Africa
Heathrow, NatWest and Minecraft sites down amid global Microsoft outage
Heathrow, NatWest and Minecraft are among some of the sites and services experiencing problems amid a global Microsoft outage. Outage tracker Downdetector showed thousands of reports of issues with a number of websites globally on Wednesday. Microsoft said some users of Microsoft 365, which includes Outlook and Teams, might see delays. The company's Azure cloud computing platform, which underpins large parts of the internet, reported a degradation of some services at 1600 GMT. It said this was due to DNS issues - the same root cause of the huge Amazon Web Services (AWS) outage last week.
Chipmaker Nvidia hits 5 trillion valuation
Is the US eyeing its next Latin American target? Why is Trump tearing down parts of the White House? Nvidia has become the first company to reach $5 trillion in market value amid a global artificial intelligence arms race. The chipmaker surge on Wednesday came only three months after the company topped the $4 trillion mark . Since the launch of ChatGPT in 2022, Nvidia's shares have climbed 12-fold as the AI frenzy propelled the S&P 500 to record highs, igniting a debate on whether frothy tech valuations could lead to the next big bubble.
Nvidia hits new milestone as world's first 5tn company
Nvidia has hit a new milestone, becoming the first company in the world to reach a market value of $5tn (£3.8tn). The US chip-maker has rapidly climbed from a niche graphics-chip manufacturer to an AI titan, as euphoria about the potential of artificial intelligence keeps driving demand for its chips and propelling its stock to record highs. The company reached a market value of $1tn for the first time in June 2023 and hit the $4tn valuation mark just three months ago . Shares in the chip-maker rose as much as 5.6% to more than $212 on Wednesday morning, boosted by investor optimism about Nvidia's sales in China, which has been a geopolitical flashpoint. The world's most valuable company - the biggest winner in the AI spending spree - has soared past its rivals in the technology sector.
The secret ingredient in a snake antivenom? Llamas.
Their antibodies may combat venom from some of the world's deadliest species. There are over 300,000 venomous snakebites reported in sub-Saharan Africa every year. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. Most of today's snakebite antivenoms are far from perfect. Typically manufactured from animal blood plasma, the antidotes often remain expensive, inconsistent, and difficult to scale across multiple snake species .
Russia strikes children's hospital in Ukraine as Kyiv hits energy sites
Is Trump losing patience with Putin? Will sanctions against Russian oil giants hurt Putin? How much of Europe's oil still comes from Russia? Russia strikes children's hospital in Ukraine as Kyiv hits energy sites A Russian strike on a children's hospital in southern Ukraine has wounded at least nine people, authorities have said, shortly after Kyiv targeted Russian energy sites with drones. Four children were injured in Russia's strike on the medical facility in Kherson on Wednesday, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described as a "deliberate" attack that shows Moscow does not want peace.
AIhub monthly digest: October 2025 – energy supply challenges, wearable sensors, and atomic-scale simulations
Welcome to our monthly digest, where you can catch up with any AIhub stories you may have missed, peruse the latest news, recap recent events, and more. This month, we attend AIES and ECAI, learn about policy design for two-sided platforms, discover how to balance speed and physical laws in atomic-scale simulations, and find out more about machine learning for chip design. October has been a busy month on the conference front. Over in Madrid, researchers gathered for the conference on Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, and Society (AIES) . The event featured two keynote talks, panel discussions and poster sessions.
Character.ai to ban teens from talking to its AI chatbots
Character.ai to ban teens from talking to its AI chatbots The platform, founded in 2021, is used by millions to talk to chatbots powered by artificial intelligence (AI). But it is facing several lawsuits in the US from parents, including one over the death of a teenager, with some branding it a clear and present danger to young people. Online safety campaigners have welcomed the move but said the feature should never have been available to children in the first place. Character.ai said it was making the changes after reports and feedback from regulators, safety experts, and parents, which have highlighted concerns about its chatbots' interactions with teens. Experts have previously warned the potential for AI chatbots to make things up, be overly-encouraging, and feign empathy can pose risks to young and vulnerable people.
What WILL lead to humanity's demise? As Bill Gates says it won't be climate change, experts reveal the bleak reality of our extinction
Thousands of tourists warned they'll be'stranded for weeks' in the Caribbean as monster Hurricane Melissa carves path of destruction German activist dubbed'anti-Greta' seeks asylum in US with support of Elon Musk It's an extraordinary power grab that will leave Harry and Meghan quaking... but Diana predicted it all along: MAUREEN CALLAHAN Zohran Mamdani's deep family ties to George Soros revealed: TOM LEONARD unravels years-long web of finances and scheming that leads (wouldn't you guess it!) to Obama Netanyahu orders'powerful strikes in Gaza' and'kills nine' after accusing Hamas of violating ceasefire terms following'faked' return of hostage remains Taylor Swift is HIDING: Insiders spill on secretive behavior at NFL games... and why she's adamant about new life in the shadows Baseball fans go wild for the'most beautiful woman on the planet' singing national anthem at the World Series Sydney Sweeney sparks liberal meltdown with shock appearance on Fox's World Series coverage ...
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,343
Is Trump losing patience with Putin? Will sanctions against Russian oil giants hurt Putin? How much of Europe's oil still comes from Russia? Russia launched 396 attacks on 15 settlements in Ukraine's southern Zaporizhia region, killing one person and injuring three others, Governor Ivan Fedorov said on Tuesday. Russian forces also launched drone attacks, air strikes and artillery shelling across Ukraine's Kherson region, killing one person and wounding six, the head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration, Oleksandr Prokudin, said on Tuesday.
The AI job cuts are here - or are they?
The AI job cuts are here - or are they? Amazon's move this week to slash thousands of corporate jobs fed into a longstanding anxiety: that Artificial Intelligence is starting to replace workers. The tech giant joined a growing list of companies in the US that have pointed to AI technology as a reason behind layoffs. But some question whether AI is fully to blame - and have voiced scepticism that recent high-profile layoffs are a telling sign of the technology's effect on employment. Chegg, the online education firm, cited the new realities of AI as it announced a 45% reduction in workforce on Monday.