Surge

Tobacco investments raise new concerns about Dr Nicole Saphier ahead of confirmation hearingDonald Trump’s nominee for US surgeon general reported more than $200,000 in business income from a company she owns that sells dietary supplements, a loosely regulated industry that health and consumer advocates say raises concerns about her record and which some critics allege are akin to “snake oil”.Dr Nicole Saphier, who specializes in breast cancer as a radiologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New Jersey and was formerly a Fox News contributor, is facing a Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday. She filed a financial disclosure and ethics agreement last week. Continue reading...

Teen was swimming at a popular spot at the time of the attack, the latest in a string that have occurred in the stateA 13-year-old Maryland boy is reported to be recovering from multiple surgeries and nerve damage after being attacked by a rabid beaver.The teen, Dominick Cebula, was swimming at a popular spot in Cunningham Falls state park in Thurmont, Maryland, on 26 July when a beaver attacked his chest underwater, a relatively rare kind of encounter that more recently has been recurring, according to reporting from local news outlets. Continue reading...

Strike on kingdom’s east-west pipeline could affect 4% of global oil supply. Plus, report reveals British monarchy’s role in financing slave tradeGood morning. Oil prices have climbed above $108 a barrel after a series of drone attacks from Iraq’s territory forced Saudi Arabia to close its east-west crude pipeline. Saudi traders said the kingdom would run out of oil stocks for export if it did not reopen within days. Gas prices also climbed higher. Energy prices have surged this year, as the US-Israel war with Iran has disrupted oil and gas supply across the Middle East.The spike came as the Iran-aligned Houthi forces in Yemen launched several attacks against Saudi Arabia and captured the strategic island of Perim in the Bab al-Mandab strait on Sunday, expanding their control of the waterway.Where did the attack on Saudi Arabia come from? Iraq’s government confirmed the attacks were launched from its territory and ordered an investigation. Baghdad is under mounting pressure to stop militant groups – including those backed by Saudi Arabia’s regional rival Iran – launching attacks on Gulf countries from Iraqi soil. The US president, Donald Trump, said he believed Tehran was responsible.Why has Saudi Arabia been relying on its east-west pipeline? Riyadh has increased the use of the 745-mile pipeline since the start of the war on Iran in order to bypass the strait of Hormuz’s closure. The world’s biggest exporter has used the pipeline to reroute about 4m barrels a day – about 4% of global supply – but with the ‌pipeline out of service, the Red Sea port of Yanbu now has stocks to maintain exports for just five to seven days.What is the Anthropic CEO proposing? Robert Booth explains Amodei’s suggestion: first, each US AI company grants access to third-party evaluators; second, all companies in democratic countries establish common safety standards; and third, the world’s democratic AI powers coordinate with autocracies – notably China – to control the race.How has Barack Obama intervened over AI? The former US president made a direct appeal to Democrats to coalesce around a unified AI safety policy, arguing that waiting for voluntary compliance from tech firms was a recipe for governance failure. Continue reading...

• Asian stock markets declined recently as investors grew concerned about a slowdown in artificial intelligence growth and rising oil prices. • China's CSI 300 index fell 0.3%, while Singapore's Straits Times index rose marginally by 0.1%. • Higher oil prices increase the risk of persistent inflation, which may force central banks to keep interest rates higher for longer.

• Asian markets declined recently as investors reacted to rising oil prices, expectations of interest rate hikes, and new concerns regarding artificial intelligence. • Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called for the industry to slow the development of AI models to implement stronger safety measures, a push supported by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and xAI CEO Elon Musk. • This shift in sentiment triggered a selloff in chip stocks, impacting the market value of companies that provide the hardware necessary for AI systems.

Exclusive: Many ‘use community protection as a cover for racist thuggery’, raising concerns about fresh disorderAt least 28 anti-migrant vigilante groups have formed in the UK in the last 18 months, ranging from unauthorised street patrols claiming to protect women and children to groups harassing migrants in France and blocking ports.From Belfast to the south coast of England, the number of active groups has surged since the summer of 2025, according to analysis by the Guardian, amid widespread concerns over fresh disorder after black-clad vigilantes, many of them wearing balaclavas, blocked roads in Portsmouth and Dover last weekend. Continue reading...

• India's foreign exchange reserves rose by a record $44.903 billion during the week ending September 4. • Data released by the Reserve Bank of India on Friday shows the total reserves reached a lifetime high of $785.706 billion. • This surge increases the country's financial cushion, which helps stabilize the national currency and manage international payments.