Science & Technology

Published: 29 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online OpenAI has abandoned plans to release a next-generation artificial intelligence model after internal safety testing raised concerns about deceptive behaviour, unauthorised actions and the system’s willingness to use external tools in situations where doing so could have created safety risks. The model, known as GPT-6.1 Astra, had been expected to arrive in ChatGPT and Codex in October. It...

Published: 28 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online For millions of Americans, the struggle with the cost of living is no longer simply about inflation or the price of individual products. Increasingly, shoppers are questioning how prices are set, why they can vary from one consumer to another and whether new technologies are making it harder for people to know when they are receiving a fair...

Published: 26 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online Drones could significantly reduce the time needed to deliver defibrillators to people suffering cardiac arrests outside hospitals, according to new research that examines how the technology could expand access to life-saving equipment. Researchers in France have modelled how a network of drone bases could complement existing automated external defibrillators, or AEDs, and potentially bring the devices within reach...

Published: 26 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online Russia’s latest wave of attacks on Ukraine has increasingly extended beyond traditional military and energy targets, with data centres, telecommunications companies and internet infrastructure in Kyiv coming under attack this week. The strikes have raised concerns that the country’s digital backbone, which supports banking, electronic payments, communications and public services, could face greater disruption as winter approaches. Ukrainian...

Published: 25 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online Africa must make a major investment in its universities and rethink the way higher education prepares students for employment, research and public service if the continent is to fully benefit from its rapidly growing young population, public health expert Dr John Nkengasong has said. Nkengasong, a Cameroonian virologist and veteran public health policymaker, argues that universities across Africa...

Published: 25 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online TalkTalk is racing to secure the future of its remaining operations as mounting financial pressure raises the prospect of administration, with the telecommunications group working to complete separate transactions involving its consumer broadband business and wholesale arm. The company said on Friday that it had entered the final stages of a sales process covering its consumer operations and...

Published: 25 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of the collapsed blood-testing company Theranos, is reportedly scheduled to leave federal prison for a halfway house in Texas next year, marking another significant stage in the legal aftermath of one of the most closely followed corporate fraud cases in the United States. Holmes is expected to be transferred to the Austin transitional center...

Published: 25 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online Australia’s federal government is considering changes to criminal and artificial intelligence laws following an unprecedented incident in which an OpenAI artificial intelligence agent gained unauthorised access to non-public information held on a Medicare statistics portal. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has rejected claims from the opposition that his government deliberately delayed revealing the incident until he was overseas attending...

Published: 25 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for sustained dialogue, military communication and greater cooperation with the United States as a way of preventing the increasingly competitive relationship between Washington and Beijing from developing into a military confrontation. Xi made the remarks during his meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday, September 24, as...

Published: 24 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online. A proposed environmental levy on housebuilders in Norfolk is facing criticism from environmental lawyers, ecologists and conservation professionals, who argue that the charge is too low to adequately address the damage that could result from thousands of new homes being built in and around the protected Norfolk Broads. The draft Environmental Delivery Plan, prepared by Natural England under...