Latest news with #DPALondon
Qatar Tribune
a day ago
- Politics
- Qatar Tribune
AI to be trialled for disputes over asylum seekers' ages in UK
DPA London Artificial intelligence (AI) technology will be trialled to assess disputed ages of asylum seekers who say they are children, the British Home Office has said. Ministers hope to roll out facial age estimation for migrants arriving by small boats and lorries over 2026, subject to further testing of the technology to go ahead this year. The technology, trained on millions of images of people with confirmed ages, has been decided as the 'most cost-effective option' to assess ages in such cases where it is unknown or disputed, according to Border Security Minister Angela Eagle. The announcement on Tuesday comes as the borders watchdog report into Home Office age assessments said it is 'inevitable' that some decisions will be wrong without a 'foolproof test' of chronological age. The watchdog added this is 'clearly a cause for concern, especially where a child is denied the rights and protections to which they are entitled.' Currently initial age decisions are made by Home Office staff based on a migrant's physical appearance and demeanour. Announcing the move, Eagle said in a written statement: 'Accurately assessing the age of individuals is an incredibly complex and difficult task, and the Home Office has spent a number of years analysing which scientific and technological methods would best assist the current process, including looking at the role that artificial intelligence technology can play. 'Early assessments suggest that Facial Age Estimation could produce workable results much quicker than other potential methods of scientific or technological age assessment, such as bone X-rays or MRI scans, but at a fraction of the cost, and with no requirement for a physical medical procedure or accompanying medical supervision.' It comes as borders watchdog David Bolt's report also published on Tuesday looked at Home Office processes into age assessments, where those crossing the English Channel and first processed at Western Jet Foil, in Dover, Kent, make up a bulk of initial age decisions. Between January 2023 and January 2025, Bolt said 20 out of 59 cases where a person was sent to Manston processing centre as an adult were then later sent back to Western Jet Foil and accepted as being a child.
Qatar Tribune
a day ago
- Politics
- Qatar Tribune
UK man obsessed with James Bond convicted of trying to spy for Russia
DPA London A British man who 'dreamt about being like James Bond' has been found guilty of trying to spy for what he believed to be Russian intelligence service agents. The 65-year-old man intended to help two apparent Russian agents called 'Sasha' and 'Dima,' including by passing on personal information about former defence secretary Grant Shapps, helping with travel logistics and booking hotels. But 'Dima' and 'Sasha' were in fact undercover British intelligence officers, Winchester Crown Court previously heard. A jury found the man guilty of assisting a foreign intelligence service under the National Security Act on Tuesday, following a two-week trial at the same court. The jury reached a unanimous verdict after four hours and four minutes of deliberations. The man, wearing a dark suit and tie, silently shook his head in the dock as the verdict was said he intended to assist Russian agents from the end of 2023 until May last year. He offered to pass on Shapps' contact details as well as the location where he kept his private plane in order to 'facilitate the Russians in listening on British defence plans,' the trial heard. He was heard telling the men he wanted to work for Russia in exchange for financial independence from the UK. The defendant's ex-wife told the court during the trial that he 'would dream about being like James Bond,' and that he watched films to do with MI5 and MI6 as he was 'infatuated with it.' The ex-wife told the court she was aware the defendant had applied for a job at the UK Border Force in October 2023, which prosecutors said was part of his bid to assist Russia's intelligence service. The man previously claimed he had contacted the Russian embassy in early 2024 in a bid to track and expose Russian agents to assist Israel. He told jurors he ascertained 'from the onset' that 'Dima' and 'Shasha' were 'definitely not Russian' and were undercover individuals, but that he carried on 'playing a role' around these agents in order to 'test the waters.' Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb remanded the man in custody and adjourned sentencing to the 'earliest available date' in the judge said she wanted a full pre-sentence report on the defendant ahead of sentencing as the conviction was for a 'relatively new' offence. Addressing the jurors, she said: 'Thank you very much for the important work that you have done on this very important case. We are trying, as a system, to get to the right answers in these situations.'
Qatar Tribune
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Qatar Tribune
Tom Jones cancels German show at last minute after infection
DPA London Welsh singer Tom Jones has cancelled a show hours before he was due to perform after contracting an infection. The 85-year old, best known for hits like 'It's Not Unusual' and 'Delilah,' was due to perform in the German city of Bremen on Tuesday evening. However, he had to postpone the concert after contracting an upper respiratory infection. Posting the news on his Instagram account, Jones said: 'Hello to all the fans in Bremen. Unfortunately, I must postpone my show this evening, as I've contracted an upper respiratory infection that needs treatment and rest. 'I know this is really disappointing and will cause inconvenience to you all, and I'm very sorry about that. 'But the show will now go ahead on Monday 28th July, so I look forward to seeing you then. 'All tickets will remain valid for the re-scheduled date. Until then, thank you for your understanding. Love, Tom.' The comment section was full of messages from fans, wishing the singer a speedy recovery. Jones is midway through is UK and Europe summer tour which began on June 13 at Hampton Court Palace in Surrey with concerts scheduled in Dundee, Marbella and Colchester. The tour is due to end in Wales with two performances scheduled at Cardiff Castle at the end of August. The Grammy-award winning artist was knighted by queen Elizabeth II in 2006 and is also the recipient of the 2003 Outstanding Contribution to Music Brit Award and the Silver Clef Lifetime achievement Award in 2014. Jones is also a voice coach on the singing competition series The Voice UK alongside McFly's joint judges Tom Fletcher and Danny Jones and former Destiny's Child singer Kelly Rowland who is set to join the coaching line-up for the 2025 series.
