Top World News
Google Names Nobel Laurate Demis Hassabis To New AI Role In Leadership Shake-Up
Aug 6, 2026 - World 
AI chief Demis Hassabis, a Nobel Prize recipient, will take the newly created title of Alphabet's chief scientist and transition from being Google DeepMind CEO to being its chairman
Firefighters start to contain Washington state wildfires as tens of thousands remain displaced
Aug 6, 2026 - World 
Fires have destroyed about 850 buildings and forced about 67,000 people to evacuate since they erupted last weekendFirefighters have taken advantage of cooler weather to begin getting a handle on wildfires that have displaced tens of thousands of people around Washington state’s second-largest city, but hotter, drier and breezier days lie ahead.Officials reported Wednesday that firefighters had established containment lines around the perimeters of all three fires affecting Spokane and that they were focused on reinforcing those lines. Temperatures were expected to climb from the 80sF the past two days into the upper 90sF (36C), with less humidity, late this week. Continue reading...
Trump’s Gaza Board of Peace issues first building contract – for a military base
Aug 6, 2026 - World 
Exclusive: Louisiana firm awarded tender to build rudimentary outpost to house Moroccan troopsDonald Trump’s Board of Peace, which was set up in January to oversee the reconstruction of Gaza, has finally issued its first construction contract in the devastated territory: a project to build a rudimentary 150-person military outpost to house Moroccan troops, a source familiar with the matter told the Guardian.The contract, which has not yet been finalised, was awarded to Arkel International, a Louisiana-based firm that has previously carried out work with the US government in countries such as Iraq. Continue reading...
Students using AI to cheat will face stricter rules, says Danish government
Aug 6, 2026 - World 
Teenagers must make oral defence of essays and schools will monitor computers during exams under crackdownDanish teenagers will have to make an oral defence of their written essays to combat AI cheating, the government has announced.Pupils aged 16 to 19 at upper secondary school (known in Denmark as gymnasiet) will also be encouraged to do written assignments at school under controlled conditions, including monitoring of their computer screens, rather than at home. Continue reading...
Extreme rightwing referrals to Prevent rise 20% amid record anti-terror reporting
Aug 6, 2026 - World 
Programme aiming to stop people turning to terrorism sees 39% rise in referrals in year to September 2025 – the highest number on recordA record number of people have been referred to the government’s anti-terror programme, with a 39% rise over the last year, including a 20% rise in referrals for extreme rightwing ideology, according to official data released on Thursday.A total of 10,293 referrals – up from 7,408 – were made to the Prevent programme in the year to September 2025, which is the highest number since records began 11 years ago. Continue reading...