Giant burrowing cockroaches with added cameras and medical injectors are being tested as potential ‘first responders’ in earthquakesFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastFor people trapped under rubble in an earthquake or similar disaster, the arrival of a fleet of cockroaches could one day be the difference between life and death.Biorobotics engineers have been working on the design of six-legged cyborg insects with cameras and miniature medical injectors for search and rescue missions. Continue reading...
At least 160 people have died, while officials believe 340 foreign nationals from India, the US, UK, Australia, Malaysia and Ukraine among those missing. Follow the latest newsFlash floods on Nepal-Tibet border leave scores dead and hundreds missingTell us: have you been affected by the flash floods?Authorities in Nepal and Tibet have said they fear the death toll from catastrophic flooding could be much higher than 160 people already killed, as search and rescue efforts to locate the hundreds missing continue.A huge wall of mud and rock collapsed into a river on the Himalayan border of Nepal and Tibet on Wednesday, triggering the flash flood which washed away houses, roads and border crossings.Rescue teams are rushing on Thursday to find hundreds of people missing after the flood and landslides killed at least 160 people. Many of the missing were foreign tourists, officials said.Nepali police said they had recovered 157 bodies after “devastating floods”, with officers working to move families in flood-risk areas to safety. Chinese state media reported “major casualties” from a mudslide at a Tibet border hub, reporting three dead and another 265 missing. The overall death toll appears likely to rise.Tibet government officials mobilised nearly 800 emergency workers and 150 vehicles as well as sniffer dogs and speed boats to help the rescue efforts, China’s official Xinhua news agency said.At least 403 tourists – 341 of them foreigners – were unaccounted for several hours after the disaster struck on Wednesday morning, according to Nepal’s tourism ministry. The missing foreigners included 142 Indians, 33 from the UK, 47 from the US, 34 from Australia and 24 from Canada as well as others from South Korea, the Netherlands, Malaysia, Portugal and South Africa, the tourism board said. Nine South Koreans were missing, the country’s foreign ministry said.At least 28 Nepal police officials were missing, a police spokesperson said.Entire villages and markets were “wiped out”, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said. It was dispatching emergency supplies including blankets, first aid kits, stretchers and body bags.United Nations chief António Guterres said UN teams and partners were mobilising supplies and personnel in Nepal to support affected communities.Surveillance video from the Chinese side of the border showed a raging wall of mud and debris crashing over a building several storeys high, engulfing it as dozens of people flee for their lives below. The surge sweeps away buses and cars.Experts warned that a lingering blockage upstream on the Nepal-China border river could produce a second flood.The cause of the flooding was not immediately clear. Nepalese foreign minister Shishir Khanal said an earthquake likely triggered a landslide, which in turn blocked a river, sending water gushing downstream. Nepal’s disaster authority said satellite data indicated a “snow-rock landslide” on the Nepal-China border may have caused the flood. Scientists say climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events in the region.Chinese leader Xi Jinping said “the most urgent task is doing everything possible to search for and rescue the missing people”, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.The US Geological Survey first reported a magnitude-4.4 earthquake early on Wednesday, about 66km (41 miles) north of Kathmandu, near the border. It later updated to call the shaking a 5.2-magnitude landslide. Continue reading...
• Ten European countries have restored border checks, signaling a potential decline in European solidarity and the viability of the Schengen common area.
• The tension escalated on August 26, 2026, after Italy imposed restrictions on travelers from Spain, prompting an immediate retaliatory response from Madrid.
• These diplomatic frictions are driven by an ongoing migration crisis in Ceuta, a Spanish exclave located in North Africa.
• Two recent NASA-funded studies have revealed how ancient events in the Sun's history influenced the development of Earth's unique climate.
• The research suggests that these solar events may have been the primary drivers behind previously unexplained climatic shifts on our planet.
• This discovery is significant because it highlights the profound, long-term impact the Sun's evolution has on planetary habitability and atmospheric stability.
• Prof Michel Chossudovsky and Drago Bosnic released a video on August 24, 2026, discussing a Medical Professionals Report submitted to the U.S. Congress regarding President Trump.
• The report claims that the President presents a "clear and present danger" to both the United States and the global community.
• Key medical concerns cited in the letter include an escalating loss of self-control and other psychological instabilities.
• Peter Koenig and Prof Michel Chossudovsky released a video on August 23, 2026, titled "The War Economy To the Detriment of Humanity."
• The presentation argues that rising global defense spending is causing financial instability and the collapse of welfare states.
• The authors claim that corrupt politicians are prioritizing military expenditures over societal programs, negatively impacting the world's 8 billion residents.
Ombudsman Iain Anderson says he is concerned police ‘had no clearly understood definition of racial profiling’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe commonwealth and ACT ombudsman has criticised the Australian federal police for failing to clearly define “racial profiling” after police in Canberra pulled guns on an Indigenous teenager who they mistook for a suspect in an aggravated burglary.The scathing investigation, released on Tuesday, made eight recommendations to the Australian federal police (AFP) and ACT Policing after investigating the November 2025 incident. ACT Policing sits under the AFP as the community policing arm. Continue reading...
• In an article dated August 21, 2026, Prof Michel Chossudovsky and Felicity Arbuthnot report that medical experts have declared Donald Trump "mentally unfit" and are calling for his urgent removal from office.
• The report alleges that the White House is contemplating nuclear war under a strategy described as "Make Nuclear Weapons Great Again."
• Key details include claims that Pentagon specialists are discussing the deployment of nuclear weapons under the leadership of Peter Hegseth.
Researchers hope contest – similar to Fat Bear Week – starting Monday will be latest wildlife watching crazeMonday sees the start of what researchers hope will be the latest wildlife watching craze – Fat Marmot Week.Last winter was tough for marmots living high in the Colorado mountains, where researchers say two-thirds of one population died while hibernating because of insufficient snow cover. Continue reading...
Manufacturer, which makes Jaecoo and Omoda brands, will open facility in Bedfordshire in autumnThe Chinese carmaker behind the irreverently nicknamed “Temu Range Rover” is plotting further UK expansion with a major research and development centre in England.Chery, which makes the Jaecoo and Omoda car brands, said the launch of a new R&D site was “the next step in our long-term plan” for Britain as it also moves towards manufacturing its cars in the UK. Continue reading...
