Russia faces fuel shortages: queues at petrol stations and rationing imposed
Russia, once a major oil supplier to Europe and large parts of Asia, is now experiencing domestic fuel shortages. Long queues have formed at petrol stations and rationing limits have been imposed on refuelling. The situation reflects deepening economic difficulties caused by international sanctions and the ongoing war.
Polish Energy Minister Miłosz Motyka presented the foundations of a district heating transformation strategy worth 231 billion zlotys. The ministry stated it currently sees no possibility of abandoning price regulation (tariffing) for district heat. The strategy is intended to set the direction for transforming Poland's heating sector.
Russia's defence ministry reported intercepting 660 Ukrainian drones overnight across 12 regions, including occupied Crimea and the Black Sea area. The Associated Press described it as one of the largest drone attacks on Russian territory since the full-scale war began in 2022. The drones caused fires across the targeted regions.
According to the Daily Mail, Max Verstappen and McLaren have held preliminary talks that could lead to the four-time world champion leaving Red Bull Racing for the Woking-based team. As part of the deal, Oscar Piastri would move in the opposite direction to Red Bull. It would be one of the most significant driver swaps in Formula 1 history.
Research published in "Communications Biology" suggests laughter is approximately 15 million years old and shared by all great apes — orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees and humans. Scientists used laughter as a "living fossil" of vocal control, arguing it represents the evolutionary stepping stone toward human speech. The ability to consciously control voice during laughter may have paved the way for language.
An opinion piece argues that the enthusiasm for a state-imposed social media ban for teenagers reflects parents' own failure to raise digitally responsible children. The author contends that demanding government action is a way of avoiding parental responsibility. The article is a commentary rather than a report on any specific new legislation.
Anthropic is reportedly testing a mobile companion app for Claude Cowork, its desktop-based autonomous AI agent that handles long-running tasks such as file management and document generation. The mobile app would act as a remote control, allowing users to monitor progress and even start new tasks from their phone. Screenshots of the feature have surfaced online, and Anthropic has confirmed that the related Dispatch feature is already in beta.
X screenshot shows new Claude Cowork mobile remote UIOpenAI already has a Codex remote control tool in the mobile appAnthropic has already indicated that Dispatch is in beta – launch could be imminentAnthropic could be testing a mobile companion feature for Claude Cowork, giving users remote access to the autonomous agent that handles long-running tasks on their computer.Cowork will remain a desktop-only tool for carrying out longer tasks autonomously, like arranging and analyzing local files and generating documents, with the mobile addition only serving as a remote control to check in on progress.Importantly, users may also be able to start tasks remotely from their phone, giving the mobile app near-identical functionality to the desktop app even though it doesn't actually run those tasks locally.Claude Cowork could soon get a mobile controllerScreenshots of the upcoming feature were shared in an X post, implying that the remote functionality can be used both on the mobile app and on the web.The company has not officially announced the rumored update, but it would make sense following OpenAI's introduction of a Codex controller within the ChatGPT mobile app in May.Adding remote access would strengthen Claude Cowork's position as an always-on digital colleague, rather than just a conversational chatbot, allowing it to carry out tasks even when a human user may be otherwise occupied.The Cowork web page does indicate that pairing a phone is now available in beta, but the finer details are unconfirmed – such as which accounts might get access first.A separate support article also implies that Dispatch, the remote tool, is available in beta for Pro and Max plans, noting that an active internet connection on both devices is required and that the desktop must also be active.All in all, the fragmented information hints at an imminent launch.
WHO modelling shows a nearly 70% chance of an Ebola case appearing in South Sudan within 12 weeks. The current outbreak is described as the fastest-spreading Ebola outbreak on record. Experts are raising the alarm about the high risk of the virus crossing the border into the neighbouring country.
Hayden Panettiere's childhood home has been relisted for $3.7 million, just weeks after she published an emotional memoir. In the book, she describes the "brutal" experiences she endured as a child star. The timing of the listing has drawn significant media attention.
Researchers have built a new chip that turns quantum "noise" — the interference widely seen as the biggest barrier to useful quantum computing — into a programmable feature. Quantum bits (qubits) fail at a rate of roughly 1 in 1,000, far worse than the 1-in-1-billion failure rate of classical digital bits. The team believes this first-of-its-kind experiment could help advance the development of error-corrected, fault-tolerant quantum computers.
