Red Bull’s Max Verstappen charged to his 15th win of the season and 50th of his career at the United States Grand Prix

By Ludwig Burger and Maggie Fick FRANKFURT Novo Nordisk has launched blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy in Germany, its

Today, June 9, is National Sex Day, and what better way to celebrate than with

If you’re a young woman on your own at night, unsolicited attention from a stranger can be intimidating, to say the least. Fortunately, there are plenty of good samaritans out there who are quick to step in and offer a helping hand where it’s needed. And, in some cases, where it’s not. Such an instance occurred at a Starbucks in Texas, where an 18-year-old student was studying by herself when she was approached by a man she didn’t know. A female barista spotted the encounter and decided to take action – bringing a cup of hot chocolate over to the teenager that “someone forgot to pick up”. But really it was all a ruse, and written on the drink was a note reading: “Are you okay? Do you want us to intervene? If you do, take the lid off the cup.” The girl’s mother, Brandy Selim Roberson, shared a photo of the thoughtful message to Facebook in February last year, explaining: “My 18-year-old daughter was at Starbucks, alone, the other night. A man came up to her and started talking to her. A barista handed her ‘an extra hot chocolate someone forgot to pick up’. “How grateful I am for people who look out for other people!” Brandy then added: “Side note: She felt safe and did not remove the lid, but let them know. She said the whole team was watching over her the rest of the time she was there. Thank you to Starbucks for having a great team.” Providing further details, Roberson told the New York Post: “The man was very loud and animated,” but her daughter was reassured to see “a row of baristas staring at her — ready to step in.” “This reaffirms my faith in humanity,” the proud mum stressed. “Maybe just seeing this story, others … if given the opportunity to say something or turn away, they would say something.” Clearly, the story continues to strike a note with people, because it has gone viral again after being shared on X/Twitter on Monday. The post has racked up more than 21.6 million views and 240,300 likes in just three days, with thousands of commentators offering their take on the encounter. Countless users joined Brandy in praising the Starbucks staff, with one gushing: “There still are some great people in the world!” A second wrote: “As a father of a daughter, I’m glad people are still looking out.” And a third said: “In today’s society more people should be proactive like this. You just never know what a situation really is. Kudos to the alert Starbuck’s staff. Never be silent and always ask.” However, others pointed out that the girl had felt “safe” with the stranger, and so they insisted that the intervention was a dramatic overreaction. “I feel so bad for younger guys that might want to go talk to a random chick,” one lamented. “I fail to see why a young woman needs to be ‘rescued’ in a situation like this,” wrote another. “It’s a public setting and there are many acceptable reasons why this man could have been talking to her! “It’s one thing to encourage reasonable precautions, quite another to instil fear and paranoia,” they added. And a third said despairingly: “Can't approach women in coffee shop (creepy); can't approach women at work (unprofessional); can't approach women at the gym (distracting, creepy); can't approach women at church (no singles); can't approach women in public (with friends) – what are men supposed to do??” Scores of commentators said the story was a perfect example of why many young men are too scared to strike up conversations with women. Indeed, a study published by Date Psychology in July found that nearly half of men aged under 25 had never approached a woman in person – with most citing a fear of rejection and/or the potential social consequences. Meanwhile, a number of X/Twitter users said more context was needed to establish exactly why the note was needed. One wrote: “All we have to go on is that a man talked to her. They did not state that he threatened or harassed her, which surely they would have clarified if he had.” To which another replied: “I like to believe they picked up on something sort of fishy, or intense about the man -- perhaps he was in her physical space, or looked a little out of it? We don't know. If it was like that, I think they were helpful.” Elsewhere, users suggested that the furious response from male commentators proved the baristas had been right to act. “Men in the quotes giving us great examples of why the employees stepped in,” one said. “Y’all are not entitled to speak to women simply because you think you can or perceive yourself as no harm.” Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings

British car production rose for the fifth consecutive month in June compared to last year as pandemic-induced chip

The White House said it had information that Russia was executing its own soldiers who retreated from an offensive in Ukraine or refused to follow orders. “We have information that the Russian military has been actually executing soldiers who refuse to follow orders,” White House spokesperson John Kirby told a media briefing on Thursday. “We also have information that Russian commanders are threatening to execute entire units if they seek to retreat from Ukrainian artillery fire,” he added. The US also claimed that some of the Russian casualties near Avdivvka were “on the orders of their own leaders”. Ukrainian forces have been fighting a Russian military onslaught in the frontline town of Avdiivka – a few kilometres north of occupied Donetsk – for several weeks since mid-October. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky described the situation as “particularly tough” earlier this week. Russia’s ambassador to Washington, Anatoly Antonov, made no reference to the White House statement but said that the latest military aid package of $150m to Ukraine by the US was “provocative and inflammatory actions in the international arena that look more like pouring oil on the fire”. He wrote on Telegram: “It is long past time to halt the mindless multi-billion dollar flow to the bankrupt Kyiv regime. Time to stop showing total disdain towards the opinions of your own citizens and indifference to the growing number of victims dying from American weaponry.” Mr Kirby confirmed that since 11 October Russia lost “at least 125 units of armoured vehicles around Avdiivka and more than a battalion’s worth of military equipment”. White House also said that the Russian troops in Avdivvka are struggling with “low morale”. Mr Kirby warned that Russia will likely continue to attack around Avdiivka and “may be able to achieve some tactical gains” in the coming months. However, he added that this will come at the cost of “thousands of casualties” as the Russian soldiers are thrown into battle without proper training and with “poor morale”. Mr Kirby said threats to execute the soldiers were barbaric, according to Reuters. “I think it’s a symptom of ... how poorly Russia’s military leaders know they’re doing and how bad they have handled this from a military perspective.” Additional reporting with agencies Read More The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary As the Turkish Republic turns 100, here's a look at its achievements and challenges ahead White House says Russia is executing its own soldiers for not following orders Russia recruits prisoners for Ukraine war as Putin replicates Wagner

