Venice canal patch turns fluorescent green

Venetians woke up on Sunday morning to an unusual sight, as a patch of water in the city’s central waterway appeared to have turned fluorescent green.

Local authorities have collected water samples and opened an urgent investigation.

Speculation is rife as to what might have caused the water around the famous Rialto Bridge to change colour.

Theories range from the release of dye to a protest by environmental activists.

Italian media reported that local police were examining CCTV to determine whether the release might have been a stunt to coincide with the Volgalonga regatta taking place this weekend.

Many social media users said the images coming out of Venice were remindful of the 1968 stunt by Argentine artist Nicolás García

Uriburu, who dyed the waters of the Grand Canal green in order to raise awareness of ecological issues.

Spanish village votes in 30 seconds

An entire Spanish village voted in less than 30 seconds in this weekend’s local elections.

The seven registered voters of Villaroya, a small village in the La Rioja province, beat their own previous record of 32 seconds.

Salvador Perez, the incumbent mayor, has been in the role since 1973.

“I don’t know if I’ll get all seven votes, but it’s almost certain that I will,” he told Spanish media.

Mr Perez said that Villaroya’s residents are “very well trained” and were ready to cast their votes as soon as polls opened this morning.

A mere 29 seconds and 52 hundredths later, Villaroya became the first seat in Spain to finish voting.

Mr Perez admitted his fellow countrymen were probably motivated by a sense of competitiveness with another Spanish village, Illán de Vacas in Castilla-La Mancha, which only has three registered voters.

Spain’s local elections are seen as a test run for parliamentary polls due at the end of the year.

Twelve of the country’s seventeen regional parliaments, and 8,000 town and city halls, are being contested.

ChatGPT: US lawyer admits using AI for case research

ChatGPT can answer questions using natural, human-like language and mimic other writing styles

A New York lawyer is facing a court hearing of his own after his firm used AI tool ChatGPT for legal research.

A judge said the court was faced with an “unprecedented circumstance” after a filing was found to reference example legal cases that did not exist.

The lawyer who used the tool told the court he was “unaware that its content could be false”.

ChatGPT creates original text on request, but comes with warnings it can “produce inaccurate information”.

The original case involved a man suing an airline over an alleged personal injury. His legal team submitted a brief that cited several previous court cases in an attempt to prove, using precedent, why the case should move forward.

Sourcec: BBC