Microsoft pulls out of AI datacentre project in Essex over power supply concerns 18. October 2026 (14:28) Development by UK firm Nscale heralded by ministers as largest of its kind in country loses anchor tenantThe development of a huge AI datacentre hailed by the UK government has received a fresh setback after Microsoft pulled out of the project over concerns about power supplies.The development by the British company Nscale, heralded by ministers as the country’s largest AI datacentre when it was announced in 2025, was planned to open at Loughton in Essex next year. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
New NHS England policy for trans people could have ‘a number of adverse impacts’, report finds 18. October 2026 (14:00) Exclusive: rules on same-sex wards could lead to delays in care, discrimination and animosity between groups, finds internal assessmentTrans people could face delays and a greater risk of “corridor care” under new NHS England guidance that means they will no longer be able to use same-sex wards, according to an internal report.An NHS England impact assessment, seen by the Guardian, stated that trans people may also potentially experience discrimination and this could lead to them “avoiding accessing healthcare at all”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
EPA quietly backtracks on claims US has phased out toxic Pfas compounds 18. October 2026 (14:00) Agency changes wording on website as Texas-based chemical firm continues manufacture of plastic containersThe Environmental Protection Agency has quietly backtracked on a claim that the US has phased out two of the most dangerous Pfas compounds – Pfoa and Pfos.The EPA has found that virtually no level of exposure to either in drinking water is safe, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies Pfoa as “carcinogenic to humans” and Pfos as “possibly carcinogenic”. Still, the EPA is allowing Houston-based Inhance to produce containers from which Pfoa has been found to leach at high levels into the containers’ contents. The company makes up to 200m plastic containers annually used across the US economy. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Boy, 16, killed and fellow teen injured after Seat Ibiza 'crashes into railings' - as man, 19, arrested over death
Elderly man, 93, accused of stabbing his wife, 76, while the pair were at a packed Sydney shopping centre
A schoolgirl, 14, found in undergrowth, a rugby player slain with a zombie knife and a grandfather, 74, beaten to death - the brutal killings turning rural county into murder capital of Wales