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From 'sand theft auto' to space BABIES: The global innovations and trends set to shape 2026
Trump's ominous warning to Colombia as acting Venezuelan president issues message to world calling for'peace and dialogue, not war' Trump plans a military'quarantine' of Venezuela's oil to strong-arm Maduro's successor I got a GLP-1 drug with few questions asked... and never meeting a doctor face-to-face. But could that convenience have put my health at risk? Addicted, arrested and dead in a hotel corridor...Victoria Jones is the latest child of a famous parent to tragically spiral. So why ARE so many children of the rich and famous cursed? Marco Rubio'runs laps' around CBS reporter who asked why US commandos didn't nab Maduro associates in daring night time raid Prince Harry'desperately wants King Charles to come to Montecito and see Archie and Lilibet' Travis Kelce finally addresses possible retirement as Chiefs lose to NFL's worst team in what could be humiliating end to his iconic career State of Jennifer Garner and Jennifer Lopez's relationship revealed by insiders... as parents gossip about'less sociable' star at school play NASA's'queen of diamonds' EXPOSED: Genius is accused of treachery over top secret mission... as chilling details emerge Michael B. Jordan's unimpressed face sends fans wild as Timothee Chalamet cries on stage over Kylie Jenner North West, 12, sparks face piercing speculation after backlash over'risky' body modification'Out-of-touch' Gayle King slammed for complaining that her upper class seat doesn't have a window on her eight-hour flight'back to work' from Hawaii American family of seven stranded after Venezuela raids say they're trapped in a living hell... while oblivious influencers BOAST about getting stuck Ten people who spread false claims France's First Lady Brigitte Macron was born a man are found guilty of cyberbullying in Paris EXPOSED: The Air Force vet who let China steal America's nuclear secrets... and KEPT his $200K tax-funded salary From'sand theft auto' to space BABIES: The global innovations and trends set to shape 2026 From the rise of the humanoid robot to the weird world of AI girlfriends, 2025 had no shortage of strange and transformative inventions. Now, experts from the Nesta research foundation have revealed the global innovations and trends set to shape the world in 2026.
The best new science fiction books of January 2026
Big hitter Peter F. Hamilton has a new sci-fi novel out this month - and Booker winner George Saunders ventures into speculative fiction with his latest book, Vigil Is it an asteroid or an alien in Van Jensen's Godfall? Welcome to January, a month when many of us are keen to escape from the world into the pages of a book. Thankfully, science fiction is here to help, whether that's with a story set on a generation ship where things aren't as they seem, courtesy of Peter F. Hamilton, or journeying to an alternate version of this world where the Roman Empire is still in charge, in Solitaire Townsend's . Add to the mix a time-loop murder, a UFO romance and some eco-horror, and there's plenty of choice for sci-fi fans this month. A generation ship is in search of a new home in Peter F. Hamilton's latest sci-fi novel Big hitter Peter F. Hamilton sets his latest outing on a generation ship in search of a new world, where people are only allowed to live for 65 years so they don't deplete the ship's resources. When a teenager Hazel's brother has an accident that means he is no longer productive, he is set to be killed off.
Flu Is Relentless. Crispr Might Be Able to Shut It Down
Innovative research into the gene-editing tool targets influenza's ability to replicate--stopping it in its tracks. As he addressed an audience of virologists from China, Australia, and Singapore at October's Pandemic Research Alliance Symposium, Wei Zhao introduced an eye-catching idea. The gene-editing technology Crispr is best known for delivering groundbreaking new therapies for rare diseases, tweaking or knocking out rogue genes in conditions ranging from sickle cell disease to hemophilia . But Zhao and his colleagues at Melbourne's Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity have envisioned a new application. They believe Crispr could be tailored to create a next-generation treatment for influenza, whether that's the seasonal strains which plague both the northern and southern hemispheres on an annual basis, or the worrisome new variants in birds and other wildlife that might trigger the next pandemic.
US action in Venezuela not legal, senior Labour MP says
The US military action in Venezuela breaches international law and the UK should make clear it is unacceptable, the chair of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee has said. Dame Emily Thornberry is the most senior Labour MP so far to criticise Donald Trump's strikes on the country over the weekend, which saw President Nicolas Maduro and his wife captured. The UK government has so far refused to say whether the move was illegal, insisting it is for the Americans to lay out the legal basis for the action. But the US president's actions have been criticised by some Labour MPs, as well as the leaders of the Lib Dems, Greens and the SNP. Dame Emily told BBC Radio 4's Westminster Hour the strikes were not a legal action and she cannot think of anything that could be a proper justification.
I'm watching myself on YouTube saying things I would never say. This is the deepfake menace we must confront Yanis Varoufakis
I'm watching myself on YouTube saying things I would never say. These inventions trigger rage, but also optimism. I t was my blue shirt, a present from my sister-in-law, that gave it all away. It made me think of Yakov Petrovich Golyadkin, the lowly bureaucrat in Fyodor Dostoevsky's novella The Double, a disconcerting study of the fragmented self within a vast, impersonal feudal system. It all started with a message from an esteemed colleague congratulating me on a video talk on some geopolitical theme.
