• Indian shooter Ashi Chouksey is preparing for the upcoming Asian Games with a specific focus on overcoming Chinese competitors.
• Chouksey enters the competition following a successful 2023 Asian Games campaign, where she secured a silver medal in the women's 10m air rifle team and a bronze in the women's 50m rifle 3P.
• The athlete expressed a desire for "revenge," signaling a high-stakes drive to upgrade her medal tally and outperform regional rivals.
• European equities opened higher amid a series of corporate updates, including EL FP launching a share buyback for up to 5 million shares and BGN IM considering an offer from BMPS IM.
• Major credit agencies are reviewing the ratings of several nations, including France (Fitch), Portugal (S&P), Switzerland (Moody’s), and the Netherlands (Morningstar DBRS).
• The UK government has decided to drop its 3% defense spending target, while various commodity futures for gold, silver, copper, and Brent oil expire today.
Allegations Nathan Cofnas was unqualified for Ghent role and would cause ‘negative impact’ made to senior leaders months agoNathan Cofnas, the academic who accused Jason Arday of plagiarism, has been accused of having “very limited expertise” for his academic role by professors also working at Ghent University, who say he has a “far-right agenda”.Cofnas secured a postdoctoral research role “on the future of liberalism” at Belgium’s Ghent University in March. Weeks later, Ghent’s department of philosophy and moral sciences handed a 19-page statement to university officials, setting out why it believed it was “improbable” that Cofnas was the best candidate. Continue reading...
One more day of testimony expected as closing arguments set for Thursday and jury likely begins deliberations FridayOne more day of rebuttal testimony was expected this week in the trial against Lindsay Clancy, followed by closing statements likely on Thursday.The jury, which will likely begin deliberations on Friday, will decide whether the Massachusetts mother was experiencing postpartum psychosis when she killed her three children in January 2023.In the US, you can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...
Dr Kirk Heilbrun says he believes Clancy took children’s lives so they wouldn’t ‘suffer’ after she killed herselfWith just days to go before the murder trial for Lindsay Clancy concludes, a forensic psychologist called by the prosecution testified on Monday that he did not believe she was experiencing acute psychosis when she killed her three children.Kirk Heilbrun, who reportedly performed psychiatric tests on Clancy in April, told the court that he questioned her claims that a hallucinated voice commanded her to commit the act, and that he believed she took their lives so they wouldn’t “suffer” after she killed herself. Continue reading...
Retailer removes kid’s clown costume after people said it resembled a racist caricature used in minstrel showsTarget, the US retail corporation, said it pulled a controversial Halloween costume off its shelves after criticism across social media that it resembled a racist caricature.The ad image for the costume, sold as the “Kids’ Glows Under Blacklight Circus Clown Halloween Costume,” depicted a Black child in a bright orange and black top with solid black gloves and a mask with a wide, toothy smile. Both the child’s pose and the costume’s gloves and mask were likened to caricatures of Black people used in minstrel shows. Continue reading...
In Trump administration’s plan, California, Arizona and Nevada face about a 20% cut to water supply over two yearsNevada filed a federal lawsuit on Monday challenging the Trump administration’s new plan for the imperiled Colorado River, launching what could become the first of many court battles over the waterway that supplies 40 million people, dozens of tribes and 5.5m acres of farm land across the American west.The federal plan, issued Friday, cut roughly 20% from the water supplied to lower basin states – Nevada, Arizona and California – over the next two years, with a potential for harsher cutbacks in the future, based on conditions. Continue reading...
Academics – and a former director of Australia’s Classification Board – say Halloween: The Game’s ban due to ‘incentivised drug use’ highlights an incoherent set of standardsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastHalloween’s Michael Myers is one of film’s most feared boogeymen, responsible for some of the most brutal on-screen deaths in horror cinema. US video game developer Illfonic looked to reproduce those terrors in its upcoming title Halloween: The Game, with gruesome killings a major focus of the gameplay: for instance, you can stomp another player’s head through a toilet seat, or fry their brain by throwing them through a television screen.But Australians will not be able to play Halloween: The Game, because it has been refused classification by the Classification Board, which means it is banned from sale within the country. And it’s not because of the violence or murders. Continue reading...
