✓Syrian court sentences Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia for war crimes
Verdict relates to atrocities committed during the country’s 14-year civil war in which about 500,000 people died. A Syrian court has sentenced the country’s former president…
96% agreement · 5 independent sources

Scores dead in Colombia after powerful earthquake strikes west of country
86% agreement · 4 independent sources
Trump on undisclosed plan to use decoy plane: ‘It’s up to Secret Service and military’
80% agreement · 3 independent sources

Former U.S. Marine held in Russia on disputed charges has been released
82% agreement · 3 independent sources
Former judge Baka elected new Hungarian president in another break from Orbán era – as it happened
74% agreement · 2 independent sources
More top stories
✓Progressive Peggy Flanagan sweeps Minnesota Senate primary in race defined by anti-ICE anger
State’s Democratic lieutenant governor bests Angie Craig in another election contest pitting a progressive against a moderate. Peggy Flanagan, Minnesota’s lieutenant governor, won…
76% agreement · 2 independent sources
WorldTone Neutral2 min
✓World
Luigi Mangione appears in court as judge rules murder trial will be heard by anonymous jury
The man accused of shooting a US healthcare executive dead in a street has appeared in a New York courtroom, as a judge ruled the murder trial will be heard by an anonymous jury
80% agreement · 2 independent sources
WorldTone Serious2 min
✓Technology
The 1999 solar eclipse in pictures - and why you should probably get new glasses this time
More than 90% of the sun will be obscured by the moon between 6.17pm and 8.06pm on Wednesday
75% agreement · 2 independent sources
TechnologyTone Neutral2 min
✓Bernie Sanders calls on Silicon Valley to ‘pause AI development’ in interest of humanity
Progressive US senator urges Meta, OpenAI and Anthropic to ‘stop building machines that humans cannot control’. Senator Bernie Sanders has called on Meta, OpenAI and Anthropic…
76% agreement · 2 independent sources
TechnologyTone Neutral2 min
✓Heathrow says need for expansion clear as it loses title of Europe’s busiest airport
Air transport hub in west London reports 7.86m passengers in July, compared with 8.15m for Istanbul’s new airport away from the city. Istanbul airport has overtaken Heathrow as…
76% agreement · 2 independent sources
WorldTone Neutral2 min
✓Mass evacuations in Beijing as Typhoon Dolphin brings more torrential rain to China
Forecasters warned the Chinese capital could receive more than one-third of its average annual rainfall over 24 hours. Thousands of people have been evacuated from areas at risk…
75% agreement · 2 independent sources
WorldTone Neutral2 min
✓Technology
Meteor shower to reach peak hours after solar eclipse - here's where to see it
Space enthusiasts across the UK will be treated to two spectacular displays within hours on Wednesday as the annual Perseid meteor shower reaches its peak
76% agreement · 2 independent sources
TechnologyTone Neutral2 min
✓Trump confirms he switched planes after Nato summit because of possible threat
Journalists and White House staff who were on board the jet were unaware the president had left
76% agreement · 2 independent sources
WorldTone Neutral2 min
✓Jackie, the famous California bald eagle, dies after weeks of intensive care
Jackie and her partner, Shadow, had been watched by millions of people over the years through the Big Bear Eagle Nest Cam
75% agreement · 2 independent sources
ClimateTone Neutral2 min
✓Inside the Secret Service 'shell game' to hide US presidents in plain sight
Elaborate deception operations and decoys are often used to deceive potential threats to the US president
73% agreement · 2 independent sources
WorldTone Neutral2 min
✓World
At least 15 dead and dozens missing after ferry capsizes in Zimbabwean lake
At least 15 people have died and another 27 are missing after a ferry capsized on a huge lake in Zimbabwe, officials have said
83% agreement · 2 independent sources
WorldTone Serious2 min
✓World
White House revives unprecedented effort to remove Fed governor Lisa Cook
The Trump administration has launched a new effort to remove Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook , notifying her that President Trump is considering her removal and giving her 21 days…
74% agreement · 2 independent sources
WorldTone Neutral2 min
✓Canadian airline cancels flight after child refuses to wear seatbelt
Flight from Victoria to Toronto forced to return to terminal after repeated attempts to secure child in seat failed. A Canadian airline cancelled a flight from Victoria to Toronto…
75% agreement · 2 independent sources
WorldTone Neutral2 min
✓World
Food safety crisis deepens for Taylor Farms with salmonella outbreak
Taylor Farms , a major produce supplier and producer of finished food products in North America, is engulfed in a food safety crisis that's ensnaring some of the biggest consumer…
73% agreement · 2 independent sources
WorldTone Serious2 min
✓Watch: Was Trump smuggled out of Air Force One in a catering truck?
US media reports say the president secretly left via a catering truck to avoid a threat to his life from Iran
75% agreement · 2 independent sources
WorldTone Neutral2 min
✓Wall Street giants hand Nvidia $500bn to fund boom in AI projects
The money will be used to develop new data centres to house, operate, and cool miles of stacked computer chips that process AI data and actions
74% agreement · 2 independent sources
TechnologyTone Neutral2 min
✓Technology
British driver who broke sound barrier in a car sets new record
A British driver, who remains the only person to break the sound barrier in a car, has set another world record, this time in a hydrogen-powered vehicle
81% agreement · 2 independent sources
TechnologyTone Neutral2 min
✓Bondi Beach shooting hero's assault charges dropped by police
Police charged Ahmed al Ahmed in June after an alleged incident with his father at a Sydney home
75% agreement · 2 independent sources
WorldTone Serious2 min

