Five current and ex-Microsoft workers arrested at sit-in over Israeli military ties
At least two current and three former Microsoft employees – as well as two other tech workers – were arrested at the company’s headquarters after staging a sit-in demonstration at the company president’s office urging that Microsoft cut ties with the Israeli government.Police placed the protesters in full-body harnesses and carried them out of the building, according to Abdo Mohamed, a former Microsoft worker and who helped organize the demonstration.“No arrests, no violence, will deter us from continuing to speak up,” he said.In addition to the protesters who staged a sit-in at Microsoft president Brad Smith’s office, other employees, former staff and supporters had gathered outside the headquarters.The demonstration on Tuesday was part of a series of actions organized by current and former staff over Microsoft’s cloud contracts with the Israeli government.
Twenty activists were arrested at the company’s headquarters in Redmond, Washington, last week.The latest protests came after a joint investigation by the Guardian, the Israeli-Palestinian publication +972 Magazine and the Hebrew-language outlet Local Call revealed earlier this month that Israel’s military surveillance agency, Unit 8200, was making use of Microsoft’s Azure software to store countless recordings of mobile phone calls made by Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza.The company has said it was not aware “of the surveillance of civilians or collection of their cellphone conversations using Microsoft’s services”.Sign up to Headlines USGet the most important US headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morningafter newsletter promotionMicrosoft did not immediately respond to a query from the Guardian on Tuesday.The company said it was launching an independent investigation into the use of its Azure software, but activists wanted to escalate actions due to what they viewed as inadequate action from the company.
“You continue to try to bury your head in the sand, so we are here today outside your blood-soaked thrones, to continue pulling your baby-killer necks out of your sand holes and continue to force you to confront your complicity, until you stop powering the murdering of our people,” said Ibtihal Aboussad, one of the protesters who delivered a speech outside the company headquarters on Tuesday.Meanwhile, Microsoft has been taking extraordinary measures to quell demonstrations, which have been ongoing for months.According to a report from Bloomberg, the company has requested help from the FBI to track protests, and worked with local authorities to stop them.The best public interest journalism relies on first-hand accounts from people in the know.If you have something to share on this subject you can contact us confidentially using the following methods.
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Property tax threat is slowing down housing market, say UK agents
Speculation that the chancellor could announce new property taxes in her autumn budget is likely to slow down an already price-sensitive housing market, estate agents have said.Rachel Reeves is reportedly considering a tax on the sale of homes over £500,000 and the removal of the capital gains tax exemption on primary residences above £1.5m as ways to boost income for the government.The property website Zoopla said changes to the taxation of homes over £500,000 “may make some buyers consider a wait-and-see strategy. This covers those who may possibly save money on purchases under £500,000 and concern those buying over this level as well
Octopus Energy founder appointed as UK government adviser
Keir Starmer has appointed the outspoken founder of Octopus Energy as an adviser, with a remit to challenge government thinking.Greg Jackson has joined the Cabinet Office board, an influential core of government advisers, as a non-executive member.The announcement comes weeks after ministers ruled out his plan to split the national energy market into regional zones, which would have meant users in different areas would pay different rates for their electricity.The tech entrepreneur, who has long had links to the Labour party, responded to that decision by saying he would “respectfully disagree”.Jackson failed to win over ministers after a long and controversial campaign, in part because zonal pricing would have meant higher energy prices in the south-east of England and lower prices in Scotland
Nvidia sets fresh sales record amid fears of an AI bubble and Trump’s trade wars
Chipmaker Nvidia set a fresh sales record in the second quarter, surpassing Wall Street expectations for its artificial intelligence chips. But shares of the chip giant still dropped 2.3% in after hours trading, in a sign that investors’ worries of an AI bubble and the repercussions of Donald Trump’s trade wars are not quelled.Nvidia’s financial report was the first test of investor appetite since last week’s mass AI-stock selloff, when several tech stocks saw shares tumble last week amid growing questions over whether AI-driven companies are being overvalued.On Wednesday, Nvidia reported an adjusted earnings per share of $1
Teen killed himself after ‘months of encouragement from ChatGPT’, lawsuit claims
The makers of ChatGPT are changing the way it responds to users who show mental and emotional distress after legal action from the family of 16-year-old Adam Raine, who killed himself after months of conversations with the chatbot.Open AI admitted its systems could “fall short” and said it would install “stronger guardrails around sensitive content and risky behaviors” for users under 18.The $500bn (£372bn) San Francisco AI company said it would also introduce parental controls to allow parents “options to gain more insight into, and shape, how their teens use ChatGPT”, but has yet to provide details about how these would work.Adam, from California, killed himself in April after what his family’s lawyer called “months of encouragement from ChatGPT”. The teenager’s family is suing Open AI and its chief executive and co-founder, Sam Altman, alleging that the version of ChatGPT at that time, known as 4o, was “rushed to market … despite clear safety issues”
Women’s Super League 2025-26 previews No 4: Chelsea
Guardian writers’ predicted position: 2nd (NB: this is not necessarily Suzanne Wrack’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)Last season’s position: 1stHow do you follow up on a sixth successive league title and a domestic treble, secured in the manager’s first season? For most teams the answer would be “with great difficulty”, but Chelsea are a different beast.Terrifyingly, despite their domestic dominance, the Blues left room for improvement last season. As Sonia Bompastor told the club’s website: “We did well in terms of trophies and results last season but we were not always happy with the performances and didn’t show as much consistency as I would like. We’re working on giving even more clarity to the players for them to execute what we want them to achieve on the pitch.”The difference going into the new campaign is they have a more settled squad and a more settled manager
Cameron Norrie battles past Comesaña at US Open to set up Djokovic clash
Cameron Norrie continued his fine grand slam form by holding his nerve at the end of a bruising battle with Francisco Comesaña to win 7-6 (5), 6-3, 6-7 (0) 7-6 (4) and set up a third‑round match with Novak Djokovic.Norrie, who reached the fourth round of the French Open and quarter-finals at Wimbledon this year, had looked well on his way to victory as he established a two-set lead. However, as he edged close to winning, his nerves increasingly came to the surface.After establishing a 4-1 lead with a double break in the final set and then serving for the match at 5-4, Norrie found himself down set point at 5-6. As Comesaña lasered a backhand down the line, Norrie thought he had been forced to a fifth set and he began walking to his chair but the umpire confirmed the shot had landed out
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