To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. First Minister John Swinney says he does not have confidence the UK is safe from potential Russian threats. The SNP leader said the UK government, which is in charge of Britain's defences, did not have a sufficient presence in vulnerable areas off Scotland's coast. He said he was very worried by security fears highlighted this week by the head of MI5, Sir Ken McCallum, who named Russia as aggressor number one. Speaking to BBC Scotland News ahead of the SNP's annual conference, Swinney also denied that independence would weaken Scotland's security.

Normal People author Sally Rooney has said her novels will no longer be supplied to booksellers in the UK as a result of her support for Palestine Action. The Irish novelist said last year she intended to carry on using her royalties to support the group, which is a proscribed terrorist organisation in the UK. In a statement to BBC News, Rooney said further publication of her work could constitute a serious criminal offence, so she had agreed with her publisher Faber not to continue supplying her books in the UK. I have made every effort to be honest with the public about my beliefs and intentions, and I am wholly prepared to accept the consequences, she said. Ebook editions have already been removed from sale in the UK, although many book shops still have existing stock of physical copies.

Sir Ken McCallum, the director general of MI5, raised concerns over the use of AI by hostile groups. Sir Ken McCallum, the director general of MI5, raised concerns over the use of AI by hostile groups. In his annual speech on threats to the nation, Sir Ken McCallum, the head of the UK's intelligence service, MI5, warned that AI had the potential to "change the stakes" on existing and even new bioweapons. Here we look at how AI might help in the development of bioweapons and the hurdles that remain. How could AI help people make bioweapons?

AI in politics: Is Albania the EU's testing ground? AI in politics: Is Albania the EU's testing ground? Albania is experimenting with artificial intelligence in politics -- from a jailed mayor communicating through an AI-generated avatar to the appointment of the world's first "AI minister". But the country's ambitious digital push has faced criticism and technical challenges. Nafisa Latić explains whether AI can truly work in government and democracy.

Burnham rules out coalition with Greens after'Zionism is racism' motion To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Figure caption, Burnham condemns Green Party's'antisemitic' Zionism declaration Andy Burnham has said he will not support his party forming a partnership with the Green Party as long as it maintains a policy of defining Zionism as a form of racism. Speaking in the House of Commons, the prime minister said the motion, backed by Green members at its party conference earlier this month, was wrong and antisemitic and Labour would have nothing to do with it. The motion said Zionism was an ideology supporting an ethnonationalist Jewish state in historic Palestine to the exclusion and/ or domination of the non-Jewish population. It was criticised by Jewish groups, as well as four Green MPs and two former leaders, one of whom said it was dangerous and divisive.

A Saudi national who worked for OpenAI appeared in court this week for allegedly planting a secret recording device behind a TV in one of the tech giant's meeting rooms. Abdulrahman Alfozan, a 35-year-old engineer, was arrested by the FBI and charged with using or attempting to use a device to intercept oral communications. As yet, it is not clear what he was planning to do with the recordings. But, here's we do know so far. The engineer asked AI to help him listen in to discussions about AI, according to an official complaint (the document filed in court).

A Singapore-flagged container ship has sunk after being struck by an unknown projectile while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, according to Singaporean authorities. All 21 crew members of GFS Pride were evacuated and no injuries were reported after the attack on Tuesday, which caused damage and a fire, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore said. Another Singapore-flagged container vessel, GFS Giselle, sustained hull damage after being hit by a projectile on Wednesday but was able to reach a safe anchorage with all 22 crew, it added. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said a ship hit naval mines and sank while passing through what they called an unauthorised route in the Strait of Hormuz. The Guards released photos that appeared to show a plume of black smoke rising from a container vessel that was still afloat but down by the stern.

Did Iran capture a US submarine? United States consumer prices jumped in September in the final inflation report before the midterm elections, increasing chances of an interest rate hike later this month. Annual inflation accelerated to 3.7 percent, up from 3.4 percent in August. On a monthly basis, prices rose by 0.6 percent, according to the Consumer Price Index report released by the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on Wednesday. Petrol prices rose 9.1 percent in September, accounting for more than half of the CPI monthly increase, according to the BLS.

United States federal agents have arrested a Saudi national and charged him with planting a hidden audio recording device in a conference room at the California offices of OpenAI, where he was working as an engineer. Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, had been working at the AI company since July 2025, the US Department of Justice said in a statement on Tuesday. Following the discovery, the company placed a camera in the room, which captured Alfozan entering last week and checking behind the television where the listening device had been installed, the FBI alleges. The case highlights growing security concerns around sensitive AI research as companies and governments compete for the best talent and technology with the potential to alter regional economic and strategic dynamics. Who is Abdulrahman Alfozan and what is he charged with?

U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia warns of long-range attacks on military installations as analysts say the Horn of Africa could erupt in a new war with regional backing.