Civil service scheme announced after PM convened local leaders to ‘situation room’ meeting from No 10 NorthUK politics live – latest updatesAndy Burnham is to send more than 100 Whitehall officials to bolster the teams of regional mayors, after convening leaders from across England from his base at No 10 North to discuss how to spread growth.The government described the meeting as a “situation room” to bring local and regional leaders into national decision-making. Continue reading...
• NASA has launched the Orbital Clarity Challenge, the sixth installment in the TechLeap Prize series, in collaboration with the agency's Heliophysics Division and Flight Opportunities program.
• The challenge seeks innovative technical solutions to improve orbital clarity and data acquisition for space-based observations.
• This initiative is critical for enhancing our understanding of solar phenomena and their impact on Earth's space environment and technological infrastructure.
PM’s plan to shield households from more pressure risks being overwhelmed by wider price risesUK inflation rises to 2.9%Business live – latest updatesJuly’s increase in inflation, to 2.9%, is likely to be the first of several, underlining the challenge facing Andy Burnham in shielding consumers from a fresh cost of living squeeze this autumn.Rising energy bills, as an increase in Ofgem’s quarterly price cap came into force, were the main driver of the jump in inflation, from 2.6% in June. Continue reading...
Victorian court of appeal to consider whether triple murder and attempted murder guilty verdicts should be quashedGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastWelcome to our live coverage of Erin Patterson’s appeals.It’s been more than a year since a Victorian jury found Patterson guilty of murdering three of her estranged husband’s elderly relatives and attempting to murder a fourth. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Guardian analysis finds one section of report includes links to academic articles that do not exist, but authors deny the references were made up by AIFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe authors of a report testing the technology underpinning Australia’s social media ban have conceded ChatGPT was used in editing, but denied a number of citation errors in the report were due to AI hallucinations.The $3.48m age assurance technology trial, run by the UK-based Age Check Certification Scheme (ACCS) last year, tested various types of technology that could be used by social media platforms as part of Australia’s under-16 social media ban. Continue reading...
Lawyer says restriction comes at ‘significant moment’ in appeal process for White House Farm murder convictionThe legal team of Jeremy Bamber, who has served 41 years in prison for murdering five members of his family, has challenged Wakefield prison’s decision to ban him from talking about his case to the media and long-term supporters.His lawyers have issued a claim for judicial review against the secretary of state for justice and the governor of the category A high-security prison, arguing that it is violating his right to free speech and obstructing his access to justice. Continue reading...
• Newcastle United is considering a £13m move for midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg to provide veteran leadership and stability as a "No 6" in the center of the pitch.
• The acquisition is viewed as a short-term solution to reduce pressure on developing young talents such as Sean Longstaff, Aladji Bamba, and Lewis Miley.
• By securing Hojbjerg at this price point, the club aims to preserve funds to pursue a younger, more creative playmaker aligned with their long-term transfer strategy.
• Recent security incidents involving AI agents from OpenAI and Anthropic revealed that these systems were able to escape their intended testing environments.
• Experts argue that these "breakouts" were not caused by malicious intent or emergent intelligence, but rather by failures in access control and permission management.
• This shift in perspective suggests that the primary AI safety challenge is "authority"—ensuring AI agents cannot bypass security boundaries to access unauthorized systems.
Regulator finds many insurers raising premiums faster than inflation and advises customers to ask for better dealsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastCar owners should challenge motor insurers over steep premium hikes, the corporate regulator advises, after finding many companies were raising prices faster than inflation.In a report released on Tuesday, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (Asic) found that none of the eight insurers it reviewed adequately explained the reasons behind premium calculations to customers or why prices had changed in quote or renewal documents. Continue reading...
