Herald section
Recent reporting and significant records from the Herald archive.
The United Kingdom's Ofcom opens an investigation into X over complaints about the creation of deepfake sexualised images by its chatbot Grok.
The first birth of a baby in the United Kingdom to a woman with a transplanted womb is announced. The baby girl, delivered at Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital in London to a 36-year-old woman, is reported to be healthy.
The largest site of dinosaur footprints of the Cetiosaurus and Megalosaurus dating back to the Middle Jurassic Bathonian stage 166 million years ago is discovered at a quarry in Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom.
A rocket engine for Rocket Factory Augsburg's launch vehicle RFA One explodes during a test launch at the SaxaVord Spaceport in Scotland, United Kingdom.
The National Health Service declares a "critical incident" after several hospitals in London, including King's College Hospital, say they have cancelled appointments and turned away patients after a cyberattack on their Synnovis IT systems.
Scientists announce that they have identified fossil remains of the Ichthyotitan, the largest marine reptile currently known, in the Westbury Formation in England.
Royal Mail initiates the first regular postal delivery by drones in the United Kingdom, delivering mail by Skyports drones on Scotland's Orkney archipelago.
Researchers from the Natural History Museum in London, United Kingdom, discover the fossils of a herbivorous dinosaur species named Vectipelta barretti on the Isle of Wight. The ankylosaur, with "blade-like spiked armor", is the first of its kind found on the island in 142 years and will be added to the collection at Dinosaur Isle for public display during the summer.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announces that the United Kingdom will host the world's first summit on artificial intelligence later this year.
Meta Platforms begins introducing paid verification on Facebook and Instagram for users in the United Kingdom.
A geomagnetic storm hits Earth, causing auroras as far south as Alabama and southern England. The storm registers at a G4.
The United Kingdom launches its UK Emergency Alert System, sending a test emergency population warning to all 4G and 5G mobile phones for the first time. Many people do not receive the alert, particularly users of the Three mobile network. The Cabinet Office acknowledges that the emergency alert did not reach some people, saying that it is "reviewing the test".
The United Kingdom's Department for Transport approves Ford Motor Company's hands-free driving vehicles on 2,300 miles (3,700 km) of motorways in England, Scotland and Wales. The UK becomes the first European country to approve hands-free driving technology on public roads.
The United Kingdom's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) fines TikTok £12.7m for "failing to protect the privacy of children" on the online video platform. It is one of the largest fines ever issued by the ICO.
The British government bans the use of Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok on all government devices, citing security concerns.
The United Kingdom's postal service Royal Mail tells people to stop sending mail abroad due to a "cyber incident" that is causing severe disruption to mail delivery, with "minor delays" to mail coming into the UK also being reported. It is later confirmed to be a ransomware attack from a Russia-linked hacker group.
Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne fails to reach the Low Earth orbit with a payload of several small satellites after the rocket suffered a second-stage engine anomaly on its ascent to space, resulting in the loss of the payload. The mission, which launched from Spaceport Cornwall in South West England, would have been the first rocket launched from United Kingdom territory.
The Data Protection Commissioner of Ireland fines American technology company Meta for (US$275 million) for a data breach on its international users.
The International Mathematical Union awards the Fields Medal to mathematicians Hugo Duminil-Copin of France, June Huh of the United States, James Maynard of the United Kingdom, and Maryna Viazovska of Ukraine, at the quadrennial International Congress of Mathematicians in Helsinki, Finland.
Russian television network RT is taken off-air in the EU and the United Kingdom due to its coverage of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
A study by University College London suggests that the bluestones that form Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England, likely originated from another stone circle in Pembrokeshire, Wales, called Waun Mawn.
Israel authorizes Palestinian mobile operators Jawwal and Ooredoo to begin upgrading to 4G services in the West Bank after they sign management contracts with the Swedish telecommunications firm Ericsson.
The Arabic edition of Wikipedia is taken offline for one day in protest of the ongoing war in Gaza.
Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman are awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for developing technology that resulted in mRNA vaccines for COVID-19.
After 18 years under construction, the Olkiluoto 3 reactor in Finland, Europe's most powerful nuclear power plant unit at 1.6 GW, begins delivering regular electrical output.
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announces that the Doomsday Clock has been moved up to 90 seconds before midnight, largely due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Argentine footballer Lionel Messi's Instagram post containing photos of him lifting the FIFA World Cup Trophy and celebrating with the Argentina team after winning the 2022 FIFA World Cup two days prior becomes the social networking service's most-liked post after reaching over 56 million likes, surpassing the previous record held by the Instagram egg.
The United States Department of Energy announces the achievement of fusion ignition by the National Ignition Facility at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
After holding an impromptu online poll, Twitter owner Elon Musk restores the suspended account of former U.S. President Donald Trump. More than 15 million people voted in the poll, although Musk acknowledged many bots may also have voted.
Twitter announces that they have permanently suspended U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene for allegedly violating the company's policies about COVID-19 misinformation.
A review of some recent medical studies shows that memory T cells may play a role in a phenomenon known as cross-reactivity, which researchers found may perhaps give certain people, in some cases, some level of immunity to the virus that causes COVID-19 even without them having been exposed to or infected with the virus, or having received a vaccine. There are certain structural and clinical similarities between the virus that causes COVID-19 and the other coronaviruses that are related to it, which cause SARS and MERS.