An incident at Palisades, a nuclear reactor in Michigan that is soon to be restarted, has cast a shadow over an apparent nuclear energy renaissance in the US. The revival has been driven largely by the proliferation of energy-hungry data centres as part of the vast investment in artificial intelligence. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission confirmed to The National it was investigating a “tipped fuel assembly” incident at the site in Covert, Michigan. Though closed in 2022, the reactor, later bought by Holtec International, is expected to make a comeback as AI-based energy demands exert strain on the US energy grid. As new fuel was being lowered into the reactor – dubbed a “zombie reactor”, as it is being restarted after decommissioning – one of the fuel assemblies tipped, causing resumption to be placed on hold while Holtec assesses the situation. An NRC spokeswoman emphasised there had been “no radiological release” and that no workers or the public have been affected. “Our inspectors will continue monitoring the situation,” Viktoria Mitlyng said. Yet the incident has fed some nearby residents' concerns about the unprecedented nature of restarting a nuclear reactor. “The significance of this is that the reactor core and the nuclear fuel is the most dangerous part of a nuclear power plant,” long-time nuclear energy critic Kevin Kamps, founder and director of environmental advo...
Read briefing An Indian sailor was killed on Wednesday when a merchant ship was attacked, reportedly by two torpedoes, off the coast of Oman. It was the latest deadly incident affecting Middle East shipping, but neither Iran nor the US claimed responsibility for the strike. The ship, the MV Cape Dao, was sailing under the flag of Antigua and Barbuda with 28 crew members on board. The attack resulted in a fire in the engine room and the death of one crew member, said Oman's Maritime Security Centre. An Omani warship came to the bulk carrier's rescue, with 27 people rescued and given medical treatment. The incident took place 4.6km off Musandam, an Omani exclave that borders the UAE. The Indian embassy in Muscat said it was "deeply saddened" that one of its citizens had been killed in the attack. It said 19 of the crew were Indian. A Royal Navy of Oman vessel, in cooperation and coordination with the relevant authorities, carried out an evacuation operation for the crew of the Antigua and Barbuda-flagged merchant vessel CAPE DAO.A total of 27 crew members were evacuated and provided with the necessary… pic.twitter.com/yA70Hm14Yy— مركز الأمن البحري| MARITIME SECURITY CENTRE (@OMAN_MSC) September 23, 2026A sailors' group, the Forward Seamen's Union of India, identified the person killed as Suraj Yadav from Uttar Pradesh. It said two torpedoes had struck the ship, hitting the engine room and sail...
Read briefing At last, it has happened. After more than a century of building some of Britain’s most coveted grand tourers, Bentley has unveiled its first fully electric car.“For 107 years, Bentleys have been the most incredibly complete cars – effortless performance, outstanding comfort, exquisite British craftsmanship using the finest natural materials and a soundtrack with soul,” says chief executive Frank-Steffen Walliser. “Our new car sets extraordinary benchmarks in every area that matters, and may just be the most considered car in our history.”The National was given an early preview of the model at Bentley’s historic Pyms Lane factory in Crewe back in June. Designed around everyday usability rather than excess, the Torcal measures about five metres in length and promises a range of about 483km – and aims to attract an entirely new segment of customers to Bentley. It also ushers in a new design language for the marque. Most striking is the fully illuminated grille that feels surprising at first, but quickly makes sense. Rather than simply recreating the look of an existing Bentley without an engine, the company has embraced the design freedoms offered by electrification while retaining an unmistakable brand identity.The proportions are superb. Viewed in profile, the car sits low and purposeful, with muscular rear haunches that give it the stance of something ready to pounce. It is unm...
