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SpaceX Starship to reach orbit with 26 Starlink satellites
SpaceX is targeting 22 September for the 14th test flight of its Starship rocket, aiming to reach orbit for the first time while carrying 26 Starlink V3 satellites. The mission marks a significant step for the programme, which is central to SpaceX’s plans to exceed the payload capacity of its Falcon 9 rocket and to…
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Government braces for tough Budget as inflation climbs to 3.1 per cent
Andy Burnham has warned that “difficult decisions” lie ahead in next month’s Budget after official figures showed UK inflation rising to 3.1% in the year to August, up from 2.9% the month before. Speaking during a visit to Woking, he blamed instability in the Middle East for pushing up prices while insisting the economy remained…
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Trump EPA’s arguments for letting power plants spew unlimited pollution ‘dead wrong’
The US Environmental Protection Agency has moved to scrap all limits on planet-heating pollution from coal and gas power plants, with administrator Lee Zeldin claiming the change will lower Americans’ electricity bills and pose little climate risk. Environmental lawyers and analysts say both justifications collapse under scrutiny, arguing the rollback instead entrenches costly, polluting fossil…
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A brief history of AI executives calling for regulation
This piece contextualises the recent wave of AI executives—including Sam Altman, Dario Amodei, Demis Hassabis, Satya Nadella and Elon Musk—publicly calling for AI regulation, arguing that such warnings from people who profit from the technology deserve scepticism but are not new. It traces a long lineage of concern about intelligent machines, from 19th-century philosophical warnings…
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Saudi Arabia and Houthis Escalate Military Operations as Riyadh Seeks Direct US Intervention
Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi movement traded major military blows this week, with Riyadh saying it intercepted a Houthi drone near Mecca and the Houthis denying they had targeted Islam’s holiest city, accusing the kingdom of fabrication. The escalation, which also drew in Yemen’s Red Sea coastline and a critical Saudi oil pipeline, prompted…
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British mother remains missing after armed abduction in Malawi
Nusrat Osman, a 47-year-old British mother from Leicester, was abducted by four armed men in Blantyre, Malawi five days ago and remains missing with no contact from the captors. Her family has made a public appeal, but h
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Meta Developing Camera-Free Smart Glasses to Address Privacy Concerns
Meta was reported to be preparing a camera-free pair of smart glasses, codenamed Luna, unveiled alongside other hardware at its Meta Connect event. According to The Information, the move was designed to address a growing privacy backlash against Meta’s existing Ray-Ban smart glasses, which have been used to covertly film people and have subsequently been…
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Reach axes 220 journalism roles as AI summaries cannibalise news traffic
Reach, the publisher of the Mirror, Express and numerous regional titles, is cutting a further 220 editorial jobs as it responds to a sharp decline in online traffic driven by readers relying on AI-generated summaries instead of clicking through to news websites. The company says the move reflects a “mammoth shift” in how audiences consume…
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Beauty triumphs over novelty in Alvin Ailey’s New Works
This review of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s New Works programme at Sadler’s Wells, London, praises a mixed bill that leans on skill, craft and emotional depth rather than avant-garde novelty. While acknowledging the programme could be seen as dated, the critic argues its enduring qualities of beauty and humanity give it lasting appeal, singling…
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AI datacentre boom will triple toxic electronic waste within 25 years
A report by the environmental group Basel Action Network (BAN) warns that the global rush to build datacentres for artificial intelligence will triple the world’s annual output of toxic electronic waste within 25 years, creating enough discarded equipment to fill shipping containers that could circle the globe six times. The report highlights that there is…