OpenAI’s London staff receive average of £2.3m per person annually 14. October 2026 (21:15) Accounts for the Westminster-based company behind ChatGPT show that 110 staff shared £87m in salaries and £168m in shares last yearOpenAI’s London staff each received £2,318,181 on average last year, as the ChatGPT-maker poured Premier League football salaries into its bid to dominate the global AI race.Accounts for OpenAI UK Ltd, which is based in Westminster but is opening a new HQ in London’s King’s Cross area, showed that 110 staff shared £87m in salaries and £168m in shares in the company, which is aiming to list on the stock market at a valuation of about $1tn. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Zimbabwean author Simbarashe Kundizeza denies using AI to write prize-winning story 14. October 2026 (21:01) Article in Atlantic claims The Blue Fighter was artificially generated, days after it won Caine prize for African writersThe Zimbabwean writer Simbarashe Kundizeza has denied using AI to write a prize-winning short story after an article in the Atlantic said software had flagged it as almost completely AI-generated.Kundizeza’s story The Blue Fighter was announced as the winner of the prestigious Caine prize for African writers on 6 October. Five days later, The Atlantic published an article by the author and journalist Vauhini Vara titled: “Yet Another Literary prize winner Seems to Be AI.” Continue reading...(The Guardian)
In Ukraine, civilian casualties were already rising. Restrictions on Starlink will only worsen the death toll 14. October 2026 (20:54) Throttling of mobile internet system will affect Kyiv’s air defences more than its strikes on oil refineries. Now Zelenskyy must be hoping that US intel holdsIn Ukraine the situation was already jittery enough. Donald Trump has been inventing ceasefires and buying Russian diesel to shore up his flagging popularity, while a sinister new wave of faster, jet-powered drones are breaking through Kyiv’s stretched air defences. Casualties are rising as the weather turns.Overnight, Russia bombed three power plants that supply Kyiv, aiming to cut off heating and electricity to the city. According to the president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, for a second night in a row no warning came from Ukraine’s western allies of the incoming ballistic missiles – and so no air raid alert was issued. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
SpaceX rocket launch causes stunning ‘jellyfish cloud’ visible off US east coast 14. October 2026 (20:15) Expanding plume of fuel exhaust crystalized in the sky and reflected sunlight off frozen particles after Florida launchA SpaceX rocket provided a stunning pre-dawn display over Florida as a massive, luminescent “jellyfish cloud” spread for miles, caused by an expanding plume of fuel exhaust crystalizing in the sky and reflecting sunlight off the frozen particles.The phenomenon occurred shortly after Tuesday’s 6.33am ET launch of the Falcon 9 rocket carrying cargo to the International Space Station. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Russell Brand was ruthless, calculated and manipulative sexual predator, court told 14. October 2026 (20:01) Comedian faces three charges of rape, three of sexual assault and one of indecent assault against six womenRussell Brand was a ruthless, calculated and manipulative sexual predator who boasted about wanting to have sex with 5,000 women, a court has heard.The 51-year-old comedian is accused of having an “insatiable desire” to get what he wanted and treating women as a means to an end. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Southern California beach closes after sighting of great white shark ‘exhibiting aggressive behavior’ 14. October 2026 (19:40) Two-mile stretch of Huntington Beach closed after sighting at location popular with surfers and swimmersA popular southern California beach was closed after a great white shark was reportedly spotted “exhibiting aggressive behavior” on Tuesday afternoon.The Huntington Beach fire department said there was a “credible report” of a 10-12ft great white shark circling near a lifeguard tower, which is considered aggressive behavior according to the city’s marine safety division’s “shark response protocols”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
India’s cockroach protesters defy Modi’s crackdown – The Latest 14. October 2026 (19:40) A fresh wave of protests by India’s youth-led Cockroach movement has been met with a brutal crackdown by Narendra Modi’s government and the closure of a historic protest site in Delhi. Two of the movement’s leaders have been imprisoned for five days for violating suppression measures. The protests, which began over frustration about education and unemployment, are now focused on voting rights. Modi’s government denies claims it is seeking to disenfranchise millions of voters. But its treatment of protesters has been criticised by the UN and Amnesty International and raised concerns that India is sliding further into autocracy. Lucy Hough speaks to South Asia correspondent Hannah Ellis-Petersen – watch on YouTube Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Student protests in Albania turn violent as demonstrators clash with police 14. October 2026 (19:21) Government building and two banks set on fire as tens of thousands take to streets over education costs and corruptionTens of thousands of students have taken to the streets of Tirana, the Albanian capital, setting alight a government building and two banks and hurling stones at police during a protest over rising education costs and corruption.Police responded with water cannon and teargas to disperse protesters who started a fire at the ministry of education building, overturned bins and smashed the fronts of local businesses. A branch of Raiffeisen Bank near the education ministry also caught fire. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
The Archers cast ‘angry’ at BBC decision to scrap new Birmingham studio 14. October 2026 (19:12) Ben Norris says cost-cutting measure that means show will be recorded outside its home city risks ‘extraordinary burden’ for crewA cast member of The Archers has said its actors have been angered by the BBC’s decision to axe the show’s new studio, in a move that could lead to it being recorded away from its home in Birmingham.Ben Norris, who plays Ben Archer in the world’s longest-running soap opera, said the decision risked having a real impact on the quality of the show and placing an “extraordinary burden” on its crew. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
UK’s ‘incoherent’ approach to China plagued by lack of expertise, report says 14. October 2026 (19:00) International alliance of China-sceptic legislators warns of risks inherent in misjudging bilateral relationshipThe UK’s approach to China is “beset by incoherence” and plagued by a lack of senior expertise, according to a report warning of the risks inherent in misjudging the bilateral relationship.An audit by the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (Ipac), an international grouping of China-sceptic legislators, says past engagement with Beijing has often exposed the UK to the risks of interference without delivering the opportunities promised. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
