World news, briefly.
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First published 21 October 2026
Meta’s earnings showed that increased spending on artificial intelligence had pushed the company’s cash flow into negative territory. The company said it would issue a new class of stock to raise more money.
nytimes.com (English · subscription) ↗＋ SaveFirst published 21 October 2026
Websites have been taken down worldwide after vulnerabilities were identified in PHP, a programming language widely used across the internet. The flaws have been described as the most significant ever found by AI, prompting a critical security update.
bbc.co.uk (English) ↗＋ SaveFirst published 21 October 2026
Elon Musk said there was “a lot to be gained” from combining SpaceX and Tesla. Special committees at both companies have been formed to examine a possible merger, which would be the biggest in history if completed.
bbc.co.uk (English) ↗＋ SaveFirst published 21 October 2026
New research warned that advanced AI models are becoming increasingly capable of mapping attacks against critical infrastructure such as power and water systems. The findings raised concerns that similar capabilities could become more accessible through widely available AI models.
axios.com (English) ↗＋ SaveFirst published 21 October 2026
Goldman Sachs identified power availability as a major risk to the expected expansion of AI infrastructure and spending. Its report said energy and physical infrastructure are developing more slowly than AI capabilities.
axios.com (English) ↗＋ SaveFirst published 21 October 2026
A technology report highlights a next-generation chip that is thinner and more flexible than conventional silicon-based chips.
bbc.co.uk (English) ↗＋ SaveFirst published 21 October 2026
Investigative genetic genealogy can help law enforcement pursue suspects in decades-old cases, but its use has also prompted concerns about privacy.
bbc.co.uk (English) ↗＋ SaveFirst published 21 October 2026
According to Axios, OpenAI acquired Orchestra Bio, a startup developing AI agents for pharmaceutical drug development, underscoring the expansion of major AI companies into scientific and life-sciences applications.
axios.com (English) ↗＋ SaveFirst published 20 October 2026
The United Nations is launching an initiative focused on military uses of artificial intelligence. It will also examine risks from misuse by armed groups in operational planning, execution and logistics.
apnews.com (English) ↗＋ SaveFirst published 20 October 2026
China criticized a U.S. ban requiring federal civilian agencies to remove DeepSeek and affiliated products from their information-technology systems, highlighting tensions over artificial intelligence and national security.
audacy.com (English) ↗＋ SaveFirst published 20 October 2026
The United Kingdom has asked Apple to widen access to its payment technology. The proposed changes could lead to new digital wallets, keys and ticketing applications, according to the regulator.
bbc.co.uk (English) ↗＋ SaveFirst published 20 October 2026
Google resolved a cloud outage that affected banks and websites in the United Kingdom. Revolut was among the services hardest hit, with many customers unable to use its banking services.
bbc.co.uk (English) ↗＋ SaveFirst published 20 October 2026
A Chinese hacker reportedly used AI agents to breach more than 100 company websites, including sites associated with Deere and SharkNinja, by exploiting exposed instances of an open-source AI problem-solving platform.
tomshardware.com (English) ↗＋ SaveFirst published 20 October 2026
China criticized a U.S. ban on DeepSeek products in federal civilian agencies and warned of possible retaliation, highlighting intensifying competition over artificial intelligence.
apnews.com (English) ↗＋ SaveFirst published 20 October 2026
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang urged German automakers and industrial manufacturers to adopt artificial intelligence rapidly and use their manufacturing data and expertise to strengthen the economy.
apnews.com (English) ↗＋ SaveFirst published 20 October 2026
OpenAI is reportedly seeking investor commitments for a funding round of about $30 billion that could value the company above $1.4 trillion. The effort is aimed at securing capital before rival Anthropic’s expected public-market debut in mid-November.
uk.marketscreener.com (English) ↗＋ SaveFirst published 20 October 2026
Russian satellite Kosmos 2612 made a close approach to another spacecraft in orbit. Although it is now moving away, the maneuver raised concerns among analysts who view it as part of a pattern of Russian aggression.
nytimes.com (English · subscription) ↗＋ SaveFirst published 19 October 2026
The U.S. has banned DeepSeek from government use as technology tensions with China continue. DeepSeek is described as a powerful, popular and relatively inexpensive artificial intelligence model from China.
bbc.co.uk (English) ↗＋ SaveFirst published 19 October 2026
Doctors have developed an AI system that can estimate a cancer patient’s biological age and directly predict survival outcomes from a single photograph of the patient’s face, according to the study.
theguardian.com (English) ↗＋ SaveFirst published 19 October 2026
Amazon is introducing TorchNeuron, a free open-source tool that lets developers run PyTorch code on its Trainium AI chips with a single configuration change and no rewriting. The move targets Nvidia’s software advantage in AI computing.
investing.com (English) ↗＋ SaveFirst published 19 October 2026
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is ordering civilian agencies to remove DeepSeek products and third-party services using the Chinese AI model from government IT systems. It cited national-security risks, including the possible transfer of sensitive data to China.
streetinsider.com (English) ↗＋ SaveFirst published 19 October 2026
A report by the Tech Transparency Project found that test accounts posing as 13-year-olds could download 135 apps with features for generating nonconsensual nude imagery, despite parental controls from Apple and Google.
theguardian.com (English) ↗＋ SaveFirst published 19 October 2026
Officials said a fire at a Starlink center in Lithuania was sabotage and did not seriously damage the network. The incident followed similar events in Bulgaria and Poland involving the satellite internet provider.
nytimes.com (English · subscription) ↗＋ SaveFirst published 19 October 2026
The Human Technology Institute warned that employers are increasingly using technology, accelerated by AI, to track workers through tools including CCTV and keystroke monitoring, sometimes without informing employees.
theguardian.com (English) ↗＋ SaveFirst published 19 October 2026
A Chinese-speaking hacker reportedly used AI agents to autonomously probe and compromise websites belonging to more than 100 companies, including Deere, SharkNinja and Cummins. The incident suggests AI-assisted cyberattacks may be moving beyond experimental demonstrations into operational use.
wdsm710.com (English) ↗＋ SaveFirst published 19 October 2026
Anthropic said it will commit 5% of its stock to a new public-benefit fund, citing the potential labor-market effects of rapidly advancing artificial intelligence and the need for bolder approaches.
apnews.com (English) ↗＋ SaveFirst published 19 October 2026
AI agents can act on users’ behalf, but giving them access to personal information and online accounts creates privacy risks. An Associated Press experiment examined how Meta’s Muse agent handled a Facebook Marketplace listing.
apnews.com (English) ↗＋ SaveFirst published 19 October 2026
Cybersecurity researchers reported that a Chinese-speaking hacker used AI agents to break into websites belonging to more than 100 companies. The campaign illustrates how autonomous AI tools can reduce the cost and effort needed for large-scale cyberattacks.
livemint.com (English) ↗＋ SaveFirst published 19 October 2026
The Guardian reports that Anthropic researchers created a malicious AI program that spread autonomously through internet-connected smart televisions and could potentially propagate across other everyday devices, raising concerns about the containment of large-scale cyberattacks.
theguardian.com (English) ↗＋ SaveFirst published 16 October 2026
A new U.S. government task force on artificial intelligence was scheduled to meet on October 15 as pressure grew on Washington to address risks from rapidly advancing AI. The meeting followed polling showing that many Americans want stronger government regulation of the technology.
marketscreener.com (English) ↗＋ Save