MCA tells maritime sector to plan for life without GPS

MCA tells maritime sector to plan for life without GPS

Heather Prentice
October 12, 2026
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The UK government is advising yachtsmen, ship owners, ports and all those involved in the maritime sector to plan for operations without GPS, as spoofing, jamming, signal loss and interference in Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) increase worldwide

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In a significant move, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) published a guidance note highlighting the increasing risk of GNSS interference and encouraging maritime stakeholders to review their operations and ensure they are not entirely reliant on GPS for safe navigation.

‘Recent years have seen a marked increase in reports of GNSS interference worldwide, particularly in the Black Sea, Baltic Sea, Gulf region and parts of East Asia,’ the MCA wrote in Guidance Note 719, issued on 1 October.
Spoofing and jamming

‘Such interference may take the form of jamming (where signals are blocked or degraded), or spoofing, (where false position information is presented to users).

‘This interference degrades or denies satellite derived PNT (Positioning, Navigation and Timing), meaning that GNSS is no longer universally available at certain locations.’

The MCA ‘encourages stakeholders to understand these risks, review contingency arrangements and maintain resilient navigation practices to support safe and continuous operations during periods of GNSS based PNT disruption’.


large container ship, container ship and yacht, yacht passing big ship, yachting in the solent, yacht in shipping channel. sailing in path of big ship. Photo: Alamy Stock Photo

A Royal Institute of Navigation survey in 2025 exposed the vulnerability of critically important systems such as Global Maritime Distress and Safety Systems (GMDSS) and other SOLAS-mandated equipment that rely on satellite positioning and timing.

In 2025, at least two collisions and groundings were linked to GNSS interference in regions such as the Baltics, Straits of Hormuz and the Red Sea with hundreds of vessels affected daily, the RIN said earlier this year.

GNSS – GPS (US), Galileo (EU), GLONASS (Russia) and BeiDou (China) – have become key to modern maritime operations, providing PNT information to a wide range of onboard and shore-based systems, such as AIS, traffic management, port operations and other critical infrastructure.
Europe’s largest maritime economy

The UK is Europe’s largest maritime economy with 95% of all UK import and export arriving by sea. Government research in 2023 showed that a seven-day GNSS outage would cost the maritime industry £1.5 billion; shipping £183 million, port operations £1.31 billion, fishing £8 million.


GPS Chart Plotter

Technologies offering an alternative to GNSS are under development, but many are unlikely to be available at scale in the near term, ‘consequently the maintenance of resilient navigation practices remains essential,’ the MCA said.
Alternative technologies

The government is developing a sovereign Enhanced Long-Range Navigation (eLoran) terrestrial-based programme, which will improve the resilience of the UK critical national infrastructure and reduce vulnerability to GNSS disruption.

An initial capability is planned for 2028 (Timing) and full operational capability by 2030 (Position and Navigation).



Image of digital icons and data processing over world map and satellite

The MCA is also working with International Maritime Organisation member states to establish alternative sources of PNT internationally.

Alternatives to satellite-based PNT under development include; VDES R mode, use of 5G (mobile) networks, automatic visual fixing, automatic celestial fixing and inertial navigation systems.
Mariners not to rely on satellites

The MCA recommends that mariners practice navigation using alternatives to GPS.

‘The guidance reiterates the importance of being able to navigate without relying on satellite positioning, and looks at radar fixing, visual bearings, celestial navigation and even good old-fashioned dead reckoning as valid methods to consider,’ said Lee Gallacher, who manages event support at YB Tracking using global satellite systems.

‘They’re not skills we should be looking to consign to the history books, they’re skills that could potentially save your life if the electronics were to give up at a crucial moment.

‘You can have all the technology in the world, but if you don’t understand the limitations of it, or what to do when it fails, then you run the risk of putting yourself and others in danger.’
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Why Compute Is The New Currency Of Innovation

What Is Compute? Here’s Why Compute Is The New Currency Of Innovation

Gina Marrs November 4, 2025

In today’s digital age, the term “compute” is everywhere, but what does it actually mean, and why is it becoming so central to innovation?

At its core, compute refers to the processing power required to run applications, perform calculations and manage data. From powering your smartphone apps to running global AI models, compute is the invisible engine driving modern technology. It’s no longer just a technical term – in fact, it’s become a critical factor in how companies innovate, scale and compete in an increasingly digital world.

