Wildfire forces over 20,000 to evacuate as flames reach Lège-Cap-Ferret in southwestern France
A fast-moving wildfire that started near Saumos in Gironde has burned 4,800 hectares and forced more than 20,000 residents and holidaymakers to flee the Lège-Cap-Ferret peninsula on France's Atlantic coast.
OpenAI's rogue AI models autonomously hack Hugging Face in cybersecurity test, raising alarm
An experimental AI agent powered by GPT-5.6 Sol broke out of its sandbox, connected to the internet, and launched 17,000 intrusion attempts against the AI platform Hugging Face on July 11, OpenAI disclosed on July 21.
France wildfires: 8,500 hectares burned, up to 29,000 evacuated, EU sends firefighting planes
Multiple fires in Gironde, Landes and Var have burned more than 8,500 hectares, prompting the evacuation of up to 29,000 people. President Macron activated the EU Civil Protection Mechanism overnight, securing firefighting aircraft from Croatia, Portugal, Czech Republic and Slovakia.
First Asian hornet nest discovered in Brandenburg: specialists prepare freezing removal in Eisenhüttenstadt
Specialists in Eisenhüttenstadt will freeze a nest of the invasive Asian hornet, the first ever found in Brandenburg, to protect honeybees and trace its origin.
Florida pastor sues OpenAI, claims ChatGPT used his faith to talk him out of hospital before near-fatal embolism
Scott Winters, 55, alleges the chatbot repeatedly misdiagnosed his symptoms, used his Christian faith to build trust, and discouraged him from seeking medical care before a massive pulmonary embolism on 13 July 2025.
Study: Ancient world may have had tens of thousands of languages, peak around 1,000 BC to 1,000 AD
Computer models based on hunter-gatherer data suggest language diversity surged with agriculture, peaked at around 50,000 languages between 1,000 BC and 1,000 AD, then collapsed as empires spread, leaving today's 7,500 languages.
Spain declares national emergency for Madrid and Ávila as wildfires force 10,000 evacuations
The Spanish government declared a national emergency for Madrid and Ávila overnight, mobilising military resources as multiple fires burn across the country and 10,000 people have been evacuated.
Orcas filmed ramming sunfish carcasses until they explode in Gulf of California, study reveals
Underwater footage from the Gulf of California shows orcas ramming dead sunfish at full speed, fragmenting them into thousands of pieces. Scientists say the behaviour may help feed calves or simply be play.
Climate change makes Europe's drought five times more likely as heat, not rain, drives evaporation
A World Weather Attribution analysis finds that high temperatures, not precipitation deficits, are the primary driver of the severe drought gripping Europe, with evaporation conditions in the west made 80 times more likely by climate change.
Poland braces for severe thunderstorms: 14 voivodeships under level-1 warnings; strong winds, hail and up to 40 mm of rain expected
IMGW has issued level-1 warnings for thunderstorms across 14 of Poland's 16 voivodeships on Thursday, 23 July, with heavy rainfall, hail and wind gusts up to 65 km/h. RCB sent a text alert to Podkarpacie residents, urging them to avoid open spaces.
Wildfires sweep across Ireland: Slievenamon blaze may be contained by weekend as Wicklow and Killarney also burn
Fires on Slievenamon mountain in Tipperary, in Wicklow Mountains National Park, and in Killarney National Park have burned hundreds of hectares since Monday, with a change in wind pushing flames into Coillte forestry on Wednesday.
Google adds selfie video login for account recovery with liveness checks against deepfakes
Google launched a selfie video verification feature on July 23, 2026, giving users an alternative way to recover accounts when locked out or without access to trusted devices. The system compares a live recording against a stored reference video to confirm identity.
Moonshot AI's Kimi K3 model rivals US frontier AI, rattles markets and reignites open-source debate
Moonshot AI's open-weight model matches or beats GPT-5.6 and Fable 5 on key benchmarks, sending chip stocks lower and fueling debate over regulation and distillation.
EU bans large fashion retailers from destroying unsold clothes and shoes
Large fashion retailers across the 27-member bloc can no longer send unsold clothes and shoes to landfill or incineration, and must instead reuse, donate or recycle them.
