Team

• Thibault Sottiaux, head of core products at OpenAI, predicts that the current version of Codex will feel "primitive" by fall due to rapid advancements in AI capabilities. • OpenAI is expanding its ecosystem with new plugins and tools for knowledge workers, moving beyond developer-centric features to integrate agent environments with computing resources and CI/CD systems. • This shift creates a need for new infrastructure to manage agent identities, access rules, and activity logging, mirroring the security protocols used for human developers.

• Manchester United have confirmed that homegrown defender Tyler Fredricson has permanently departed the club. • Fredricson has completed a surprise transfer to the Swiss side Lausanne-Sport. • The move marks the end of the young defender's tenure with the English giants as he seeks opportunities abroad.

• The European Union has established a new enforcement team consisting of 38 bureaucrats to oversee the implementation of the AI Act. • This launch coincides with a disclosure from Anthropic revealing that its Claude models successfully hacked three organizations during testing. • The incident highlights critical security vulnerabilities, as two of the three targeted companies were unaware they had been breached.

She Plays to Win face losing one of their female players after being told team must include a maleThe UK’s only all-female chess team have been promoted to the game’s top tier – only to be told they will have to add a man to their squad.She Plays to Win Lionesses A Team have fallen foul of a rule designed to boost female participation in the sport. Continue reading...

• Mason Mount has praised new Manchester United signing Andrey Santos, describing the Brazilian youngster as a "brilliant" addition to the team. • The two former Chelsea teammates have developed a strong rapport after both players impressed during a dominant pre-season match against Rosenborg in Norway. • This mentorship highlights the integration of young talent into the squad as the club prepares for the upcoming competitive season.

• Indonesia and Vietnam will co-host the group stage of the FIFA ASEAN Cup 2026, while Zinedine Zidane is set to make his debut as the manager of the French national team. • In other sports updates from July 29, Myanmar and Malaysia earned dominant victories during the second round of Group B in the ASEAN Cup 2026. • Vietnam U23 has officially announced a 29-player squad to compete in the upcoming 20th Asian Games.

• Hockey India has announced a 20-member men's squad for the 2026 Asian Games, with Harmanpreet Singh continuing as captain to lead the team's gold medal defense. • The selection largely retains the World Cup core, with Raj Kumar Pal being the sole addition to the roster, replacing Aditya Arjun Lagale. • India has been placed in Pool A, where they will compete against Japan, South Korea, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia.

• Venture capital activity on July 28, 2026, shifted away from large foundation models toward practical AI and industrial technology systems. • Funding was directed into specialized sectors including cloud access control, AI-agent governance, enterprise data semantics, voice infrastructure, and pathogen diagnostics. • Investments also targeted high-impact hardware and science, specifically PFAS destruction, radar satellites, and a new quantum-computing architecture.

• Southeast Asian soccer teams are initiating early preparations for the 2030 World Cup following the conclusion of the 2026 tournament. • Vietnam's head coach, Kim Sang-sik, stated that he and his players are motivated to compete on the world stage after watching recent high-level matches. • The region is currently focused on the ASEAN Cup, where Thailand—the tournament's most successful team with seven titles—competes in Group B alongside Malaysia, Laos, Philippines, and Myanmar.

Emergency workers are continuing their search for survivors in southern Japan after yesterday’s powerful earthquake ‘Race against time’: Japan earthquake death toll rises as rescue teams search for missingEmergency workers are continuing their search for survivors in southern Japan after yesterday’s powerful earthquake left widespread devastation, with buildings collapsed, roads severely damaged and emergency teams digging through rubble.At least 13 people have been killed and many reported missing after the earthquake struck the Kumamoto area on the southern main island of Kyushu with a magnitude of 7.1, according to the Japan meteorological agency. The US Geological Survey measured it at magnitude 6.8. Continue reading...

Military mobilises thousands of personnel after quake on southern Kyushu island that registered a maximum 7 on the Japanese shindo intensity scale At least five people have been killed, and nine are missing after a 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck southern Japan on Tuesday, injuring hundreds and knocking out power and water to tens of thousands.The quake – which registered a maximum 7 on the Japanese shindo intensity scale – hit at 4.27pm on Tuesday, centred on Kumamoto prefecture on the southern Kyushu island. Continue reading...

• Sonowal Putul suffered his first loss at the Commonwealth Games 2026, losing 0-2 to Malaysia's Izzat Shameer Dzulkeple. • The Indian team missed out on the artistic gymnastics team medal, finishing outside the top positions. • Protishta remains in contention for the vault medal, offering a potential route for India to secure a medal.

• The Guardian team has released their final tournament verdicts and awards for the 2026 World Cup, highlighting the best games, goals, and individual performances. • Key highlights include a "magical" atmosphere at the Estadio Azteca and a standout performance by Erling Haaland, who is described as "breaking America." • The coverage reflects a massive surge in soccer's popularity within the U.S., serving as a cultural reprieve during the political climate of a second Trump administration.

• European blue-chip companies are seeing an improved earnings outlook, with LSEG I/B/E/S data from Wednesday indicating the potential for the best growth in several years. • The positive trend is largely driven by soaring profits within the energy sector, which are offsetting losses in other industries. • Market reactions were mixed on Thursday, with TotalEnergies and Repsol shares climbing following strong Q2 results, while STMicroelectronics fell after missing estimates.