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Read briefing UAE's dirham symbol has officially been included in Unicode's version 18.0, making it easier for computer and smartphone makers to include it on keyboards. Unicode, based in California, is the technology industry’s leading organisation for standardising emojis and digital characters across billions of digital devices.Last week, the organisation described the UAE dirham symbol as "among the most anticipated new characters" in version 18.0, along with the Omani riyal and the Maldivian rufiyaa.Before users go looking for the UAE dirham symbol, however, they should note that it is up to tech companies to adopt the latest Unicode update. But the fact that the dirham made it past Unicode's beta version and into the final iteration means it will soon be a lot easier to select that symbol on devices. "Each of these symbols was authorised for public use by the respective monetary authority over a year ago, but usage has been hindered by lack of a standardised encoding," a Unicode blog entry reads."With the release of Unicode 18.0, vendors are now able to implement support for these symbols."The organisation's core specification document, with more than 1,100 pages, provides more insight on the UAE dirham's journey to being standardised for keyboards. "UAE Dirham sign was unveiled by the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates on March 27, 2025, as the official currency symbol for the U...
Read briefing Al Taawun Square in Sharjah will reopen to traffic on November 4 in time for the start of the Sharjah International Book Fair, authorities have announced.Opening the junction before the event is intended to improve access to Expo Centre Sharjah and ease journeys for thousands of visitors expected to attend the fair.Details of the reopening were revealed on the Direct Line programme, alongside an image showing the planned design of the square and the traffic light-controlled junctions surrounding it.Construction is continuing on the wider Al Taawun Tunnel project, which is designed to tackle congestion at one of the busiest points on the main route between Sharjah and Dubai.Authorities expect the development to reduce waiting times for motorists by as much as 85 per cent.The first phase of the tunnel project is due to open in November 2026, with all work scheduled to be completed by February 2027.The scheme is among several road improvements under way in Al Taawun, where heavy traffic regularly builds up during peak periods.Al Freish LakeSheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah, has also approved the plan for the Al Freish Lake in the city of Kalb. The project will cover an area of about 51,200 square metres, with a storage capacity of up to 28 million gallons of water, in addition to 200 parking spaces to serve visitors.“It will be a pleasant park for children,...
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Read briefing Lawyers for a French-Lebanese citizen on Tuesday filed a complaint with France’s National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office over alleged Israeli war crimes involving the destruction of his property in southern Lebanon.The complainant, whose name was not disclosed, lives in France. His house and olive trees in southern Lebanon were destroyed by Israel during its war with Hezbollah, according to his lawyers William Bourdon and Nicolas Busin, of the law firm Bourdon & Associes. “This is a French citizen asking the justice system of his own country to establish the full truth and deliver justice for the war crimes committed against him, in line with a broader context in southern Lebanon that appears to amount to ethnic cleansing,” Mr Busin said at a conference on corruption and accountability in Beirut on Tuesday. The conference, organised by the reformist political party Lana, was attended by opposition MP, Halima El Kaakour. Mr Busin said the complainant's family had no connection to Hezbollah, which he argued shows “the complete absence of any military objective” in what happened to his property. He described it as “an act of destruction, damage or even theft”, which he said constituted a war crime.He said the complaint was filed to uncover the truth, identify the perpetrators and prosecute them. According to Mr Busin, more than 6,000 French citizens serve in the Israeli milita...
Read briefing Two men have been arrested on suspicion of plotting terrorist attacks in the Manchester area, police have said.The pair, who are in their 30s, were detained as part of what police said has been a long-running investigation into an alleged plot against the Jewish community in Manchester.The arrests come a year after two worshippers attending services for the holy day of Yom Kippur were killed in a terrorist attack at Heaton Park Hebrew Synagogue in the city.Jihad Al Shamie, 35, drove his car at worshippers, then attacked others with a knife and tried to storm the synagogue while wearing a fake suicide belt. The two men were arrested on Newton Street, Manchester, on suspicion of offences under Section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000. They have been taken to a London police station for questioning, where they currently remain in custody.Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans, the UK's Senior National Co-ordinator for Counter Terrorism Policing, said the arrests are part of a “long-running proactive investigation” into what is believed to be a plot to target the Jewish community in the Manchester area. “As we have shown with these arrests, where we suspect there could be a threat to the public, then we will not hesitate to investigate and take action,” said Ms Evans. “We are pursuing a number of lines of inquiry and we anticipate these will continue over the coming days as this inv...
