2026 News Archive

Government says Green leader’s proposed moratorium on ‘energy-guzzling’ AI projects would be disaster for economy Labour has rejected calls to pause construction of major AI infrastructure in Britain after the Green party leader, Zack Polanski, said it was time to “slam the brakes on these energy-guzzling, water-guzzling datacentres”. The government hit back at the opposition party’s proposal of a “moratorium other than [for] local-scale datacentres for the local community”, saying it “would be a disaster for jobs and national security”...

Over 400 painted ‘tigers,’ constituting nine teams, set to turn Swaraj Round into a riot of colour for Onam on Saturday. Each team will field a ‘Pulivandi’ and a tableau combining mythology with contemporary themes

The issue is not so much about the ‘nominal’ post as it is about the clamour for collective leadership; in other words, it is a mutiny against the Leader of the Opposition, whose absolute authority has been resented by the CPI over the last decade and a half

Letter addressed to the late children’s writer lands at her home at Wadakkanchery; son Ashtamoorthy responds with a pointed social media post

Establishing a plant-protein ingredient extraction facility with a capacity of 10–15 tonnes a day could require an investment of ₹200–250 crore

`India’s next wave of growth will come from creating pathways for impact driven entrepreneurs building solutions to address the problems of their communities’

Ram Madhav, BJP National Vice President and former General Secretary, speaks on the BJP’s growth over the last 12 years, the party’s future electoral ambitions, RSS at 100, Jammu & Kashmir statehood, Gen Z protests, social media politics, India’s neighbourhood policy, and the Ayodhya trust controversy. In this wide-ranging conversation, he shares his views on the BJP’s challenges, ideology, governance, and political strategy. Watch the full interview with Political Editor Nistula Hebbar for insights into the BJP’s roadmap, the RSS’s centenary year, youth politics, foreign policy, and key national issues.

Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh Hopping from a PowerPoint on hairlines to songs about favourite motorways, Towelling’s set is fun but drops a stitch or two The route from the classroom to the comedy stage is well travelled, and ex-maths teacher Tom Towelling makes it the thread of his show here, conducting his audience like so many recalcitrant pupils under his charge. In case that sounds triggering, never fear: this debut show is unlike any other schoolroom you’ve been in. Towelling is one of several oddball comics elevated to the best newcomer shortlist for this year’s Edinburgh comedy awards, and his show is a noodly, mellow collage of sketch, song and educational back-and-forth with the crowd. Let’s get the title – Tom Towelling Teaches You to Knit – out of the way early. When audience members play ball with this or that bit of interaction, the Birmingham man rewards them by binding them together loosely with wool. As the show progresses, a cat’s cradle unspools, towards – well, nothing in particular. The idea goes undeveloped. That’s not the only instance here when you feel you’re on the receiving end of quirkiness for quirkiness’s sake – see his song about favourite motorways, or a fairly cheap closing routine revealing his supposed life ambition...

Spurs head coach pushing for ‘one specific position’ Tottenham could offload players at end of hectic window Roberto De Zerbi is keen to add one more signing to his Tottenham squad and has said outgoing deals are also possible before Tuesday night’s transfer deadline. De Zerbi had dinner on Thursday night with Spurs’ owners and key executives and they discussed a final push to a window that has already exceeded his expectations. The manager welcomed Omar Marmoush to the club on Thursday from Manchester City and is preparing to involve him in Saturday’s home game against Newcastle. Spurs have also been linked with a move for Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo...

Beijing has formally removed former senior officers Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli as members of China’s supreme military command. The two generals have been under investigation for alleged discipline violations since January and were officially stripped of their positions on the Central Military Commission (CMC) at a meeting of the National People’s Congress’ Standing Committee on Friday. As the CMC’s senior vice-chairman, Zhang was the highest-ranking uniformed officer in the Chinese military....

Within hours of a devastating glacier collapse on the China-Nepal border, a Beijing-based satellite company had already redirected six of its satellites to survey the disaster zone. The high-resolution radar images they captured revealed a massive collapse site near a remote mountain pass. Unlike optical sensors, radar signals can pierce through haze and cloud, mapping terrain changes with high precision even in the rugged Himalayan plateau. The swift commercial response also underscores a...

The US central bank will “have work to do” if policymakers are not confident that underlying inflation is returning to its 2 per cent target, Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh said on Friday in remarks that acknowledged financial conditions do not appear restrictive and marked the closest he has come to acknowledging interest rate hikes may be needed to ease price pressures. “Here is my standard: We must be confident that underlying inflation is moving to our objective, clearly and at...

