US oil company shares and Venezuelan bonds rally after Maduro seized, sending Dow to record high – as it happened

Shares in US oil companies have jumped at the start of trading, as investors anticipate opportunities in Venezuela following the removal of Nicolás Maduro last weekend.Chevron, the American energy giant, is up 4.4% on Wall Street – reflecting predictions that, as the only major US oil company operating in Venezuela, it is in pole position to profit from the upheaval.Rivals ExxonMobil (+2%) andConocoPhillips (+4.1%) are also among the top risers in New York, as analysts predict that the US intervention in Venezuela as a positive development for its oil companies

Novo Nordisk launches Wegovy weight-loss pill in US, triggering price war

The first pill version of the blockbuster GLP-1 weight loss drugs has been launched in the US by Novo Nordisk at a lower cost than jab varieties, accelerating a price war in the sector.The Danish pharmaceutical company said on Monday that its once-a-day Wegovy pill, which received approval from the US regulator just before Christmas, was now available in the country.It launched the drug – the first and only pill on the market that imitates the GLP-1 hormone to reduce appetite – at significantly lower prices than injectable versions.Novo, which is known for its hit Wegovy and Ozempic injections for obesity and diabetes respectively, said the launch “opens new possibilities for the more than 100 million Americans living with obesity”.Self-paying patients can buy the pill for $5 (£3

Mother of one of Elon Musk’s sons ‘horrified’ at use of Grok to create fake sexualised images of her

The mother of one of Elon Musk’s sons has said she felt “horrified and violated” after fans of the billionaire used his AI tool, Grok, to create fake sexualised images of her by manipulating real pictures.The writer and political strategist Ashley St Clair, who became estranged from Musk after the birth of their child in 2024, told the Guardian that supporters of the X owner were using the tool to create a form of revenge porn, and had even undressed a picture of her as a child.Grok has come under fire from lawmakers and regulators worldwide after it emerged it had been used to virtually undress images of women and children, and show them in compromising sexualised positions. The widespread sexual abuse consists of X users asking Grok to manipulate pictures of fully clothed women to put them in bikinis, on their knees, and cover them in what looks like semen.“I felt horrified, I felt violated, especially seeing my toddler’s backpack in the back of it,” St Clair said of an image in which she has been put into a bikini, turned around and bent over

World ‘may not have time’ to prepare for AI safety risks, says leading researcher

The world “may not have time” to prepare for the safety risks posed by cutting-edge AI systems, according to a leading figure at the UK government’s scientific research agency.David Dalrymple, a programme director and AI safety expert at the Aria agency, told the Guardian people should be concerned about the growing capability of the technology.“I think we should be concerned about systems that can perform all of the functions that humans perform to get things done in the world, but better,” he said. “Because we will be outcompeted in all of the domains that we need to be dominant in, in order to maintain control of our civilisation, society and planet.”Dalrymple said there was a gap in understanding between the public sector and AI companies about the power of looming breakthroughs in the technology

Ben Stokes unlikely to face reprimand for Ashes spat with Labuschagne

It was hard to know whether it was a message to Australia or his own bowlers. Ben Stokes signed off from a frustrating second evening in Sydney by swapping words out in the middle with Marnus Labuschagne. Seemingly reacting to something said by Labuschagne as the hosts made a rapid reply to England’s 384, Stokes was heard saying “shut the fuck up” at the end of the over he had just bowled. He then walked over and put an arm around his opponent’s shoulder to continue the exchange.As the umpires, Ahsan Raza and Chris Gaffaney, moved in, Stokes walked away after giving Labuschagne a squeeze

Australia ignoring spin forgets that good bowlers are good bowlers | Geoff Lemon

When Shane Warne called his biography No Spin, it wasn’t a recommendation. Speaking for the dead is unacceptably presumptuous, but his record in life was loud and clear in backing his guild. Teams should always give themselves the option of spin bowling was his common contention.Nor is allegiance of style the only factor. His old teammate Jason Gillespie, as pure a paceman as they come, had the same view watching the fifth Ashes Test in Sydney