US will be exempt from global tax deal targeting profits of large multinationals

Nearly 150 countries have agreed on a landmark plan to stop large global companies shifting profits to low-tax jurisdictions, but the US will be exempt from the deal, angering tax transparency groups.The plan, finalised by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, excludes large US-based multinational corporations from the 15% global minimum tax after negotiations between the Trump administration and other members of the G7.The OECD secretary general, Mathias Cormann, described the agreement as a “landmark decision in international tax cooperation” that “enhances tax certainty, reduces complexity, and protects tax bases”.Scott Bessent, the US treasury secretary, called the deal “a historic victory in preserving US sovereignty and protecting American workers and businesses from extraterritorial overreach.”Cormann was elected to head the OECD in 2021 with Donald Trump’s support

Deep in the vaults: the Bank of England’s £1.4bn Venezuelan gold conundrum

Nicolás Maduro’s seizure by US reopens question of who controls country’s reserves held in the UKTrump suggests US taxpayers could reimburse oil firmsBusiness live – latest updatesVenezuela live – latest updatesDeep under London’s streets, thousands of miles from Caracas, Nicolás Maduro’s seizure by the US has reopened a multibillion-dollar question: who controls Venezuela’s gold reserves at the Bank of England?After the ousting of Maduro, global attention has largely focused on the South American country’s vast oil wealth – believed to be the largest reserves of any nation in the world. However, Venezuela also has significant gold holdings – including bullion worth at least $1.95bn (£1.4bn) frozen in Britain.For years the gold bars have been the subject of a tussle in the London courts, entangling the Bank and the UK government in Venezuelan politics and a geopolitical battle that is now taking a fresh twist

Leading AI expert delays timeline for its possible destruction of humanity

A leading artificial intelligence expert has rolled back his timeline for AI doom, saying it will take longer than he initially predicted for AI systems to be able to code autonomously and thus speed their own development toward superintelligence.Daniel Kokotajlo, a former employee of OpenAI, sparked an energetic debate in April by releasing AI 2027, a scenario that envisions unchecked AI development leading to the creation of a superintelligence, which – after outfoxing world leaders – destroys humanity.The scenario rapidly won admirers and detractors. The US vice-president, JD Vance, appeared to reference AI 2027 in an interview last May when discussing the US’s artificial intelligence arms race with China. Gary Marcus, an emeritus professor of neuroscience at New York University, called the piece a “work of fiction” and various of its conclusions “pure science fiction mumbo jumbo”

AI images of Maduro capture reap millions of views on social media

Minutes after Donald Trump announced a “large-scale strike” against Venezuela early on Saturday morning, false and misleading AI-generated images began flooding social media. There were fake photos of Nicolás Maduro being escorted off a plane by US law enforcement agents, images of jubilant Venezuelans pouring into the streets of Caracas and videos of missiles raining down on the city – all fake.The fabricated content intermixed with real videos and photos of US aircraft flying over the Venezuelan capital and explosions lighting up the dark sky. A lack of verified information about the raid coupled with AI tools’ rapidly advancing capabilities made discerning fact from fiction about the incursion on Caracas difficult.By the time Trump posted a verified photo of Maduro blindfolded, handcuffed and dressed in grey sweatpants aboard the USS Iwo Jima warship, the fake images with the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents had already gone viral

Majestic Smith passes Hobbs to leave only Bradman clear on top of Ashes mountain | Geoff Lemon

There was a time, while Steve Smith was at the height of his batting prowess, when “best since Bradman” was used with confidence. The thing about that line is that even when the recipient has dominated for years, it gets applied too quickly, given the point of comparison is a career-lasting two decades. Lots of players reach the top for a time, no other has stayed as long. Smith was untouchable for six years before returning to the realm of the merely very good.The combination of those phases, though, took him to a rare position on the third day of the fifth Test in Sydney

The Breakdown | Rugby’s leaders should show courage of their convictions as Stephen Jones did

He never won an international cap nor played a single minute of professional rugby. So why did a national newspaper devote four and a half pages of its sports section to celebrating him at the weekend? There have been generational British & Irish legends who spawned less coverage than Stephen Jones in recognition of the latter’s 42-year stint as rugby correspondent of the Sunday Times.Just think about that for a second. Forty-two years of journalistic thunderbolts and lightning, some of it very, very frightening for those in the firing line. One or two world heavyweight champs have landed fewer career knockout punches than our mate Steve dished out in print every week