Borders, Bytes & Beats: 2025 in Focus

News

Immigration and Crime

• Illegal immigration and smuggling blitz sees 50 arrests – BBC News
• Woman raped in racially aggravated attack, police say – Sky News
• Epping migrant sex offender will be deported ‘this week’, says Justice Secretary Lammy – BBC News
• Justice secretary highlights Sky News reporting – as he says migrant release mistake ‘totally unacceptable’ – Sky News
• Family of schoolgirl sexually assaulted by wrongly released migrant ‘infuriated’ by ordeal – Sky News
• A colossal reputational repair job is desperately needed after Kebatu debacle – Sky News

Business and Tax

• Start-ups warn Reeves over budget tax bombshell – Sky News
• ‘Mansion tax’ not part of ‘coherent strategy’, former Bank of England governor says – Sky News

Government and Public Policy

• We will not ‘be held to ransom’ by striking doctors, says minister – BBC News

Legal and Judicial

• Juror jailed after web search halts murder trial – BBC News

International and Foreign Affairs

• Egypt and Red Cross join search for hostage bodies in Gaza – BBC News
• US warship arrives in Trinidad and Tobago – as Venezuela hits out at ‘military provocation’ – Sky News
• Key city in Sudan on brink of falling to paramilitary group – Sky News
• Rebel group claims capture of key city in Sudan – BBC News
• Israel allows Red Cross and Egyptian teams into Gaza as search for bodies of hostages widens – Sky News
• US and China agree framework of trade deal ahead of Trump-Xi meeting – BBC News
• Will Trump’s ‘peace deal’ solve Thailand-Cambodia dispute? – BBC News

Sports

• Boy thrown from Tate Modern can now run, jump and swim – BBC News
• Xu wins singles and doubles titles at Wrexham Open – BBC News

AI

AI Product Updates & Platforms

• From human clicks to machine intent: Preparing the web for agentic AI – VentureBeat – AI
• Mistral launches its own AI Studio for quick development with its European open source, proprietary models – VentureBeat – AI
• OpenAI launches company knowledge in ChatGPT, letting you access your firm’s data from Google Drive, Slack, GitHub – VentureBeat – AI
• Microsoft Copilot gets 12 big updates for fall, including new AI assistant character Mico – VentureBeat – AI

AI Security & Trust

• When your AI browser becomes your enemy: The Comet security disaster – VentureBeat – AI
• 9% of US News Articles Contain AI-Generated Content – Just AI News

AI & Labor / Automation

• Amazon and the media: Robotics event shows disconnect on AI and jobs – GeekWire – AI

AI Ethics & Society

• Stand Up for Research, Innovation, and Education – Technology Review – AI
• An AI app to measure pain is here – Technology Review – AI

AI Strategy & Forecast

• Thinking Machines challenges OpenAI’s AI scaling strategy: ‘First superintelligence will be a superhuman learner’ – VentureBeat – AI
• What will happen when the AI bubble bursts? Tech prognosticators weigh in with ensnarkification – GeekWire – AI

AI Startups & Funding

• YC-Backed Crustdata Raises $6M to Power AI Agents With Live Data – Just AI News
• Tensormesh Raises $4.5M to Cut AI Inference Costs by 10x – Just AI News
• Bricklayer AI Raises $5M Seed Led by Tech Square – Just AI News
• Carbon Robotics raises $20M as LaserWeeder maker plans secretive new ‘AI robot’ for farms – GeekWire – AI

Carbon Removal & Climate Tech

• The Download: carbon removal’s future, and measuring pain using an app – Technology Review – AI
• What’s next for carbon removal? – Technology Review – AI

AI Research & Scale

• Inside Ring-1T: Ant engineers solve reinforcement learning bottlenecks at trillion scale – VentureBeat – AI

Microsoft Copilot updates

• Microsoft Copilot gets long‑term memory, group chats, and new ‘Mico’ persona in latest update – GeekWire – AI