Historically, innovation was measured in financial investment or human capital. But today, compute is emerging as the new currency. The availability of processing power determines what is possible, how quickly ideas can be tested and the scale at which solutions can be deployed.

So, whether it’s simulating complex scientific experiments, training large AI models or managing cloud-based applications, the capacity to compute efficiently and effectively has become a competitive advantage. Companies that can harness compute can iterate faster, innovate smarter and ultimately lead markets.

Understanding Compute

Compute is essentially the capacity of a system to perform operations, process data and execute instructions. In practical terms, it can mean everything from the CPU in your laptop to the massive clusters of servers powering cloud-based AI models. Different types of compute serve different purposes – general-purpose compute handles everyday tasks, whereas specialised compute, such as GPUs or TPUs, is designed for intensive workloads like machine learning or scientific simulations.

Cloud computing has made access to compute more flexible and scalable than ever. Platforms like AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud allow organisations to scale compute on demand, paying only for what they use. This shift has democratized access to processing power.

Smaller companies and startups can now experiment with the same compute resources that were once the domain of large tech corporations or research institutions. So in essence, compute is no longer a bottleneck for innovation; it has become an enabler.

Furthermore, compute is not just about raw power. Efficiency, latency and accessibility matter equally. Innovations in distributed computing, edge computing and serverless architectures allow workloads to be executed closer to where data is generated, reducing delays and enabling real-time applications. These advancements mean that industries ranging from healthcare to finance can leverage compute in transformative ways, from predictive diagnostics to fraud detection.



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Why Compute Is the New Currency of Innovation

The rise of AI and machine learning has made compute more valuable than ever. Training large models requires enormous processing power, and the more compute a company can access, the faster it can experiment, refine and deploy solutions. This has given rise to a compute arms race, where organisations invest heavily in high-performance infrastructure to maintain a competitive edge. The ability to access, scale and optimise compute has become as critical as access to talent, capital or market share.

In many ways, compute dictates the pace and scope of modern innovation. Startups can now achieve breakthroughs without massive physical infrastructure because cloud providers supply on-demand compute. Established companies can accelerate research and development by leveraging specialised hardware like GPUs and TPUs.

Essentially, compute acts as a multiplier for human ingenuity – the faster and more efficiently you can process data, the quicker you can turn ideas into reality.

Furthermore, compute is redefining business models. Companies like AI-driven analytics firms, biotech startups and gaming studios depend on compute not just to operate but to differentiate themselves. Compute allows them to simulate scenarios, predict outcomes and scale services globally without the constraints of physical hardware.

As such, organisations that prioritise compute can innovate faster, reach markets sooner and maintain agility in the face of rapid technological change.

The Future of Compute

Looking forward, compute will continue to grow in importance. Quantum computing promises to redefine what is possible by performing calculations far beyond the reach of today’s classical computers. Edge computing will bring compute closer to users and devices, enabling ultra-low latency applications and real-time decision-making.

AI-specific hardware and cloud-based supercomputing will continue to expand the boundaries of research, innovation and product development.

In essence, compute is no longer just a technical requirement – it’s a strategic asset. Organisations that invest in scalable, efficient and innovative compute solutions are better positioned to drive growth, unlock new markets and solve problems that were previously impossible. From climate modelling to real-time language translation, the ability to compute effectively is now synonymous with the ability to innovate.

Indeed, compute has become the backbone of modern innovation. Its availability, efficiency and scalability define what is achievable in today’s fast-paced digital world. From powering AI and machine learning to enabling startups to compete with global tech giants, compute is the true currency of innovation.

The companies and individuals who understand and leverage this resource effectively are the ones who will define the next era of technological progress. In a world increasingly driven by data and algorithms, compute is not just a tool – it’s the engine that drives our collective future.

Washington state grapples with the AI data center boom

 

Washington state grapples with the AI data center boom

This week, we’ll take you inside a data center in Quincy, sit down with the town's mayor, and take a closer look at a controversial energy project.

As data centers multiply, Washington cities call time-out

The construction of data centers is far outpacing regulations; in Washington state, there are already approximately 126 data centers and related facilities with a footprint of nearly 7 million square feet, according to the research firm Baxtel. Earlier this summer, the Seattle City Council passed an emergency moratorium on data center construction within city limits, and ten other Washington cities have passed similar legislation. The primary concern is electricity demand, which will strain the state’s already overburdened electrical grid. City Councilmember Eddie Lin said that there’s a potential “win-win” situation where data center companies help build out the grid, but legislation must be given time to catch up.

