2026 News Archive

Most of the cases were in England in recent weeks, linked to eating imported eggs, experts believe.

Amid race with Anthropic, firm plans to overhaul research and training and require more safety parameters after hack OpenAI on ⁠Tuesday said it had slowed down the ⁠pace of ⁠its ​AI development while it overhauled its ⁠research and training systems. The company’s researchers were ⁠caught unaware last month ​when an ‌AI agent ‌under testing hacked another AI ‌firm, Hugging Face...

Teen version is intended for children aged 13 to 17 and includes content protections on self-harm and sexual chats OpenAI is launching a version of ChatGPT designed for teenagers – the first generation to grow up with artificial intelligence – who are already using it for schoolwork, questions about daily life and even companionship. The San Francisco-based company says ChatGPT for Teens, which launches on Tuesday, is tailored for children aged 13 to 17 with stronger protections including content restrictions around things such as suicide, self-harm and romantic or sexual chats. It also provides homework and study support designed to help students learn rather than spit out answers and school essays...

Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh Emotional group dynamics and individual skills make One Fell Swoop stand out in the crowded circus genre You cannot move at the Edinburgh fringe for circus shows. There are so many people in this city who can climb a rope, hang upside down, swing on a trapeze – so how do you make a show special when plenty of other folks are hawking the same skills? Melbourne company One Fell Swoop Circus have worked out a way, sprinkling a bit of magic on their festival offering. It’s a show that was originally made a decade ago, but had its Edinburgh debut last year and was such a hit that they have brought it back. Like many of the best shows, it’s really just one good idea, with all the juice thoroughly squeezed out of it across the course of an hour. That idea being: one giant rope, two pulleys, seven bodies, and everything they can do together. At Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh, until 30 August. Then touring All our Edinburgh festival reviews..

The Cambridge professor, found dead last week, was at the center of a firestorm about race and hiring. We talk to the reporter covering the story.

Zoo Southside, Edinburgh The acrobats in this symphony of ins and outs build and break tension as they clamber over the set together Four performers enter the auditorium and walk among us but they’re sizing up the space not the audience. On stage is a scaffold structure with a cutaway design and a white facade featuring several doors, which soon frame a series of comings and goings. With this much slamming it’s no surprise that there’s an element of farce as the cast move in and out, become human dominoes and narrowly miss each other. No one has time to knock during the frantic arrivals. I’d recommend taking a side seat so you can appreciate the full effect. So far so frivolous in this family-friendly Belgian production, although there’s a cheeky hint at what might be happening behind those closed doors and whether swiping right is a factor among the increasing acrobatics. Choreographed by Piet Van Dycke, the show then knuckles down to more serious tricks, with the performers undertaking a series of costume changes that are so subtle you don’t notice them at first...

Say the thing, mend the relationship, share the story – and then get on with living, says end-of-life doula Rebecca Jo-Rushdy, while Jane Andrew thinks EM Forster said it best What struck me most about this article (What end-of-life experts know about living well: love your wrinkles, celebrate birthdays and don’t obsess over work, 13 August) is the idea that preparing for the end of life can actually help us live more fully now. As an end-of-life doula, I have seen how a terminal diagnosis can suddenly bring clarity. The things that once felt urgent often fall away, while relationships, memories, unfinished conversations and the question of what we leave behind become profoundly important. But I don’t believe that we should have to wait for a diagnosis to begin that work...

The suit claims the U.S. decision to allow mining for minerals in American waters didn’t consider the potential harm to endangered species.

1892 Holdings has first refusal if FSG opts to sell Group paid more than £2bn for initial 38% slice of club 1892 Holdings, the new investor in Liverpool, has first refusal to become the majority shareholder in the next 12 months should Fenway Sports Group decide to sell. The consortium led by Amit Bhatia and including the Amazon founder Jeff Bezos was believed to have bought 30% to one-third of Liverpool when the deal was announced on Friday. However, the agreement is for 38% of the Anfield club, meaning 1892 has paid FSG just over £2bn to become a minority shareholder. The increased stake, first reported by the Athletic, still values Liverpool at about £5.5bn...

