September 2026
All columns and Brief analyses.
10 results
The Board of Peace tabled a 6-month, 2.45 billion dollar Gaza plan
The Board of Peace put a 6-month, 2.45 billion dollar start, built from 66 projects, in front of donors in New York. The plan records how far the ceasefire's implementation has stalled. Physical damage is put at about 35.2 billion dollars over the medium term and 71.4 billion dollars over the next 10 years. The frame is tied to a 20-point plan.
The CMA wants AI assistants on Google's search choice screen
The Competition and Markets Authority published strengthened proposals on 23 September for a Google choice of search service on a new Android phone and the first time Chrome opens, then again every year. An AI assistant can join that list when it meets technical and security tests. The Next Web reports the same yearly prompt on Android and Chrome choice screens in the UK.
The Netherlands publishes a call for pre-release tests of frontier models
The Dutch government published a call for control of frontier AI models, asking companies for mandatory pre-release tests and independent evaluation, and governments for incident reporting. It also asks UN members to explore an institution once a capability threshold is crossed. The Next Web counts 21 countries and the EU behind the 22 September statement, with Friedrich Merz, Mark Carney and Ursula von der Leyen among the signatories.
The new Snapdragon pair runs models on the phone
Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and the Extreme Gen 6 at its summit, 9to5Google confirms, as chips for the next Android phones. TechCrunch reports Qualcomm's own claim that the sensing hub runs models of up to 200 million parameters and that the Extreme version runs a 30 billion parameter mixture-of-experts model on the device. Qualcomm also says the hub can run a voice-in, voice-out agent. No independent measurement of those sizes is on the page.
The OECD lifts Türkiye's 2026 inflation forecast to 31.5 per cent and cuts growth
The OECD raised its 2026 headline inflation forecast for Türkiye to 31.5 per cent from 28.4 per cent in June, and cut 2026 growth to 2.7 per cent from 3.1 per cent. CNN Türk reports the same 31.5 per cent inflation and 2.7 per cent growth, with 2027 inflation at 24.7 per cent and growth at 3.6 per cent. The global growth forecast it cites is 2.9 per cent.
The South African Reserve Bank raised the policy rate to 7.25 percent
The Monetary Policy Committee raised the policy rate by 25 basis points to 7.25 percent, unanimously, effective 25 September. Headline inflation is 4.4 percent. All six members voted for the increase. The prime rate moves to 10.75 percent, and this is the second hike this year after May's move to 7 percent.
Trump backs a US diesel export ban that is not yet a rule
At the UN, Donald Trump, the president, said he had called inside his own government for diesel not to be exported. The Financial Times headline says he would back a US diesel export ban. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said officials were examining whether a full or partial ban was feasible. Energy Secretary Chris Wright has warned a ban could cut refinery output and raise coastal fuel prices. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum warned of retaliation by other energy exporters. No ban has been adopted.
Two lutetium-176 ion clocks at NUS agree near 1 × 10−19
Arnold and colleagues compare two 176Lu+ ion clocks at the National University of Singapore. Each has a fractional frequency uncertainty near 1 × 10−19. The measured relative frequency difference is −0.1 ± 5.7 statistical ± 1.0 systematic, times 10−19. The university describes the clocks as the most accurate it has reported, using light near 848 nanometres at room temperature.
US and Iranian envoys meet for three hours at the UN
Donald Trump said Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner joined a three-hour meeting with an Iranian delegation at the UN and called it very good, with another meeting to follow. The Financial Times calls the contact the first talks since June and says Trump threatened annihilation. Iranian officials told the Guardian, as Al Jazeera reports, that Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was there and that Qatar mediated. The Guardian cast it as the first such contact since JD Vance met an Iranian delegation in Switzerland in June.
Wesseling yields 934 denarii, a Hadrian-era hoard
A hoard found near Wesseling by licensed detectorist Oliver Riedl held 934 silver denarii in excavation, the LVR archaeological office for the Rhineland says. Live Science reports the same kind of find: more than 900 Roman silver coins from Hadrian's time, uncovered by a detectorist in Germany. The newest coin was minted in 124 or 125, so the burial falls in Hadrian's reign, 117 to 138. The oldest was minted in 148 BCE and was still valid when buried. Most coins date to the Flavian emperors.