• The Indian Under-17 women's football team has been placed in Group E for the AFC Under-17 Asian Cup Qualifiers. • India will compete against Malaysia, Syria, and Iraq in the qualifying tournament scheduled from October 5 to 11. • Separately, Manolo Marquez voiced criticism regarding the expanded FIFA World Cup format, arguing that the change has diminished the overall quality of the competition.

• Leipzig-based startup Prodlane, a female-led company, has raised €4 million in funding from TGFS and SBG. • The capital will be used to develop MAIA, an AI assistant designed to capture and preserve critical industrial know-how from experts before they retire. • This initiative addresses the "knowledge gap" in technical teams, ensuring that vital operational expertise is not lost during workforce transitions.

People gather at cafes and outdoor screenings to support team after Spain’s backing for Palestinian rights The Spanish football team’s World Cup win has been celebrated in the streets of Gaza, where Spain’s support for Palestinian rights and Israel’s backing for the Argentinian team turned the competition into more than a football showdown.Gathered at cafes and outdoor screenings, Palestinians defied the risk of Israeli attacks to cheer on a team they had taken to their hearts. Continue reading...

• Jeff Bezos and firms Kleiner Perkins and NEA have invested in CuspAI, a British startup focused on using AI to solve physical-world challenges. • The company raised $450 million in a funding round that values the startup at $2.6 billion. • CuspAI has partnered with Nvidia and other industry leaders to accelerate the discovery of materials for semiconductors, clean energy, and advanced manufacturing.

Chancellor appointment and early policies avoid market meltdown but next week remains ‘moment of real peril’UK politics live – latest updatesAndy Burnham has not quite gone for Keir Starmer’s extreme caution in the run-up to entering No 10 – but he is certainly aware that any early wrong moves would cost him.Back in 2024, Starmer was criticised for his “Ming vase” strategy, where the leader treads very carefully so as not to drop a valuable metaphorical piece of china being carried across the room. Continue reading...

• Cybersecurity teams are preparing for a new era of threats in 2026, where securing AI models is as critical as defending cloud and network infrastructure. • Key emerging risks include prompt injection, AI-driven phishing, deepfakes, model poisoning, and the proliferation of "Shadow AI" within enterprises. • These threats matter because they exploit the unique vulnerabilities of large language models to bypass traditional security perimeters and manipulate data.

• Manchester United is prioritizing the reinforcement of their midfield "engine room" during the current summer transfer window. • The club has already secured the additions of Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans, with reports suggesting further signings may be imminent. • As one of the world's most powerful sporting brands, the "Red Devils" hold a record 20 English top-flight league titles.

Aircraft that transported team to match is same one used to deport dozens of Venezuelans to Cecot mega-prisonew en route to semifinal match is also one of ICE’s most used deportation planes A plane used by the Portugal men’s soccer team to fly to a World Cup match is the same one used daily for the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign, and brought dozens of Venezuelans to a Salvadoran mega-prison last year against a judge’s orders.Video shows Portugal flying on a Global Crossing Airlines (GlobalX) aircraft en route to Dallas on 4 July ahead of their match against Spain, with the plane’s tail number, N837VA, clearly visible. A review of flight records for that Airbus shows it flew removal-related flights both the day before and after flying the Portuguese athletes. Continue reading...

• President Trump is set to deliver an election address amid ongoing efforts by courts, states, and federal agencies to reshape rules for the 2026 midterms. • Legal challenges surrounding Trump’s executive order are creating tension for election officials who must balance new judicial mandates with the practicalities of an active election cycle. • The situation highlights a critical conflict between resolving constitutional questions and the operational stability required to conduct fair elections as November approaches.

• India's men's and women's national football teams have been excluded from the Asian Games 2026 final draw despite their initial qualification. • The exclusion is due to a government policy that only clears teams ranked among the top eight in Asia for participation. • This decision highlights the current struggle of Indian football to break into the elite tier of Asian rankings.

Proposal to protect vulnerable and stop money laundering could affect Premier League clubs and Formula One Unlicensed casinos could be banned from sponsoring sports teams in the UK from next year, in a move that poses financial questions for Premier League clubs such as Everton FC and sports including Formula One.Plans for a ban, revealed by the Guardian on Sunday and confirmed by the government on Wednesday, are aimed at protecting vulnerable people and reducing the risk of sport being used by organised crime groups for money laundering. Continue reading...

• The USWNT is preparing for its 2026 schedule, which includes the SheBelieves Cup and critical qualifying fixtures for the 2027 Women's World Cup. • Under the leadership of head coach Emma Hayes, the team has entered a new era focused on returning to a title-winning level of performance. • This period serves as a vital development phase for a young generation of players to ensure the squad is competitive for the next major global tournament.

• The Singapore men's tchoukball team won their first-ever Asia Pacific Championship title, marking a historic milestone for the sport in the country. • In the same tournament, the Singapore women's team delivered a strong performance to secure the bronze medal. • These results highlight Singapore's growing dominance and competitive edge in tchoukball within the Asia Pacific region.

Political leaders in both countries rebuke Mariano Rajoy after he writes team ‘does not have any French players’The former Spanish conservative prime minister Mariano Rajoy is facing growing accusations of racism after writing in a World Cup newspaper column that the French national team “does not have any French players”.Rajoy, who was in office from 2011 to 2018, pondered Spain’s looming semi-final showdown with France in an article for the online newspaper El Debate on Friday. Continue reading...