New York mayor Zohran Mamdani shows Britain’s Andy Burnham that confronting billionaires need not mean the end of cooperation with Donald Trump In November, Californians will vote on a one-off 5% levy on residents worth more than $1bn. The union-backed plan could raise $100bn, more than enough to replace federal healthcare funding stripped away by Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. About 200 very rich people would pay. But the referendum is becoming a test of whether extreme wealth can buy the political power to defeat a popular redistributive policy. Google co-founder Sergey Brin has already spent $100m backing opposition to the tax – a fraction of the $13bn bill he could face. Other billionaires are joining him. Whether voters can impose costs on the super-rich once their fortunes are big enough to shape the political process is now an open question. That alone should trouble any democracy. It’s a long way from Mr Brin’s west coast lair of Mountain View to Andy Burnham’s Makerfield constituency. But the prime minister should heed the call from prominent progressive academics – led by the Nobel prize winner Joseph Stiglitz – urging Britain to join a new global push to tackle inequality. Prof Stiglitz wants help creating a new UN International Panel on Inequality (IPI). This stems from the G20’s first-ever inequality report, which warned that the yawning gap between rich and poor was a human-made crisis corroding democracy and social cohesion while blocking efforts to tackle the climate emergency...

It is also adding more premium seats, with the changes aimed at improving the travel experience and boosting revenue.

In South Africa, the Madlanga Commission set up last year to unpick allegations of unlawful kickbacks, cliques and corruption in the criminal justice system continues its investigations.

"It was just weird, like some twisted game": At least half a dozen people were threatened near City Hall last week.

NPR's Juana Summers talks with University of Michigan economist Betsey Stevenson about trends in women's participation in the labor force and the value of flexible work arrangements.

The new US tariffs would cover about $20bn worth of imports and could lead to job losses and business closures.

The first group of 20 deportees is expected to arrive in the coming days.

Premier Sports secure rights with BBC not bidding Nandy: ‘As a fan myself, I share fans’ disappointment’ The culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, has urged administrators to strike a deal to allow this autumn’s Rugby League World Cup to be shown on free-to-air broadcast after it was announced the event would be shown in the United Kingdom exclusively on subscription TV. The BBC’s longstanding relationship with the sport has led to it consistently showing the Rugby League World Cup irrespective of where and when the tournament has been held. But that tradition will seemingly end this autumn, after it was confirmed the broadcaster would not bid for the rights to show the event, which will be held in Australia...

A Russian missile strike on Pechenihy, in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, killed at least 10 civilians and wounded 17 others.

Concern over the security of Europe's largest nuclear plant has been rife since Russia launched its full-scale war.

Ivy League schools were pressured into settlements despite a lack of evidence, according to a former DOJ lawyer.

The Trump administration has led a campaign to 'dismantle' the court, calling it a threat to national sovereignty.

The ABC Network has sued the Federal Communications Commission, alleging that the Trump administration is violating its First Amendment rights by challenging ABC broadcast licenses and investigating the network's talk show "The View."

Footage shows the moment Turkish New Party MP Melih Meric got into an argument with a man who stabbed him.

A judge who was recently nominated by the US president to serve in Florida's federal court will now preside over his $10bn defamation case against the BBC.

Judge previously found US government brought charges against Abrego Garcia as retaliation for case that embarrassed it.

Mark Owen is pleased to welcome Michel Tognini, former head of the European Astronaut Centre of the European Space Agency. Tognini sees a spacewalk as a paradox of human spaceflight: from the ground, it can look almost effortless, but outside the space station, even the simplest movement takes place within an exceptionally unforgiving environment. Sophie Adenot’s EVA demands constant attention to her suit, her tether, her tools, her route around a structure roughly the size of a football pitch, and the dramatic temperature changes between sunlight and darkness. For Tognini, the essential discipline of a spacewalk is simple to describe but extremely challenging to master.

Paris is to expel two Iranian diplomats serving in France following the banning by Iran of two French diplomats posted to the embassy in Tehran, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said Tuesday. He said Iran's treatment of the French diplomats briefly arrested in Tehran last month over accusations of "interference" in Iran's internal affairs was "intolerable".

Ruling permits Trump administration to nix Ethiopians' protected status despite concern over conditions in the country.

Rodri won the player of the World Cup award while helping Spain beat Argentina, and now completes his Barcelona move.

Hundreds of university students in Indonesia took to the streets of Jakarta on Tuesday.

Case follows whistleblower’s 2021 claims about Meta’s profit-driven disregard for young people’s mental health and user safety.

Twenty-nine US states are seeking huge damages, claiming Meta’s platforms were addictive by design In 1994, more than 40 US states came together to sue one of the most powerful industries on earth: big tobacco. The suits brought together diverse claims centred on tobacco companies’ misleading advertising and contribution to a mounting public health crisis. They ended in a negotiated settlement with the US government, in which the companies agreed to pay more than any industry ever, and the states agreed to drop a large portion of their claims...

An Israeli strike hit a cafe in the port area west of Gaza City, killing six Palestinians, including a child.

A number of buildings and cars are damaged in the historic city, and the world famous Alhambra palace has closed temporarily.

Analysts say the attack on Abu al-Duhur was likely an Israeli message warning to not rebuild Syria's air force.