Technology

Tech & Business

• Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella gets a major pay rise tied to soaring AI revenues – TechRadar
• Apple is reportedly getting ready to introduce ads to its Maps app – Engadget
• CBP will photograph non‑citizens entering and exiting the US for its facial‑recognition database – Engadget
• OpenAI is reportedly working on an AI music‑generation tool – Engadget
• Cutting‑edge cooling may arrive on the next iPad Pro – Gizmodo
• The next iPad Pro could be the first to get vapor‑chamber cooling – Engadget

Gaming

• Unlock Borderlands 4 Power: Try These Active SHiFT Codes ASAP – CNET
• Expect “KPop Demon Hunters” in Magic: The Gathering Next Year – Gizmodo
• Hideo Kojima’s “P.T.” Demo is Helping Japanese Kids Learn English – Gizmodo

Audio & Headphones

• The 4 best all‑new headphones I listened to at the Paris Audio Show 2025 – TechRadar

Media & Entertainment

• Wildwood first look teases LAIKA studios’ stunning new film – Mashable
• Looney Tunes finds new success on Tubi after being booted from HBO Max – Mashable
• Like All of Us, the WGA Dislikes Another Warner Bros. Merger – Gizmodo

Music

• You need to listen to the brutally oppressive I’ve Seen All I Need to See – The Verge

Events & Conferences

• TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 begins in less than 24 hours — catch our last ticket deals – TechCrunch
• TechCrunch Mobility: The “robot army” argument – TechCrunch

China ↔ U.S. – TikTok

• Trump’s TikTok deal will supposedly close on Thursday – Gizmodo
• Trump and Xi will “consummate” TikTok deal on Thursday, treasury secretary says – TechCrunch

Gaming

Development insights

• Europa Universalis lead says design documents stifle creativity: “You end up with a bunch of idea guys who write all the documents and the rest are there to follow” – PC Gamer
• Europa Universalis lead Johan Andersson says Paradox’s DLC model has been “pretty fing great”: “You decide what’s going in, you decide the scope, you decide exactly when you can release” – PC Gamer*

Corporate & company strategy

• “Our biggest competition isn’t another console, it’s everything from TikTok to movies,” says Xbox president – Eurogamer
• PUBG and InZoi publisher Krafton declares itself an “AI‑first company”, “placing AI at the centre of problem solving” – Eurogamer
• After EA’s buyout and creator exodus, the Sims team wants you to know their “values and commitment remain the same” – Rock Paper Shotgun

Legal & IP disputes

• Roblox’s Steal A Brainrot creator sues copy‑cat Fortnite Creative game, Stealing Brainrots – Eurogamer

Music & tours

• Silent Hill composer Akira Yamaoka announces first‑ever U.S. tour and “immersive live performance experience” – Eurogamer

Game releases & delays

• Old School RuneScape is getting its first new skill since it launched, and so the XP grind begins anew – Rock Paper Shotgun
• Switch 2 Elden Ring Tarnished Edition delayed to 2026 to “allow time for performance adjustments” – Eurogamer
• Call of Duty: Warzone’s focus on the year ahead is Battle Royale, Resurgence, and “the future of the game” – Eurogamer
• The Paranormal Activity games gets a slightly new name and a scarily underwhelming first gameplay trailer – Rock Paper Shotgun
• Nivalis catches yet another delay, this time into 2026, but it sounds like it’s for fair reasons – Rock Paper Shotgun

Retro & historical highlights

• “They Complained, Then Left With the Best Exclusivity Deal of All Time” – The Story of PS2’s Blockbuster GTA Deal – IGN
• 25 years ago Red Alert 2 serenaded us with the greatest opening movie of all time. We need that nonsense back – Eurogamer

Other industry features

• Breaking open a dead MMO and find what goofs and horrors await in Gorgon’s Garden – Rock Paper Shotgun
• Before Paradox became king of grand strategy, it made a Baldur’s Gate‑inspired RPG doomed by “bugs, many and diverse” – PC Gamer
• Eurogamer Weekly Digest, 26th October – highlights you might have missed this week in features, reviews, and news – Eurogamer