Researchers have created a new chip that turns one of quantum computing's biggest frailties into a programmable feature. They say this first-of-its-kind experiment could carry implications for developing error-corrected, fault-tolerant quantum computers in the future.Unlike digital bits in a classical computer, which are represented as either "on" or "off," a quantum bit (qubit) has a much higher failure rate — roughly 1 in 1,000, compared with 1 in 1 billion for digital bits. That's because quantum computers are susceptible to "noise" — interference that's often cited as the biggest barrier preventing quantum computers from being more capable than the fastest supercomputers.As engineers develop quantum systems that are large enough in scale to perform useful functions, the amount of noise generally increases. Scientists can combat this noise using various error-correction techniques. But despite recent progress in this field, the challenge of developing a truly fault-tolerant quantum computer remains.That's because noise comes from various sources, many of which scientists have no control over. These include unpredictable disturbances in Earth's magnetic field, nearby radiation from Wi-Fi routers and other electronic devices, cosmic rays from space, and even neighboring qubits. This unpredictability has made it difficult to study this noise.But researchers have now devised an experiment that turns the error-correction paradigm on its head. Instead of trying to rid a quantum system of noise, they have created a chip that lets them introduce errors at will so they can examine noise and signal loss in a controlled environment. In the new study, published May 9 in the journal Nature Communications, the researchers described how this quantum computing chip uses photons captured from laser pulses as qubits. It also has what the researchers called a "side channel" that photons can be diverted to so the team could imitate the losses that occur under normal operating conditions and study them in detail."In many quantum experiments, anything that does not fit the ideal textbook picture is simply treated as loss and ignored," Govind Krishna, first author of the study and a doctoral student at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden, said in a statement. "The chip enables us to simulate those non‑ideal processes in a controlled way."(Image credit: David Callahan CC by 0)The chip can be programmed to imitate errors in multiple ways, thus making it possible to simulate specific types of loss due to noise. The researchers can essentially modulate the amount of noise the system simulates in order to generate conditions for practical study. They do this by adjusting the number of photons that get sidetracked and the degree of quantum superposition, in which qubits share information over space and time through a process called quantum entanglement."The chip works a bit like a programmable railway junction for quantum light," Krishna explained. "By changing the control signals, we can decide whether the photons mostly stay on the main track, are mostly diverted to the loss channel, or end up in superpositions that depend on their quantum interference." This means the noise itself becomes an asset that scientists can use to further improve quantum computing systems, rather than trying to eliminate it.Related storiesMicrosoft breakthrough could reduce errors in quantum computers by 1,000 timesQuantum internet inches closer thanks to new chip — it helps beam quantum signals over real-world fiber-optic cablesScientists trained an AI model using an IBM quantum computer — and it answered questions correctly that the base model couldn'tAccording to the study, the novel chip design can model errors in any type of quantum system — even a non-photonic system, like a superconducting qubit-based quantum computer or one designed with neutral atom qubits. The scientists ultimately want to give researchers more tools to study how noise infiltrates and accumulates in quantum circuits. This could, in theory, lead to a greater understanding of how to perform more effective error-correction techniques in future systems, especially as those systems scale and interact with their environment even more. "Understanding how quantum systems behave under this messiness is crucial if we want our experiments to say something about nature as it really is, not just idealized setups," Krishna said.
PKO Bank Polski is extending its Konto Oszczędnościowe Plus promotion for another period, keeping the interest rate unchanged from the previous edition. Customers have until nearly the end of August 2025 to join the promotion.
Iga Świątek w pierwszej rundzie Wimbledonu 2026 zmierzy się z Mananchayą Sawangkaew. Losowanie ułożyło się dla Polki korzystnie — znalazła się w przeciwnej części drabinki niż Aryna Sabalenka. Magda Linette trafiła na triumfatorkę Rolanda Garrosa Mirrę Andriejewą, a rywalką Mai Chwalińskiej będzie Sawangkaew (artykuł zawiera sprzeczne informacje — według artykułu
Support for the British monarchy under King Charles III has fallen to its lowest level in over three decades. Among 18–34-year-olds, approval has dropped by 41 percentage points. Polls show young Britons increasingly reject a system based on birth rather than merit, and the trend is expected to worsen.
Apple may release an OLED version of the iPad mini this year. The new model is expected to eliminate the screen flickering issue that has plagued previous iPad mini generations. It is considered one of the most anticipated Apple tablet launches in recent years.
Paramedic Mateusz Wawryszuk warns that twisting a tick or covering it with fat, petroleum jelly or other substances before removal significantly raises the risk of Lyme disease infection. The correct method is to grip the tick as close to the skin as possible and pull it out in one straight, firm motion. After removal, the bite area should be disinfected and monitored for signs of a spreading rash.
The piece contrasts America's 250th Independence Day anniversary — marked by political bloodsport — with Larry David's new HBO comedy. The author suggests both share a kind of absurd emptiness, though each addresses it in a different way.
Louis Vuitton's menswear show in Paris featured an eight-metre wave, sand underfoot and the sound of crashing surf, transforming the runway into a beach scene. Creative director Pharrell Williams designed the spectacle as part of a growing trend of fashion shows doubling as large-scale entertainment events.
Brazilian researchers have identified 45 previously unknown toxins produced by Salmonella bacteria, some of which are responsible for food poisoning in humans. The discovery could pave the way for developing new antibiotics targeting these pathogens. The findings also have potential applications in the field of biotechnology.
The dollar's appreciation against the euro, which had been ongoing for several days, has lost momentum. This helped stabilize the Polish zloty, with the euro holding below the 4.30 PLN mark.
An original German-language translation of the American Declaration of Independence has gone on display in Berlin to mark the 250th anniversary of the United States. The exhibition is presented as an opportunity to reflect on the shared history of the US and Germany. The article does not specify the venue or duration of the display.
Heading into the final round of Group G at the World Cup, table-topping Egypt face unbeaten Iran in a decisive clash. Both sides still control their own fate, with the winner all but guaranteed a place in the knockout rounds. The match is one of the most anticipated of the round.
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