WPP shares leap amid takeover bid speculation

Shares in WPP have risen sharply amid speculation that the advertising group could be the subject of a takeover by a rival or a private equity buyer.Its French rival Havas, which was listed on Euronext in Amsterdam in December and is controlled by the billionaire Vincent Bolloré, has reportedly held internal talks about a potential bid as WPP’s share price languishes at levels not seen since the mid-1990s.The company’s shares rose as much as 6% on Monday, making it the biggest riser on the FTSE, after the Sunday Times report, which also suggested private equity groups Apollo and KKR had held internal discussions about certain WPP assets.However, Apollo has ruled out making a bid. KKR, which last year acquired WPP’s PR operation FGS Global, declined to comment

AI firms must be clear on risks or repeat tobacco’s mistakes, says Anthropic chief

Artificial intelligence companies must be transparent about the risks posed by their products or risk repeating the mistakes of tobacco and opioid companies, according to the chief executive of the AI startup Anthropic.Dario Amodei, who runs the US company behind the Claude chatbot, said he believed AI will become smarter than “most or all humans in most or all ways” and urged his peers to “call it as you see it”.Speaking to CBS News, Amodei said a lack of transparency about the impact of powerful AI would replay the errors of cigarette and opioid firms that failed to raise a red flag over the potential health damage of their own products.“You could end up in the world of, like, the cigarette companies, or the opioid companies, where they knew there were dangers, and they didn’t talk about them, and certainly did not prevent them,” he said.Amodei warned this year that AI could eliminate half of all entry-level white-collar jobs – office jobs such as accountancy, law and banking – within five years

Australia target Joe Root as the England batter to ‘take down’ on eve of Ashes

Scott Boland has flagged Joe Root as the England batter to “take down” this Ashes series as Pat Cummins stepped up his return from a back injury with an encouraging net session at Perth Stadium.While England were handed a day off on Monday after their warm-up fixture at Lilac Hill, Australia’s players began their preparations after flying in 24 hours earlier. A green-tinged pitch was being watered out in the middle as temperatures hit 33C inside the ground.Boland, scourge of England on their previous tour here four years ago, was already the seamer chosen to replace Cummins in the Australian XI, with a further hamstring injury to Josh Hazlewood likely to see South Australia’s Brendan Doggett handed a debut this week.Asked about the tourist he was targeting, the soft-spoken Boland, 36, plumped for the obvious answer

England to launch first Nations Championship campaign with visit to South Africa

England will begin their inaugural Nations Championship campaign next summer by travelling to South Africa to lock horns with the two-times defending world champions.As revealed by the Guardian in June, Steve Borthwick’s side, who are not playing the Springboks this autumn, also face fixtures against Fiji and Argentina next summer.England last toured South Africa in 2018 and next year’s clash – likely to be at Ellis Park in Johannesburg – will be only the second meeting between the two sides since the 2023 World Cup semi-final.The game with Fiji is also set to take place in South Africa in an attempt to minimise travel, as per tournament protocols. Fiji had wanted to play the match in Europe, either in France or at Twickenham, but the expectation is England’s first two matches will be in South Africa before they return to Argentina, having played two Tests there last summer

How to make risotto alla milanese – recipe | Felicity Cloake's Masterclass

Risotto alla milanese is, like the city it calls home, elegantly simple, but very rich. The saffron that gives the dish its striking colour is rightly expensive (it takes about 150 flowers to produce a mere gram), but you don’t need much and, though it’s often served alongside osso buco, I think it makes a fine meal on its own with a bitter-leaf salad.Prep 5 min Cook 30 min Serves 41 onion 75g butter, or 15g butter plus 60g bone marrow350g risotto rice (carnaroli, arborio, vialone nano)1 litre beef stock, or chicken or vegetable stock75ml dry white wine (see step 4)1 level tsp saffron threads75g finely grated parmesan, or grana padano or a vegetarian alternativePeel and finely chop the onion; the aim is for it almost to disappear into the dish, rather than remaining as distinct chunks, so take your time over doing this (you could substitute two shallots, if you prefer – their sweetness works particularly well with the flavour of the wine and cheese).Melt a generous tablespoon of the butter in a frying pan set over a medium-low heat, then fry the chopped onion until soft, golden and limp, but not coloured.Turn the heat up to medium-high, add the rice and fry, stirring constantly, until the grains are hot and starting to turn translucent around their edges

Spanish Armada-era astrolabe returns to Scilly after mysterious global journey

It spent hundreds of years languishing on the seabed off the Isles of Scilly in the far south-west of Britain before being hauled back to the surface by divers and setting off a circumnavigation of the world.Finally the Pednathise Head astrolabe – a rare example of a 16th-century navigational instrument once used by sailors to determine latitude – is back on Scilly after being rediscovered on the other side of the Atlantic.It turns out that after being sold and leaving the UK, the astrolabe passed through private collections in Australia and the US, its true identity forgotten along the way, before ending up in a museum on the Florida Keys.“It’s been on quite a journey,” said Xavier Duffy, the curator of the Isles of Scilly Museum. “We’re thrilled to have it back on Scilly and in the care of the museum