Read briefing Economic interdependence between Iran and its Gulf neighbours could provide a foundation for security in the long term, Majed Al Ansari, adviser to Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman, said in New York on Monday.Speaking at the Concordia Annual Summit, Mr Al Ansari laid out a vision for the region after the current conflict in which economic interests and security guarantees help reduce the risk of future confrontation.“Whenever this is done, the people of the Gulf are going to be living next to 90 million Iranians,” Mr Al Ansari, who is also spokesman for Qatar's Foreign Ministry, said ahead of the UN General Assembly's high-level debate. “Whatever Iran looks like, however it is governed, we're going to have to live next to them, and therefore, we need a diplomatic resolution that has a sustainable element when it comes to regional dialogue," he added.Such an arrangement would also need security guarantees to ensure Gulf countries are not targeted by Iran during future confrontations involving Tehran, he said.“We do believe wholeheartedly that there is a chance to create in the region something that has not happened since the inception of our region, which is economic interdependence,” he elaborated."Right now, we are so siloed when it comes to our economies that it does not cost the other party anything when the other side of the Gulf is threatened one way o...
Read briefing Artificial intelligence will play a major role in Lebanon's future as it seeks a path to economic stability, Minister of Finance Yassine Jaber said on Monday.Mr Jaber was responding to a question from The National during a discussion at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. Middle Eastern countries such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia have invested heavily in AI, as economists and experts say the technology could fuel unprecedented innovation. "AI is not only going to be playing a major role in Lebanon, it is going to be playing major role into the world," he said.Mr Jaber Lebanon's Minister of State for Technology and AI Kamal Shehadi, appointed in 2025, has announced that 2,500 Lebanon residents took part in an AI training programme organised by Zaka, a Middle East-based online education platform. "This is how we become the nation that masters AI faster than any other and integrate it into our work, our services and our centres of excellence – higher education, health care, creative industries, manufacturing, and business services," Mr Shehadi posted on X last week. During the CSIS discussion, Mr Jaber said the Ministry of Finance has developed an AI spokeswoman to help communicate the latest economic developments. "She is the Voice of the Ministry of Finance, Sawt Al Malia, and instead of just releasing all these statements via writing, she declares t...
Read briefing Major American television networks on Monday suspended their pooled coverage of President Donald Trump, after the White House barred CNN from carrying out its scheduled duties.ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox News and CNN, which make up the White House television pool roster, said they would not provide a replacement crew after CNN was prevented from covering Mr Trump.“The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government,” the five networks said in a joint statement. “No administration should restrict a news organisation because it objects to its reporting.”pic.twitter.com/g7DLK5V1bO— CBS News PR (@CBSNewsPress) September 21, 2026The networks normally take turns covering Mr Trump’s movements and presidential events, sharing footage with other news organisations and their clients. The suspension means there will be no television pool crew accompanying Mr Trump on his trip to New York, where he is due to speak at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.CNN had been scheduled to provide the pool coverage on Monday but was removed from the assignment after the White House barred the network from its grounds.The network, along with MS NOW and Politico, filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Monday, arguing the decision to revoke their journalists’ access breached their First Amendment rights. The First Amendment to the US Constitution guarant...
Read briefing Cybersecurity experts say lessons must be learnt from an incident in which digital banking platform Revolut was deceived into turning over private customer data to hackers. The UK-based financial technology firm, with more than 80 million customers, confirmed someone posing as an Italian government regulator by email succeeded in procuring identification card information, photos, account statements, transaction histories and other items of data from the company. Some reports suggest the hackers are already leaking that information and demanding Revolut pay a ransom to prevent more of the data being revealed. Revolut has not yet responded to The National's requests for comment.Technology experts and cybersecurity analysts say the type of attack could become more popular among criminal groups. “Nobody broke into Revolut's systems, the attackers asked for the data and the bank sent it,” said Ivan Milenkovic, vice president for cyber risk technology at IT security firm Qualys. Though the criminals hacked an Italian government's email system to pose as law enforcement, they also took advantage of human nature, Mr Milenkovic said.“The weak point was the [Revolut] desk that answers police requests and how much it trusts a government domain,” he said. The list of information stolen, which reportedly includes passports, driving licences and verification selfies, was particularly worriso...
