🇬🇧 £85 MILLION UK MANUFACTURING INVESTMENT! British manufacturer Numatic International, best known for its Henry and Hetty vacuum cleaners, is investing more than £85 million in Somerset to expand production and develop new products. The investment in the Chard manufacturing hub includes its ongoing 24,500m² expansion, which incorporates a newly opened research and development centre of excellence, a state-of-the-art 8,000-pallet global distribution centre due to be completed in spring 2027, and significant investment in self-generated renewable energy. Designed, engineered and made in Britain, Henry is the UK’s best-selling domestic vacuum by volume, with over one million units produced every year, and one in four households owning the friendly face of cleaning. Since its launch in 1981, more than 20 million Henrys have been produced. Founded in 1969 by Chris Duncan, Numatic International employs over 1,200 people and exports its products to more than 100 countries across the world. #UKmfg

If Silicon Valley wants British AI expertise, it can pay for it. @discoplomacy argues that Britain’s AI Security Institute has something valuable: people who understand both frontier AI systems and the wider questions involved in evaluating them. If companies want to draw on that expertise, he thinks the arrangement should come with a serious bill. Sponsored by Isembard.

Exclusive: The UK is exploring strengthening ties with Mauritius including helping it access more aid money, in a bid to manage relations after Trump vetoed the Chagos deal for the foreseeable In a meeting at the UN this week, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband told Mauritius’ Foreign Minister Dhananjau Ramful that Britain could support it in a range of areas, from trade to accessing climate financing and backing economic and development projects, sources say Ramful says Miliband pledged “total collaboration” in identifying areas where Britain could provide support to Mauritius Officials confirm they want to strengthen bilateral ties with Mauritius but stress they are not reopening negotiations over the deal nor offering it new British taxpayer money One official says it’s essential to keep Mauritius onside given the Chagos deal now won’t proceed until Trump leaves the White House UK officials are very concerned that in the longer-term, Mauritius could sue Britain or move closer to China, increasing the risk of Beijing interfering with the Diego Garcia base. They still think the sovereignty deal is the best option to secure the base post-Trump In the meantime the UK needs to keep relations with Mauritius going. The island nation faces a budget deficit and needed the £165 million a year it would have got from Britain over the next three years if the deal had gone through Even if the UK does not directly offer Mauritius more money, there are ways it could help it access financing such as through British International Investment, a development finance institution controlled by the government, and other international climate financing schemes With @KB2803 @EllenAMilligan: bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

Bus users in Singapore will now be fined for playing music out loud The fines range from around $400 to $4000

AI doom and Britain’s factory boom Almost live from the King Charles III Space Station, our orbital thatched pub. @tomough and @calumdrysdale welcome @discoplomacy on the AI frontier and Britain’s role in making it safer, then Jesse Heasman of Soapbox.vc on the money flowing into British chips, robotics and factories. Plus Antarctic patrol ships, geothermal strawberries, protected bats and a manganese nodule with a CIA backstory. Full episode below. Sponsored by Isembard.

UnHerd's new clubhouse is opening in New York 🗽 A space for free thinking, big ideas and intelligent conversation. We'll be doing regular debates, drinks and salons. Sign up to make sure you're invited! buff.ly/lT3LNow

Today @IsembardGroup is launching the largest factory to open in London since WW2. (1/n)

Today @IsembardGroup is launching the largest factory to open in London since WW2. (1/n)

Welcome to the AI doom wars, by Tom Ough (@tomough) It would be soothing to think that warnings about AI doom are fearmongering, that everyone involved is either deluded or corrupt. Likewise, it would also be soothing to think that One Weird Trick from the US government, neatly duplicated in Beijing, will solve the problem and restrain the competitive dynamic. But the situation is much more tangled than that. Old feuds, both political and personal, have been imported into what should ultimately be a technical debate; conflicting financial interests have tarnished honest work; and ad hominem attacks are obscuring robust critique. All the more reason to take good-faith whistleblowers like Jacob Coxon seriously. Read more: buff.ly/DrH7cOX