Newshour

As fighting escalates between federal government forces and an alliance of armed groups including the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front, we ask what's behind it and hear from a former TPLF spokesperson.
Also in the programme: as the Pope warns we are in danger of “losing our humanity” to AI machines, how can we make AI safe? Could President Xi's wife Peng Liyuan be China's "soft power super-weapon"? And Manchester City football club is found guilty of breaking financial rules.
(IMAGE: TPLF forces sit along a street in Mekelle, capital of Tigray Region, Ethiopia, September 24, 2026 / CREDIT: Obtained by REUTERS)

US President Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping have exchanged warm words at a lavish White House state dinner but gave little indication of progress on pressing issues. Xi stressed that they should ensure artificial intelligence remains "under human control", while Trump toasted a future of "harmony, peace and success" for both nations.
Also in the programme: As the Tigrayans go on the offensive in Ethiopia, where is that conflict headed? And a new test for brain tumours that can slash diagnosis time to just two hours.
(Photo: Presidents Xi and Trump in Washington DC. Credit: Reuters)

Xi Jinping -- on a visit to Washington -- has called for China and the United States to cooperate despite their differences, and to ensure AI remains under human control. Newshour hears from Republican Congressman Michael Baumgartner.
Also in the programme: the FBI investigates a major cyber hack; and a new study on the origin of bats.
(Picture: US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping walk back to the White House in Washington, D.C., US, September 24, 2026. Credit: Reuters)

A OpenAI agent has hacked an Australian government website, its prime minister Anthony Albanese said.
The agent hacked a statistics portal containing private data from Australia's universal healthcare scheme, Medicare. We'll be looking at why OpenAI took so long to notice. The Australian government has launched an urgent review into the situation
Also in the programme: A US judge has overturned a White house ban on several media organisation by the Trump administration; today sees the launch of a new version of Meta's controversial glasses - this time, they're audio-only; and a veteran of Poland's jazz scene on emerging from behind the "Iron Curtain".
(Photo shows the OpenAI logo at the Dreamforce 2026 technology summit in San Francisco, California, US on 17 September 2026. Carlos Barria/Reuters)

Could there be a return to full-scale civil war in the Horn of Africa, where fresh fighting has broken out in Ethiopia?
Also in the programme: President Trump's Board of Peace for Gaza announces a $2.45bn recovery plan for the territory. We speak to one of the board's members and get the view of a Palestinian; and French archaeologists find new evidence of the origins of the city of Paris.
(Picture: Rickshaw taxis and motorists drive along the street near the Tigray Martyrs monument in Mekelle, Tigray Region, Ethiopia, September 23, 2026. Credit: REUTERS/Stringer)