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).

Apple Intelligence will soon be making its way to supported iPhone models in China, as the country reportedly rubber stamps the use of Alibaba AI models to power the technology. As reported by the South China Morning Post, which is owned by the Alibaba Group, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has given regulatory approval for Tongyi Qianwen, the group of LLMs better known as Qwen, as well as the Tongyi Wanxiang AI-generated image and video tool. Apple had already received clearance to roll out Apple Intelligence on the Chinese mainland back in July, but the South China Morning Post's report says it has not yet done so. The updated filings include network access permits for the iPhone Duo and 18 Pro, with the former set to launch in China next week with the new and improved Siri AI as one of its flagship software features. Much of Apple Intelligence's feature set is already available in Hong Kong, but the mainland's complex AI and privacy laws have required Apple to be patient about bringing what is now a core feature to one of its fastest-growing markets.

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?

Is the war entering a new phase? Until US President Donald Trump reversed the thrust of his sanctions policy of Russian oil on Friday, Ukraine's Western allies had been ramping up the use of international law. Countries sanctioning Russian oil have for the first time enforced boarding and inspection rights under the Law of the Sea this year, experts told Al Jazeera. Some Russian officials believe worse is to come. "Western countries are trying to organise the interception of our vessels. London and Brussels are drawing up plans to blockade the Baltic Sea and the straits leading into it. Other key shipping routes are also under threat," Russian Maritime Board chairman Nikolai Patrushev told officials during a visit to China on October 12.

Russell Brand was a'sexual predator', says prosecution as rape trial begins To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Russell Brand was described as ruthless and a sexual predator by the prosecution at the start of his trial for rape and sexual assault on Wednesday. The 51-year-old actor and comedian faces three counts of rape, three charges of sexual assault and one of indecent assault. The allegations, made by six female complainants, span a 10-year period between 1999 and 2009. Riel Karmy-Jones KC, for the prosecution, told Southwark Crown Court in London the women did not know each other, have never met each other and came forward independently of each other.

As AI development rapidly expands, people are replicating paid-for desktop and mobile apps with free apps, potentially changing the future of legacy software. Last week, a Reddit user named Brandon Thomas shared a project called "ArtCraft" - essentially a free rebuild of the Adobe Creative Suite, which includes programmes such as Photoshop and Adobe PDF. The recreated services have been named PhotoCraft and PdfCraft. Earlier this week, ArtCraft also released copies of the Microsoft Office suite. As with the Adobe package, ArtCraft has announced WordCraft, DeckCraft, and GridCraft, taking on Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.

A Saudi employee of OpenAI, Abdulrahman Alfozan, faces up to five years in prison over allegations he planted a hidden recording device to capture sensitive company conversations. Here is what we know. Do any of these Israeli candidates support a Palestinian state? Trump plans for'massive' resource exploration in Greenland

A civil servant is accused of earning almost £350,000 by juggling five full-time public sector roles - using sick notes and working from home to cope with the workload. Kashim Chowdhury allegedly held multiple government jobs between February 2020 and September 2023, earning £350,000 overall. The jury at Southwark Crown Court has been told he wore white make-up during a video call with his boss to try to look ill, but the make-up began peeling off his skin. Chowdury, a 55-year-old from east London, is on trial accused of nine counts of fraud, which he denies. He denies acting dishonestly or intending to make a dishonest gain. The jury was told that Chowdhury got jobs by making ''false representations'' about his employment status whilst applying.