Nepal-Tibet floods: death toll rises to 626 and number missing climbs to nearly 3,000 – latest updates 29. August 2026 (08:55) Rescue workers and military personnel have been working around the clock since Wednesday’s disaster‘The flood took everything I have’: survivors grieve for relatives and homes swept away in NepalChinese rescuers find ‘nothing but ruins’ at border crossing as Nepal seeks help to ID and store the deadNepal’s government has appealed for financial help as it faces the daunting task of recovering from the devastating flash floods and braces for the possibility of more flooding.Entire communities have been swept away, leaving families homeless or sheltering in temporary facilities. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Statins can safely cut risk of heart attacks or strokes in healthy people aged over 70, world-first clinical trial shows 29. August 2026 (08:25) Australian-led trial finds low risk of side effects from common cholesterol-lowering medication for otherwise healthy older peopleGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastTaking a common cholesterol-lowering medication can reduce the risk of a heart attack or stroke for people aged over 70, with a low risk of serious side effects, a world-first clinical trial led by Australian researchers has found.Statins are already commonly prescribed to people under the age of 75 who meet certain risk criteria, such as having diabetes and high cholesterol, to prevent them from having a major heart event such as a heart attack, stroke, or from requiring heart surgery. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Households could save up to £173 a year by switching to fixed energy deal 29. August 2026 (08:00) Moving tariffs will cushion the blow from the October price cap rise and the increase widely predicted for JanuaryWith higher energy bills looming and warnings of worse to come in the new year, many households could save up to £173 a year by switching to a fixed deal.Millions of households in Great Britain will face the highest energy charges in three years after it was announced that the government’s price cap will rise again in October. This will be the second increase in three months. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Sharp rise in incidents of AI escaping users’ control, research finds 29. August 2026 (08:00) Exclusive: Number of times AI lies, ignores instructions and pursues goals in harmful ways almost doubles in JulyIncidents of AIs escaping users’ control to lie, ignore instructions and pursue goals in harmful ways have hit a new high, according to research that also suggests the severity of deception and misalignment is worsening.Analysis of real-world loss of control incidents involving AI models flagged by businesses and individuals almost doubled in July compared with June, with more than 300 cases in the month, according to the Loss of Control Observatory, which monitors reports made by AI users on the social media platform X. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
UK risks falling behind in AI race without faster telecoms upgrades, say executives 29. August 2026 (08:00) Planning delays and slow 5G upgrades could leave the UK unable to cope with a surge in AI-related traffic The UK risks becoming a laggard in the global AI race as crucial telecoms upgrades to harness the technology fall behind rival nations, according to senior industry executives.The infrastructure AI race has centred on the need to build datacentres, and to ensure they have access to the huge water and energy supplies required to cool and supply the computational power to train and run AI models. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Plug-in solar panels could save households up to $370 a year – if Australia made them legal as in the UK 29. August 2026 (07:13) A plug-in solar kit that costs about $1,000 ‘pays for itself in three years’, one expert saysGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastMillions of Australians could be saving up to $370 a year on energy bills and doing their bit for the climate crisis if Labor followed the UK’s lead in legalising plug-in solar panels, an advocacy group has said.Plug-in solar refers to small standalone solar units that could be attached to balconies or used in back yards and plugged into power points, offsetting the energy used by household appliances. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘Winter panic’: EU gas stores at their lowest level in 13 years 29. August 2026 (07:00) As one of Europe’s biggest consumers of gas the UK may be particularly exposed to heightened price volatilityEurope is on course to enter the cooler months with gas stores at their lowest level in 13 years, which has triggered “winter panic” among energy traders, experts have warned.The EU’s gas stocks were 63% full in the last week of August, well below the 80% average for late August over recent years and among the lowest levels ever recorded for this time of year. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Hilarity, unease and relief: games show China is not over the finish line in humanoid robot race 29. August 2026 (07:00) World Humanoid Robot Games showcased leaps Beijing has made in the tech, but also highlighted limitations as US rivals prepare their own launchesWith exploding pelvises, enough comic pratfalls for a Buster Keaton show reel and the odd moment of ruthless violence, the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing gripped the world this week with an unsettling mixture of hilarity, trepidation and relief.The five-day showcase staked out China’s claim to undisputed leadership in humanoid robotics as android martial artists landed knockout roundhouse kicks and robot teams marched into the arena heralded by flag-waving captains astride giant robotic dogs. The games’ blue-riband event, the 100m, did not disappoint when the robot-sprinters ran quicker than Usain Bolt before slamming mindlessly into a padded wall in a blaze of sparks, flames and flying mechanical limbs. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Ireland will be united, says Gordon Brown 29. August 2026 (07:00) Former PM believes Northern Ireland will leave UK in the long term – but remains opposed to Scottish independenceThe former prime minister Gordon Brown has said it is inevitable that Ireland will become united at some point in the future, in a wide-ranging interview with the Guardian.While he added that any union would necessarily be “a long process” and based on mutual agreement, Brown’s comments are notable both because of his vehement opposition to Scottish independence, but also because of his involvement in government in efforts to bring peace to Northern Ireland. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘The butcher may be gone, but to many he is a hero’: victims condemn glorification of Mladić 29. August 2026 (06:00) Architect of Srebrenica genocide is dead but those scarred by his atrocities say his ideology is still shockingly pervasiveTo most of the world, he was and will always be the “Butcher of Bosnia”, a grim epithet but one that still fails to fully convey the evil and horror inflicted on its people by Gen Ratko Mladić, who died in prison on Thursday.As commander of the Bosnian Serb forces, Mladić was responsible for the killing of an estimated 100,000 men, women and children during the savage breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. He was most notoriously the architect of ethnic cleansing and the genocide at Srebrenica in which at least 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were slaughtered. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
