Assad regime planned US journalist's kidnap for weeks, BBC finds US journalist Austin Tice, who disappeared in Syria in 2012, was kidnapped in a calculated operation which was more than a month in the planning, the BBC can reveal. A member of the group which detained Tice has also claimed the abduction was sanctioned by Syria's leader at the time, President Bashar al-Assad. Tice was seen getting into a car with a driver he knew and trusted. For years, many assumed they had stumbled upon a government checkpoint, and that the abduction of the journalist had been opportunistic. But we have uncovered evidence that, in fact, his disappearance was anything but chance.

A 13-year-old schoolboy has made his voice-acting debut as Thomas the Tank Engine in a new animated series. Harry Sparkes, from Harpenden, Hertfordshire, stars in Thomas & Friends: Railway Stories alongside Crazy Rich Asians actor Henry Golding, who narrates the series in a role made famous by Sir Ringo Starr. For nine months, Sparkes kept his weekly recording sessions secret from his classmates by telling them he was attending physiotherapy for a foot injury. It feels amazing, because I played and watched Thomas as a kid, and now I get to be Thomas. It just feels insane, he said.

Can AI regulation keep America ahead of China? Can AI regulation keep America ahead of China? As Washington debates how to regulate AI without falling behind China, industry experts say that governance doesn't have to mean hitting the brakes. Al Jazeera's'This is America' explores whether rules managing AI's risks can also give American companies room to innovate. Share Can AI regulation keep America ahead of China? on social media

Why it's difficult for tech companies to rein in AI OpenAI on Wednesday disclosed six new instances in which artificial intelligence systems hid mistakes, made up data and moved files onto the open internet without permission. SAN FRANCISCO - More than a dozen top artificial intelligence researchers warned over the last week that the technology that AI companies are building is becoming a risk to humanity. The problem, the researchers said, is that the companies are bad at controlling the systems -- as hard as they may try. Coming on the heels of revelations that what are called AI agents from OpenAI escaped their testing system and hacked into the computers of another company, the new alarms from inside the AI research world added urgency to yearslong fears that companies are putting development speed and money over safety. The researchers say the problem is twofold.

OpenAI revealed six more incidents of unexpected or concerning behaviour by its intelligence (AI) models, and announced a plan for tracking and disclosing such incidents in the future. Some of the previously unreported incidents included models concealing or fabricating information, the ChatGPT-maker said in a blog post on Wednesday. The boss of OpenAI Sam Altman said earlier this week: The world should trust that we are going to do the right thing because it's the right thing and we feel the magnitude of this. AI has come under intense scrutiny in recent days following warnings over the serious potential risks it poses to humans. In the blog, OpenAI detailed examples of its AI models misbehaving so they could achieve a task or succeed in a test.

Prosecutors in the UK have lodged a formal request for the extradition of brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate from the US to face charges of rape and sex trafficking. The US State Department, which received the requests last week, will review the extradition applications to make sure they comply with the existing agreement between the US and UK. But the lawyer for the brothers, who are dual US-UK citizens, accused British authorities of failing to provide the necessary supporting documents in the request. The brothers are facing a total of 59 charges in the UK, including rape and counts relating to sex trafficking and indecent images of a child. Both men deny any wrongdoing.

A Sepehran Airlines Boeing 737 returned to Mashhad, Iran, after a reported tire blowout, possible engine damage and violent cabin shaking has passengers screaming in dramatic mid-flight video.

Huawei set to unveil China's best answer to Nvidia AI chip reign People walk past the Huawei booth, where the Atlas 950 SuperPoD system is displayed, during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai on July 17. | REUTERS Huawei Technologies is set to unveil new AI technology this week in defiance of U.S. export control curbs, advancing its ambition to replace Nvidia in China and compete on the global stage. Huawei's rotating chairman Wang Tao will present its upcoming Ascend 960 AI chips, to be commercially available in 2027, at the company's annual summit in Shanghai on Thursday. Some critical details that analysts will watch out for include whether the new component will be powerful enough for training frontier AI models. 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.

UK's Burnham, Canada's Carney discuss AI risks, defence cooperation Share UK's Burnham, Canada's Carney discuss AI risks, defence cooperation on social media British Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney held their first bilateral meeting to advance cooperation on defence and artificial intelligence, capped by an evening watching a football match together at Everton's stadium in Liverpool. The British Prime Minister's Office said in a statement on Wednesday that the leaders agreed governments and the tech sector must partner to ensure online safety and counter the risks of AI. "It's a good thing that the companies developing the most advanced AI systems are now talking openly about the risks as well as the opportunities," the spokesperson for the British Prime Minister's Office said, adding that policy decisions needed to be "grounded in evidence rather than speculation" and that existing regulatory frameworks may not remain sufficient as AI capabilities advance. Neither the United Kingdom nor Canada currently has a dedicated law governing AI. Britain has taken a "pro-innovation", sector-led approach since releasing its policy paper in March 2023, empowering sectoral regulators to police AI rather than passing standalone legislation. Canada's own initiative, the Artificial Intelligence and Data Act, lapsed when parliament was prorogued in January 2025.

Lena Dunham, creator of the hit TV series Girls, has welcomed her first child with husband Luis Felber via a surrogate. The writer and actress announced the birth of her daughter in an op-ed published by Vogue on Wednesday, where she wrote she was bashful and dizzy with joy. Dunham, 40, has spoken publicly about her struggles with fertility and chronic illness, and grief around her dreams of motherhood after undergoing a hysterectomy when she was 31 years old. Of meeting her surrogate, she wrote in Vogue: While I've been known to make friends quickly - airport terminals, veterinary offices - this was the quickest leap from first coffee to gynecological procedure I'd ever done. In the op-ed, Dunham wrote about the moment she met her daughter, who she said announced herself 13 days late, in the face of a solar eclipse and a meteor shower.