A hospital in Nigeria has collapsed after rainwater triggered a landslide, washing away the foundational infrastructure.

Lindsay Clancy has admitted killing her daughter and two sons but has pleaded not guilty to murder, saying she was experiencing postpartum psychosis.

Patrons at two of the chain’s London pubs were all for Tim Martin’s ban on playing music or taking calls on speaker The terrace of the Moon Under Water Wetherspoons pub in Leicester Square was full of people enjoying the warm weather and chatting between tables – without a TikTok video or speakerphone call in earshot. At Wetherspoons, the convivial atmosphere can no longer be punctuated by rude customers taking phone calls on blast, or playing videos without headphones after Tim Martin, the owner of the pub chain, banned both actions on his premises...

Opening arguments are underway in a trial that pits four states against the company that owns Facebook and Instagram. They allege that Meta knew its products could hook kids — and lied about the danger.

Despite declining consumption, the country will still need lots of gas in coming years but solutions aren’t forthcoming UK risks running out of gas by 2030s, ministers told The penny is dropping in government. Britain, even in rapid energy transition mode, will still need a lot of gas in the years ahead – and needs to know how the gas will arrive. It could hardly be otherwise when there are 24m households with a gas connection, largely for heating, and the pace of heat pumps adoption is miserable. Last year gas comprised about a third of the UK’s overall energy needs. Though annual consumption is in decline, the days of peak use during a bleak midwinter can still be as high as ever...

Britain’s ever-broader terrorism laws are erasing the line between political violence, protest and dissent.

The Trump administration has vowed to dismantle the international court "brick by brick".

Despite another reset with a new manager and fresh strategy, the boardroom drama persists at Stamford Bridge Perhaps, in hindsight, it was always going to end this way. As some of the world’s wealthiest investors scrambled to find funds after Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine set a series of dominoes toppling that forced Roman Abramovich to sell Chelsea, it threw together some unexpected allies. Todd Boehly became the public face of the winning bid, convincing US sports mogul Mark Walter and Swiss businessman Hansjörg Wyss to join as 12.8% minority investors. Private equity firm Clearlake Capital put in 61.6%, bringing owners Behdad Eghbali and José E Feliciano, who made their fortunes investing in tech, into the leadership fold...

Interest rates on long-term US, UK, German and Japanese government debt have soared.

Jose Mourinho makes first official Real Madrid statements since returning as manager in unusually low-key ceremony.

FCC faces scrutiny as Disney claims licence renewal order is tied to political motives against ABC's coverage.

Afolabi Kazeem Micheal has not commented on allegations he is linked to a global drug trafficking network.

The network accuses the administration of retaliation against ABC, as it "disapproves of what ABC broadcasts".

Iran’s authorities say they could shift to offensive operations as Washington considers further sanctions.

The move to repeal the ‘roadless rule” would pave the way for road construction and logging in nearly 45 million acres of untouched back country.

Palestinian-American Loui Ridi expressed distress over how Israeli settlers have roamed around Qusra unchallenged.

Spain is building four temporary reception sites with 1,500 places as an estimated 5,000 migrants remain in Ceuta.

Farhan al Rashaydeh lives in a cave in the occupied West Bank with his family.

The attack follows a series of military interventions in Syria over the past two years, and spurred the latest American rebuke of Israeli actions in recent weeks.

Search operations were under way Monday evening for anyone who may have been on board a yacht found adrift off a French island. The alert was raised by a passenger aboard a Brittany Ferries vessel travelling from Portsmouth in Britain to Bilbao in Spain, who spotted the yacht apparently in distress.

Weeks after some 70,000 migrants tried to cross from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, the ones who chose to stay have settled on El Trampolin beach. They hail from various countries, speak different languages and crossed many borders to get to this strip of sand. Europe seems very close, and yet so far.

UN nuclear watchdog head Rafael Grossi said Tuesday that his agency had found several "tons of nuclear materials" at a previously undeclared site dating from the rule of Syria's previous authorities. Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said the material was not dangerous and that Damascus had the right to keep and use it for peaceful purposes.

Lee's comments Tuesday come as many South Koreans remain baffled and concerned about U.S. President Donald Trump's abrupt order to "substantially reduce" military exercises with South Korea.

Bonnier Books will no longer publish UK’s top-selling true crime author following Guardian investigation The main publisher of the bestselling true crime writer Christopher Berry-Dee has dropped the author following a Guardian investigation into allegations of violence and sexual abuse against him, which he denies. Waterstones has also removed his books from sale. “We are shocked and appalled by the very serious allegations relating to Christopher Berry-Dee, and our thoughts are with those affected,” said the publisher Bonnier Books in a statement to the Guardian...

Following the start of the US-Israel war on Iran, the first match of the Iranian league was played last week.