NASA has outlined a fresh schedule for the lunar landers being developed by SpaceX and Blue Origin, sharpening the timeline for the agency’s return to the Moon under the Artemis program. The update also provides a clearer view of Artemis III, the first crewed lunar landing mission in the campaign, as NASA works to balance technical readiness, safety certification and schedule pressure.
Solid-state batteries are emerging as one of the most consequential frontiers in energy storage, promising higher energy density, improved safety and longer lifecycles than conventional lithium-ion cells. The technology is drawing intense interest from automakers, electronics makers and investors, but commercialization remains constrained by manufacturing complexity, cost and materials challenges.
Iran says seven oil tankers have been damaged or set ablaze in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical maritime chokepoint for global energy supplies, sharply raising tensions in a region already on edge. The incident has intensified fears of a wider confrontation, with shipping security and the risk of escalation now at the center of international concern.
A sweeping new fossil analysis published in Nature is challenging the long-held view that Earth’s history is defined by five cleanly separated mass extinctions. The study suggests the fossil record is more complex and uneven than the classic narrative implies, with biodiversity losses and recoveries unfolding in overlapping waves rather than neat global resets. The findings could reshape how scientists assess deep-time climate stress, ecosystem collapse and the pace of biological recovery.
The 2nd Marine Division’s 1st Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment has been redesignated as a medium missile battalion in a ceremony at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, marking the first unit of its kind in the Marine Corps. The move reflects the service’s accelerating shift from traditional artillery toward long-range precision strike capabilities designed for contested maritime environments.
London Stock Exchange Group has agreed to buy credit data specialist Octus from Permira for $3.5 billion, according to reports, marking one of its most significant moves yet to deepen its position in financial data and analytics. The deal underscores LSEG’s strategy of expanding beyond market infrastructure into higher-margin information services as competition intensifies across the global data sector.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has invoked a Civil War-era monetary precedent to bolster the Trump administration’s new crypto framework, casting the GENIUS Act as a modern extension of America’s long history of financial innovation. The remarks arrive as federal regulators begin translating the law into practical rules, giving stablecoin issuers and broader digital-asset markets the regulatory clarity they have long sought.
Scientists have identified evidence that a large asteroid impact in the North Sea 43 to 46 million years ago generated a tsunami more than 100 metres high, reshaping the region in a matter of minutes. The finding adds a dramatic deep-time data point to climate and coastal-risk research, underscoring how extreme natural events can transform marine environments far beyond the impact zone.
Ukraine’s sustained drone campaign against Russian energy infrastructure has disrupted refining capacity and tightened diesel supplies from one of the world’s largest exporters. The fallout is being felt far beyond the battlefield, with higher fuel costs feeding inflation pressures and adding political strain in the United States weeks before the midterm elections.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth used the second stop of the Arsenal of Freedom tour to cast the past two years as a turning point for U.S. defense power, praising the military and industrial base under President Donald J. Trump’s administration. His remarks framed production capacity, procurement speed, and strategic confidence as evidence of what he called a renewed American advantage.
Southeast Asia’s rapid embrace of artificial intelligence is creating commercial opportunities that extend well beyond consumer subscriptions, according to a Bain & Company partner speaking to CNBC. The region’s scale, mobile-first user base and uneven digital maturity are pushing companies to monetize AI through enterprise services, infrastructure, advertising and transaction-led models. The shift matters for investors and policymakers because it suggests AI adoption in the region may be shaped less by premium app fees and more by broader ecosystem economics.
The UK’s Society of Authors has withdrawn from a newly announced Ethical AI Charter after a sharp backlash from members who said the initiative did not go far enough to protect writers from generative AI. The reversal underscores the deep mistrust many authors and creative professionals still hold toward industry-led AI frameworks, even as publishers and trade groups race to define standards for the technology’s use.
Egypt has rejected the eastern Libyan parliament’s approval of a maritime agreement with Turkey, sharply escalating a long-running dispute over sea boundaries and regional influence in the eastern Mediterranean. The move deepens friction among Egypt, Greece, Cyprus and Turkey, while underscoring how Libya’s fractured political landscape continues to shape regional diplomacy.
The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln has returned to its home port of San Diego after a 321-day deployment that placed it at the center of the U.S. Navy’s operations in the Middle East. During the mission, the carrier spearheaded Navy participation in Operation Epic Fury and helped enforce a maritime blockade targeting Iranian-flagged vessels in the northern Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman. The return closes one of the Navy’s lengthier recent combat deployments and underscores the sustained operational tempo facing U.S. carrier strike groups.
Blacksmith, a frontier AI and machine learning platform focused on helping companies build and test AI code more effectively, has raised $66 million in a Series C round led by Sequoia, lifting its valuation to $1 billion. The deal underscores continued investor appetite for infrastructure tools that make AI development faster, more reliable and easier to scale across enterprise workflows.
