Fighting

Agreements with artificial intelligence firms spark concerns over public spending, cyber security and domestic surveillanceSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxThe Pentagon said on Friday it had reached agreements with seven leading artificial intelligence (AI) companies: SpaceX, OpenAI, Google, Nvidia, Reflection, Microsoft and Amazon Web Services.“These agreements accelerate the transformation toward establishing the United States military as an AI-first fighting force and will strengthen our warfighters’ ability to maintain decision superiority across all domains of warfare,” the Pentagon said in statement. Continue reading...

• Active fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces has intensified blockades on humanitarian corridors, trapping over 2 million internally displaced persons without access to food and medical supplies. • The UN World Food Programme reported that starvation conditions now affect multiple regions, with malnutrition rates among children exceeding 40 percent in some areas. • The U.S. State Department announced an additional $150 million in emergency humanitarian assistance but acknowledged that insecurity makes delivery of aid increasingly difficult.

Tensions around US negotiations may reflect mistake of assassinating more pragmatic and experienced figuresMiddle East crisis – live updatesDonald Trump has claimed that the infighting between moderates and hardliners in Iran’s leadership is so intense that the country has “no idea who their leader is”, but many Iranian experts questioned his analysis, saying that – given the mass assassinations of senior commanders – the country has shown remarkable institutional cohesion.Trump’s allegations of “CRAZY” splits in the Iranian leadership – the second outing for this argument in three days – is remarkable since he has previously said either he has little knowledge of the new Iranian leadership or that there has already been regime change. Continue reading...

Ashkan Thibodeaux, five years old, saved his kid brother Wyatt after he fell into ‘icy water’ of creek they were exploringSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxA five-year-old Minnesota boy reportedly jumped into frigid water after his younger brother fell in on Easter Sunday to successfully rescue him – and has subsequently had to fight for his life at a hospital, a battle in which he is making steady progress, according to his family.Ashkan Thibodeaux’s story, which has captured widespread attention in corners of the internet dedicated to spotlighting remarkable displays of bravery, began with exploring a creek in Minnesota’s Itasca county alongside his kid brother, Wyatt, on 5 April, his family and their supporters say. Continue reading...

• Armed clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces expanded into Al Gezira state on April 17, displacing an estimated 250,000 civilians and blocking access to critical food supply corridors. • The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports 18 million Sudanese now require humanitarian assistance—a 40% increase from January—with famine conditions already declared in parts of Darfur and South Kordofan. • International aid organizations warn that violence is obstructing delivery of medical supplies and vaccinations, raising risks of disease outbreaks in overcrowded displacement camps.

Trump repeatedly demanded that Republicans unify to pass a longer extension of the Fisa warrantless spying lawBoth chambers of Congress voted in quick succession Friday to pass a brief 10-day extension of a controversial warrantless surveillance law after Republican infighting tanked plans for a much longer renewal of the law with no changes.Donald Trump had repeatedly demanded that Republican holdouts “UNIFY” behind Mike Johnson, the US House speaker, in favor of an extension of section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (Fisa) without changes. But chaos ensued late Thursday as Republican leadership tried and failed twice in votes attempting to reauthorize the surveillance program, before resorting to a stopgap measure. Continue reading...

The Coalition might be in opposition to Labor but it is hoping to stem its loss of voters to Pauline Hanson – and Taylor’s speech shows how the party wants to be seenGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastIt was not long ago that the notion of Australia as the world’s most successful multicultural country was not just a bipartisan political position but a source of national pride, expressed as enthusiastically by Liberals as their Labor counterparts.“I believe, no, I know that Australia is the most successful multicultural immigration country on the planet,” the then Liberal prime minister, Scott Morrison, told the National Press Club in 2021. Continue reading...

• A Fred Hutch Cancer Center graduate student presented over 25,000 measurements of influenza-fighting antibodies to WHO scientists via videoconference last fall. • The dataset, published in Virus Evolution, offers near real-time tracking of human immune responses to current flu strains, improving seasonal vaccine composition. • This method addresses gaps in traditional surveillance, potentially enhancing vaccine effectiveness against evolving viruses.

• The UN World Food Programme reported on April 9 that active combat in Sudan's Khartoum and West Darfur states has suspended humanitarian operations, cutting off food assistance to approximately 9 million internally displaced persons and vulnerable civilians. • The World Health Organization documented a 40% spike in cholera cases across eastern Sudan refugee camps over the past two weeks, with only five functioning water treatment facilities operational across the country. • International NGOs warn of imminent famine conditions by mid-May if logistics corridors remain blocked, with donor nations unable to guarantee protection for aid workers amid ongoing violence.

Woman, 46, charged with grievous bodily harm after she allegedly struck 63-year-old RPA patient in head, NSW police sayA man is fighting for his life after allegedly being attacked with a hammer while in hospital.A 46-year-old woman allegedly walked into Sydney’s Royal Prince Alfred hospital in the early hours of Thursday morning and struck the man in his head with the improvised weapon, police said. Continue reading...

Qarsoq Høegh-Dam aims to use his seat in Danish parliament to shift power from Copenhagen to NuukIt’s not the standard motto for a newly elected parliamentarian, but Qarsoq Høegh-Dam is adamant: if he does his job properly, there will soon be no need for it. “I want to make myself as obsolete as possible,” he said.Last month, Høegh-Dam, a Greenlandic politician, became the first member of the pro-independence Naleraq to be elected to the Danish parliament. The new MP is clear that if all goes to plan, the largely autonomous Arctic territory will be the sole responsibility of the parliament in Nuuk, the island’s capital. And there will no longer be any need for two seats representing Greenland in Copenhagen, its former colonial ruler. Continue reading...

• Intense fighting between Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces near Khartoum has displaced over 200,000 civilians in the past week and cut off humanitarian access to vast regions, according to UN agencies on April 7. • The UN warns of imminent famine conditions affecting 18 million people; water and sanitation infrastructure has collapsed in multiple cities, raising cholera and disease outbreak risks. • The US State Department called for an immediate ceasefire and pledged $50 million in emergency humanitarian assistance; neighboring countries report mounting refugee flows straining resources.

Use of unmanned ground vehicles has grown exponentially since 2024 turning the war into a technological contestVictor Pavlov showed off Ukraine’s newest and most versatile weapon: a battery-powered land robot.The unmanned ground vehicles come in various shapes and sizes. One runs on caterpillar tracks and resembles a roofless milk float. Another has wheels and antennas. A third carries anti-tank mines. Since spring 2024 their use has grown exponentially. Continue reading...

About 65% of US firefighters are volunteers, as New York state says number has fallen to lowest level in 40 yearsOfficials have warned of serious consequences after the number of volunteer firefighters, the bedrock of firefighting in the US, plunged, leading to entire departments to close in some states.About 65% of American firefighters are volunteers, serving in their free-time alongside regular jobs. In 2008 there were 827,000 volunteers nationwide, but that figure dropped to 635,000 in 2023, the last year data is available. Continue reading...

IDF is attempting to gain control of border towns, in particular the strategic hilltop city of KhiamMiddle East crisis live – latest updatesIsrael and Hezbollah are engaged in intense ground clashes in at least three strategic areas in south Lebanon as Israel pushes on with its ground invasion of its neighbour, according to a Lebanese security source and residents of the affected towns.Much of the fighting was concentrated around the strategic hilltop city of Khiam, with the Israel Defense Forces carrying out an air and artillery campaign against Hezbollah fighters dug into the city. Fighting escalated there after days of clashes, with a Hezbollah spokesperson acknowledging there were “heightened clashes” on the eastern and northern outskirts of the city. Continue reading...