BrewDog could be broken up as craft beer business put up for sale

The beer-maker BrewDog could be broken up after consultants were called in to help find new investors.The Scotland-based brewer, which makes craft beer such as Punk IPA and Elvis Juice, has appointed consultants AlixPartners to oversee the sale process.BrewDog last month announced it was closing its distilling brands, prompting concerns for jobs at its facility in Ellon, Aberdeenshire.The company, which was founded in 2007 by friends James Watt and Martin Dickie, said it made the decision to focus on its beer products.No decision has been made in respect of the sale process

Did you buy a coffee machine with a tax refund? It may have affected Australia’s interest rate

One of the first things many Australians did last year after receiving a tax refund or a lower mortgage rate was to buy an armchair, an air fryer or a coffee machine.The purchases, evident in company earnings published this week, came after households had endured years of high living costs – and consumption had been weak up until that point.And policymakers didn’t think homeowners or renters had the spare capacity.This pickup in demand – along with rising prices – for such goods turned out to be an important factor in the Reserve Bank’s decision to raise interest rates, because it was concerned inflation was broadening.“The things that are driving the uptick in inflation really are housing, durable goods and market services,” Michele Bullock, the RBA’s governor, said last week

The problem with doorbell cams: Nancy Guthrie case and Ring Super Bowl ad reawaken surveillance fears

What happens to the data that smart home cameras collect? Can law enforcement access this information – even when users aren’t aware officers may be viewing their footage? Two recent events have put these concerns in the spotlight.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.A Super Bowl ad by the doorbell-camera company Ring and the FBI’s pursuit of the kidnapper of Nancy Guthrie, the mother of Today show host Savannah Guthrie, have resurfaced longstanding concerns about surveillance against a backdrop of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown

US military used Anthropic’s AI model Claude in Venezuela raid, report says

Claude, the AI model developed by Anthropic, was used by the US military during its operation to kidnap Nicolás Maduro from Venezuela, the Wall Street Journal revealed on Saturday, a high-profile example of how the US defence department is using artificial intelligence in its operations.The US raid on Venezuela involved bombing across the capital, Caracas, and the killing of 83 people, according to Venezuela’s defence ministry. Anthropic’s terms of use prohibit the use of Claude for violent ends, for the development of weapons or for conducting surveillance.Anthropic was the first AI developer known to be used in a classified operation by the US department of defence. It was unclear how the tool, which has capabilities ranging from processing PDFs to piloting autonomous drones, was deployed

‘Even more special’: Jakara Anthony dusts off Winter Olympics heartbreak for historic triumph

Jakara Anthony has rediscovered her Midas touch, after the world No 1 moguls skier dusted off brutal “heartbreak” at Milano Cortina to climb back to the top dais at the Winter Games.The Australian has known little but success since claiming an Olympic gold medal four years ago, setting a national record for World Cup skiing victories as she twisted and turned to the top of the sport. But the team’s co-flag bearer had to learn a crushing lesson in overcoming adversity after an uncharacteristic slide off course cost her a medal in the single moguls event.There were tears, meetings with sport psychologists and heartfelt conversations with family, friends, coaches and teammates. Less than three days later, Anthony has a smile back on her face and a gold medal around her neck after winning the first Olympic women’s dual moguls event

‘We are Europeans’: Fans fly Greenland flag during Olympic US-Denmark ice hockey game

Two fans who raised a flag of Greenland as the United States played Denmark in men’s ice hockey at the Winter Olympics on Saturday say they did so as a gesture of European support for the island and for Denmark.Vita Kalniņa and her husband, Alexander Kalniņš, fans of the Latvian hockey team who live in Germany, held up a large Greenland flag during warmups and again when the Danish team scored the opening goal of the preliminary round game against the US at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena.“We are Europeans and I think as Europeans we must hold together,” Kalniņš told the Associated Press.“The Greenlandic people decide what will happen with Greenland, but as it is now, Greenland is a part of the Danish kingdom and, as Greenland is a part of Denmark as in this case, we support both countries against the US.”Other US and Danish fans who watched their teams face off Saturday in the Americans’ 6-3 win said they believe sports transcends politics amid recent tensions between their governments over Greenland