Read briefing The Federal Aviation Administration on Monday ordered ground stoppages at several major airports in the north-east due to equipment problems, affecting the plans of thousands of passengers.It comes as New York prepares to host scores of world leaders this week for the UN General Assembly. Representatives of nearly 200 countries and territories will be arriving to lay out their nations' priorities for the coming year. The FAA said it was pausing flights into Philadelphia International, Teterboro and Newark Liberty International airports due to issues with some frequencies at Philadelphia's Terminal Radar Approach Control, or Tracon.The Tracon system manages planes in the airspace around major airports, guiding planes between the airport tower and en-route centres. It is unclear how long the stoppage will continue.Dozens of planes idled on the runway, with delays of up to 150 minutes at major airports in Newark and Philadelphia.Flightradar24, a flight-tracking website, said that planes at John F Kennedy and LaGuardia airports in New York had also been affected. The airports are two of the busiest in the country, with more than 2,000 total take-offs and landings a day.The issue comes as the FAA rolled out its artificial intelligence-powered tool to manage flights for Washington-area airports.Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has described the tool as a solution for the country's...
Read briefing The UAE on Sunday delivered critical aid to Colombia under a $10 million relief package set up last month in response to a powerful earthquake which killed more than 300 people and injured thousands more.The essential supplies flown into the South American country - including food, hygiene kits and cleaning equipment - will support communities still reeling from the natural disaster.The 7.4 magnitude quake struck near the town of San Jose del Palmar in Choco province on August 10, with its impact felt across large parts of western Colombia.The earthquake was one of the largest to hit Colombia in years, destroying thousand of homes and buildings and prompting the government to declare a state of emergency.The humanitarian aid effort was directed by President Sheikh Mohamed following the devastating earthquake.Sheikh Mohamed also spoke by phone with Colombia's new President, Abelardo de la Espriella, last month to express his sincere condolences to the victims of the earthquake and wished the injured a quick recovery.He extended his sympathies to the families of the victims and reaffirmed the UAE's solidarity with the government and the people of Colombia. Mr de la Espriella expressed his gratitude to Sheikh Mohamed for the UAE's response to the humanitarian crisis.
Read briefing Manchester City head into the international break with a three-point lead at the top of the Premier League after a caotic 5-3 win at home to Sunderland on Sunday.After Arsenal's 100 per cent record had been ended by Brighton 24 hours earlier, Enzo Maresca's men were made to fight all the way to preserve theirs at the Etihad Stadium as Dutch striker Brian Brobbey scored a hat-trick for the battling Black Cats.City had twice taken the lead only through Enzo Fernandez and Rayan Cheki, only for Brobbey to haul Sunderland level on both occasions. An Antoine Semenyo double put City 4-2 up ahead of Brobbey's third for the visitors, before Erling Haaland scored his first ever goal against Sunderland to seal the points in a game where neither side's defence covered themselves in glory. “If you’re winning at the end, you definitely enjoy it, if you lose, not so much,” said Semenyo. “It was a tough battle today. We knew it would be hard. They’re a very good team … We held on together as a team and we got the three points.”Set complete ✅@Erling Haaland has now scored against every team he's faced in the Premier League! pic.twitter.com/xw8Wisp8R1— Premier League (@premierleague) September 20, 2026City's ninth-minute opener came about thanks to some quick thinking from Fernandez. The Argentine curled a quick free-kick from the right hand side of the penalty inside the near-post and into the...
