The US and Saudi Arabia have signed a landmark deal that will reportedly allow the Gulf kingdom to develop a civilian nuclear programme.

The deal is described as a “peaceful nuclear co-operation agreement” that will provide “great access for American companies in the Saudi nuclear energy program”, according to the US energy department.

Text from the deal was not made public, but US media have reported that it could allow Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium in the future – which can be used as fuel for power plants, but also to make nuclear bombs.

Experts say that would mark a first for the US and could run the risk of future nuclear proliferation in an already unstable region.

Subscribe to our channel here: https://bbc.in/bbcnews

For the latest news download the BBC News app or visit BBC.com/news

#US #SaudiArabia #BBCNews

source

The artificial intelligence giant OpenAI – maker of ChatGPT – has said that some of its most advanced AI models went rogue and hacked another company, called Hugging Face.

Analysts say there is growing concern about the autonomy of AI agents, as they become more powerful.

Last year the AI firm Anthropic said that, during a test scenario, its Claude Opus 4 model had attempted to blackmail an employee, to stop him from replacing it. The company has also slowed the release of its Mythos model, which it said could outperform humans at some cyber-security and hacking tasks.

We ask the BBC’s technology reporter Chris Vallance why AI programmes act in unexpected ways, what regulation may be needed, and whether AI could one day become too “smart” to control.

Several tech firms are already working to develop Artificial General Intelligence, or AGI – a form of AI that is as good as, or better than, humans at learning and reasoning.

New episodes of the Global News Podcast are published twice a day. You can listen here: https://link.mgln.ai/GNP-YT

And you can find more of our YouTube episodes here: https://bbc.in/GlobalNewsPodcast

Subscribe to our channel here: https://bbc.in/bbcnews

For the latest news download the BBC News app or visit BBC.com/news

#bbcnews

00:00 Introduction
00:14 How an OpenAI agent went rogue
01:52 Why weren’t there guardrails in place for AI?
02:24 Anthropic’s blackmail incident
03:50 Hannah Fry and the AI mug experiment
05:07 AI’s growing capability
06:07 When will AI be “smarter” than humans?
07:00 Regulating AI
08:48 The AI “Pandora’s Box”

source

The US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth faced senators on Tuesday as the White House asked for tens of billions of dollars more to help fund the Iran war.

It comes after over a week of consecutive US strikes, the deaths of several US service members, and the Iran-backed Houthis announcing a ‘maritime blockade’ in the region.

Tristan Redman from The Global Story podcast speaks to BBC World News correspondent Joe Inwood about the trouble brewing on three fronts for the US.

Subscribe to our channel here: https://bbc.in/bbcnews

For the latest news download the BBC News app or visit BBC.com/news

#US #Iran #BBCNews

Chapters:
00:00 The Iran war is back on
01:42 How much money is the United States spending on the Iran war?
03:30 When Donald Trump was asked about the ceasefire
05:18 The airstrikes restart
11:00 What’s happening inside Iran?
14:42 American fatalities in the war
18:40 Will the Houthis join the war?
21:33 Could the Houthis shutdown the Red Sea strait?
23:39 Where does this all leave us?

source

Subscribe to our channel here: https://bbc.in/bbcnews

For the latest news download the BBC News app or visit BBC.com/news

#BBCNews

source

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has announced the return of the £2 bus fare cap in most of England, but how will it be funded?

And, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, one of the first and most senior Labour politicians to publicly call for Keir Starmer to go, is expected to join Andy Burnham’s government. He’ll be joining fellow Starmer dissenters Wes Streeting and John Healey in the cabinet.

Adam Fleming is joined by Chris Mason and Henry Zeffman to unpack it all.

Get in touch with Newscast by emailing newscast@bbc.co.uk or send us a WhatsApp on +44 0330 123 9480.

New episodes released every day. If you’re in the UK, for more News and Current Affairs podcasts from the BBC, listen on BBC Sounds: https://bbc.in/4guXgXd

Subscribe to our channel here: https://bbc.in/bbcnews
For the latest news download the BBC News app or visit BBC.com/news

#BBCNews #ukpolitics #andyburnham

00:00 How far could you get for £2?
03:00 What is the bus price cap?
07:00 Has it worked elsewhere?
08:03 Scotland’s Anas Sarwar to become a Lord
09:38 Who got the best jobs after ‘stabbing Starmer in the back’?
15:10 Anas Sarwar as Trade Minister
18:18 Wes Streeting gets caught laughing on mic
22:16 What could happen with income tax?

source