Watch now

An inside look at Quincy's data center boom

By one estimate, there are now 56 data centers in the small Central Washington town of Quincy. The Newsfeed went inside one of these. Past a security desk and security gate stretch hallways wide enough to roll a pallet of servers through. Windowless metal doors lead to four data halls, each covering 40,000 square feet. Inside the data hall, rows of servers sit back-to-back to each other. The ends are enclosed in their own boxes to contain the hot air the servers emit, and fans pull that air into cooling rooms where it is chilled down with water. Outside, that same water gets cooled and recirculated back through the closed-loop system. Some customers have leased just a handful of server cabinets, while others take over entire buildings. These companies include banks, hospitals, airlines and streaming services.

Watch now

Data center questions surround Central Washington energy development

More data centers mean more demand for power, at a time when the state is already reportedly facing an energy shortfall. Developers of a storage pump in southern Washington say the facility they’re building would generate enough energy to power half a million homes — but the project has faced persistent pushback from the Yakama Nation, who say the project site has major cultural and historic significance to them. Recent local news reports on the Goldendale Storage Pump tied it to a nearby data center being developed by the same owner. But the developer refutes this claim, saying the pump project is not linked to the prospective data center.

Watch now

Two decades of data centers: Quincy mayors look back

The Newsfeed sat down with the current and former mayors of Quincy, Washington, which is at the center of the state’s AI data center boom. Cheap hydropower and cheap land turned the small town into a data center hub nearly 20 years ago, and thanks to the associated tax revenue, it’s been able to build new police and fire stations, a hospital, city hall and recreation center. But, said former Mayor Patty Martin, “there's still the unknown of water, electrical use” associated with AI. Martin, who was mayor from 1993-1997, said the town, which was once an agricultural community, is now “controlled” by faraway, massive corporations who own huge swaths of former farmland, a dynamic that concerns her as new and larger data centers are constructed to support AI.

Watch now

Washington's next data center boom comes with real tradeoffs

As Microsoft breaks ground on a massive new data center in Chelan County, many local residents have been vocally opposed. Kirk Hudson, general manager of the Chelan Public Utility District, said that their customers are concerned about the center’s long-term energy demands. Meanwhile, Matthew Hepner, an East Wenatchee Councilmember and IBEW Union official, said that Central Washington needs the tax revenue data centers generate, and wants to see the state build more clean energy to supply them: “If we drive data centers out from here, they're going to go to the South, and they're just going to run the entire thing on diesel.” Meanwhile, about 10 miles south of Quincy, residents are fighting to stop a transmission line from ending up in their front yard.

Lawmakers take aim at job listings that ghosted you

 Lawmakers take aim at job listings that ghosted you

Illustration: Morning Brew Inc., Photo: Unsplash

The government can’t do anything about your Hinge matches—unless they run a company that’s posting about roles that may not actually be open, aka ‘ghost jobs.’ These types of listings, which attract applicants but lead to no hiring activity, are running so rampant that lawmakers across the country are working to get ’em banned, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday.

Your résumé isn’t chopped; you may just be applying to jobs that employers have either already filled or never intended to fill. You can sometimes recognize them as the listings that sound too good to be true and stay posted for months:

• Roughly one in five listings advertised on online job boards per quarter are ghost jobs, according to the hiring platform Greenhouse.
• This phenomenon is reportedly getting worse, but it’s been wrecking egos for a while. About 81% of recruiters said in a 2024 MyPerfectResume survey that their employers posted ghost job ads.

Here’s what lawmakers are doing about it

New York state legislators recently passed a bill (now awaiting the governor’s signature) that would fine employers if they don’t mention expected hiring timelines in their job postings. Lawmakers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and California are considering similar reforms.

Why do employers even post ghost jobs?

In the corporate version of “hey sorry I’ve been so busy recently,” an employer might’ve approved an opening, nixed it, and then been slow to remove the job post.

But that’s a best-case explanation. According to the 2024 MyPerfectResume survey, 38% of recruiters post fake jobs to stay relevant on job boards when they’re not hiring, while 36% do it to test their listing’s effectiveness. Meanwhile, some job seekers think employers promote ghost jobs to harvest applicants’ data or to convince investors that the company is growing.

Sam Holland - Oak Bay mayor candidate 2026

Sam Holland - Oak Bay mayor candidate 2026
The Times Colonist Sep 18, 2026 8:48 PM Oct 8, 2026 6:41 PM

Sam Holland is running for mayor in Oak Bay. SUBMITTED

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00:07:09

Sam Holland

Municipality where you are running: Oak Bay

Position you are running for: Mayor

Are you associated with or running as part of a slate? If so, which one?

