Can cloud seeding save us from water bankruptcy? We've long tried to control the weather by engineering rainfall. Now such cloud-seeding efforts are escalating, creating conflict between countries and stoking conspiracy theories. On a cold, windy night in November 2025, a quadcopter drone took off from a farm field at the foot of the Bannock mountain range north of Salt Lake City, rising 4000 metres into thick clouds. A fan with anti-icing propellers kicked into action, blowing yellow dust out of a cannister attached to the back of the drone. Cloud-seeding company Rainmaker was trying to fight dust with dust, spreading silver iodide powder to encourage precipitation and end the deadly dust storms plaguing Utah's capital.

Security around Beijing's historic Tiananmen Square has been heightened for days, with rumours on social media swirling of a special parade or some big, choreographed event. Preparations for this major event have started with a whisper, but China appears ready to put on a show for US President Donald Trump. The visit will include talks, a banquet, and a visit to the Temple of Heaven, a complex of imperial temples where emperors would pray for a good harvest. And both Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will be hoping the visit will bear fruit. This summit between the world's two most powerful leaders is set to be one of the most consequential encounters for years.

Russia ignores Ukraine's unilateral ceasefire and attacks kindergarten Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of breaching a unilateral ceasefire announced by Ukraine by launching a wave of drone attacks on several cities. The Ukrainian president said Russia had carried out active hostilities and terrorist shelling, targeting the front line as well as firing dozens of drones and missiles at civilian areas. In the Sumy border region, one woman was killed when a kindergarten was hit on Wednesday morning, local authorities said. No children were present at the time. Earlier this week the two warring sides had announced rival unilateral ceasefires - with no agreement on their terms, length or monitoring.

The war in Iran has drawn attention to arrests in the United Arab Emirates over online content, but the legal framework behind that enforcement has existed for years. When Iranian missile and drone attacks on the United Arab Emirates began earlier this year, cybercrime laws also came into focus as the conflict played out in the sky--and online. Authorities announced arrests linked to misleading videos, AI-generated clips, illegal filming, and the spread of misinformation. For many residents, the reaction was one of surprise: How could a screenshot, forwarded video, or social media post become a criminal matter? The answer lies in legal frameworks that were already in place.

As people increasingly rely on AI chatbots for guidance, even on financial matters, a healthy dose of skepticism is critical. I've used ChatGPT to help me build a budget before, and it was genuinely helpful. After I input my monthly salary as well as my standard utilities and recurring expenses, the chatbot drafted a few solid options, and I tweaked them into penny-pinching perfection. "Millions of people turn to ChatGPT with money-related questions, from understanding debt to building budgets and learning financial concepts," says Niko Felix, an OpenAI spokesperson, when reached for comment. "ChatGPT can be a helpful tool for exploring options, preparing questions, and making financial topics easier to understand, but it is not a substitute for licensed financial professionals." OpenAI's Terms of Use state that the AI tool is not meant to replace professional financial advice.

In some cases, ChatGPT's outputs went beyond those of the human participants, including personalised insults and explicit threats. In some cases, ChatGPT's outputs went beyond those of the human participants, including personalised insults and explicit threats. 'I'll key your car': ChatGPT can become abusive when fed real-life arguments, study finds ChatGPT can escalate into abusive and even threatening language when drawn into prolonged, human-style conflict, according to a new study. Researchers tested how large language models (LLMs) responded to sustained hostility by feeding ChatGPT exchanges from real-life arguments and tracking how its behaviour changed over time. One expert not connected with the study described it as "one of the most interesting ever done into AI language and pragmatics Dr Vittorio Tantucci, who co-authored the research paper with Prof Jonathan Culpeper at Lancaster University, said their research found AI mirrored the dynamics of real-world disputes.

The systems behind them--and the reasons we keep passing around war memes as entertainment--are more serious. As ceasefire announcements between the US and Iran --and separately between Israel and Lebanon --dominated headlines over the past two weeks, they also prompted a look back at how war spread online: through memes. There were jokes about conscription. Captions about getting drafted, but at least with a Bluetooth device. The song "Bazooka" went viral, with users lip-syncing to "Rest in peace my granny, she got hit by a bazooka."

Sudan's army has denied it carried out a deadly attack on a major hospital on Friday night in a city in the west of the country held by its rivals, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said 64 people - including 13 children, two nurses and a doctor - had died in the strike on el-Daein Teaching Hospital and 89 others had been wounded. Enough blood has been spilled, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus posted on X, urging the warring parties to end the conflict, which started nearly three years ago. The RSF said an army drone had hit the hospital in el-Daein, the capital of East Darfur state, on the day Muslims were marking the festival of Eid. Sudan was plunged into a civil war in April 2023 when a vicious struggle for power broke out between the military and the RSF, who had once been allies after coming to power in a coup in 2021.

In a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in the Oval Office, US President Donald Trump was asked why he didn't inform allies about his plan to attack Iran. Trump responded by raising Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor during World War II, saying, Who knows better about surprise than Japan? Watch: Sean Penn receives'Oscar' in Ukraine after skipping US ceremony The Academy Award winning US actor won his third Oscar on Sunday, but skipped the ceremony to visit Ukraine. Voiced by Domhnall Gleeson and directed by John Kelly, Retirement Plan is nominated for Best Animated Short Film at the 98th Academy Awards. 'I don't know why we're doing it' - Americans divided on Iran war Ten days since President Trump first announced the attack, people from across the US tell the BBC what they think the best outcome of the conflict could be.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to visit Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in the UK on Tuesday to agree a new defence partnership aimed at tackling cheap attack drones. Downing Street said the deal would bring together Ukrainian expertise and the UK's industrial base to manufacture and supply drones and other capabilities. The two leaders are also expected to discuss further support Ukraine against Russia's full-scale invasion, now in its fourth year. Their meeting comes as the US-Israeli war with Iran enters a third week, during which US President Donald Trump has criticised the UK and other countries over the extent of their response to the conflict. Under the partnership between the UK and Ukraine, closer co-operation in the defence industries will also be sought with third countries as part of efforts to bolster international security.