A French woman has described a terrifying scene in central Paris after a mob of rioters allegedly turned on her husband during unrest in the city, calling the experience a “horror movie.” Her account adds a human face to the wider disorder that has shaken Paris and intensified scrutiny of public safety, policing, and the political fallout from street violence.
British police have rearrested two men on suspicion of assisting Iran in connection with an alleged plot involving a U.S.-run air base in England, deepening a case that has already drawn attention from Western security services. The investigation underscores persistent concerns in Europe over Iranian intelligence activity and the vulnerability of military infrastructure tied to the United States and NATO.
OpenEvidence, the fast-growing medical AI startup, is drawing intense investor attention as it scales toward a reported $15 billion valuation while doctors increasingly use its tools in clinical settings. The company’s rise underscores both the commercial promise of AI-powered medical search and the unresolved concerns around accuracy, transparency, and the role of advertising in healthcare decision-making.
Meta has been fined $25 billion over what regulators described as repeated lies about user data privacy, marking the largest penalty ever imposed on the Facebook owner. The sanction exceeds the company’s earlier $18 billion settlement with California and intensifies global scrutiny of how Big Tech handles personal information.
Abbott Laboratories lowered its 2026 sales growth outlook and said it will separate its nutrition business into an independent company, marking a major strategic reset for one of the world’s largest healthcare conglomerates. The move comes as the company seeks to sharpen its portfolio after years of scrutiny over its infant formula operations and as investors reassess the growth profile of the broader business.
French police have arrested a suspect over the arson attack on Limoges city hall, a landmark often described locally as an architectural treasure, after the building was set ablaze amid a period of political unrest and street protests. Authorities have not yet publicly detailed a motive, but the case has quickly become entangled in France’s wider debate over protest violence, public order, and the targeting of civic institutions.
IBM reported results that beat Wall Street expectations on both revenue and earnings, reinforcing the company’s case that enterprise demand for artificial intelligence is translating into real business. Chief Executive Arvind Krishna said IBM is helping clients deploy AI, a signal that the company is trying to position itself as a practical infrastructure and software partner rather than a speculative AI story.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth opened the first stop of his Arsenal of Freedom tour in Ohio by praising aerospace workers for what he called a warfighter’s urgency. The remarks underscored the administration’s effort to link industrial output, defense readiness and national security messaging around the U.S. military supply base.
SpaceX shares surged after the company reported a sharp acceleration in third-quarter revenue growth and topped market expectations, reinforcing investor confidence in the private rocket and satellite group’s commercial momentum. The rally also followed remarks by Elon Musk suggesting a possible future tie-up with Tesla, a comment that revived speculation about how closely his two flagship companies could align strategically.
Astronomers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have reported an unexpected infrared signal from what was believed to be an empty region of space, a finding that has immediately drawn scrutiny because no obvious source has been identified. The observation is not evidence of alien life, but it does underscore how little is still understood about faint, transient phenomena in the distant universe.
U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Guyanese President Mohamed Irfaan Ali signed a landmark agreement at the Pentagon on Wednesday, formalizing an enhanced defence partnership between Washington and Georgetown. The deal underscores deepening security ties as the United States seeks to strengthen cooperation with a strategically important South American partner amid rising regional security concerns.
Meta Platforms delivered a stronger-than-expected quarter and paired it with a more ambitious roadmap for monetizing Muse, reinforcing the view that the company’s artificial intelligence investments are beginning to translate into commercial leverage. Investors responded positively to the combination of solid execution, upbeat guidance and a clearer path to future revenue expansion.
Six decades after a coal waste tip collapsed onto a Welsh village school and nearby homes, survivors of the Aberfan disaster are again at the center of a national reckoning over memory, duty and institutional failure. The anniversary has drawn renewed attention to the 1966 tragedy, which killed 116 children and 28 adults and remains one of the darkest episodes in modern British history.
A new Nature study reports a de novo design strategy for artificial metalloenzyme photocatalysts capable of steering reactions toward a preferred enantiomer, a long-sought goal in selective chemistry. The work strengthens the case for protein-engineered catalysts as a platform for cleaner, more precise chemical manufacturing with potential relevance to pharmaceuticals and low-waste industrial synthesis.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has certified Boeing’s largest 737 MAX variant, the 737 MAX 10, removing a major regulatory hurdle and opening the door for airlines to begin taking delivery of aircraft that have been delayed for years. The approval is a significant operational and financial milestone for Boeing, which has 1,555 orders tied to the model and has been under pressure to restore confidence in its narrow-body jet program.
Tesla reported third-quarter results that beat Wall Street expectations on both earnings and revenue, underscoring resilient demand and stronger-than-anticipated profitability. Yet the headline numbers masked a more complicated picture: automotive revenue declined, highlighting pressure from pricing, product mix and a still-competitive electric vehicle market.