The great British switch-off: how floating retreats, mobile-free pubs and sauna book groups are freeing people from their smartphones
Sick of doomscrolling? From venues with smartphone swear jars to cabins with absolutely no signal, here are the fun and freeing ways to ditch your device. There’s a ritual at the…
Single source · not yet corroborated
TechnologyTone Neutral2 min
World
Minnesota progressive wins Senate primary over anti-ICE sentiments, as Wisconsin governor’s race remains close – as it happened
This live blog is now closed. Progressive Peggy Flanagan sweeps Minnesota Senate primary in race defined by anti-ICE anger. Sign up to the US Breaking News email. Pete Hegseth ’s…
Single source · not yet corroborated
WorldTone Neutral2 min
World
Australia politics live: Albanese says Coalition’s request that police investigate Japanese melon memo leak is a ‘stunt’
Follow today’s news live. Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast. Education minister says funding agreement with Victoria ‘very close’. The education…
Single source · not yet corroborated
WorldTone Neutral2 min

Chasing new skills, going back to basics and pushing for collective action: how software engineers are adapting to AI
Software engineering was one of the best-paying professions in the US in 2022, but the advent of AI has disrupted it, leading to several layoffs and underemployment. Every…
Single source · not yet corroborated
TechnologyTone Neutral2 min

‘More than just objects’: Australian booksellers raise alarm over ‘horrific’ destruction of rare titles to feed AI
Secondhand booksellers believe they may have been caught up in the AI supply chain that sees old books scanned then destroyed. Follow our Australia news live blog for latest…
Single source · not yet corroborated
TechnologyTone Neutral2 min

This man was secretly snapped by someone with smartglasses. He’s not alone in calling that a violation of privacy
The backlash to what some dub ‘pervert glasses’ is growing – but people living with disabilities point out the new tech can also be life-changing. Get our breaking news email ,…
Single source · not yet corroborated
TechnologyTone Neutral2 min

‘If we don’t fight back, we don’t have a future’: the journalist taking on the ‘tech fascists’ of Silicon Valley
As Elon Musk, Peter Thiel and their peers have grown richer and more influential, Gil Durán argues they have all but abandoned democracy – and found the perfect government to…
Single source · not yet corroborated
TechnologyTone Neutral2 min

