Fastly

Authorities in Japan have urged nearly two million people to evacuate as a powerful typhoon batters the country, bringing destructive winds and heavy rain. Emergency warnings have been issued across affected regions, with residents told to move to safety ahead of the storm's peak. The scale of the evacuation order reflects concerns about flooding, landslides and widespread damage.

European ministers meeting on migration policy are discussing stronger border controls and accelerated procedures for returning migrants whose asylum claims are rejected. The talks reflect mounting political pressure across the bloc to curb irregular arrivals and speed up deportations, an issue that has divided member states and featured prominently in recent European election campaigns. Details of any concrete agreement were not immediately available.

The New York Times reports that governments are struggling to keep pace with the rapid development of artificial intelligence, with regulators and lawmakers increasingly unable to match the speed of technological change. The piece highlights a growing gap between private-sector A.I. innovation and the public sector's capacity to understand, oversee and regulate it, raising concerns about accountability, safety and democratic oversight.

A major storm is moving into the US north-east, bringing heavy rain and strong winds. Reports describe power outages affecting homes and flooded roads across the region as conditions worsen. Coverage so far focuses on the immediate impacts and warnings for residents to prepare for further disruption. The posts are mainly news headlines reporting the storm's arrival rather than personal accounts, so the full extent of damage or the number of people affected is not yet clear from what has been shared.

Countries have adopted a global blueprint aimed at tackling crime that evolves rapidly in the digital age. The agreement, associated with the United Nations, is intended to give governments a shared framework for confronting offences such as cybercrime and other technology-enabled criminal activity. The adoption marks a step toward international cooperation on laws and procedures that have so far lagged behind fast-changing digital threats, and it is drawing attention as a significant development in global crime policy.

Chinese artificial intelligence models are rapidly rising in global popularity, prompting concern among officials in Washington. The trend suggests China's AI developers are becoming competitive with leading US systems, intensifying debate in the United States over export controls, national security and how to respond to the country's fast-growing AI industry.

China is publicly rejecting American warnings about its fast-moving artificial intelligence programme, framing US concerns as an attempt to contain its technological rise. The dispute adds a new front to US-China tensions, with Beijing arguing its AI development is peaceful and legitimate while Washington warns of security risks from rapid, insufficiently controlled advances.

The fast-growing private credit industry is coming under increased public scrutiny. Observers are raising questions about transparency, valuations and risk in a market that has expanded largely away from public view, and debate is mounting over whether the sector's growth has outpaced oversight.

The chief executive of AI company Anthropic has called for stronger regulation of artificial intelligence, telling ABC News in an exclusive interview that tougher oversight is needed as the technology advances. The remarks add to a growing debate in the United States and Europe over how governments should police powerful AI systems while keeping innovation alive.

Senior figures from the AI industry have appealed to the United Nations to establish oversight of the technology they helped build, warning of risks to humanity if development continues unchecked. The plea puts the burden of governance on international bodies at a time when governments are still struggling to write rules for fast-moving AI systems.

A new antitrust lawsuit targets Anthropic, OpenAI, xAI and Google, alleging the AI companies agreed among themselves to slow the pace of AI development. Plaintiffs claim the arrangement was planned for months before the firms publicly framed the agreement as responsible self-regulation, arguing it was instead self-serving collusion that restricted competition in the fast-moving AI market.

The Berlin Marathon is one of the most searched topics in several European countries, ranking first in the Netherlands, fifth in Germany and seventh in Sweden, with strong interest also in the UK. The race is one of the World Marathon Majors, known for its flat, fast course through the German capital, and regularly attracts elite runners chasing world records alongside tens of thousands of amateur participants.

Meta has launched Muse, a new AI agent, adding to the company's expanding artificial intelligence portfolio. Details about the agent's capabilities, availability and intended uses remain limited, but the announcement is drawing attention as major tech firms race to deploy AI assistants and agents. Observers are watching to see how Muse compares with competing AI products from OpenAI, Google and others.

Tesla has returned to growth in the European electric vehicle market, but Chinese manufacturers are expanding at a quicker pace. Reports note that brands from China are increasing their European sales faster than Tesla, intensifying competition in one of the world's largest EV markets. The development highlights growing pressure on Tesla's market share from cheaper, rapidly scaling Chinese competitors.

Germany's rapid shift to electric vehicles is cutting emissions but also eroding fuel-tax revenue that finances road maintenance. The pace of the transition has pushed policymakers to consider redesigning how roads are funded, sparking debate among economists and commentators about alternatives such as distance-based charges and other road-user fees to replace declining fuel taxes.

Amazon is offering its Prime delivery service on merchants' own websites at no additional fee, extending the programme beyond Amazon.com. The move lets participating retailers display fast Prime shipping benefits on their own storefronts while Amazon handles fulfilment. It reflects Amazon's push to embed its logistics network deeper into third-party e-commerce and tighten its hold on online retail.

OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman says artificial intelligence can compress what used to take startup founders three months of work into roughly 17 minutes. The claim, made as AI tools spread rapidly through the startup world, has drawn attention from founders and investors weighing how dramatically AI can accelerate product development and company building.

Major fast-fashion retailers, including Uniqlo and Zara, are launching clothes-mending and repair offerings aimed at Gen Z shoppers. The brands are betting that repair services appeal to younger consumers' interest in sustainability and making garments last longer, while building loyalty in a competitive retail market.

A fast-spreading retail theft scheme is hitting major US chains, including Walmart, Target, and CVS, according to a report by TheStreet. Details of how the scam operates or which locations are most affected were not provided. Shoppers and retailers are being urged to stay alert as losses from organised retail crime continue to climb across the sector.

A reporter has tested the player-protection measures that DraftKings, one of the largest US sports betting operators, says it has in place to guard against problem gambling. The findings are prompting discussion about how effective self-exclusion tools, deposit limits and identity checks really are, and whether regulators should tighten requirements on the fast-growing online betting industry.

Bentley has revealed its first fully electric SUV, a milestone for the British luxury carmaker as it moves away from combustion engines. The announcement is drawing attention across the auto industry, with observers watching how the brand will translate its upscale identity into an electric vehicle and how it will compete with rivals in the growing luxury EV market.

New York has filed a lawsuit against prediction market platform Polymarket, alleging it operates as illegal gambling. The legal action comes as online betting adoption surges: Bank of America consumer data shows platform usage rose 40% in July, with first-time use tripling since the start of the year. Regulators are increasingly scrutinising fast-growing betting and prediction platforms as mainstream consumer adoption accelerates.

Forbes argues that the greatest threat to American leadership is not artificial intelligence itself but a slowdown in its development. The piece contends that slowing AI progress, whether through regulation or hesitancy, risks ceding technological ground to competitors such as China. The argument is feeding into the ongoing debate in Washington and industry over how fast AI should be allowed to advance.

Costco has shared an update on how much it has refunded to members after tariff-related charges, according to Fast Company. The warehouse club says it has passed money back to customers as it absorbs or reverses costs tied to import duties. The report does not give the figures in the available summary, and details of the total refunded amounts remain limited.

JetBrains has introduced Air, described by the company as a system of products aimed at agentic software development, where AI agents take on coding tasks with developer oversight. The announcement is drawing attention from developers debating how far agentic tools should be integrated into established IDEs and workflows.