Groupe Filatex, Madagascar’s largest employer, said it formed a venture with France’s Hyvity to add 50% to the

Global investors seeking to trade China’s reopening will have a new strategic tool from Monday: onshore interest-rate swaps

Could My Hero Academia's Deku be the next anime icon to get the Fortnite treatment?

Willy Adames was hospitalized after being struck by a foul ball in the Brewers dugout on Friday night. Here is everything to know on his health.Milwaukee Brewers shortstop Willy Adames was struck in the dugout by a foul ball in the bottom of the second inning on Friday night against the San Fran...

European champions Italy won the right to defend their title at Euro 2024 after a 0-0 draw on Monday with Ukraine in Leverkusen secured qualification...

German industrial output fell again in July, further holding back Europe’s biggest economy and casting a pall over

Some of the biggest names in the development of artificial intelligence (AI) have called for global leaders to work towards mitigating the risk of “extinction” from the technology. In a short statement, which did not clarify what they think may become extinct, business and academic leaders said the risks from AI should be treated with the same urgency as pandemics or nuclear war. “Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war,” they said. The statement was organised by the Centre for AI Safety, a San Francisco-based non-profit which aims “to reduce societal-scale risks from AI”. It said the use of AI in warfare could be “extremely harmful” as it could be used to develop new chemical weapons and enhance aerial combat. The letter was signed by some of the biggest names in the field, including Geoffrey Hinton, who is sometimes nicknamed the “Godfather of AI”. The signatories also include Sam Altman and Ilya Sutskever, the chief executive and co-founder respectively of ChatGPT-developer OpenAI. The list also included dozens of academics, senior bosses at companies like Google DeepMind, the co-founder of Skype, and the founders of AI company Anthropic. AI is now in the global consciousness after several firms released new tools allowing users to generate text, images and even computer code by just asking for what they want. Experts say the technology could take over jobs from humans – but this statement warns of an even deeper concern. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

Luis Munana has joined the cast of 'Young Famous and African' after appearing on 'Big Brother Africa' and founding four companies

Even before the newly elected justice who gave liberals a one-seat majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court has heard a case, Republican lawmakers are talking about taking the unprecedented step of impeaching and removing her from office

By Saeed Azhar and Niket Nishant NEW YORK Goldman Sachs Group Inc plans more job cuts as the

Dan Walker has bit back after facing backlash for interviewing Lee Anderson. Walker used to work for BBC Breakfast but now covers news and current affairs at Channel 5. For his latest assignment he sat in a park to have tea and biscuits with the controversial deputy chair of the Conservative party. But when he posted an image on Twitter teasing the release of the interview, people got annoyed and suggested he wasn't an appropriate person to interview, given he has made a series of outlandish statements including saying asylum seekers should "f*** off back to France" and claiming that those who use food banks have issues managing their budgets. After a sustained Twitter backlash, Walker issued a response. He said: He added in a follow-up tweet: "I’ve never interviewed a politician who expects everyone to agree with them but they all know that their views & policies will be challenged" and said he had also interviewed Angela Rayner and Ed Davey. And Anderson said: The interview comes out today on Channel 5. But given the Twitter reaction, it doesn't seem that people will be desperate to tune in. Sign up to 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.

A Gothic artist has dedicated an entire room in her house into a "shrine" for her "creepy doll" collection, as she believes it “makes life so much more interesting and fun”. Victoria Grossman, 53, began collecting Barbie dolls in her 20s, and since watching the horror film Annabelle she “became fascinated with creepy dolls,” so began collecting and creating them – she has sold more than 400 of her handmade dolls. Victoria has spent a staggering £19,000 on her collection, which includes over 300 dolls made from “porcelain with Gothic painted features”, which she hopes people think are “haunted” – her favourite frightening figurine is a hand-painted Wednesday Addams. Victoria’s dolls typically have “mysterious eyes”, Victorian style clothes and “menacing expressions”, and despite their scary appearance her loved ones are “big fans” of her collection. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Victoria’s creations have been featured in a movie, Dementia 13, after a producer approached her at a doll convention and bought three dolls. Victoria said it was “amazing to see them on screen”. “Collecting just makes life so much more interesting and fun – I could not see a life without collecting,” Victoria told PA Real Life. “I love the hunt and love displaying them – I want to see my stuff, I want people to see them and get inspired, and maybe start a collection of whatever turns them on.” Victoria began collecting Barbie dolls in her 20s, building a collection of more than 200 figurines, but this eventually turned into a fascination with creepy dolls. She said: “One day, I saw this Gothic doll on the television, and I thought it was so different and, being an artist, I wanted to recreate the doll – so, I did, and it was great, but I didn’t think much of it. “It wasn’t until I saw Annabelle, the horror movie, in 2014, that I became fascinated with creepy dolls. “I decided to recreate her, and I put her up on eBay, and it sold for like 120 dollars to someone in Las Vegas, and then I started to collect creepy dolls.” Over time, Victoria has accumulated over 300 horrifying dolls worth approximately £19,000 ($25,000) and keeps the majority of them on display in her studio. She said: “I’m not into anything gory – I like them to look artistically creepy as if you have found them in an attic, and I want people to think they’re haunted dolls. “Most of them are porcelain with Gothic painted features like mysterious eyes, Victorian style clothes, menacing expressions.” Victoria’s loved ones are very supportive of her unusual collection, she said: “My son has grown up with it, so he doesn’t think much of it, but he loves them; he thinks they are really cool. “When people come to the house, they instantly want to see the doll room or doll shrine, and my family always want to bring their friends over to show them off. “They all love to take pictures of them, they’re big fans – it’s the same at conventions. As well as frightening dolls, Victoria also has a collection of celebrity memorabilia worth more than £78,000 ($100,000). She said: “I have Barbra Streisand’s vanity, which is gigantic and beautiful. “One of my prized possessions is Madonna’s jewellery which she wore on the Like A Virgin album cover – I have the pin that’s on her bustier and the bracelet from the inside cover. “I used to go to Sotheby’s and Christie’s auction houses in New York for celebrity items in my twenties and thirties.” Alongside collecting, Victoria continued making dolls, which she sells for £118 ($150) apiece online and at conventions. She explained the process: “So the base is a regular porcelain doll, and you put a base paint on them, maybe some crackling on their face to make it look old and weathered. “I often paint on top of their eyes, especially when I’m making it into a character, like Pennywise from the movie It. “I make the clothes by hand – for example, when I made Wednesday Addams, which is my favourite doll that I own, I handmade all of her clothes and stockings, braided her hair, and painted on make-up.” Victoria has sold more than 400 dolls to date and has customers all over the world. She said: “I had no idea it was such a popular thing – I started taking them to conventions, and they did really well, I made the equivalent of £500. “One of my clients has around 40 of my dolls – it’s addictive, you can’t just have one. “Most of my customers buy the dolls for their Halloween display and end up adding to their collection and become full-on collectors.” Victoria’s dolls have even been featured in a movie – she explained: “When I was at a convention, a producer came up to me and said, ‘I love your dolls, I would love to put them in a movie’, and I just thought he was kidding. “But, they later came to the house, and they bought three dolls – they starred in a movie called Dementia 13 in 2017, it was amazing to see them on screen.” Looking to the future, Victoria is hoping to extend her collection to reborn dolls – dolls which are hyperrealistic portrayals of babies. She said: “To buy reborn realistic dolls is usually over $1,000, but I’d love to sculpt one and make an entire doll out of clay – I wouldn’t treat it like a baby like some people do, though.” 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.