No.

URLs (web addresses/links) for any websites/social media you are using for your campaign.

Website: https://www.samuelholland.ca

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/samholland01

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samuel_dhol/

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/samuelholland.ca

Do you live in the municipality where you are running, and if so, for how long? If not, in which municipality do you live? What is your connection to the community where you are running?

I have lived, studied, worked, and played in and around Oak Bay since 2011, and studied at UVic. I currently live near Royal Jubilee Hospital.

What is your job/profession, and for how long?

I’ve worked as a nonprofit program developer and community organizer since the pandemic. I’ve started and helped administer multiple successful programs, working with municipalities, the province, and non-profits across BC. I know how to get things done with a team, in a timely manner.

Tell us about your previous elected and/or community experience.

I’ve previously been elected to the UVic University Senate and the Students’ Society Board of Directors. I’ve served as the founding Chair of Better Transit YYJ, and served on multiple other nonprofit boards including the Island Aikido Society and Homes for Living. I’ve always tried to prioritize relationship-building and effective action.

If you have previously held office: What have you accomplished that you’re proud of, and how much did it cost the municipality?

N/A

If you have previously held office: What do you wish the municipality had not done under your watch?

N/A

Why are you running? What is your motivation?

I’m running because Oak Bay deserves leadership on addressing the family doctor and nurse practitioner shortage, providing more housing options, and fixing our infrastructure in a timely way. I’m also concerned about the lack of action on basically every Council and District priority, particularly climate action and affordable housing.

Seniors deserve to be able to age in their community, and not have to move to the Westshore to get access to long-term care. Folks who grew up here shouldn’t have to move away because they can’t find a place to rent.

What would you bring to council?

I’m someone who gets things done. I’m not running to keep a seat warm for the next four years.

I’ll bring a focus on results and outcomes, not just updating plans. A collaborative approach to working with the Provincial and Federal governments. A strong belief in building relationships across economic, cultural, social, and political divides.

In your opinion, what are the three most important challenges facing your community?

1) Infrastructure. We have $300-400 million of immediate infrastructure replacement need. With the current plan, we won’t be caught up on sewer, water, and transport infrastructure until the 2070s. I believe we can and need to do better. These improvements should include a focus on safety, so that everyone can drive, walk, and roll safely in the District. I’m a safety-first kind of person.

2) Housing attainability and affordability. We need more housing options in our region. That includes middle-income public housing, affordable seniors’ care, and new rental homes. I will support these housing options.

3) Lack of access to primary care. Folks are leaving problems to worsen to the point of needing to go to the emergency room, because they don’t have access to a family doctor or nurse practitioner. I will bring a family primary care clinic to the District.

What’s your vision for your community in 10 years?

That Oak Bay continues to possess incredible natural, architectural, and urban beauty, while being a welcoming and supportive community for all.

What is one “big idea” you have for your community?

A municipal clinic for Oak Bay. Let’s bring family doctors and nurse practitioners to our community, and make sure everyone has good access to primary care. A clinic could be built using existing commercial space in the short term, and in the middle term be relocated to the Oak Bay Lodge site, when we get that project built.

If elected, how will you balance your goals with fiscal responsibility?

My goals, in essence, all centre around fiscal responsibility. Inaction is an expensive choice, especially when it’s inaction on fixing pipes and sidewalks, and allowing more folks into the District to share our financial load.

Even a municipal clinic can be done extremely cheaply. Past councils have been extremely fiscally irresponsible, which is why we now have a massive infrastructure problem.

Are you in favour of increased development or densification in your community? How would you balance the need for more housing, as mandated by the province for some areas, with local concerns?

We need more housing options and small businesses to increase the tax base. Put simply, we cannot afford the infrastructure we have, and unless we bring more people to the district, taxes will have to keep coming up, and services will continue to worsen. I’m frustrated by the assumption from the current council that we need to keep cutting back on services. Let’s look for efficiencies, but we can and should welcome more people to Oak Bay. We can’t afford the alternative.

Governing is hard. How do you make decisions when the answers aren’t clear?

We can only make decisions with the information we possess.

Firstly, I will endeavour to build prototyping, iteration, and experimentation into how we do government. Not every decision needs to be a 10, 20, or 50 year decision. We can try things, and if they don’t work, we can do something else. As a region, we are not very good at this kind of learning, and we can do better.