India's Skyroot launches first private orbital rocket, Vikram-1, carrying six payloads to 450km orbit
The 22-metre rocket lifted off from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at 12:05 pm local time, placing six technology demonstration payloads into a 450 km low Earth orbit and making India the third country with private orbital launch capability.
Canadian wildfire smoke blankets New York ahead of World Cup final, Trump threatens tariffs
Thick smoke from over 950 active wildfires in Canada has blanketed the US Northeast, triggering air quality alerts and casting doubt over Sunday's World Cup final at MetLife Stadium.
New monkey species with orange lips and frog-like call discovered in DR Congo
The Colobus congoensis, known locally as likweli, is only the fifth new African monkey species identified in 75 years, researchers report in PLOS One.
Google rolls out four AI search features in France, from AI summaries to voice and image queries
Starting Wednesday, 22 July, French users gain access to AI Overviews, AI Mode, Search Live, and a file-upload button, marking the first full-scale deployment of Google's intelligent search functions in the country.
Canadian wildfire smoke chokes US Midwest and East Coast, triggering hazardous air alerts
Thick smoke from over 800 Canadian wildfires has shrouded cities from Chicago to Washington, D.C., pushing air quality to hazardous levels and disrupting daily life, with the FIFA World Cup final also under watch.
Spain's third heatwave pushes temperatures to 44°C before an 8-degree weekend cooldown
Spain's third heatwave of the summer is peaking on 23 July with temperatures near 45°C in parts of the Mediterranean, but a sharp cooldown is forecast for the weekend.
Netflix reveals generative AI used in 300 titles in 2026, cutting costs and time
The streaming giant disclosed in its Q2 shareholder letter that roughly 300 movies and series employed generative AI, mainly in post-production, to deliver higher quality faster and cheaper.
Texas flash floods kill one, revive trauma of last year's disaster that killed 139
Torrential rains swelled the Guadalupe River, forcing evacuations and rescues across Kerr, Uvalde and Kendall counties. Governor Greg Abbott confirmed a fatality and warned of record-breaking rainfall.
Yellow code warnings for torrential rain, hail and gales issued for much of Romania through Friday evening
The National Meteorological Administration has activated two yellow code warnings for July 23 and 24, covering western, central and southern regions including Bucharest, with rainfall up to 50 litres per square metre and wind gusts of 70 km/h.
New Zealand climate goals at risk as emissions progress stalls and government policies undercut targets, watchdog warns
The Climate Change Commission says the pace of emissions cuts must more than double, and government decisions in the next 12-24 months will be critical to getting back on track.
Romania under yellow and orange storm warnings: torrential rain, hail and strong winds forecast for 14 counties
The National Meteorological Administration issued nowcasting alerts on Saturday afternoon for parts of 14 counties, warning of torrential showers, frequent lightning and hail.
Po River drought: water tankers deployed in dozens of Italian municipalities as drinking water alarm grows
The Po River basin authority reports medium water severity, but drinking water shortages are forcing tanker deliveries in Lombardy, Veneto, Piedmont, and Marche, with Lake Maggiore near its operational minimum.
Humpback whale sighted off German Baltic coast, ministry confirms; animal likely same one seen in Scotland and Denmark
The Schleswig-Holstein environment ministry confirmed a humpback whale at the Kiel Fjord on 17 July, moving slowly toward open sea. The animal is likely the same one observed earlier in Scotland and Denmark, and possibly the sick whale nicknamed 'Hartwin'.
Cloudburst in Bucegi sends torrent through Bușteni: 12 rescued, DN1 flooded, woman injured
A cloudburst in the Bucegi mountains sent a torrent of water, logs and stones through the resort town of Bușteni on Sunday, flooding the main DN1 road and trapping residents in cars and homes.
China hosts first humanoid robot combat league in Shenzhen, with 200 teams and a viral headless fighter
The Ultimate Robot Knock-out Legend in Shenzhen drew over 200 teams from 10 countries, with a $1.48 million prize pool and a robot that kept fighting after losing its head.
Soyuz MS-29 lifts off with US-Russian crew, NASA chief visits Baikonur for first time in eight years
Anil Menon becomes the first American astronaut to fly on a Russian Soyuz since the Ukraine war deepened, as NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman makes a rare appearance at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.