An unmanned electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft made its maiden demonstration flight in Hong Kong on Friday, as the city pushes to develop a low-altitude economy, with the government aiming to complete drafting relevant legislation by 2027. The flight marked a collaboration between mainland Chinese autonomous aerial vehicle firm EHang, local transport operator Kwoon Chung Bus Holdings and the city’s technology hub, Cyberport. The flight took place at Cyberport in Pok Fu...

Beijing has unveiled a package of measures to shift home sales in China’s vast property market away from a presales model, in a stronger-than-expected push to stabilise a property downturn that has weighed on consumer demand for years. A notice released on Friday laid out reforms to China’s home sales system, telling local governments to prioritise completed-home sales. It was jointly issued by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the...

Kumaraswamy alleged that Gangwar disappeared following ED searches and questioned the circumstances surrounding his disappearance

Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh In his award-nominated show, the standup ruminates on myth and memory with some lovely observations ‘There’s a moment when that ends,” muses Li Jin Hao, “and this begins …” As well as being jam-packed with swoonsome one-liners like that, Li’s show traces the tension between this and that; the draw the past exerts on this self-proclaimed Mr Nostalgia, versus the necessity of living in the present. Beginning with a yearning sun-and-moon myth learned at his granny’s knee, Li’s show – nominated for the Edinburgh comedy award – toggles between a day in his current London life and memories of his upbringing in east Asia, and a long-gone romance he can’t quite shake off. What makes the show distinctive, though, is the ruminative angle at which Li addresses his experiences, and the quality and consistency of its joke-writing – so many ravishing little insights revealing the world to us in shapes askew. It’s a leap forward from his 2024 debut, which signalled the talent but was sheepish in its delivery. The only thing sheepish here is the twisty livestock gag that opens Li’s show, with a swagger that marks a performer now in his element onstage...

The military authorities retook control of the city 18 months ago, but the conflict continues elsewhere.

A video showing an airplane rammed into the side of a building has been circulating widely on social media. While social media users are claiming that the video shows a plane that crashed in Tel Aviv after an Iranian attack, its origin remains unknown and its authenticity highly questionable.

Weather system is forecast to approach the Leeward Islands this weekend and may produce flash flooding Tropical Storm Dolly is moving quickly across the Atlantic Ocean toward the Leeward Islands and is expected to bring significant rainfall to parts of the Caribbean this weekend, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Friday morning. Dolly, which formed on Thursday, had maximum sustained winds of near 40mph (65km/h) with higher gusts as of Friday...

The US-Israeli war on Iran has reached the six-month mark, with no sign of slowing down.

Norwegians grieved a monarch who remained popular despite scandals involving the royal family. His death marks a new era for the country.

Smoking used to be everywhere, the way Facebook, TikTok, Snap, YouTube and Instagram are now. Society decided to break the habit, but it took a long time.

At a Kathmandu hospital, families peer at lists of those who are critical, dead — or have been released.

China’s leader, Xi Jinping, issued his first message to Nepal’s government since the landslide on Wednesday that has left hundreds dead near the countries’ border.

Kevin Warsh remarks suggest interest rates could be increased if policymakers think inflation is running too high.

Céline Dion blew kisses and made a love-heart shape with her hands as she swept into the French capital on Friday ahead of her first series of concerts since revealing her diagnosis with Stiff Person Syndrome, an incurable autoimmune disorder.

Brazil failed to prove compliance with EU rules on use of antibiotics in cattle and poultry farming The UK’s leading farming organisations and animal health experts have called for an urgent ban on imports of Brazilian meat, in light of concerns over the safety of imports. The National Farmers’ Union in England and its sister organisations in the devolved administrations wrote to the government on Friday warning that public health was at risk...

Spain's left-wing government called for calm in the North African enclave of Ceuta on Friday after protests over security escalated into clashes between locals and police, a month after a mass influx of migrants from Morocco triggered a Europe-wide alert.

Federation says it fears death toll of more than 540 will continue to rise as rescuers reach cut-off areas Nepal-Tibet flash flood – latest updates Visual guide: how the deadly flooding unfolded Tell us: have you been affected by the flash floods? The Red Cross has said at least 93,000 people may have been affected by Wednesday’s flash floods on the Nepal-Tibet border, which have killed more than 540 people, left another 1,500 missing, and triggered a huge rescue operation that is being hampered by fears of new flooding. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the world’s largest humanitarian network, said it feared the death toll would continue to rise as some of the hardest-hit areas remained inaccessible after roads and bridges were destroyed by the torrents...