Secondly, when making these decisions, I will always be considering the needs of future residents and future generations, and the people who aren’t in the room.

BC Conservatives Hire an Alberta Separatist and Far-Right Media Figure

 BC Conservatives Hire an Alberta Separatist and Far-Right Media Figure

Leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay commits to a MAGA approach to winning power.

Jen St. Denis 17 Jul 2026The Tyee

Jen St. Denis is a reporter and senior editor with The Tyee. You can follow her on Bluesky, Instagram or TikTok.Our journalism is supported by readers like you. Click here to support The Tyee.

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Apollo Chung, left, is the Conservative Party of BC’s director of operations. Cosmin Dzsurdzsa is the party’s caucus communications director. Images via an archived version of the Republican Party of Alberta website and YouTube.


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The Conservative Party of BC has hired Apollo Chung, a member of the separatist Republican Party of Alberta, as director of operations and Cosmin Dzsurdzsa, a former writer for Juno News, as caucus communications director.

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The BC NDP released the information based on an internal government directory, sending out a press release that criticized the hires as bringing “Trump-style politics” to B.C.

In response to a request for an interview, Dzsurdzsa called The Tyee a “far-left smear outlet” and “literal trash, not journalism.”

Stewart Prest, a lecturer in political science at the University of British Columbia, said the decision to hire Chung and Dzsurdzsa is one more signal the party is abandoning traditional Conservative politics in B.C. and choosing an approach close to the MAGA republicanism of the United States.

The hires come after Kerry-Lynne Findlay, a former Conservative MP who has championed socially conservative positions, won the B.C. Conservative leadership race on May 30.

“This is not a coincidence or a one-off,” Prest said. “This is very much a deliberate strategy at this point — that’s clear.”

Critics inside Conservative politics have been pointing out Chung’s connection to Findlay’s campaign for months. On April 28, Anthony Koch — a Conservative strategist who was part of the Conservative Party of BC team during the 2024 provincial election — posted questions about Chung’s role inside the Findlay campaign.

“Want to know who KLF’s de facto campaign manager is right now? Meet Apollo (a.k.a. Paul) Chung,” Koch posted. “Someone should ask Ms. Findlay if using ‘B.C. talent’ includes hiring an Alberta Separatist.”

Koch made the comments as one of Findlay’s opponents, Caroline Elliott, was criticized for hiring Ontario-based political strategist Kory Teneycke.

After the leadership vote results were announced, a video posted to Facebook showed Findlay’s raucous after-party at a hotel, with guests appearing to chant Chung’s name.

Prest said the party’s decision to hire Chung shows a divide between the B.C. and federal Conservatives. Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has defended a united Canada as the Alberta separatism movement agitated to hold a referendum.

The Republican Party of Alberta has developed a “five-step plan to achieve Alberta’s separation,” and its leader, Cameron Davies, has travelled to the United States to drum up support for an independent Alberta from Donald Trump-aligned politicians and officials.

While other figures inside the Alberta separatist movement have accused Davies of supporting Alberta’s absorption into the United States as the “51st state,” Davies has denied this.

“I think it is not an easy one to explain away, because for those who are truly committed to the idea of a strong and united Canada with Alberta as an important component within the federation, it really shouldn’t be possible to find common cause to work with someone who takes the other side of that debate,” Prest said.

“It’s a pretty cut-and-dried question. Do you think Alberta should be part of Canada or not?”

Chung was listed as the party’s executive director on its website and was the financial officer for some candidates.

And as recently as 2021 he was a constituency assistant for current NDP Finance Minister Brenda Bailey.

Dzsurdzsa has held several jobs for right-wing media outlets. In 2019 he was working at the Post Millennial when Canada’s National Observer reported he’d previously worked for Free Bird Media, a blog that platformed white supremacists Richard Spencer and Faith Goldy.

The National Observer also reported that Dzsurdzsa had written for Russia Insider, a site that had been described as “propaganda” for the Russian government by the BBC and Newsweek.

Following publication of the National Observer story, the Post Millennial said it had cut ties with Dzsurdzsa.

Prior to being hired by the Conservative Party of BC, Dzsurdzsa was working for Juno News, which was previously known as True North News.