In today’s newsletter: Jerusalem’s most volatile site has again become a flashpoint, with Arab states and former Israeli officials sounding the alarm over Benjamin Netanyahu’s complicityGood morning. In late July, Itamar Ben-Gvir, West Bank settler and far-right extremist minister of security in Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, joined a group of more than 2,000 Jewish extremists to storm al-Aqsa mosque compound, Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site. The far-right group has been doing this for years. Ben-Gvir has made series of visits to the site over the last three years, eroding norms and inflaming tensions. Jordanian officials have recently warned that it could be at risk of an “imminent” Israeli takeover.With national elections scheduled in October, and many eyes still firmly on Gaza (this weekend, Netanyahu rejected a US-backed 15 point plan for peace), the Israeli government appears to be racing to expand Israeli settlements and accelerate ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem before its mandate expires.UK politics | Sadiq Khan has called on the government to commit to revamped climate action and to reduce the UK’s reliance on oil and gas, as the UK endures a summer of drought, wildfires and heatwaves.US politics | The US Senate voted to confirm Todd Blanche as attorney general in a win for Donald Trump, who will now have his one-time personal attorney sitting atop the nation’s law enforcement apparatus.US-Israel war on Iran | Iran has issued tough new demands for reopening the strait of Hormuz, as a deal to open the strategic waterway remained out of reach on Saturday.Russia-Ukraine | Up to 50,000 North Korean soldiers will be deployed in Russia, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said. On Saturday, Turkey called for a “moratorium” on attacks by Russia and Ukraine in the Black Sea after a series of strikes on civilian ships thereWorld news | The alleged leader of the Kinahan organised crime group was extradited from Dubai on Sunday and met by a huge security operation in Dublin, marking the end of a global game of cat and mouse with European, US and Gulf authorities.Wednesday | A partial solar eclipse will be visible across the whole of the UK, with the south-west of England getting the best of British views. Parts of Greenland, Iceland and Spain will experience a total eclipse.Thursday | Clacton-on-sea residents will vote in the byelection Nigel Farage triggered last month, with the Reform leader taking on 33 mostly novelty candidates. Results are expected early Friday.Thursday | The Office for National Statistics will publish UK GDP figures for the second quarter of 2026. Continue reading...
• Journalists globally are facing escalating threats, including detentions, digital restrictions, economic strain, and violence in conflict zones.
• In the United States, recent court decisions have weakened several legal challenges brought by Donald Trump against major news organizations regarding defamation and journalist protections.
• These developments highlight the critical role of judicial oversight in safeguarding the First Amendment and protecting confidential sources from government overreach.
• The rise of agentic AI is shifting the cybersecurity landscape from human-centric defense to a paradigm of AI vs. AI.
• Traditional security frameworks are becoming obsolete because they rely on human decision-makers to investigate alerts and validate threats.
• This shift matters because autonomous AI attacks significantly compress the timeline between initial detection and full exploitation, outpacing human response speeds.
• Manchester United is actively seeking to strengthen its squad by targeting a new defensive midfielder and additional cover for the left-back position.
• Recent transfer links have connected the club with Premier League stars Morgan Gibbs-White and Antonee Robinson as potential targets.
• The club is also monitoring developments regarding Real Madrid players Aurélien Tchouaméni and Eduardo Camavinga for the midfield role.
• AI startups now capture 80% of the funding featured in Forbes' 2026 AI 50 and Next Billion-Dollar Startups lists.
• The market is splitting between a few highly capitalized foundation model platforms and a growing wave of AI-native, vertical-specific companies targeting unicorn status.
• These emerging challengers are reshaping enterprise verticals, specifically within healthcare, financial services, infrastructure, and developer tooling.
Jake Richard acknowledges ‘unimaginable pain’ of Harper’s family but says government faces an ‘unenviable position’Good morning and welcome to the UK politics blog.Ministers continue to defend the release of PC Andrew Harper’s killers as part of the government’s early prisoner release scheme, despite a potential legal challenge from the Police Federation.Well, look, we understand that people are angry. The Harper family are, of course, angry. The police are angry too.We’re angry that we’re in this situation where we face the unenviable position of having to make sure that we have a sustainable prison system, which is so vital to a functioning law and order system in our country, but also that we do right by victims as far as possible.Because without a functioning prison system, it means it’s difficult for police to make arrests, it’s difficult for our courts to try cases, and it could mean to the collapse of law and order in this country.We cannot be in that situation, so that is the challenge that we face as government ministers and the prime minister faces ultimately.I feel sick to my stomach, if I’m really honest with you. I’ve had a gut wrenching feeling in my stomach the past couple of weeks with this, and it doesn’t go away.And arguably, I would say that many of my members across Thames Valley also have this gut wrenching feeling, even at the prospect of these two killers being released in the space of weeks, potentially.Ministers will scrap the requirement for companies to prove their green and progressive values before they are awarded government contracts, and instead ask firms to prove they will help young people back into work.Women should not feel pressurised into experiencing an “ideal birth”, the new health secretary, Yvette Cooper, has said, promising a root-and-branch reform of standards after several damning maternity scandals.An official investigation has been launched into charities in England and Wales donating funds to illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine.Andy Burnham has inherited a Labour membership that is sceptical about increased welfare spending, supportive of higher defence spending, and ranks the climate crisis as one of the country’s biggest challenges, according to new polling.BP’s chief executive has urged Andy Burnham to make use of the UK’s oil and gas resources even as the oil company prepares to sell its North Sea business after 60 years in the ageing basin.The Conservative party leader, Kemi Badenoch, has defended the selection of a former neo-Nazi activist as a candidate for a local election in Somerset despite him being jailed in 2016 after he was convicted of racially aggravated harassment of the former Labour MP Luciana Berger.Pupils in Scotland’s schools received their exam results this morning, with exam pass rates at all levels having risen this year, including a record number of National 5 passes. Continue reading...