The government will examine recruitment made through the Kerala Public Service Commission every three years and conduct special recruitment if backward sections are not properly represented in service, says Satheesan

As R&L replace the BBC’s unsigned artists stage with one filled with rock scions and a Simon Cowell boyband, many are decrying disappearing opportunities for grassroots acts This year’s Reading and Leeds festival lineups are a testament to the catholic tastes of a generation who have little regard for musical tribalism or the concept of genre: brash pop stars rub up against drum’n’bass acts, underground rappers, meat-and-potatoes indie bands and much more. What at least 70% of those acts have in common, however, is that early on in their careers they were supported by the BBC’s Introducing scheme, a combination of regional and national radio shows playing music submitted by unsigned artists and festival stages that platform them. For almost 20 years, a BBC Introducing stage has been a core part of Reading and Leeds – until it was scrapped last month...

A grand survey of light art illuminates Durham, St Ives gets macabre and London goes big on land art – all in your weekly dispatch Victory Over the Sun A Russian futurist spectacle from 1913 gives this grand survey of light art its title. Luminous works by Olafur Eliasson, Ceal Floyer and many more mark the opening of Durham’s new art gallery. • The Light, Durham, until 17 January..

Paleontologist Ken Lacovara never expected to find critical fossil data in a New Jersey suburb—let alone info about the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs. His dig site is now a fossil park and museum.

A small gene-editing study significantly reduced LDL cholesterol levels, and the results have stuck a year later.

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat is scheduled to speak at an event in New York on Saturday.

Police hunt two suspects after historic 200-carat piece is snatched from museum during opening hours Austrian police are hunting two men alleged to have stolen a 200-carat platinum necklace encrusted with 673 diamonds that was on loan to a Vienna museum and once belonged to Egyptian royalty. Authorities in the capital released pictures of the suspects captured by security cameras during the heist at the Museum of Applied Arts (MAK), amid a rash of spectacular smash-and-grab thefts from European cultural institutions...

Marseille and Lyon were both drawn against Bayer Leverkusen in the group stage of the Europa League on Friday, while fellow French club Rennes will take on Italian giants Juventus. The draw in Monaco also handed English duo Bournemouth and Sunderland a glamour tie against AC Milan.

This year alone there have been more than 65 shootings in the Belgian capital, as drug crime soars.

Emergency services are rushing to find survivors and treat the wounded after a devastating flash flood on the border of Nepal and Tibet on Wednesday killed more than 500 people, with over a thousand still missing. But the remote and rugged terrain, as well as the risk of further flooding from upstream lakes formed by piles of debris, make their work as delicate as it is dangerous.

It announces plan to launch a round-the-clock protest starting Sept. 2

The peak is revered by Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and those belonging to the pre-Buddhist Bon religion.

A new series has finally been confirmed, with Carr rumoured to be the next Clarkson. But there are others ready to take the wheel, including a Cbeebies host, a Celebrity Traitors favourite and a motor-head model Top Gear is the show that cannot die. Nothing can kill it; not the dryness of the original, the violence that ended the Clarkson era, or the horrifying crash that brought its most recent incarnation to a halt. And so, inevitably, yesterday the BBC confirmed that Top Gear was being resurrected once again. The corporation’s director of entertainment, Ed Havard, told the Edinburgh TV festival: “There has been a lot of speculation about this, and we can confirm that Top Gear is coming back. I’m not going to talk about talent today.” Which is fair enough – but I can. Casting a show like Top Gear is a dangerously tricky proposition. Whoever the BBC picks to host needs to be funny, charismatic, good at driving and knowledgable about cars. Lots of people are good at one of these things, but few are good at more than that and almost none are good at everything...

Anti-vaxxers are spreading conspiracy theories after two recent measles-associated deaths in Pennsylvania Anti-vaccine activists are trying to track down the families of two people, including at least one newborn, who died after contracting measles in Pennsylvania, as governor Josh Shapiro tangles with Robert F Kennedy Jr over his “inaccurate and misleading claims”. Kennedy, the secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), suggested late Wednesday that the deaths in the state may have been “fabricated” after a Republican coroner – an elected political office in Lancaster county – claimed one of the measles-associated deaths was unrelated to the virus, although the given cause would be consistent with measles...

Proposals for curbing social media use among children have wide support, but critics say they are ineffective.

SES Water says it is working to repair a burst main which is affecting supply to the airport.

Anne Lindboe, the mayor of Norway's capital, had planned to marry her fiance on Friday.

