Latest news with #Wikimedia
The National
10 hours ago
- Business
- The National
Experts warn Labour set to hike taxes as borrowing hits record figure
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said borrowing surged to £17.7 billion last month, the second highest figure on record for May, surpassed only at the height of Covid. May borrowing was £700 million higher than a year earlier, though it was slightly less than the £18bn most economists had been expecting. The higher borrowing came in spite of a surge in the tax take from National Insurance after Chancellor Rachel Reeves increased employer contributions in April. The decision, which was announced in last autumn's budget, has seen wage costs soar for firms across the UK as they also faced a minimum wage rise in the same month. Experts warned the higher borrowing figures raised the chances of tax hikes to come in the budget later this year, with Reeves struggling to meet her self-imposed fiscal rules alongside spending commitments. (Image: Wikimedia) Thomas Pugh, economist at audit and consulting firm RSM UK, said he is predicting tax increases of between £10bn and £20bn. He said: 'The under-performance of the economy and higher borrowing costs mean the Chancellor may already have lost the £9.9bn of fiscal headroom that she clawed back in March. 'Throw in the tough outlook for many Government departments announced in the spending review and U-turns on welfare spending and the Chancellor will probably have to announce some top-up tax increases after the summer.' Danni Hewson, AJ Bell head of financial analysis, said the borrowing figures 'will only add to speculation that the Chancellor will have to announce more spending cuts or further tax increases at the next budget if she wants to meet her fiscal rules and pay for her spending plans'. 'One big shock could wipe out any headroom Rachel Reeves might have, and there are still question marks about how much of GDP [gross domestic product] should be spent on defence and where the money is going to come from,' she added. READ MORE: Labour whip resigns over government's planned disability welfare cuts Borrowing for the first two months of the financial year to date was £37.7bn, £1.6bn more than the same two-month period in 2024, according to the ONS. The data showed so-called compulsory social contributions, largely made up of national insurance contributions (NICs), jumped by £3.9bn or 14.7% to a record £30.2bn in April and May combined. Rob Doody, deputy director for public sector finances, said: 'While receipts were up, thanks partly to higher income tax revenue and national insurance contributions, spending was up more, affected by increased running costs and inflation-linked uplifts to many benefits.' While May's borrowing out-turn was lower than economists were expecting, it was more than the £17.1bn pencilled in by the UK's independent fiscal watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), in March. The figures showed that central government tax receipts in May increased by £3.5bn to £61.7bn, while higher NICs saw social contributions rise by £1.8bn to £15.1bn last month alone. Public sector net debt, excluding public sector banks, stood at £2.87 trillion at the end of May and was estimated at 96.4% of GDP, which was 0.5 percentage points higher than a year earlier and remains at levels last seen in the early 1960s. The ONS said the sale of the final tranche of taxpayer shares in NatWest, formerly Royal Bank of Scotland, cut net debt by £800m last month, but did not have an impact on borrowing in the month. Interest payments on debt, which are linked to inflation, fell £700m to £7.6m due to previous falls in the Retail Prices Index (RPI). But recent rises in RPI are expected to see debt interest payments race higher in June. Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones insisted the Government had 'stabilised the economy and the public finances'. 'Since taking office, we have taken the right decisions to protect working people, begin repairing the NHS, and fix the foundations to rebuild Britain,' he said.
The Irish Sun
11 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Dozens of children injured after primary school hit with tear gas attack in Berlin in ‘mass casualty incident'
DOZENS of children are reported to have been injured at a Berlin primary school after it was tear-gassed. A total of 37 pupils are suffering symptoms following the incident at Miriam Makeba School. Advertisement 1 Dozens of pupils are reported to be suffering symptoms Credit: Wikimedia The school was evacuated and shut just after 9am today following the incident. Affected pupils are reportedly being treated by emergency services at the scene. Tear gas was sprayed in the hallway of the school building, local media has reported. Students affected complained of shortness of breath and eye irritation. Advertisement A fire department spokesperson told local media that 37 children were affected. "One child had to be transported to a hospital for further medical care," they added. A police spokesperson said that the building has been ventilated and there is no further danger to students and teachers. It comes following Advertisement Most read in The US Sun Breaking As many as 38 children were injured in a horror gas attack at a school. It was reported that an "irritating gas-like substance" was sprayed at the school. A spokesperson for the fire brigade said: "We have triggered a major alarm and prepared the clinics in Dresden and the surrounding area." Numerous children were complaining of breathing difficulties, irritated eyes and intense coughing. Advertisement More to follow... For the latest news on this story, keep checking back at The U.S. Sun, your go-to destination for the best celebrity news, sports news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures, and must-see videos . Like us on Facebook at
Scottish Sun
11 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Dozens of children injured after primary school hit with tear gas attack in Berlin in ‘mass casualty incident'
Dozens of pupils are reported to be suffering symptoms GAS HORROR Dozens of children injured after primary school hit with tear gas attack in Berlin in 'mass casualty incident' DOZENS of children are reported to have been injured at a Berlin primary school after it was tear-gassed. A total of 37 pupils are suffering symptoms following the incident at Miriam Makeba School. 1 Dozens of pupils are reported to be suffering symptoms Credit: Wikimedia The school was evacuated and shut just after 9am today following the incident. Affected pupils are reportedly being treated by emergency services at the scene. Tear gas was sprayed in the hallway of the school building, local media has reported. Students affected complained of shortness of breath and eye irritation. A fire department spokesperson told local media that 37 children were affected. "One child had to be transported to a hospital for further medical care," they added. A police spokesperson said that the building has been ventilated and there is no further danger to students and teachers. It comes following another incident in Germany at a school in Dresden last year. As many as 38 children were injured in a horror gas attack at a school. It was reported that an "irritating gas-like substance" was sprayed at the school. A spokesperson for the fire brigade said: "We have triggered a major alarm and prepared the clinics in Dresden and the surrounding area." Numerous children were complaining of breathing difficulties, irritated eyes and intense coughing. More to follow... For the latest news on this story, keep checking back at The U.S. Sun, your go-to destination for the best celebrity news, sports news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures, and must-see videos. Like us on Facebook at TheSunUS and follow us on X at @TheUSSun
NDTV
13-06-2025
- NDTV
Wikipedia's AI Experiment Fails After Editors' Backlash: "Why Did They..."
