English musician, astrophysicist, and animal welfare advocate; Queen’s lead guitarist and co-founder
A roundup compiles notable birthdays from this week across Independent, AP News and other outlets, highlighting a cast of performers aged from 36 to 82 as of mid-July 2026.
UKRI has pulled the Lovell telescope funding, triggering a funding crisis at Jodrell Bank. Observations are due to end in March 2028 unless new funds are found. A broad coalition is calling for immediate alternative funding.
OpenAI unveils a privacy-centric safety monitoring approach, while Anthropic maintains a 30-day data retention policy for its covered models, prompting enterprise concerns and competitive tension in the AI safety space.
Spotify has announced it will add an "AI Persona" badge to artist profiles from mid‑September to flag identities that do not represent real people. The badge will appear on profiles, search and track rows; such artists will be excluded from editorial and personalized recommendations by default, and can self‑disclose or appeal Spotify's decision.
A solar eclipse has drawn thousands of spectators across the North East and Cumbria, with observers calling the event phenomenal and marking the moment as a rare, shared experience.