Desperate relatives trying to reach loved ones last seen in area where entire villages have been swept away Nepal-Tibet flash flood – latest updates Visual guide: how the deadly flooding unfolded Tell us: have you been affected by the flash floods? Families are rushing to Nepal to search for the 33 British nationals who are still missing, as fears mount over the risk of a second wave of flooding in the region. The catastrophic flash floods that hit Nepal and Tibet on Wednesday, thundering down valleys and sweeping away entire villages, have killed at least 538 people, while more than 1,500 remain missing...

At Paris's Rock en Seine, visually impaired festival-goers can enjoy concerts through live audio description. The festival is offering dedicated platforms, as well as headphones and receivers provided by the Valentin Haüy Association, a pioneer in audio description in France. Spectators can experience a concert with audio description each day of the music festival, from August 26 to August 30.

Teams playing in UEFA's Europa League and Conference League find out their opponents as league phase draws made.

Al Jazeera investigation reveals UK public money flowing to companies linked to Israeli settlements in occupied land.

Before The Witcher 4 arrives in 2028, CD Projekt Red is returning us to the world of The Witcher 3 for one last foray. Looks like wind’s still howlin’ The game that graced us with Bathtub Geralt, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, arrived more than a decade ago. So it was a touch surprising this summer when developers CD Projekt Red announced a new expansion to the venerable adventure, titled Songs of the Past, for next year. It will release alongside a full remaster of the original game, which will be free for anyone who bought it back in 2015. (The studio is also working on a sequel, The Witcher 4, but that’s not due until 2028.) As it turns out, this is all possible thanks to a partnership with Fool’s Theory, a studio founded by CD Projekt Red veterans, which took on the brunt of the development work. “We’ve had this story in a drawer for many years,” explains Marcin Blacha, VP story director at CD Projekt Red. “Of course, we moved on to Cyberpunk 2077 and now The Witcher 4, as well as our other projects. But because we knew The Witcher 4 would take time, we saw a gap in our release calendar where Songs of the Past could go. Thankfully, we were able to find the right partner to help execute it.”..

Video shows the moment a Russian attack hit a parking lot near Ukraine’s capital.

Qatari minister meets army chief amid efforts to bridge longstanding political divisions in Libya.

Retired Madras HC judge Justice V. Bharathidasan has been appointed as its Chairman

Chair Allan Leighton says lower prices and an improved online service are attracting more shoppers Asda has heralded its first quarterly growth in more than two years as the supermarket’s boss said it was attracting more shoppers with lower prices and an improved online service. Allan Leighton, the executive chair of the UK’s third-largest grocer, said a 0.2% rise in sales at established stores, excluding fuel, in the three months to the end of June was “a huge milestone” which was “psychologically important for the business”. In the previous quarter sales had fallen 2.3%...

Rescue operations are continuing after the devastating Nepal-China floods, but authorities have ordered emergency teams to stay on high alert as a newly formed upstream lake threatens to burst and trigger fresh flooding. Satellite imagery suggests the lake formed in the same area where a glacier collapse on Wednesday unleashed the deadly chain of events. FRANCE 24's Navodita Kumari has the latest from India.

Nepali soldiers rescued around 100 people trapped inside a flooded hydropower tunnel as the death toll from the Nepal-China floods continued to climb, with more than 1,500 people still missing. Rescue efforts were briefly suspended over fears that an overflowing landslide lake could trigger more flooding, while families across the disaster zone continue searching for loved ones.

Towards the end of World War II, as US troops advanced across the Pacific, Japan resorted to a desperate strategy: kamikaze attacks. Thousands of Japanese pilots, with an average age of just 21, were ordered to crash their explosive-laden planes into enemy ships. More than 3,800 pilots gave up their lives, killing over 7,000 allied naval personnel. Our reporter Mélodie Sforza met one of the last surviving former kamikaze pilots.

A glacier broke apart. An ice and rock avalanche followed. Then came an earthquake, before a landslide triggered devastating floods that tore through kilometres of valley. This is what happened along the Nepal-China border, where rescue teams are still trying to recover survivors 48 hours after the catastrophe. FRANCE 24 breaks down the chain of events and the scientific explanations behind the disaster.

High blood levels of xylitol associated with higher risk of major cardiovascular events, in largest study of its kind A common sweetener used in products such as chewing gum, toothpaste, jam, yoghurts and ice cream worldwide has been linked to an increased risk of strokes, heart attacks and death. Xylitol is a sugar alcohol present in some natural foods in very low amounts. It is also added – often in amounts 1,000 times higher – to artificially sweeten foods, beverages and oral care products...