Dzsurdzsa recently defended Juno News’ decision to conduct a video interview with Daniel Tyrie, the leader of an organization called the Dominion Society of Canada that calls for deportation of 21 per cent of the country’s population. Tyrie uses the term “remigration,” but extremism experts say it’s more accurate to call the idea “ethnic cleansing” because groups who use the term “remigration” usually focus on deporting non-white people.



Findlay Steers BC Conservatives Hard Right to Her Party’s Perilread more

In his interview with Juno News, Tyrie said he’s “very clear about what a Canadian is.”

“All these groups that established Canada, this ethnic continuity that we’re talking about, these people can be called white people,” Tyrie said.

In a post on X, Dzsurdzsa said having a debate about “remigration” shows “genuine vitality on the Canadian right right now: remigrationists and restrictionists, Alberta sovereigntists and Canadian nationalists. We’re stronger for it.”

The post was in response to former Alberta premier Jason Kenney, who called Tyrie “racist” and criticized Juno News for interviewing him.

Dzsurdzsa is married to Lindsay Shepherd, a former Conservative Party of BC staffer who was fired after she complained on social media about having to view flags, posters and T-shirts that commemorate residential school survivors.

Dzsurdzsa was not shy about cheering Findlay’s win and gleefully promoted her on X using AI-generated images. He also mused that legacy media appeared to have no influence over the leadership vote result and urged Conservative politicians to “take advantage” of independent outlets rather than speaking with reporters from mainstream media.

Prest noted that it’s outside of journalistic norms for a reporter to promote a specific candidate and then quickly take a job with the party.



A Racist Group Is Trying to Gain Legitimacy in Canadian Politicsread more

Prest said Canada’s political history has shown that when Conservative parties are successful forming government, they focus on the economy and government spending.

“When they embrace these much more radical political projects, then they turn an election from a choice between a fiscally responsible opposition and a government everyone’s tired with, to a polarizing political project versus a government everyone’s tired with,” Prest said.

“And much more often than not, people will give that government a good hard look when the alternative is radical and is pursuing a lot of projects that really aren’t what most people are interested in.”

But if the current form of the Conservative Party of BC is successful in winning the next election, Prest said, the party has given every indication that it will move to implement sweeping changes.

“It will be, I think, a government that moves in the direction of some of the things that we do see in the United States — not just with Donald Trump, but in that Republican world more broadly.” 

ECB head Christine Lagarde 'ready to serve' WEF,

ECB head Christine Lagarde 'ready to serve' WEF, report says


Copyright Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
By Nathan Rennolds
Published on 23/08/2026 - 14:27 GMT+2•Updated 15:31
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The World Economic Forum is currently co-chaired by BlackRock CEO Larry Fink and André Hoffmann, the vice chairman of Roche.


European Central Bank (ECB) chief Christine Lagarde could be set to take charge of the World Economic Forum (WEF) at some point in 2027, a Swiss newspaper has reported.


The Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) reported over the weekend that Lagarde had been referred to as a "putative candidate" for the position of WEF president during a board meeting near Geneva earlier this week.

Lagarde, who is on the WEF's Board of Trustees, has thanked fellow board members for their confidence in her and said she is "ready to serve," the outlet said, citing unnamed sources.

Tharman Shanmugaratnam, the president of Singapore, is said to have led the succession discussion during the meeting and stressed that the issue should be "resolved internally," per the NZZ.


The WEF is currently co-chaired by BlackRock CEO Larry Fink and André Hoffmann, the vice chairman of Roche.

The NZZ reported that the board had not yet come to a decision on when Lagarde should take over as president, but that Fink and Hoffmann should still preside over the WEF's annual Davos meeting, which is set to take place in January.

The ECB declined to comment on the report, while the WEF did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Euronews.

Lagarde, who has been president of the ECB since 2019, is due to leave her role in October 2027 when her eight-year term draws to a close.

There has been mounting speculation over her future in recent months and whether she could leave the ECB earlier, partly fuelled by Lagarde's own comments on her possibly taking part in the upcoming French presidential election campaign.


Speaking to Euronews in July, Lagarde ruled herself out of making a run for the French presidency itself, however.

"I'm not a candidate for anything, but I'm very keen that Europe is protected, that Europe is the framework within which member states operate, including France," she said.

Apple Intelligence is getting usage limits

 Apple Intelligence is getting usage limits, and here’s what it means for you

The free lunch is over. Apple Intelligence is about to start counting your requests.
By Rachit Agarwal Published September 10, 2026 1:45 AM
Rachit Agarwal / Digital Trends

In its July earnings call, Apple hinted that Apple Intelligence will have usage limits, and heavy users will need to subscribe to iCloud+ plans to get past them. Apple has now revealed more details on the matter.

