Author: staff
Published on 16/09/2026 – 8:15 GMT+2•Updated 8:16 Global telecoms industry body GSMA is calling for urgent action to make smartphones more affordable for people living in low- and middle-income countries so that everyone can “benefit from the AI revolution”. The call to action comes as the organisation launches its State of Mobile Internet Connectivity Report 2026, an annual study of global mobile connectivity. The report found that while 4.8 billion people now use mobile internet on their own device, 3.4 billion do not, despite 90% of them living within mobile broadband coverage. GSMA refers to this as the “usage gap”.…
By Tokunbo Salako with AP Published on 16/09/2026 – 9:07 GMT+2 The US tour of British pop singer Ed Sheeran has been thrown into jeopardy after all support acts quit in response to the rapper Macklemore being dropped from the line-up for making pro-Palestinian comments on stage. The move came hours after Sheeran took to social media to explain his views about Macklemore’s ouster, attributing the decision to the tour’s promoters, Messina Touring Group. “Macklemore coming off tour was the promoter’s decision, it was not mine,” Sheeran wrote on Instagram on Tuesday. “I would never let down the fans who had made plans,…
Sam Coates and Anne McElvoy look at how political communication has changed – from Keir Starmer’s government paying influencers to promote its message, to Andy Burnham putting himself front and centre of the social media operation. Sam has a scoop on how much it all costs. Elsewhere, former Number 10 chief of staff Morgan McSweeny is launching a new thinktank designed to shape Downing Street thinking, but with less scrutiny. Plus, with energy bills forecast to rocket to near £450 in January, how worried is the government, and what can it do to help families?
Published on 16/09/2026 – 9:41 GMT+2 The EU will support industry efforts to slow the development of more disruptive AI technologies and will collaborate with partners such as Canada and the UK on AI safety, the Commission chief said on Wednesday. In her annual State of the Union address to the European Parliament, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hailed AI’s potential to benefit humanity, provided its risks and opportunities are properly balanced. She singled out the growing risks posed by so-called frontier AI models, those pushing the boundaries of the technology. “As the frontier models become more capable,…
Yemen has seen a new wave of displacement as fighting between Houthi rebels and Saudi‑backed forces intensifies, forcing families from their homes in Taiz province. On Tuesday, 15 September, displaced people arrived at makeshift camps with few belongings, while others built shelters from wooden branches and plastic sacks. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said at least 125,000 people had been newly displaced across Yemen since the start of September, including tens of thousands in Taiz alone. The renewed fighting has ended a ceasefire that had largely halted the civil war since 2022. The World Health…
By Maja Kunert Published on 16/09/2026 – 8:19 GMT+2 Since this week, a lorry without a cab and without a driver has been on the road in public traffic in Edermünde in the German state of Hesse, near Kassel. Lidl says it is the first food retailer in Germany to deploy a cabless electric HGV with autonomous driving capability in live operations. Its partner is Swedish technology company Einride. What the lorry can do The vehicle operates at SAE Level 4, the second-highest of six automation levels (0 to 5). Under the definition used by the German Federal Motor Transport Authority,…
Spain is on course to welcome 100 million international visitors this year, but amid concerns over mass tourism, the country is rethinking how it manages continued growth. In a presentation at Arabian Travel Market in Dubai, Carlos Ruiz González, director of the Spanish Tourist Office for the Gulf region at Turespaña, outlined how Spain’s Tourism 2030 plan will put people and sustainability at the centre of its next phase of growth – with residents and lesser-visited destinations a key focus. Developed in consultation with more than 200 tourism experts, businesses, government bodies and other organisations, the plan recognises that destinations…
It’s a clash that two senior figures in Reform, both granted anonymity to discuss plans in the making, signaled to POLITICO they are well up for having. Farage has been dogged for months by allegations of undeclared donations, and more recently lost two top aides who were caught in an undercover cash sting. A skirmish over the record-breaking £72 million in gifts would be another opportunity to reclaim Reform’s underdog positioning. “These are legal donations, the proposed law doesn’t affect them, and we will carry on spending our legal donations,” one of the senior Reform figures told POLITICO. Nigel Farage…
There is a saying in Brussels: in a legislative term, you spend the first year thinking about what you want to do, the second year announcing it, and the third to fifth years actually doing it. By that logic, this is von der Leyen’s last real window to unveil big initiatives she might still see through before she leaves office. So, what made the cut, and what won’t? Let’s dive in. Three tipping points are shaping von der Leyen’s speech: climate change turning from forecast to lived reality after devastating wildfires and heatwaves, AI technology moving faster than anticipated, and…
The US is planning to deliver a package of 40,000 powerful bombs to Israel as part of an upcoming arms deal. The $2.8 billion (€2.42 billion) deal includes 2,000-pound (900 kg) Mk84 and BLU-117 aircraft bombs, according to two US officials and a person familiar with the plan who spoke on condition of anonymity. The same weapons prompted concerns about the possibility of mass casualties in Gaza, and their delivery was put on hold by the the Biden administration two years ago. Trump lifted that hold when he took office again. Congress has been informally notified about the pending deal,…