.

The strain of the virus that's responsible for the current outbreak has no specific treatments or preventive measures. Three new clinical trials could provide possible breakthroughs.

(Image credit: Daniel Buuma)