Starting with the 2027 software update, Apple Intelligence is set for a serious upgrade with broader access to its server-powered features. But there’s a catch. Apple plans to roll out usage limits across many of these tools to keep things fast and reliable for everyone.
What features are we talking about?

The list covers some of Apple Intelligence’s more demanding tools. Siri AI is on there, along with newer AI photo editing features like Clean Up, Extend, and Spatial Reframing. Image Playground makes the cut too, as do the AFM 3 Cloud and AFM 3 Cloud Pro models used inside Shortcuts. Even developers building apps with Apple’s Foundation Models through Private Cloud Compute will have to work within these limits.Rachit Agarwal / Digital Trends
What happens once you hit the limit?

Don’t worry, a maxed-out feature won’t disappear forever; it just needs to cool down. Apple says the feature comes back after a timeout period, and how long that takes depends on a mix of things: which feature you’re using, how complex your request is, how busy Apple’s servers are that day, and Apple’s own policies. If waiting isn’t your thing, Apple will let you pay for expanded access instead.

A similar cap already exists in the Home app. Video summaries from your security cameras are tied to your iCloud+ plan. The 2TB plan gets you one camera, the 6TB plan bumps that to two, and the 12TB plan covers up to five. Apple notes these numbers could change down the road.

Bottom line is that don’t be surprised if your favorite AI feature asks you to wait a bit, or dangles a paid upgrade to skip the line.

Trump admin suspends Microsoft from green card program

 Trump admin suspends Microsoft from green card program.

Alex Wong/Getty Images

🪪 Trump admin suspends Microsoft from green card program. Vice President JD Vance said yesterday that the administration is suspending the tech giant from a program that allows its employees with H-1B visas to apply for green cards. Vance accused Microsoft of replacing American workers “with what is effectively foreign indentured servants.” In a statement, Microsoft said most applications were for workers already legally in the US, and they only comprised 1% of its US workforce. Supporters of the H-1B program argue it boosts competitiveness and innovation by hiring workers in high-skill roles that would otherwise be difficult to fill. H-1Bs have long been a target of the Trump administration, which contends that they undercut American workers.—AE

The Hub is getting increasingly desperate to boost the flagging Cons

The Hub is getting increasingly desperate to boost the flagging Cons
Hopes for a right-wing makeover of our country have been spiked in just a matter of weeks by Trumpism

Marc Edge / March 31, 2025 / 6 min read

Canadian PoliticsMedia


Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre. Photo from Flickr.


Pity the poor Hub. Mere weeks ago, it appeared that the Conservative Party it cheers on so ardently would cruise to victory in the coming federal election. Canadians had tired of Justin Trudeau after nine years as prime minister and new Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre had rocketed up the polls by promising to defund the CBC and cancel the subsidies our news media have been collecting for the past five years. But then Trudeau resigned and was replaced by the more cerebral Mark Carney, whose acumen puts career politician Poilievre to shame. Donald Trump then slapped massive tariffs on Canadian products, sparking a trade war that has brought us together like seldom before. Given this newfound spirit of nationalism, axing the CBC is about the last thing voters want to sign off on. Worst of all, Poilievre’s right-wing policies hew a bit too closely to Trump’s and he rightly suffers from guilt by association.

This is thus shaping up as a one-issue election, rendering moot much of the groundwork laid by The Hub, which was founded four years ago by two faculty members of the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy at the University of Toronto. The school was controversially named after Barrick Gold founder Peter Munk, who actively promoted far-right policies including environmental de-regulation, in exchange for a $6.4 million donation in 1997. Munk gave it another $5 million in 2006 and $35 million more in 2014, which sparked controversy not only for the $16 million tax credit it somehow returned him, but also for its secret provision that the Munk School take advice from Barrick’s advisory board, which then included former US President George H. Bush and former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. The Canadian Foreign Policy Institute has argued that Munk’s donations resulted in the school being “shaped in his hard right image.”

The Munk School has become highly influential with its vast resources, sponsoring an eight-month Munk Fellowship in Global Journalism for 20 applicants annually, the raucous biannual Munk Debates and an annual $50,000 award for the world’s best non-fiction book on foreign affairs, which the Halifax Examiner quipped was “part of a larger effort to reimagine Canada as a right-wing American Libertarian fantasy.”