‘People in Japan thought we made footy up’: Pro Jank Footy, the video game taking Australian rules to the world
Game developer David Ashby and Aunty Donna’s Broden Kelly talk about their chaotic and silly sport game – involving meat pies with legs and Ford Falcons on the oval. Try…
Single source · not yet corroborated
TechnologyTone Neutral2 min

‘Huge wave’ of carbon storage projects causes alarm in small-town USA as oil firms eye billions in subsidies
Dozens of projects are in development across US despite concerns over environmental and health risks. The plan to bury carbon under remote Indiana farmland is supposed to be a…
Single source · not yet corroborated
ClimateTone Neutral2 min

One of science fiction’s greatest writers warned us about a AI. Does he also hold the remedy? | Alan Finkel
What might a modern day equivalent of Isaac Asimov’s laws of robotics look like? Guided by the author, I propose the three laws of AI. Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk predicted…
Single source · not yet corroborated
TechnologyTone Neutral2 min

When the AI bubble bursts, what will Australia do with the tools it built? One man thinks he has the answer
Journalist and author Cory Doctorow is coming to Australia to spread his message – humans will take their jobs back. Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates. Get…
Single source · not yet corroborated
TechnologyTone Neutral2 min

Revealed: Mexico’s industrial boomtown is making goods for the US. Residents say they’re ‘breathing poison’
Polluting facilities in Monterrey, which has close ties to the US, are pumping toxic heavy metals into the city’s air and threatening residents’ health. Leer en español en Quinto…
Single source · not yet corroborated
ClimateTone Neutral2 min

Passenger jet billed as China’s answer to Boeing and Airbus prepares to make first international flight
The Comac C919 will fly from Beijing to Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia, although experts say it could take generations for it to challenge the west’s dominance of the industry. China…
Single source · not yet corroborated
WorldTone Neutral2 min

When her ‘soul cat’ died, she was bereft. Now she designs memorial jewelry to help others with pet loss
A layoff and a leap of faith convinced Katie Teixeira she had what it takes to run her own business. In 2010, Katie Teixeira adopted a kitten found all alone in an abandoned…
Single source · not yet corroborated
EconomyTone Neutral2 min

‘The silence was the worst part’: after culling his entire flock, US poultry farmer now fears bird flu
As bird flu reshapes agriculture, small farms operate under strict rules. Just a single case could tank their business. Joshua Beebe often starts his day by cleaning the tires of…
Single source · not yet corroborated
ClimateTone Neutral2 min

I should be happy to have a pigeon for a friend. But she wouldn’t be my first choice | Emma Beddington
Truman Capote had a ‘crow bro’; Dickens had a raven. And I get standoffish Susan, who has never brought me a present or perched on my shoulder. One of the greatest failures of my…
Single source · not yet corroborated
ClimateTone Neutral2 min

Pony Island 2 Panda Circus: gallop out of hell in this phantasmagorical follow-up to 2016’s indie hit
Daniel Mullins explains how he plans to follow up his quirky classic without losing what made it stand out in the first place. Glitchy aesthetics. Literally collapsing menu boxes.…
Single source · not yet corroborated
TechnologyTone Neutral2 min
Most verified today
1Syrian court sentences Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia for war crimes
✓ 96% agree · 5 sources
Scores dead in Colombia after powerful earthquake strikes west of country
✓ 86% agree · 4 sources
At least 15 dead and dozens missing after ferry capsizes in Zimbabwean lake
✓ 83% agree · 2 sources
Former U.S. Marine held in Russia on disputed charges has been released
✓ 82% agree · 3 sources
Quietest reads
1The 1999 solar eclipse in pictures - and why you should probably get new glasses this time
Mental load Light · Technology
Bernie Sanders calls on Silicon Valley to ‘pause AI development’ in interest of humanity
Mental load Light · Technology
Meteor shower to reach peak hours after solar eclipse - here's where to see it
Mental load Light · Technology
Wall Street giants hand Nvidia $500bn to fund boom in AI projects
Mental load Light · Technology