MPs warned over ‘shameful’ lack of funding for GB athletes at Deaflympics
It is shameful and discriminatory that deaf people are the only disabled community that does not receive any government funding to help them to compete in elite sport, MPs have been told.Although UK Sport will invest £330m of government and national lottery funding into British Olympic and Paralympic sport over the Los Angeles 2028 cycle, the GB team for the Deaflympics in Tokyo next month are having to raise most of the £450,000 costs themselves.That is despite the Deaflympics having been established in 1924 and been recognised by the International Olympic Committee in 1955, more than three decades before the Paralympics, the culture, media and sport select committee was told.Chris Ratcliffe, the chief executive of UK Deaf Sport, said to MPs: “When it comes to elite sport, we are the only disabled elite sports group that have no access to funding whatsoever.I think that’s shameful, speaking forthrightly.
“No elite deaf athletes are funded by central government for the Deaflympics, nor have they ever been.The current sports policy from the government is very clear.It supports the Olympics, it supports the Paralympics, and anything out of that remit is not funded.And we’ve been told up until now that cannot and will not change.“We know the Paralympics does not have a classification for deaf athletes.
The Deaflympics were established 101 years ago, and we were one of the founding members.We just find it very shameful that we can get no state help for our athletes.”Radcliffe told MPs he wanted elite deaf sport in Britain to be treated equally with Olympic and Paralympic sport, and added that he would like it to receive £3m over the next four years to help it prepare for the 2029 Deaflympics.That figure is still substantially less than the £14m received by gymnastics and hockey, and the £12m given to equestrian and canoeing.The British deaf swimmer Nathan Young, told MPs that most of his competitors at the Deaflympics, which has 3,000 competitors from 80 countries, were helped financially and said that the lack of support from the government amounted to discrimination.
“It is discrimination at the end of the day,” he said.“I’m lucky enough to be ranked fourth in the world.I would like to take that next step.But when I stand on that block, and look to the left and look to my right, six out of those eight swimmers are funded.“In terms of disparities, on our journey we face roadblock after roadblock after roadblock.
Compared to Paralympians, who get funding, put on national TV, and are celebrated, deaf Olympic athletes don’t get a mention.”The chair of the committee, Dame Caroline Dinenage, said that she backed the calls for more funding.“You said that you thought it was shameful that there was no support or representation for these elite deaf athletes and I agree with you,” she said.“I’m sure the rest of the committee feel the same way.”
The gospel according to Peter Thiel: why the tech svengali is obsessed with the antichrist
Hello, and welcome to TechScape. For the past week, my brain has been marinating in billionaire Peter Thiel’s byzantine musings about the antichrist and Armageddon. At this point, I’m pickled.Why, you might ask, does it matter what a billionaire thinks about the antichrist? Good question!To help us understand, my colleagues Johana Bhuiyan, Dara Kerr and Nick Robins-Early have reported on a series of talks given by billionaire political svengali and tech investor Thiel:Over the past month, Thiel has hosted four lectures on the downtown waterfront of San Francisco philosophizing about who the antichrist could be and warning that Armageddon is coming. Thiel, who describes himself as a “small-o Orthodox Christian”, believes the harbinger of the end of the world could already be in our midst and that things such as international agencies, environmentalism and guardrails on technology could quicken its rise
Instagram to bring in version of PG-13 system to protect children, says Meta
Instagram is to adopt a version of the PG-13 cinema rating system to give parents stronger controls over their teenagers’ use of the social media platform.Instagram, which is run by Meta, will start applying rules similar to the US “parental guidance” movie rating – first introduced 41 years ago – to all material on Instagram’s teen accounts. It means users aged under 18 will automatically be placed into the 13+ setting. They will be able to opt out only with their parents’ permission.While the teen accounts already hide or prohibit the recommendation of sexually suggestive content, graphic or disturbing images, and adult content such as tobacco or alcohol, the new PG-13 version will tighten restrictions further
Bose QuietComfort Ultra 2 review: the most comfortable noise cancelling headphones
Bose has updated its top-of-the-line noise-cancelling headphones with longer battery, USB-C audio and premium materials, making the commuter favourites even better.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.The second-generation QuietComfort Ultra headphones still have an expensive price tag, from £450 (€450/$450/A$700), which is more than most competitors, including Sony’s WH-1000XM6
What does the end of free support for Windows 10 mean for its users?
From Tuesday Microsoft will no longer offer free support as standard for Windows 10, an operating system that is used by millions of computer and laptop owners around the world.Figures for September suggest four in 10 of those using Microsoft Windows worldwide were still using Windows 10, despite the introduction of its successor, Windows 11, in 2021.After 14 October 2025, Microsoft will no longer provide standard free software updates, security fixes or technical assistance to Windows 10 PCs.This means computers running the software will still work but it will steadily become more vulnerable to viruses and malware as bugs and security holes are discovered.Microsoft says the more up-to-date system, Windows 11, “meets the current demands for heightened security by default”
Cyber-attacks rise by 50% in past year, UK security agency says
“Highly significant” cyber-attacks rose by 50% in the past year and the UK’s security services are now dealing with a new nationally significant attack more than every other day, figures from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) have revealed.In what officials described as “a call to arms”, national security officials and ministers are urging all organisations, from the smallest businesses to the largest employers, to draw up contingency plans for the eventuality that “your IT infrastructure [is] crippled tomorrow and all your screens [go] blank”.The NCSC, which is part of GCHQ, said “highly sophisticated” China, “capable and irresponsible” Russia, Iran and North Korea were the main state threats, in its annual review published on Tuesday. The rise is being driven by ransomware attacks, often by criminal actors seeking money, and society’s increasing dependence on technology which increases the number of hackable targets.The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, the security minister, Dan Jarvis, and the technology and business secretaries, Liz Kendall and Peter Kyle have written to the leaders of hundreds of the largest British companies urging them to make cyber-resilience a board-level responsibility and warning that hostile cyber-activity in the UK has grown “more intense, frequent and sophisticated”
Equity threatens mass direct action over use of actors’ images in AI content
The performing arts union Equity has threatened mass direct action over tech and entertainment companies’ use of its members’ likenesses, images and voices in AI content without permission.The warning came as the union said growing numbers of its members had made complaints about infringements of their copyright and misuse of their personal data in AI material.Its general secretary, Paul W Fleming, said it planned to coordinate data requests en masse to companies to force them to disclose whether they used members’ data in AI-generated material without consent.Last week the union confirmed its was supporting a Scottish actor who believes her image was used in the creation of the “AI actor” Tilly Norwood, which has been widely condemned by the film industry.Briony Monroe, 28, from East Renfrewshire, said she believed that an image of her face had been used to make the digital character, created by the AI “talent studio” Xicoia, which has denied her claims
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