Read briefing Violence flared in the occupied West Bank on Sunday after a suspected Palestinian gunman shot dead an Israeli man, police said, while Israeli soldiers killed a Palestinian motorist who the military said had attempted to run them over.The gunman opened fire from a vehicle at Israelis gathered at a spring near the settlement of Neve Tzuf, near Ramallah, according to the Israeli military and police. Medics who arrived at the scene found a man in a car suffering from critical gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at a hospital, police said. The gunman was located several hours later at a hospital in Ramallah and arrested, police said.Shortly after the shooting, the military said its forces had “eliminated” a Palestinian driver who had attempted a ramming attack on soldiers near the settlement of Ganim, further north in the West Bank. No soldiers were hurt, it said. It is not known if the two incidents, which occurred on the eve of the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur, are connected.Following the incidents, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had instructed security agencies to increase their presence and carry out arrests and offensive operations in the area. The Palestinian militant group Hamas praised the shooting but did not claim responsibility for it.Violence has escalated in the West Bank since Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel and the ensuing Israeli mili...
Read briefing Young Arabs find much of the Arabic content available to them dated compared with its English-language equivalent, according to new research examining how the language is used across the region.The Congress ACI Arab Youth Pulse Survey 2025 found that 71 per cent of respondents prefer media in Arabic, while 67 per cent believe Arabic content feels outdated.Selected findings were discussed during the fifth Congress of Arabic and Creative Industries, held at Manarat Al Saadiyat in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, where there were discussions on topics including publishing, artificial intelligence, film, music and intellectual property.The survey, conducted by Ipsos and the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre, questioned 4,092 people aged between 18 and 25 across Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria and the UAE.The survey also found that Arabic remains central to the personal lives of young people, with 91 per cent using it at home and 85 per cent with friends. That figure falls to 64 per cent at school, university or work and 60 per cent when studying online. English use increases in those settings, with 77 per cent of respondents saying it is essential to achieving their goals.Ali Bin Tamim, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre, said the findings should prompt institutions to examine whether young people see Arabic as part of their professional f...
Read briefing The value of goods transiting through Sharjah and Oman logistics corridor has jumped more than 66 per cent in the first three months of operations as shippers looks to avoid the turbulent Strait of Hormuz amid the continuing Iran war. Goods worth Dh1.7 billion ($463.21 million) have been traded since May 17, when the corridor was launched to allow shipments to cross borders seamlessly into the Sultanate’s ports.Launched by Sharjah Ports, Customs and Free Zones Authority with Oman Customs, the dedicated corridor reflects the success of an “integrated sea–land logistics model that supports smoother trade flows and improves supply chain efficiency”, Sharjah Customs said in a statement on Sunday. The initiative allows importers, exporters, freight companies and logistics service providers with “more flexible and competitive logistics solutions”, it added.With the Iran war now in its seventh month, the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global route that powers global commerce, remains effectively shut, with continued Iranian attacks on commercial shipping. The significantly reduced flow of vessels through the narrow waterway, through which a fifth of global oil and gas passed before the conflict, has also disrupted commodities trade and upended supply chains.To circumvent the strait, heavy goods vehicles are now used far more extensively in the UAE to collect everything from supermarket sta...
Read briefing A UAE official source has responded to claims that Abu Dhabi warned Israel of an imminent Hamas attack in the weeks before October 7. With the Israeli elections fast approaching, the issue has become a major issue for politicians campaigning on the issue of security.Responding to a recent query from The National, a UAE official source pointed to the fact that the "UAE discusses security matters with other countries through the relevant entities, and does not discuss such details at the level of national leaders".
