August 2026
All columns and Brief analyses.
10 results
New models arrive as access and pricing diverge
GLM-5.3 raised the coding-model stakes, DeepSeek paired a new build with steep price increases, and Google opened Gemini 3.7 Flash to paid Search users, changing the terms of model access.
OpenAI adds an ultrafast tier as the AI price war stays in the middle
OpenAI opened a Cerebras tier reaching 750 output tokens per second, while Kog accelerated existing GPUs. Mid-range model discounts show that inference cost is shifting into hardware and service choices.
Outreach and shrinking women's rights five years into Taliban rule
As the Taliban administration asks Washington to reopen its embassy and invest, Afghan women describe restrictions on education and movement, while funding cuts threaten more than half of surveyed women's organisations with closure.
Philippine growth slows as Malaysian voters and US consumers resist the upbeat numbers
Philippine growth slowed to 2.3 per cent and softened the rate stance; Malaysia's 6 per cent growth failed to reassure voters, while US consumer sentiment also fell in early August.
Pressure builds in Hormuz as the ceasefire clock runs down
With the US-Iran ceasefire nearing expiry, Trump asserted a territorial claim over the strait, Canada imposed sanctions, and the UAE blamed Iran for attacks on two ADNOC vessels. The attacker was not independently verified.
Protection methods shift as AI content scales up
AI-written books are taking sales in self-published catalogues as Google makes its visible marker optional, Anthropic prepares a hidden text signature, and researchers propose generation-time stand-ins for copyrighted characters.
Seoul sought an end to war as Tehran kept Washington waiting
South Korea's president called for talks to end the Korean War, while Iran withheld a decision on returning to the US table and a carrier rotation maintained military pressure nearby.
Ships and ports become the new pressure points
Ballistic missiles struck al-Makha, Kyiv sanctioned ships carrying grain from occupied territory, and Moscow threatened retaliation against EU cargo-seizure powers, turning maritime logistics into an expanding arena of coercion.
Single photons get cleaner as a terahertz transmitter shrinks to one chip
A narrow filter sharply reduced multi-photon errors, a nonrepeating pattern produced room-temperature lasing, and an integrated lithium-niobate transmitter carried sub-terahertz links; each result removes a familiar photonics constraint while remaining a laboratory demonstration.
Tariff refunds reach buyers as a rewritten trade pact could add billions
Some shippers are passing tariff refunds to the buyers who paid them after a court ruling. Detroit automakers will argue that rewriting the North American trade pact could add billions in new costs.