Wikipedia has decided to halt its new experiment of AI-generated article summaries after facing criticism from its community of editors, according to a report in TechCrunch. The decision comes over a month after Wikimedia, the nonprofit that runs the online encyclopedia, announced the move, stating it aimed to utilise generative AI in specific areas where it tends to excel. AI-generated summaries appeared at the top of every Wikipedia article with a yellow "unverified" label. Users had to click to expand and read them. The editors, however, almost immediately criticised the new feature, stating it could damage Wikipedia's credibility. Despite being heavily trained on copious amounts of data, AI models are prone to 'hallucinations'. The editors claimed that AI-generated summaries may contain mistakes, further damaging the brand. Previously, the likes of Apple and Bloomberg have run similar experiments but had to step back as mistakes piled up. Reacting to the rollback, social media users said Wikipedia should not have implemented the feature, while others called it out for not utilising the donated money efficiently. "Why did they think anyone would actually want or need an AI-generated summary?" said one user, while another added: "They keep asking for money to stay afloat, and this is how they've used that money? AI? Ugh." A third commented: "The all-consuming rot is finally coming for one of the very last bastions of the old internet and all its promises. I knew we'd get here eventually." Also Read | Black Hole With Powerful Jet Illuminated By Universe's 'Oldest Light' Spotted What did Wikipedia say earlier? Amid concerns that AI could replace the editors, moderators and volunteers, Wikimedia, on April 30, announced the AI integration, claiming it was meant to reduce the workload of its human workforce, who would now focus more on quality control. "We will use AI to build features that remove technical barriers to allow the humans at the core of Wikipedia to spend their valuable time on what they want to accomplish, and not on how to technically achieve it. Our investments will be focused on specific areas where generative AI excels, all in the service of creating unique opportunities that will boost Wikipedia's volunteers," read the statement by Wikimedia. It said AI will also aid editors by assisting in the onboarding process of new volunteers and automating other tedious tasks.
Time of India
12-06-2025
- Time of India
Wikipedia stops AI-generated summary features after community says it can harm trust: ‘This would do immediate and irreversible…'
The Wikimedia Foundation has paused its trial of AI-generated article summaries on Wikipedia following sharp criticism from the community of volunteer editors, says a 404Media report. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The experiment, which began earlier this month, aimed to show short, machine-generated summaries at the top of Wikipedia articles on mobile. However, it faced immediate and overwhelming backlash. The report quotes one editor who said, 'Just because Google has rolled out its AI summaries doesn't mean we need to one-up them… This would do immediate and irreversible harm to our readers and to our reputation as a decently trustworthy and serious source.' Another simply wrote, 'Yuck.' Wikipedia's Simple Article Summaries faces backlash The summaries, created using the Aya model from Cohere, appeared at the top of articles for users who opted in via a browser extension. These summaries were hidden by default, marked with a yellow 'unverified' label, and had to be expanded to read. The feature was called 'Simple Article Summaries' and was designed to make dense Wikipedia content easier to understand. But editors were quick to argue that this approach undermined the core values of Wikipedia. One said, 'With Simple Article Summaries, you propose giving one singular editor with known reliability and NPOV issues a platform at the very top of any given article… I don't think I would feel comfortable contributing to an encyclopedia like this.' Wikipedia responds to backlash In response to the backlash, Wikimedia announced it would pause the experiment. A spokesperson explained that the trial was an opt-in test to help make Wikipedia more accessible, particularly for readers with different reading levels. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now 'It was meant to gauge interest… and help us think about the right kind of community moderation systems to ensure humans remain central to deciding what information is shown,' the spokesperson said as quoted in the report. The Foundation also acknowledged that the communication around the project could have been better. 'Reading through the comments, it's clear we could have done a better job introducing this idea,' a project manager said. 'We need to figure out how we can experiment in safe ways that are appropriate for readers and the Wikimedia community.' While the AI summaries have been put on hold for now, Wikimedia says it remains interested in exploring AI tools — but with full involvement from editors. 'We do not have any plans for bringing a summary feature to the wikis without editor involvement,' the project manager added.
