The San Francisco chapter of SEAL (Social and Economic Action for Lebanon) once again turned out for Lebanon on Sunday, October 18, 2026, raising close to $800,000 for Lebanese farmers at its annual benefit gala at the Four Seasons Hotel in Palo Alto.

The nonprofit has worked from the U.S. East Coast for more than a quarter century, and this year marked its fifth consecutive gala in California. More than 200 guests and donors filled the ballroom, hosted by Roula Tamer, chair of SEAL’s board of directors, alongside fellow board members and the event committee.

The European Union opened an investigation into online travel agent Booking.com on Wednesday over alleged failures to tackle fake listings and phishing scams.

Online services for a number of U.K. banks in and around London were disrupted by a Google Cloud outage Tuesday.

The cloud outages began just after 2 a.m. eastern, or 6:08 a.m. GMT.

China and the United States agreed to set up a "communication channel" for artificial intelligence incidents, both sides said, after a Washington summit short on breakthroughs.

The most powerful venture capital firm in Silicon Valley is starting a two-year private school for young people intended to replace college, as some U.S. tech elite question the benefits of a classical university education.

U.N. chief Antonio Guterres called Tuesday for AI superpowers the United States and China to start a dialogue on the fast-moving technology's future akin to U.S.-Soviet engagement at the height of the Cold War.

The European Union's top official proposed on Wednesday banning children under 13 across the 27-nation bloc from using social media sites and imposing limits for older teens on accessing the platforms.

The plan outlined by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen adds to global efforts to protect young people using platforms such as Instagram and TikTok from online harm.

Top tech firms need to get their powerful artificial intelligence models "under control", the European Union warned Friday after a series of hacks by AI agents.

Russia announced Friday that it was rolling out its long-delayed 5G mobile network, but that iPhone users would be unable to connect until Apple coordinated the move with Moscow.

A group in Yemen attempted to use Anthropic's Claude chatbot to build guided rockets and missiles, the U.S. firm has revealed, as Iran-backed Houthi rebels are on the offensive in the country.