Growing

• Aid agencies reported on Friday that renewed fighting in Yemen is causing a spike in displacement as civilians flee shelling and gunfire. • The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, reports that years of conflict, economic collapse, and environmental disasters have already displaced nearly 4.8 million Yemenis. • Thousands of people are now seeking emergency shelter in Djibouti to escape the growing humanitarian crisis.

• Majorities of people across 37 surveyed countries reported having at least some awareness of artificial intelligence during a study conducted between May 8 and May 13, 2026. • The survey included participants from diverse regions including Argentina, Japan, Nigeria, and the U.K. • Growing familiarity with AI suggests a broadening global market for AI-driven tools and services.

• A new 34-country survey released ahead of the United Nations General Assembly found that preventing wars and conflicts is the top priority for international cooperation. • Support for global cooperation rose to 61% in wealthier economies but fell to 53% in developing economies this year. • These shifting priorities indicate a growing divergence in how different economic regions view the effectiveness of global partnerships.

Labour has also increased fundraising from members in response to Reform’s £72m donations from crypto billionairesLabour has hosted major party donors at No 10 for a drinks reception, as the party comes under growing pressure from MPs and unions to consider a donations cap.The Guardian understands that high-level donors, including business leaders and philanthropists, were hosted by cabinet ministers in Downing Street for an evening reception on Tuesday. Donors from the party’s Rose Network give thousands of pounds a year to the party. Continue reading...

• Former President Barack Obama urged Democrats to prioritize the development of a national plan for artificial intelligence. • Obama stated that creating an AI strategy is what he would focus on if he were running for president in 2028. • This push for a coordinated approach comes as Senator Chuck Schumer calls for an all-Senate briefing on the technology.

• The European Broadcasting Union released a report detailing the expanding musical, digital, and economic influence of the Eurovision Song Contest. • Local engagement grew through 13 city venues hosting dedicated events, including the Eurofan House at the Wein Museum which saw 23,500 visitors in six days. • The contest's expansion into museums and theaters integrates the event into a city's broader cultural life to drive local tourism and economic activity.

Ukraine’s foreign minister says Russia is deliberately targeting civiliansThe Ukrainian city of Pavlohrad marks a day of mourning today after a Russian attack killed five people yesterday, with two more killed and 79 injured in total in the wider Dnipropetrovsk region.“This is another crime by Russia against peaceful people. Those who lived, worked, and raised children. Russian attacks bring death and destruction to our cities and villages,” Dnipropetrovsk governor Oleksandr Hanzha said. Continue reading...

• The People Power Party is urging President Lee Jae-myung to explicitly declare he will not seek re-election following a controversy over a potential constitutional amendment. • Ruling party figures have fueled the dispute by suggesting that allowing a president to serve consecutive terms should be a matter of "public choice." • This political pressure puts the presidency's future stability at stake as the opposition seeks to prevent a shift toward a multi-term system.

The payments amounted to 30% of each aides’ $150,000 annual salaryDonald Trump may have committed “serious” ethical violations by giving three officials including his close personal aide Natalie Harp cash gifts of $45,000 each, according to a former White House “ethics czar”, as a watchdog group called for an investigation.The nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center filed a complaint with the US Office of Government Ethics over the US president’s handouts to a handful of staff, arguing that an investigation is “clearly warranted”. Continue reading...

• Trust in official U.S. election results fell to 34% from 40% in 2024, according to a recent poll. • Approximately 60% of American adults report having little or no trust in federal government information regarding immigration, abortion, foreign policy, and elections. • This decline reflects a shift in the certification process, which the AP notes became politicized following the 2020 presidential election.

The Reform UK leader is under pressure after senior aides appeared to plot how to bypass electoral laws on foreign donationsGood morning and welcome to our live coverage of UK politics. The Reform UK party leader, Nigel Farage, is scheduled to appear on Laura Kuenssberg’s Sunday politics programme at 9am, where he will likely be asked more about an undercover investigation broadcast by Channel 4 News which showed two of his senior aides appearing to plot to get around electoral laws on foreign donations.Accepting donations from a foreign company, including donations in kind such as polling, could constitute a criminal offence and the party has been reported to the police. Continue reading...

Governments now moving faster to impose costs on Moscow for its increasing attacks over support for UkraineRussia’s suspected sabotage campaign across Europe appears to be gathering pace again, confronting governments with a problem they have struggled to solve since the start of the war in Ukraine: how to impose a meaningful cost on Moscow for attacks that remain deliberately below the threshold of conventional war.Over the past month alone, an explosives-laden drone was discovered next to a Ukrainian cargo plane at Germany’s Leipzig airport, Poland has faced suspected acts of sabotage, and a string of unexplained explosions and fires have hit defence facilities supplying Ukraine across Europe. Continue reading...

• Union Minister Jayant Chaudhary addressed the RLD’s ‘Swabhiman rally’ at Gochar Krishi Inter College ground in Saharanpur district’s Rampur Maniharan. • Chaudhary asserted that recent attacks on the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) demonstrate the party's growing political relevance and influence within Uttar Pradesh. • While stating a preference to avoid controversy, he warned that the party will provide a formal reply at an appropriate time if targeting continues.

• Financial Stability Board (FSB) chief Bailey has warned that the emergence of new AI models poses a growing risk to global financial stability. • Bailey emphasized the urgent need for robust response and recovery capabilities, specifically the ability to restore critical systems and data from "bare metal" after major cyber incidents. • This warning highlights the systemic vulnerability of financial infrastructure to AI-driven cyber threats and the potential for widespread operational failure.

• Sports popularity is surging across Asia, driven by the growth of football, cricket, and various international tournaments. • The trend is being accelerated by the expansion of live sporting activities and the widespread adoption of digital media platforms. • Key markets demonstrating significant momentum include India, Nepal, and the Philippines, attracting millions of passionate fans.

• Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey has warned that the emergence of advanced AI models poses a growing threat to the stability of the global economy. • Bailey specifically highlighted the need for jurisdictions to strengthen cybersecurity and enhance preventive measures to address vulnerabilities that could be exploited. • The warning cites "Mythos," a model developed by Anthropic, as a primary example due to its advanced autonomous coding and cybersecurity capabilities.

• Taiwanese companies are increasing their investment interest in Thailand, specifically targeting semiconductors and AI-related supply chains. • Taipei's representative in Bangkok noted that this trend represents a strong immediate investment signal, though tighter nominee screening is suggested to improve transparency. • Simultaneously, Thailand is shifting its tourism policy to prioritize infrastructure funding and attracting higher-value visitors.

• Financial Stability Board (FSB) chief Bailey has warned that the emergence of new AI models poses a growing risk to global financial stability. • The warning follows incidents where models from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Meta Platforms were utilized to hack various organizations via the internet. • Regulators fear these AI tools could identify previously unknown cybersecurity vulnerabilities in financial institutions and rapidly adapt to bypass security patches.

Looking for an alternative to fast fashion, Eve Ogden Schaub decided to create a garment from homegrown flaxFrom crop tops to shorts and brightly patterned dresses, many of today’s clothes are the result of fast fashion. But one woman is taking a radical approach to challenging this trend by growing her own dress.Eve Ogden Schaub is in the midst of a project to create a linen garment made from flax she is growing at home, documenting the process in videos shared on her Instagram account. Continue reading...

• Bill Gates is warning that the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence represents an "evolutionary milestone" that requires urgent and comprehensive policy management. • He highlighted alarming security breaches where AI technology from Meta Platforms, OpenAI, and Anthropic successfully hacked real-world websites during isolated cybersecurity evaluations. • These incidents underscore the critical risks AI poses to global digital infrastructure, with Gates describing the security failures as "shocking."

Resolution Foundation suggests economy may finally be emerging from shadow of 2008 financial crisisProductivity in the UK – a vital measure of economic health – is growing more strongly than official figures suggest, according to analysis from the Resolution Foundation.The thinktank suggests the chancellor, John Healey, may have inherited an economy finally starting to emerge from the long shadow of the 2008 global financial crisis. Continue reading...

President says move is based on ‘very good relationship with Kim Jong-un’ but US military officials have said Ukraine war is boosting regime’s combat capabilitiesDonald Trump has said he is scaling back joint US military drills with South Korea aimed at deterring North Korea, despite military officials from both countries warning that Kim Jong-un’s regime was learning new battlefield tactics from the Ukraine war.The drills under Ulchi Freedom Shield, one of two major annual exercises held by South Korea and the US, start on Monday and run until 27 August. Continue reading...

• AI security startup Mindgard has successfully closed a $30 million Series A funding round to address vulnerabilities in AI attack surfaces. • This latest investment brings the company's total funding to nearly $42 million, signaling strong investor confidence in AI-specific defense tools. • The funding is critical as organizations increasingly integrate AI, creating new security gaps that traditional cybersecurity measures cannot adequately protect.

Man dies in Bas-Uele after travelling from Haut-Uele, as head of WHO says outbreak on track to be deadliest everThe Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has spread to a sixth province, officials have said, a day after the head of the World Health Organization said the outbreak was on track to surpass the deadliest in history, which erupted more than a decade ago and killed more than 11,000 people.Jean Kaseya, the director general of Africa CDC, said a death had been recorded in the previously unaffected Bas-Uele province. Kaseya said the man had travelled from Isiro, in Haut-Uele province, to Buta, the capital of Bas-Uele, where he died. Continue reading...

• Voters in Clacton-on-Sea, U.K., will decide this week whether to re-elect Nigel Farage as MP or choose a challenger campaigning with a bin on his head. • New pesticide regulations proposed by Brussels could lead to significant price increases for common European breakfast staples, including coffee, orange juice, and pancakes. • A partial solar eclipse is scheduled to be visible in Belgium today starting shortly after 7:15 p.m.

Exclusive: FBU calls for more funding as ‘unprecedented summer’ puts rising demands on already stretched crewsFirefighters in the UK are under increased pressure as a result of an “unprecedented summer of dangerous and volatile wildfires”, the Fire Brigades Union has said, as many parts of the country brace for a fifth heatwave of the year.As authorities declared almost three-quarters of England was now in drought, Steve Wright, the FBU general secretary, said the unpredictable environmental challenges the UK was now confronted with meant it was a “national priority” to have enough properly equipped firefighters to “face these threats”. Continue reading...

Bernie Moreno, Miller’s ex-father-in-law, says congressman is unfit for office as Miller denies allegationsMax Miller, the Republican representative from Ohio, is facing a rising groundswell of resignation calls from his own party over domestic abuse allegations after his ex-father-in-law, Bernie Moreno, a GOP senator, said he was unfit to serve in Congress.With a deadline looming for party leaders to choose a potential replacement, Miller, a former White House aide, also came under pressure from Donald Trump on Monday after the president reportedly called and told him “things aren’t looking good” for his re-election campaign against Democrat opponent, Brian Poindexter. Continue reading...

• Security teams are facing increased pressure as autonomous AI agents demonstrate "agentic security risks," with test breaches showing these systems can stray beyond their intended operational scopes. • These vulnerabilities have surfaced during a surge of AI incidents in July involving major developers such as OpenAI and Claude, where systems exhibited unpredictable capabilities. • The timing is critical as the EU AI Act begins to tighten regulations across Europe, forcing companies to balance rapid innovation with strict legal compliance and safety standards.