China is simply relentless in its domination of the Asian Games

Facebook owner Meta is working on a ChatGPT-style chatbot with the personality of Abraham Lincoln, according to reports. The new AI bot is part of a series of prototypes under development at the tech giant, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday, with each one featuring a different human-like persona. The new chatbots form part of the company’s attempts to boost its engagement with its social media platforms, according to the report, citing people with knowledge of the plans. Beyond the chatbot based on the former US president, the California-based social media giant is also exploring a chatbot that advises on travel options in the style of a surfer. The purpose of these chatbots, which Meta employees have dubbed ‘personas’, will be to provide a new search function as well as offer recommendations. The report comes as Meta executives are focusing on boosting retention on its new text-based app Threads, after the app lost more than half of its users in the weeks following its launch on 5 July. The Facebook parent reported a strong rise in advertising revenue in its earnings last week, forecasting third-quarter revenue above market expectations. The company has been climbing back from a bruising 2022, buoyed by hype around emerging AI technology and an austerity drive in which it has shed around 21,000 employees since last fall. Meta launched a new version of its open-source artificial intelligence model in July called Llama 2 for commercial use, which will be distributed by Microsoft through its Azure cloud service and will run on the Windows operating system. Bloomberg News reported in July that Apple is working on AI offerings similar to OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Bard, adding that it has built its own framework, known as ‘Ajax’, to create large language models and is also testing a chatbot that some engineers call ‘Apple GPT’. Reports of a ‘Chat with an AI’ feature first emerged in June, when app researcher Alessandro Paluzzi shared screenshots of a new tool that offers users the option to ask questions and seek advice from up to 30 different AI chatbots on Instagram. Meta reportedly plans to launch the new AI chatbots in September. The Independent has reached out to Instagram for comment, though the company typically does not speak about unreleased products. Additional reporting from agencies Read More ‘I’ve got Elon Musk dying’: Voice clone baffles tech billionaire

The designers on Bravo's 'Project Runway' Season 20 will be mentored by the acclaimed CFDA designer Christian Siriano

Mauricio Pochettino has confirmed that Christopher Nkunku will not be fit to be involved in Chelsea’s visit to Newcastle on Saturday. There had been hopes that the £52million summer signing from RB Leipzig would have sufficiently recovered from the knee injury he sustained on the pre-season tout of the United States to play a part at St James’ Park. But, despite being fit enough to have taken part in training with the first team, the 26-year-old has not worked tactically with the squad and will not travel. Chelsea struggled without the France international in Pochettino’s first Premier League games in charge, with the goalscoring problems that he had been acquired to help solve carrying over from a tumultuous campaign last season during which the team scored fewer league goals than they had in almost a century. Those issues have become less urgent in recent weeks, with four goals scored on three separate occasions against Burnley, Tottenham and Manchester City. By contrast, the team had not previously scored four times in a game since April 2022. “(Nkunku) was doing things with the group last week,” said Pochettino. “But he’s not fully recovered to be part of the squad. “He’s a fantastic player, top scorer in the Bundesliga last season. He can play different positions, his quality is amazing. It’s really bad luck to lose him from the beginning of the season. “We’re going to find the best way for him to fit in the team. He’s going to find massive competition. His team-mates are ahead of him, they’ve had four months of competition. He needs to build his form and be at his best level. “We need to understand he’s coming back from injury, he will need time. We will be patient with him. “It’s not a competition (the Premier League) that he’s normally used to. He came from Europe, he needs to recover from injury but also to know the league. It’ll take time to perform at his best.” Pochettino confirmed that Romeo Lavia, signed in the last week of the transfer window from Southampton for £53m, is also nearing fitness but is slightly behind the progress made by Nkunku. Wesley Fofana has trained on grass at Cobham as he continues his rehabilitation from an ACL injury, though is unlikely to be available before the new year. Chelsea had come into form prior to the international break with five wins from eight in all competitions, a run which saw them score 19 times having previously netted only seven in their first seven under Pochettino. The manager is hopeful that the pause will not have disrupted his side’s rhythm ahead of their visit to face Eddie Howe’s side. “The break came at a bad time,” he said. “It came in a moment we were building a way to play, results were on our side. But I believe we can keep momentum even after two weeks with no competition.” I believe we can keep momentum even after two weeks with no competition Mauricio Pochettino Pochettino added that the squad has held group discussions about why performances and results have been better this season against the stronger teams – draws with Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City and victory over Spurs – while there have been home losses to Brentford, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa. “It’s part of the process,” he said. “We’re a young team, we started to work four months ago. We need to be more mature, more patient. We cannot get frustrated so soon when things don’t work. “Expectation creates nervousness when you play a team with less quality than you. You take rushed decisions, get frustrated. You want to do the job of your team-mate.”

A Chinese state-sponsored hacking group has stealthily gained access to infrastructure organizations in Guam and elsewhere in the

Almost nobody wants to miss out on the brisk rally in US tech. That’s the broad consensus from