Author: DispatchTimes News Desk

Estée Lauder has expanded Brian Franz’s remit to include enterprise-wide transformation as the beauty group steps up its use of artificial intelligence to improve operations, product development and online shopping. Franz, who has overseen the company’s technology, data and analytics functions since joining in April 2025, has been appointed chief technology and transformation officer with immediate effect. He will continue to lead the global technology organisation while taking responsibility for initiatives aimed at increasing revenue and productivity. The appointment was announced on Tuesday, 8 September, as part of a wider reshaping of responsibilities under chief executive Stéphane de La Faverie.…

Geordie Shore star Gaz Beadle has welcomed a daughter with his girlfriend, nursing graduate Maia Ellen, after she endured a 40-hour labour. Beadle, 38, shared the news on Instagram on Wednesday, posting photographs from hospital that showed him smiling beside Maia and their newborn baby. “She’s here after 40 hours of what felt like a lifetime,” he wrote. “Maia was incredible… there really is no other feeling like it. She is perfect… Time to get her home.” The couple’s announcement prompted messages of congratulations from several of Beadle’s fellow reality stars, including Abbie Holborn, Chloe Ferry, Chris Hughes and Dan…

Microsoft is testing a series of new Xbox console features with members of its Xbox Insider programme, including retro-inspired boot animations, improved remote play and clearer voice chat. The update will allow testers to personalise the start-up sequence on newer consoles. Available options include the original Xbox One boot screen, the Xbox One X animation, the first Xbox Series X and Series S start-up, and the current “we are Xbox” sequence. However, the selection does not extend to the original Xbox or Xbox 360 start-up animations. The feature is limited to Xbox One-era animations and later. New Xbox features include…

Dejan Kulusevski is edging closer to a return for Tottenham after more than 15 months out with a serious knee injury, Sweden manager Graham Potter has confirmed. The 26-year-old has not played since damaging his right knee during Tottenham’s match against Crystal Palace on 11 May 2025. He subsequently underwent surgery and has spent almost 500 days working his way back to full fitness. Kulusevski recently resumed full training with Spurs and was included in the squad for the Premier League trip to Nottingham Forest on 5 September. However, a minor issue during preparations led Tottenham to leave him out…

In-N-Out Burger has removed sesame flour from its buns and replaced iodised salt packets with sea salt, prompting a lively reaction from customers across the chain’s ten US states. The California-based company said the changes were part of its continuing effort to serve what it described as the “freshest, highest-quality food possible”. It did not provide a specific explanation for either alteration. In-N-Out said the latest updates followed its decision in 2025 to replace high-fructose corn syrup in its ketchup with real sugar. “Over the years, we’ve made meaningful changes to our ingredients, and this past year was no exception,”…

Sir Richard Branson’s wife, Lady Joan Branson, would probably have survived if she had been given preventative blood-thinning medication in hospital, an inquest has concluded. The 80-year-old died at the Lister Hospital in Chelsea on November 24, 2025, after developing a pulmonary embolism caused by deep vein thrombosis following a fall at the couple’s Necker Island home in the British Virgin Islands. Professor Fiona Wilcox, senior coroner for Inner West London, said Lady Branson had been at “very high risk” of developing a blood clot but was not given prophylactic anticoagulants, including Enoxaparin injections. Delivering her conclusion at Westminster Coroner’s…

The Los Angeles Rams are treating their appearance in Australia’s first regular-season NFL game as the culmination of a year-round effort to establish the club as a local sporting brand, president Kevin Demoff said. The Rams will face NFC West rivals the San Francisco 49ers at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday, September 11, in a landmark fixture for American football in Australia. Kick-off is scheduled for 10.35am local time. Los Angeles secured international marketing rights in Australia in 2021, allowing the franchise to develop sponsorships, fan events, youth football programmes and merchandise activity in the country. The rights were…

Calls to halt the development of superintelligent artificial intelligence are gaining support amid concerns that increasingly capable systems may eventually become impossible to control, according to AI researcher and entrepreneur Connor Leahy. Leahy, the US executive director of non-profit ControlAI, argues that existing approaches focused on aligning advanced systems with human intentions and containing their behaviour may not be sufficient if machines become more capable than people. Speaking on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, he said the potential risks had become too serious to manage through technical safeguards alone. ControlAI is campaigning for companies to stop developing superintelligence altogether. The debate has…

An 18-year-old Milwaukee man has been arrested after a car crashed into a house in West Allis, Wisconsin, causing what police described as major structural damage. The crash happened at about 8am on Wednesday, 9 September, near the junction of 108th Street and Arthur Avenue, according to the West Allis Police Department. One person was inside the property when the vehicle struck it, but they were not injured. City building inspectors were sent to assess the condition of the house. Police said preliminary information indicated that impairment was not a factor in the crash. The investigation remains ongoing. The driver…

At least 14 people have been killed and 11 injured in an explosion at a weapons depot near the Syrian city of Sarmada, according to local health authorities. The blast struck a temporary storage facility in the Burj al-Nimra area of Idlib province on Wednesday. The site was being used to hold weapons and remnants of war before they were moved elsewhere. Syria’s Defence Ministry said some of its employees were among those wounded. It said its units were working with other authorities to secure the area after the explosion. The cause of the initial blast has not been established.…