Qatar Tribune
4 days ago
- Sport
- Qatar Tribune
Pogacar stretches advantage as Arensman lifts Ineos Grenadiers
PA Media/DPA London Thymen Arensman emerged from the fog to take a much-needed victory for the Ineos Grenadiers as Tadej Pogacar further stretched his lead in yellow and Remco Evenepoel abandoned on a brutal stage 14 of the Tour de France. Arensman went solo from a breakaway still with 36 kilometres to go on this punishing queen stage from Pau to a summit finish at Superbagneres and held off the main favourites to win by 68 seconds, a first Tour stage win for his team in two years. Behind, Pogacar marked moves from main rival Jonas Vingegaard before narrowly beating him to second, adding another six seconds to an overall lead that now stands at four minutes 13 seconds, but the main news in the general classification was Evenepoel abandoning from third place. That saw 22-year-old Scot Oscar Onley rise to fourth, although he was distanced at the top of the final climb by Florian Lipowitz, who inherited third place and the best young rider's white jersey. The final episode of the Tour's Pyrenean trilogy followed the path of the famous stage won by Greg LeMond in 1986, with the Tourmalet, Col d'Aspin and the Peyresourde coming before a first visit to Superbagneres since Robert Millar, now Pippa York, won here in 1989. It took until the Tourmalet for a break to get clear as Lenny Martinez went in search of the king of the mountains points he needed to make the polka dot jersey he wearing on behalf of Pogacar his own, with Arensman among those trying to chase down the young Frenchman. Evenepoel, who suffered in the heat on the previous two days, fared no better on a damper, cooler day, and climbed off early on the Tourmalet, with his team saying the Belgian 'did not feel himself'. Arensman was among three riders to catch Martinez before the Peyresourde, where he launched his own move and opened up a gap on the main group of favourites who until that point has been closing in. The Dutchman's gap grew to three and a half minutes before the the final climb and he fought hard on punishing gradients to keep the chasing pack at bay. 'I can't really believe it,' said the 25-year-old. 'I had to be really patient the first week and I had to wait until the mountains and and then the first opportunity I got to I was already second (on the Puy-de-Sancy). 'That was already an amazing experience in my first Tour, but this is unbelievable now.' TV footage showed that an Ineos team car hit and knocked down a spectator amid the crowds on the Peyresourde. The PA news agency understands the Ineos car stopped to check on the spectator who was said to be okay. A team spokesperson said: 'Our thoughts and sincere apologies go out to the fan who was accidentally and regretfully hit by one of our race cars while supporting the riders during today's stage. 'Like all teams we take great care to maintain a safe race environment for everyone - including the passionate fans who make our sport so special.' Pogacar had been backed by many to chase a third consecutive stage win, but he was happy just to mark Vingegaard. 'I didn't have the firepower in me to counter-attack and give it all to the finish, so I committed just to control the stage until the last 200 metres and then do the sprint for second place,' he said.
Qatar Tribune
4 days ago
- Sport
- Qatar Tribune
Rahm seeks rule changes after Lowry penalty
PA Media/DPA London Two-time major winner Jon Rahm believes the rules of golf need to be changed to avoid players having to accept penalties rather than run the risk of being called a cheat. Third-round playing partner Shane Lowry was handed a two-stroke punishment after he finished on Friday night when officials reviewed television footage and deemed that he had fractionally moved the ball during a practice swing. The Irishman, 2019 champion at Royal Portrush, insisted he did not see the incident so could not call the infringement on himself – which he could then have rectified by replacing his ball at a cost of one just stroke – but accepted the sanction as he did not want to be accused of cheating. It dropped him back from two under and eight off the lead to level par, which appeared too far back to contend over the weekend. That proved to be the case as Lowry, also suffering from sickness, shot a three-over 74 on Saturday. 'I can relate because I've been there. They've done exactly the same thing to me where they give you the iPad, and say 'look what happened',' said the Spaniard, who recovered from two bogeys in his first three holes to card four birdies for a 69 to get to two under for the tournament. 'You're in a no-win situation because if you say I didn't see it, therefore I don't think it should be a penalty even though the rule says it should be visible to the naked eye, you always run the risk of being called something you don't want to be called. 'And if you take it on the safe side, you're taking a two-shot penalty. 'It needs to be visible without a camera. If the rule says visible to the naked eye, we need to uphold that more than anything else. Something needs to be changed for sure, I just don't know exactly how they could change it.'