The Hub was founded in 2021 by Munk School faculty members Rudyard Griffiths, a former broadcaster, and Sean Speer, a former advisor to Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper, in conjunction with the think tank Centre for Civic Engagement, a registered charity funded by right-wing foundations. Its naked partisanship follows a trend to so-called think tank journalism, under which The Economist quipped that “the divide between having ideas and reporting on them is dissolving.” The Hub has also found a profitable niche in publishing content paid for by clients including Telus, Toronto’s Pearson Airport and the Digital Media Association of foreign streamers, which renders somewhat suspect The Hub’s advocacy on issues affecting them, such as the Online Streaming Act (full disclosure: I have written several columns for The Hub, which also published an excerpt from my new book Tomorrow’s News: How to Fix Canada’s Media).

The Hub is so well funded that it offers an annual policy prize of $50,000 to contestants under 40 and recently donated the $22,248.58 it received from Google under the Online News Act to the March of Dimes. That means The Hub has now hypocritically collected payments under the Online News Act it has been so harshly critical of it because it claims the act has eroded public trust in the news and has harmed journalistic objectivity. The Hub loudly refused to accept earlier government subsidies given out under the $595 million media bailout announced in 2019, even signing a so-called Ottawa Declaration on Canadian Journalism calling on media to stop taking government subsidies. Accepting a government-ordered subsidy from Google and then donating it to charity qualifies as little more than a political stunt that not only diverts funding intended for journalism but reveals The Hub’s partisan stripes even more clearly.

The Hub’s content shows a decided desperation to influence the election in favour of the Tories, including a column by Speer arguing absurdly that Trump’s tariffs aren’t the biggest current threat to Canada, which he claims is instead a supposed national unity crisis. An article that carries the counterintuitive headline “Only Boomers are really concerned about Trump this election” is illustrated with a photo of a senior wearing a hearing aid embracing Carney. It cites recent polling that shows only 16 percent of those in the 18-29 age group think Trump is one of the two most important election issues, compared with 50 percent of seniors, and claims that young Canadians are more concerned with the “affordability crisis, soaring home prices, and a welfare system tilted strongly in favour of seniors.” The Hub’s dreary media podcast Full Press shows even more desperation, even attacking the Columbia Journalism Review recently over its article on the existential threat to Canadian media if Poilievre is elected, claiming it omitted comment from conservatives and complaining that it was labelled Analysis instead of Opinion.

Most revealing of all, however, was a so-called “Deep Dive” by Heather Exner-Pirot and Michael Gullo of the Business Council of Canada (BCC) headlined “Time to move from talk to action on regulatory reform.” It was a barely readable 2,900-word criticism of the 2019 Impact Assessment Act, a sweeping piece of federal environmental legislation also known as Bill C-69 which the BCC has opposed from the start. “We don’t need overregulation,” it argues. “Somewhere along the way, we developed a system that sees the people and companies that build things in Canada—the mines, pipelines, refineries, power plants, ports, railroads, and roads—as adversaries from whom the public needs defending.” Poilievre has promised to repeal the IAA within 60 days if elected. “Our approaches to approving and permitting projects have evolved into an albatross: a burden on those who would build and invest in our country,” argue Exner-Pirot and Gullo, who had a similar 3,000-word column published in The Hub last May. The column included no disclaimer that it had been paid for by the BCC, but given The Hub’s past practice of charging to publish such content, I queried them on the matter only to receive no answer to my email.

When most Canadians talk about regulatory reform, they mean enacting more effective regulations to rein in the power of corporations to gouge us so effectively, as the Trudeau government did recently by removing the so-called “efficiencies” defence from the Competition Act in light of the way its has hamstrung regulators for decades, as illustrated so ably in the delightful new book The Big Fix: How Companies Capture Markets and Harm Canadians. When conservatives like those at The Hub talk about regulatory reform, they mean removing all regulation, all government oversight, and likely even all government itself, as is now being commenced south of the border under the libertarian playbook exposed by the classic 2017 book Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right’s Stealth Plan for America.

How truly deflating it must be for The Hub to have its hopes for a similar makeover of our country spiked in a matter of weeks by Trumpism. It was no doubt licking its chops over what regulations to remove first and which changes in government policy would take priority, but its expected victory lap has reverted to it again weakly trying to help its favoured Conservatives along as they again vainly chase the more prudent Liberals.

Marc Edge teaches Media & Communication at University Canada West in Vancouver. His books and research on Canadian media can be found online at www.marcedge.com.