Why Europe has been absent from the great AI safety debate 18. September 2026 (20:37) Though Europe has measures that address how consumers might encounter AI, technology will impact them if the worst scenarios bearEurope’s dilemma over AI was rendered in stark terms this week. The head of the continent’s central bank, Christine Lagarde, said Europeans have two options: shun the technology and lose out on growth; or embrace it and become dependent on tools developed by the US and China.The great debate over AI safety that has erupted in recent days threatens to make the choice moot. If the worst scenarios come to bear – and experts have differing views on this – then the technology will impact the continent regardless. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Attorneys for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs drop music mogul, alleging unpaid legal bills 18. September 2026 (19:49) The musician is serving a 50-month federal prison term for prostitution-related offensesAttorneys representing rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs say they are no longer acting for the disgraced star in a dispute over months of unpaid legal bills.The musician, who is serving a 50-month federal prison term for prostitution-related offenses, has become increasingly belligerent in recent months, causing “a total breakdown in cooperation and communication” with New York law firm Sher Tremonte, one of its partners, Michael Tremonte, said in a court filing.This article was amended on 18 September 2026. An earlier version wrongly stated that Combs sued record producer Jonathan Hay for defamation. Hay is the plaintiff. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Earl Spencer doubles down on claims about ‘monstrous’ call with Charles after Diana’s death 18. September 2026 (19:40) Buckingham Palace has refuted claim by Charles Spencer, Diana’s brother, that then prince told him ‘we’ll forget her soon enough’Earl Spencer has doubled down on his bombshell claim that King Charles said of Diana, Princess of Wales, “rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough” days after her death, saying he is telling the truth.The alleged comments, revealed in Charles Spencer’s memoir, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, which is being serialised in the Daily Mail, prompted Buckingham Palace to issue an extraordinary statement suggesting Diana’s brother had misremembered events, saying “the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and colour memory in ways others do not recognise”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Brazil’s Lula announces higher welfare payments and free weight-loss jabs ahead of election 18. September 2026 (19:10) Critics say moves from leftwing incumbent president are electorally motivated two weeks before Brazil’s electionsBrazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has announced a 15% increase in the country’s main cash-transfer programme for poor families, as well as free weight-loss jabs, prompting criticism from opponents who say the moves are electorally motivated just two weeks before the presidential election.On 4 October, the leftwing incumbent will face the far-right senator Flávio Bolsonaro, son of the former president Jair Bolsonaro, who has been gaining ground in recent weeks. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Sensitive UK police data vulnerable to ‘compromise’ by US government and foreign actors 18. September 2026 (19:00) Exclusive: Official UK security assessment found Microsoft cloud platform storing files was at potential risk from hostile hackersVast troves of highly sensitive police data are lying on Microsoft cloud platforms which an official UK security assessment deemed to be vulnerable to “compromise” by foreign actors and the US government, a Guardian investigation can reveal.The files include criminal records, victim statements, internal emails and sensitive information held by more than 40 police forces across the UK. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Polanski request to postpone Greens’ conference to focus on byelection refused by party 18. September 2026 (18:26) Exclusive: Leader understood to have wanted to concentrate on Holborn and St Pancras campaign in London but executive committee voted against planZack Polanski requested that the Greens’ ruling executive committee postpone the party’s imminent annual conference so they could focus on the Holborn and St Pancras byelection but was refused.While party officials say the formal request came from staffers worried about diluting resources by staging a conference a week before Polanski tries to win Keir Starmer’s former Commons seat, the Guardian understands the party leader wanted this to happen. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Survivor recounts panic and struggle to breathe in Nigerian prison cell where 37 died 18. September 2026 (17:49) Police fire teargas as protests break out in the city of Minna after the deaths of the suspected illegal goldminersA survivor from a prison cell in Nigeria where 37 suspected illegal goldminers died while in the custody of a paramilitary group has recounted his panic and struggle for breath, as police fired teargas at people protesting against the deaths earlier this week.Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) – a paramilitary group that works with police – initially blamed the deaths in Minna, the state capital of mineral-rich Niger state, on a disease outbreak. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Lone holdout juror in Lindsay Clancy murder trial speaks out 18. September 2026 (17:48) Michael P Desronvil was sole juror to vote guilty, resulting in deadlocked jury and judge declaring a mistrialRon DeSantis offers ‘asylum’ to holdout juror in Lindsay Clancy trialThe lone holdout juror in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial is speaking out, saying that he “didn’t have any doubts” during the jury’s deliberations of the case which ended in a mistrial.“I didn’t have any doubts. As I tried to explain different possible theories during deliberation, I kept getting cut off as if I had doubts based on the evidence present,” the 48-year-old male juror, Michael P Desronvil, said in a statement to NewsNation on Thursday. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Stephanie Cole, Coronation Street and Open All Hours actor, dies aged 84 18. September 2026 (17:45) Cole, described as an ‘extraordinary talent’, also appeared in Waiting for God, Tenko and had an extensive theatre careerThe actor Stephanie Cole, best known for roles in Coronation Street, Waiting for God and Open All Hours, has died aged 84.She also appeared in the prisoner-of-war drama Tenko, A Bit of a Do and Doc Martin. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Flight chaos for hundreds of thousands was caused in ‘millisecond’ by software error 18. September 2026 (17:45) Error first occurred at 10am but major incident was not declared until 12.30pm, says reportBusiness live – latest updatesA software defect in part of the UK’s air traffic control system corrupted flight data “in the space of a millisecond”, leading to a six-hour outage and mass airline cancellations and delays across the UK last week, National Air Traffic Services has said.But ministers said the Nats report into the incident still left questions unanswered, saying they needed “to urgently understand why this issue was not discovered and fixed before it caused chaos”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
