China will soon have a new Five Year Plan. Here's how they have changed the world so far China's top leaders are gathering in Beijing this week to decide on the country's key goals and aspirations for the rest of the decade. Every year or so, the country's highest political body, the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, convenes for a week of meetings, also known as a Plenum. What it decides at this one will eventually form the basis of China's next Five Year Plan - the blueprint that the world's second largest economy will follow between 2026 and 2030. The full plan won't come until next year, but officials are likely to hint at its contents on Wednesday and have previously given more details within a week of that.

There is an eerie emptiness at the seat of US economic power. The US Treasury is in shutdown like much of the federal government. Most staff are furloughed as the world's finance ministers and bankers jet in for the International Monetary Fund annual meetings a few blocks away, their delayed flights handled by a small number of unpaid air traffic controllers. There is, however, one clear message the Trump administration is notably keen to get out, not so much for its domestic audience but for the bewildered world outside. And they delivered it in the middle of last week to a small number of people ushered into the Treasury and what is said to be the finest room in Washington DC, the ornate and marbled Cash Room, which hosted the inaugural reception for post-civil war president, Ulysses Grant.

Game Theory Afghan Women's Team: The Fight to Play For the first time since the Taliban regained power in 2021, Afghanistan's women's football team will compete in an official tournament, albeit under a different name. U-20 World Cup Who would you play for?

Grand Theft Auto made him a legend. In July this year workers at Build a Rocket Boy, a video game studio in Edinburgh, were called to an all-staff meeting. Their first ever game, a sci-fi adventure called MindsEye, had been released three weeks earlier - and it had been a total disaster. Critics and players called it broken, buggy, and the worst game of 2025. Addressing staff via video link, the company's boss, Leslie Benzies, assured them there was a plan to get things back on track and said the negativity they'd seen was uncalled for.

President Trump says U.S. strike on fentanyl-carrying submarine prevented 25,000 American overdose deaths, with survivors from Ecuador and Colombia captured.

Since 2004, the number of American adults who've enjoyed a daily cup of joe has increased 37 percent. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. Whether you're an early bird or a night owl, coffee is probably part of your daily routine. Since 2004, the number of American adults who've enjoyed a daily cup of java has jumped up 37 percent, the highest level in more than 20 years, according to the National Coffee Association . But coffee is hardly a new invention.

A Tory MP says he has reported a deepfake video depicting him announcing he had joined Reform UK to the police. George Freeman said he remained the Conservative MP for Mid Norfolk and have no intention of joining Reform or any other party, denouncing the video circulating on social media as an AI-generated deepfake. Freeman said he reported the video to the authorities. Norfolk Police and Facebook have been approached for comment. This sort of political disinformation has the potential to seriously distort, disrupt and corrupt our democracy, he added.

Robotaxis could start operating in regulated public trials as early as spring 2026 - but the rules are yet to be fully established, and testing may include a safety driver for some time. Robotaxis could start operating in regulated public trials as early as spring 2026 - but the rules are yet to be fully established, and testing may include a safety driver for some time. The age-old question from the back of the car feels just as pertinent as a new era of autonomy threatens to dawn: are we nearly there yet? For Britons, long-promised fully driverless cars, the answer is as ever - yes, nearly. A landmark moment on the journey to autonomous driving is, again, just around the corner.

The precarious work of training AI, which generally pays just a few dollars, has sparked a movement for better wages and conditions globally. Paris - For a generative artificial intelligence system to learn how to write an autopsy report, human workers must sort and annotate thousands of crime scene images. The precarious work of training AI, which generally pays just a few dollars, has sparked a movement for better wages and conditions stretching from Kenya to Colombia. You have to spend your whole day looking at dead bodies and crime scenes. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.

A weapons smuggler, who used a fishing boat to ship ballistic missile parts from Iran to Houthi rebels in Yemen, has been sentenced to 40 years in a US prison. Pakistani national Muhammad Pahlawan was detained during a US military operation in the Arabian Sea in January 2024 - during which two US Navy Seals drowned. Pahlawan's crew would later testify they had been duped into taking part, having believed they were working as fishermen. The Houthis were launching sustained missile and drone attacks on Israel at the time, as well as targeting international commercial shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, saying they were acting in support of the Palestinians in Gaza. Iran has consistently denied arming the Houthis.