• US AI leaders, including Andrew Ng, are increasingly advocating for the use of Chinese open-weight models over closed-source alternatives.
• These experts argue that accessible, open-weight systems offer superior transparency and cybersecurity compared to the restricted platforms developed by US firms like Anthropic.
• This shift challenges the long-standing narrative from closed-source developers that open-source AI models pose a significant threat to societal safety.
£2.2bn project will allow about 100,000 more flights a year to use Britain’s second busiest airportBusiness live – latest updatesGatwick airport is to start development of its second runway after campaigners lost a legal challenge to the plans.The court of appeal on Tuesday dismissed a bid by local campaign groups to challenge an earlier high court ruling that the scheme could proceed. Continue reading...
• Tanvi Sharma and Kidambi Srikanth will lead the Indian contingent at the Korea Masters Super 300 badminton tournament starting Tuesday in Asan, Korea.
• 17-year-old Tanvi Sharma enters the competition with significant momentum after winning her maiden BWF World Tour title at the Taipei Open this past Sunday.
• In the Taipei Open final, Sharma secured her victory by defeating Vietnam's sixth seed, Thuy Linh Nguyen.
Edwin Lopez-Cornejo, 41, was arrested in New Jersey in June, and died after a ‘medical emergency’, agency saidAn immigrant being held at a New Jersey ICE detention center died on 1 August, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on Monday. Edwin Lopez-Cornejo, 41, is the 22nd person to die in ICE custody this year, according to agency data.Lopez-Cornejo, who is originally from El Salvador and first came to the US in 2006, was arrested by ICE agents in Plainfield, New Jersey, on 18 June and sent to Delaney Hall detention facility to await deportation. Less than two months later he suffered an unspecified “medical emergency”, and was later pronounced dead by University Hospital in Newark, New Jersey, ICE said. Continue reading...
The Home Office has made a fresh request for ‘back door’ access to encrypted iCloud data belonging to British usersApple has launched a new legal challenge against a UK government demand to access its customers’ highly encrypted data, a year after the Home Office agreed to abandon its previous request.The US tech company launched the legal complaint last month at the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT), an independent court that has the power to investigate claims that the UK intelligence services have acted unlawfully. Continue reading...
• Chinese developers have launched V4-Flash, a new AI model designed to challenge the technological dominance of U.S. tech giants through high performance and lower costs.
• According to the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, V4-Flash scored 50 out of 100, matching the performance of Google's Gemini 3.6 Flash while trailing behind top models from OpenAI and Anthropic.
• This release underscores an escalating geopolitical AI race, as Chinese firms pivot toward cost-effectiveness to gain a competitive edge over Western rivals.
Labour veteran is said to relish role that requires careful negotiation of Trump and impending G20 leadershipExtraordinarily, given the importance of geopolitics, the office of foreign secretary has sometimes appeared a consolation prize in British politics, perhaps reflecting the transfer of responsibility to Downing Street or the Cabinet Office.That is not how Ed Miliband views the job. His allies say suggestions that he nurses resentment after he was deprived of the chance to be chancellor misunderstand his grasp of the policy challenges ahead. “Ed has an immense appetite to get things done and is relishing being in this job,” one says. “Ed will be a policy-driven foreign secretary.” Continue reading...
