Dutch commandos wounded in shooting outside hotel in gun-crazy US

Dutch commandos are seen outside their quarters during the Afghan war. (Twitter photo)
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Updated 28 August 2022
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Dutch commandos wounded in shooting outside hotel in gun-crazy US

  • One of the wounded soldiers was in critical condition, say reports

AMSTERDAM: Three Dutch commandos in the United States for training exercises were wounded in a shooting outside their hotel in Indianapolis on Friday night, the Dutch Defense Ministry said.
One of them was in critical condition, a statement published on Saturday said. The men were in the state of Indiana for training, it said, adding that local police were investigating the incident. No arrests have been made.
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD), which is handling the investigation, was not immediately available for comment. An IMPD officer told FOX 59 it appeared an altercation took place earlier at a different location from the Hampton Inn in downtown Indianapolis.
“Right now the information we’re willing to disclose is that it was not something that occurred inside the hotel,” the officer told the news channel. “It was a previous altercation we believe at another location. It did not happen inside the Hampton, the actual occurrence was outside.”
Asked who the commandos were training with and whether any US personnel were involved in the incident, a Pentagon spokesperson referred questions to local civilian authorities, adding the situation remains under investigation.

Local media quoted the Indiana National Guard as saying the soldiers had been training at the Muscatatuck Urban Training Center about 65 kilometers southeast of Indianapolis. 


Britain needs ‘AI stress tests’ for financial services, lawmakers say

Updated 20 January 2026
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Britain needs ‘AI stress tests’ for financial services, lawmakers say

  • Lawmakers urge AI-specific stress tests for financial firms

LONDON: Britain’s financial watchdogs are not doing enough to stop artificial ​intelligence from harming consumers or destabilising markets, a cross-party group of lawmakers said on Tuesday, urging regulators to move away from what it called a “wait and see” approach.
In a report on AI in financial services, the Treasury Committee said the Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of England should start running AI-specific stress tests to help firms prepare for market shocks triggered by automated systems.
The committee also called on the FCA to ‌publish detailed guidance ‌by the end of 2026 on how ‌consumer ⁠protection ​rules apply to ‌AI, and on the extent to which senior managers should be expected to understand the systems they oversee.
“Based on the evidence I’ve seen, I do not feel confident that our financial system is prepared if there was a major AI-related incident and that is worrying,” committee chair Meg Hillier said in a statement.

TECHNOLOGY CARRIES ‘SIGNIFICANT RISKS’

A race among banks to adopt agentic AI, which ⁠unlike generative AI can make decisions and take autonomous action, runs new risks for retail customers, the ‌FCA told Reuters late last year.
About three-quarters ‍of UK financial firms now use ‍AI. Companies are deploying the technology across core functions, from processing insurance claims ‍to performing credit assessments.
While the report acknowledged the benefits of AI, it warned the technology also carried “significant risks” including opaque credit decisions, the potential exclusion of vulnerable consumers through algorithmic tailoring, fraud, and the spread of unregulated financial advice through AI chatbots.
Experts ​contributing to the report also highlighted threats to financial stability, pointing to the reliance on a small group of US tech ⁠giants for AI and cloud services. Some also noted that AI-driven trading systems may amplify herding behavior in markets, risking a financial crisis in a worst-case scenario.
An FCA spokesperson said the regulator welcomed the focus on AI and would review the report. The regulator has previously indicated it does not favor AI-specific rules due to the pace of technological change.
The BoE did not respond to a request for comment.
Hillier told Reuters that increasingly sophisticated forms of generative AI were influencing financial decisions. “If something has gone wrong in the system, that could have a very big impact on the consumer,” she said.
Separately, Britain’s finance ‌ministry appointed Starling Bank CIO Harriet Rees and Lloyds Banking Group ‘s Rohit Dhawan as “AI Champions” to help steer AI adoption in financial services.