Read briefing The US is working with regional and international partners on a diplomatic push to secure a humanitarian truce in Sudan, which has been engulfed in a three-year civil war, a senior White House adviser has said. US President Donald Trump's adviser for Arab and African affairs, Massad Boulos, spoke to Sky News Arabia about Washington's efforts with fellow Quad countries – the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt – as well as Turkey, Qatar and European nations to establish a new path towards a ceasefire. "Today we are striving, together with our brothers in the Quad, namely Egypt, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, as well as our brothers in Qatar and Turkey and in Europe, towards a new peaceful path," he said in an interview broadcast on Saturday. Fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has devastated the country of 50 million people and battered its economy. International efforts aimed at ending the war have struggled to secure a lasting cessation of hostilities.Asked whether the US could force open humanitarian corridors, Mr Boulos said Washington was working with international and regional partners on the issue. He said the goal remained to secure a humanitarian truce as the first step towards a wider political settlement.Mr Boulos said the US continued to support the "comprehensive peace plan” he announced in February. The plan is centre...
Read briefing Google's Gemini model accessed the internet and hacked other companies during a test of its cybersecurity capabilities, the first known example of the company's AI systems autonomously committing such an act.The hacks occurred in May during a cybersecurity test conducted by Irregular, an independent company that evaluates cybersecurity.During a standard testing evaluation, Gemini found public information online and guessed credentials to access three websites it thought were within the scope of its test, Heather Adkins, Google's vice president of security engineering, said in a statement."We ensured the three entities were made aware, and we worked with our training partner on the changes they’ve now made to their testing processes," Adkins said. "These events highlight the importance of training powerful AI models to act responsibly."How did Gemini hack the websites?In one of the cases, the Gemini model guessed passwords until it gained access to a protected system. In the other two cases, the model found credentials in a public repository that allowed it to then access protected systems, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the news on Friday.Adkins said that in all three instances, the model ceased its hacking.An Irregular spokesperson said the incident involved the same issue that affected other AI labs and that all relevant labs were not...
Read briefing Arsenal suffered their first Premier League defeat of the season, going down 3-0 to Brighton & Hove Albion.Pascal Gross opened the scoring in the 31st minute before Charalampas Kostoulas added a second on the stroke of half time.Brighton showed just why they are the division's highest scorers with a third goal in the 51st minute courtesy of Chema Andres."I thought we showed great intensity, waited for mistakes and punished Arsenal. It was a strong performance, a very complete performance," Gross told BBC Match of the Day."We won the ball high up and attacked really fast. After the last two wins we are full of confidence and wanted to finish really strong before the international break ..."I know after the international break we play every three days and a lot of the lads are not used to that. It will be tough. I hope we can compete. We have a big squad this season."It was a famous win for the Seagulls, who wore a special kit for the match to commemorate their 125th year."Brighton deserved to win the game. We didn't do the basics right for long periods, especially in the first half," Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta told BBC Radio 5 Live. "We didn't win enough duels, and any second balls and that stretches you. With the errors that we made and especially with the principles we didn't apply against a team that wants to press you."Defeat means Arsenal drop below Manchester City into seco...
Read briefing Tottenham Hotspur's nightmare start to the season continued on Saturday as they fell to a 3-2 defeat at home to Aston Villa, a result that leaves them in the Premier League relegation zone.Spurs have now gone five league games without a win and dropped to 18th in the table.It is a damning indictment of a club that spent £325 million on new signings in the summer to push for a top-six finish. Spurs must now adjust those expectations to make sure they simply don't find themselves in the same situation as last season when they needed a win on the final day just to preserve their top-flight status.Chants of "you're getting sacked in the morning" from visiting Villa fans aimed at Spurs boss Roberto De Zerbi before the final whistle didn't feel at all ironic. Given how bad they have started the season, the Italian may spend the international break nervously wondering if he can pull off a repeat of last season's rescue act or if the Spurs board will decide he is not up to the task.In De Zerbi's defence, the 3-2 scoreline is misleading on many fronts. Spurs actually started brightly, and Villa were indebted to goalkeeper Zion Suzuki for keeping them in the game.The Japanese international pulled off four stunning saves – twice denying Savio, while also keeping out efforts from Archie Gray and Sandro Tonali. It felt like only a matter of time before Spurs broke their duck and scored in t...
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