Ireland will be united, says Gordon Brown

• Ongoing conflicts across the Middle East since October 7 have fundamentally altered the regional landscape, though not in the directions envisioned by the U.S. and Israel. • The strategic goals of the U.S. and Israel to weaken Iran's influence or stabilize the region have faced significant setbacks amidst sweeping regional instability.

• In an article dated August 28, 2026, Lucas Leiroz de Almeida reports that Donald Trump’s "Middle East Agenda" and military campaign against Iran are causing widespread domestic instability. • The report highlights that the negative consequences of this conflict extend beyond the military sector, creating significant economic disruptions within American agribusiness.

Exclusive: Number of times AI lies, ignores instructions and pursues goals in harmful ways almost doubles in JulyIncidents of AIs escaping users’ control to lie, ignore instructions and pursue goals in harmful ways have hit a new high, according to research that also suggests the severity of deception and misalignment is worsening.Analysis of real-world loss of control incidents involving AI models flagged by businesses and individuals almost doubled in July compared with June, with more than 300 cases in the month, according to the Loss of Control Observatory, which monitors reports made by AI users on the social media platform X. Continue reading...

Planning delays and slow 5G upgrades could leave the UK unable to cope with a surge in AI-related traffic The UK risks becoming a laggard in the global AI race as crucial telecoms upgrades to harness the technology fall behind rival nations, according to senior industry executives.The infrastructure AI race has centred on the need to build datacentres, and to ensure they have access to the huge water and energy supplies required to cool and supply the computational power to train and run AI models. Continue reading...

Moving tariffs will cushion the blow from the October price cap rise and the increase widely predicted for JanuaryWith higher energy bills looming and warnings of worse to come in the new year, many households could save up to £173 a year by switching to a fixed deal.Millions of households in Great Britain will face the highest energy charges in three years after it was announced that the government’s price cap will rise again in October. This will be the second increase in three months. Continue reading...

A plug-in solar kit that costs about $1,000 ‘pays for itself in three years’, one expert saysGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastMillions of Australians could be saving up to $370 a year on energy bills and doing their bit for the climate crisis if Labor followed the UK’s lead in legalising plug-in solar panels, an advocacy group has said.Plug-in solar refers to small standalone solar units that could be attached to balconies or used in back yards and plugged into power points, offsetting the energy used by household appliances. Continue reading...

More than 40 Australians are among several thousand people unaccounted for after catastrophic flooding on the Nepal-Tibet borderHow the deadly Nepal and Tibet flash flood unfolded – a visual guideGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAn 11-year-old child, an ADF member and many other pilgrims and trekkers have been named among the Australians missing after deadly flash floods and landslides tore through valleys on the Nepal-Tibet border.As of Saturday there were 41 Australians among almost 2,500 people reported missing in the disaster, including at least 777 foreigners. At least 93,000 people were estimated to have been affected by the disaster, according to the Red Cross. Continue reading...

World Humanoid Robot Games showcased leaps Beijing has made in the tech, but also highlighted limitations as US rivals prepare their own launchesWith exploding pelvises, enough comic pratfalls for a Buster Keaton show reel and the odd moment of ruthless violence, the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing gripped the world this week with an unsettling mixture of hilarity, trepidation and relief.The five-day showcase staked out China’s claim to undisputed leadership in humanoid robotics as android martial artists landed knockout roundhouse kicks and robot teams marched into the arena heralded by flag-waving captains astride giant robotic dogs. The games’ blue-riband event, the 100m, did not disappoint when the robot-sprinters ran quicker than Usain Bolt before slamming mindlessly into a padded wall in a blaze of sparks, flames and flying mechanical limbs. Continue reading...

As one of Europe’s biggest consumers of gas the UK may be particularly exposed to heightened price volatilityEurope is on course to enter the cooler months with gas stores at their lowest level in 13 years, which has triggered “winter panic” among energy traders, experts have warned.The EU’s gas stocks were 63% full in the last week of August, well below the 80% average for late August over recent years and among the lowest levels ever recorded for this time of year. Continue reading...

Architect of Srebrenica genocide is dead but those scarred by his atrocities say his ideology is still shockingly pervasiveTo most of the world, he was and will always be the “Butcher of Bosnia”, a grim epithet but one that still fails to fully convey the evil and horror inflicted on its people by Gen Ratko Mladić, who died in prison on Thursday.As commander of the Bosnian Serb forces, Mladić was responsible for the killing of an estimated 100,000 men, women and children during the savage breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. He was most notoriously the architect of ethnic cleansing and the genocide at Srebrenica in which at least 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were slaughtered. Continue reading...

The $134,000 cost of the statue of the former Victorian premier has been heavily criticised by the Liberal oppositionGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Carroll government in Victoria has cancelled controversial plans for a statue of former Labor premier Daniel Andrews.Work began in May on the statue commemorating the former premier’s more than 3000 days in office, as part of a 1999 policy recognising long-serving Victorian premiers. Continue reading...