Month: October 2026

AI-generated fashion models present a tantalising opportunity for brands: the ability to create lifelike images for their retail websites while cutting costs by 90% or more compared to photo shoots with human models. For the modelling industry, the technology poses an existential threat because of scant regulation governing the ownership or use of digital twins. Fashion models face the risk ​of unpaid replication of their image – or replacement by entirely synthetic models. To understand how AI is upending the economics of fashion modelling, Reuters interviewed 15 model-agency directors and…

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Three brothers convicted of exploiting their access to wealth and high society in New York and Miami to ​drug and rape women were each sentenced on Tuesday to ‌30 years in prison. The twins Alon Alexander and Oren Alexander, 39, and Tal Alexander, 40, were sentenced by US District Judge Valerie Caproni in Manhattan, ​seven months after being convicted in a six-week trial of ​multiple sex crimes, including conspiracy to commit sex trafficking. Lawyers for ⁠the brothers did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Caproni ​called the brothers’ conduct…

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Experts at a digital defence firm recently found that an Israeli ad tech company was heavily targeting users of ​Starlink’s satellite internet service in a likely effort to spy on them, according to six people familiar with the matter. Researchers at TrendAI, a unit of Tokyo-based cybersecurity company Trend Micro, ‌concluded the Israeli company Discover-Tech was one of the biggest sources of digital ads shown to users of SpaceX’s Starlink service and that the ads were likely being used to geolocate or otherwise surveil them, according to the six people.…

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The United States has told several Gulf Arab countries to prepare for a “short, intense military campaign” against Iran after the November 3 midterm elections, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing people briefed on the discussions. The messages, conveyed through diplomatic and military channels, are among growing signs that Washington and Israel are preparing for renewed heavy combat operations aimed at weakening Iran and pressuring it to return to negotiations, the report said. The US military is moving a Patriot missile defence system from Texas to the region,…

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Arnab, a powerful cyclone, has stalled close to India’s east ​coast, with landfall expected to last two more hours, authorities ‌said on Wednesday. More than 180,000 people have been evacuated in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha ahead of Cyclone Arnab’s arrival. No loss of life has been reported ​in either state, though power supplies have been disrupted and ​trees have been uprooted. Some schools have been closed and ⁠some train and flight services cancelled. Arnab, classified by the India Meteorological ​Department as a very severe cyclonic storm, the…

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The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said it intercepted and destroyed a Houthi ballistic missile fired towards the western Saudi city of Taif early Wednesday, as authorities issued emergency alerts in Jeddah and Yanbu. Saudi Civil Defence later issued an all-clear for both areas without specifying the threat that had prompted the warnings. The coalition did not report any casualties or damage from the interception. The latest incident followed damage in Riyadh late Tuesday after Saudi air defences intercepted two Houthi ballistic missiles. Debris struck a building, a construction project and…

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Pakistani actor and producer Humayun Saeed has called for the establishment of a local over-the-top (OTT) streaming platform, saying it could help Pakistani dramas reach wider audiences and eventually attract international platforms such as Netflix. In an interview with Ali Salman, Saeed discussed the distinctive style of Pakistani dramas, the challenges facing the country’s streaming industry, the growing role of social media in discovering talent and the lessons he learnt while working on Netflix’s The Crown. Saeed said Pakistani dramas had a distinct identity shaped by their writing, dialogue delivery…

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Oil prices rose on Wednesday after an attack on a refinery in Saudi Arabia, the ​world’s biggest crude exporter, renewed concerns around the ‌risks to supply in the Middle East stemming from the conflict with Iran and its proxies. Brent crude futures rose $1.48, or 1.3%, to $115.36 a ​barrel. US West Texas Intermediate ​crude rose $1.22, or 1.22%, to $101.12. Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis said on Tuesday ⁠they had hit Saudi Arabia’s biggest oil refinery with ​a missile, intensifying their strikes against the world’s second-largest crude ​producer. Saudi authorities did…

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