Causality-Inspired Safe Residual Correction for Multivariate Time Series
Xie, Jianxiang, Hua, Yuncheng, Cheng, Mingyue, Salim, Flora, Xue, Hao
While modern multivariate forecasters such as Transformers and GNNs achieve strong benchmark performance, they often suffer from systematic errors at specific variables or horizons and, critically, lack guarantees against performance degradation in deployment. Existing post-hoc residual correction methods attempt to fix these errors, but are inherently greedy: although they may improve average accuracy, they can also "help in the wrong way" by overcorrecting reliable predictions and causing local failures in unseen scenarios. To address this critical "safety gap," we propose CRC (Causality-inspired Safe Residual Correction), a plug-and-play framework explicitly designed to ensure non-degradation. CRC follows a divide-and-conquer philosophy: it employs a causality-inspired encoder to expose direction-aware structure by decoupling self- and cross-variable dynamics, and a hybrid corrector to model residual errors. Crucially, the correction process is governed by a strict four-fold safety mechanism that prevents harmful updates. Experiments across multiple datasets and forecasting backbones show that CRC consistently improves accuracy, while an in-depth ablation study confirms that its core safety mechanisms ensure exceptionally high non-degradation rates (NDR), making CRC a correction framework suited for safe and reliable deployment.
World 'may not have time' to prepare for AI safety risks, says leading researcher
Dalrymple said there was a gap in understanding between public sector and AI companies about the power of looming breakthroughs in the technology. Dalrymple said there was a gap in understanding between public sector and AI companies about the power of looming breakthroughs in the technology. World'may not have time' to prepare for AI safety risks, says leading researcher The world "may not have time" to prepare for the safety risks posed by cutting-edge AI systems, according to a leading figure at the UK government's scientific research agency. David Dalrymple, a programme director and AI safety expert at the Aria agency, told the Guardian people should be concerned about the growing capability of the technology. "I think we should be concerned about systems that can perform all of the functions that humans perform to get things done in the world, but better," he said.
The cost of AI slop could cause a rethink that shakes the global economy in 2026
The vast datacentres required are so expensive that many are financed by debt secured against future revenue. The vast datacentres required are so expensive that many are financed by debt secured against future revenue. Sun 4 Jan 2026 07.18 ESTLast modified on Sun 4 Jan 2026 08.47 EST The US dictionary Merriam-Websterâ s word of the year for 2025 was â slopâ, which it defines as â digital content of low quality that is produced, usually in quantity, by means of artificial intelligenceâ . The choice underlined the fact that while AI is being widely embraced, not least by corporate bosses keen to cut payroll costs, its downsides are also becoming obvious. In 2026, a reckoning with reality for AI represents a growing economic risk.
Singletons rejoice! Today is the busiest day of the YEAR for dating apps - here's the best time to go online
Why Maduro dated wife for TWENTY years before marrying in secret... as shamed first lady's incestuous party links laid bare Maduro's brazen gestures to onlookers as he arrives at rat-infested'hell hole' prison in Brooklyn Brutal Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro dramatically'seized by US as he tried to flee to panic room' Inside the CIA's astonishing coup of Caracas: SETH HARP reveals the planning... the traitor... and how it's about to blow up in American faces Thousands trapped in paradise INDEFINITELY as Trump's Maduro arrest halts all flights to and from 19 Caribbean islands Eagle eyed viewers spot odd detail in background of Trump's Mar-a-Lago war room during Maduro strike in Venezuela Inside the glamorous Dubai life of Daniel Kinahan, head of the notorious crime family and Europe's top cocaine kingpin... as GUY ADAMS reveals how net is finally closing in on the gangster after golden decade in the Middle East Explosive warning from America's house price Nostradamus: New forecast tracking over 300 markets reveals'rare' shift... the boomtowns set to sink... and surprising winners I thought I'd found the perfect boyfriend. Then I discovered what he really wanted... Emergency exit was'always locked', bartender claims amid probe into deadly Swiss ski resort inferno I'm 38 and hotter than ever after finally silencing food noise with my simple new method... you don't need drugs or diets Female college football fan labeled a Karen for furious reaction to rival in the stands... but was she right all along? Meghan McCain, 41, joyously announces birth of third child and reveals baby's unconventional name Snitch reveals the TRUTH about Tom Brady and Alix Earle... after handsy video leaked out of St Barts NFL fans go crazy as Buccaneers player Elijah Roberts' mom crushes national anthem before huge Panthers game Taylor Swift's wedding dress at BFF Este Haim's nuptials has fans spotting secret Easter Egg Today is the busiest day of the YEAR for dating apps - here's the best time to go online If you're hoping to find love in 2026, today could be a good day to get started. January 4 is the busiest day of the year for dating app activity, with the highest number of messages and likes sent. This is largely driven by New Year's resolutions and a desire for fresh starts, leading to huge spikes in users swiping, matching and messaging.