Norway’s Princess Astrid dies two days after attending brother King Harald’s funeral
Israel says it has destroyed major underground Hezbollah base
People ‘incensed’ about North Sea plans can vote Green in byelection, says Zack Polanski
Party leader, who will contest Starmer’s former seat of Holborn and St Pancras, says gas drilling has come up on doorstep
Zack Polanski has said a vote for him in the upcoming Holborn and St Pancras byelection is a vote against the government’s reported plans to greenlight a North Sea gasfield.
The leader of the Green party in England and Wales, who was selected on Friday to contest the London seat, also said he was considering building a stockpile for the extreme weather predicted with the arrival of the biggest El Niño in 1,000 years, a meteorological phenomenon that supercharges floods and droughts.
Continue reading...Remembrance ceremonies to be held across the US to honor victims of 9/11
Memorials and remembrances will mark the 25 years since the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 on 11 September 2001
The United States is marking the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on Friday, with memorials and remembrance ceremonies taking place across the country to honor the nearly 3,000 people killed in the attacks.
In New York City, the national September 11 memorial and museum will hold its annual commemoration ceremony, with the families of victims gathering at the 9/11 Memorial Plaza and reading aloud the names of those killed in the 9/11 attacks and in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
Continue reading...UK chancellor urged to remove ‘hidden taxes’ from energy bills
Businesses, charities and other groups sign letter calling for levies to be paid by the government
More than 120 organisations including big businesses and charities have called for the removal of “hidden taxes” added to energy bills to help reduce costs for consumers and prevent businesses closing.
In a letter to the chancellor the signatories – including Energy UK, business trade body the CBI, End Fuel Poverty and Age UK – called for levies amounting to 10% of energy bills that fund policies to be paid for by the government. John Healey is to present his first budget on 28 October.
Continue reading...RNLI reports ‘significant’ donations boost after being targeted by far right over small boats
Charity condemns ‘disgraceful’ intimidation and insists it will continue core purpose of saving lives at sea
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) has had a “significant” boost in donations since becoming a target of far-right agitators protesting over small boat crossings.
The charity’s staff and volunteers have been subjected to “online and physical abuse” after involvement in a rescue on Sunday in which a dingy carrying asylum seekers was brought into Portsmouth.
Continue reading...Princess Diana’s ‘revenge dress’ goes up for auction
How Ron DeSantis politicized Florida’s higher education by placing his loyalists at the top
Term-limited, hard-right governor instituted an ideological infiltration of universities by placing allies in powerful posts
In fewer than four months’ time, Ron DeSantis, Florida’s hard-right governor, will be termed out of office, and what critics saw as his relentless eight-year, “anti-woke” assault on higher education in the state will finally be over.
But while DeSantis himself will be gone, numerous hand-picked loyalists will remain in positions of power to protect his ideological makeover of universities and colleges. The latest, Alex Kelly, the governor’s former deputy chief of staff, and Florida commerce secretary, was named last week as the sole finalist in Pensacola state college’s search for a new president, at least the 12th close DeSantis ally to win such a plum post.
Continue reading...Iran’s Houthi allies capture strategic island on vital oil shipping route
Rampant Yemeni fighters take control of island in narrow point of Bab al-Mandab strait, which Saudi is relying on for oil exports
Yemen’s rampant Houthi forces have captured a strategic island in the Bab al-Mandab strait, expanding their control of the narrow waterway, one of the world’s vital shipping routes.
The Iran-aligned Houthis took control of the volcanic island after forces allied to the UN-backed, Aden-based government left in the latest of a dramatic series of reverses along Yemen’s west coast in recent days, including the loss of the port city of Mocha on Thursday.
Continue reading...Hundreds of asylum seekers removed from UK to France have disappeared, say NGOs
Rights groups say those missing after being deported under one in, one out deal include dozens of age-disputed children
Hundreds of asylum seekers including at least 41 age-disputed children who were removed to France under the “one in, one out” deal have disappeared, human rights organisations have said.
The pilot scheme was hailed as “groundbreaking” by the former prime minister Keir Starmer when he and the French president, Emmanuel Macron, announced it in July 2025. Under a treaty drawn up for this agreement, it forcibly returns small-boat asylum seekers to France in exchange for others brought legally to the UK from France.
Continue reading...Céline Dion sparks mass karaoke and power-ballad fever with return to stage in Paris
Fans from around the world gather for star’s long-awaited performances after break because of neurological condition
More than 30,000 Céline Dion fans have gathered in Paris for the Canadian singer’s long-awaited return to performing on Saturday night, four years after she revealed her diagnosis of stiff person syndrome, a rare neurological condition.
Thousands more people without tickets have flocked to a series of giant karaoke events across France to belt out Dion’s famous power ballads, in celebration of the star’s health stabilising enough for her to return to the stage.
Continue reading...Buddhist monk arrested in suspected $3m embezzlement scandal
Nation pauses to remember September 11 on 25th anniversary | First Thing
Commemoration ceremonies to be held around the world for the nearly 3,000 killed in 2001 terror attack on US. Plus, JD Vance sets out his stall as heir to Donald Trump
Good morning. It is a sombre day for the nation as people gather to mourn and remember the nearly 3,000 victims of the attacks on September 11 2001, when 19 al-Qaida hijackers seized control of four airliners, slamming two of the planes into the World Trade Center, one into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and the fourth into a field in western Pennsylvania.
We have comprehensive coverage of the anniversary, which will be marked by ceremonies around the world. There are stories of the day from people who were there. Stanley Praimnath and Brian Clark were two of only four individuals known to have survived above the impact zone in the south tower, and they spoke to our Washington bureau chief David Smith. Anna Sweeney Rossman was five when her mother, Amy Sweeney, a flight attendant, was killed onboard American Airlines flight 11, and she spoke to Ramon Antonio Vargas about how the events of that day have cast a shadow on her life.
Donald Trump’s promise of a $5,000 “Trump dividend” for every US citizen if Republicans retain control of the US Congress in November’s midterm elections has sparked incredulity and accusations of bribery.
With his approval rating at a historic low, Trump brought down the curtain on the Republicans’ first ever midterm convention by pleading with supporters to do him “the biggest favor” and “pretend” they are voting for him in November’s US elections.
JD Vance, meanwhile, made a clear pitch that he should be the heir to Trump with a blistering speech that featured exaggerated claims of success, criticism of the Democrats as “lunatics” and an aggressive dismissal of a protester waving a Mexican flag.
A US appeals court has rejected Trump’s attempt to impose sweeping restrictions on mail-in voting before November’s high-stakes midterm elections, dealing a fresh blow to the president’s attempted crackdown.
Anthropic has detailed efforts by bad actors to misuse its AI for the production of bioweapons. More researchers and staff members at the AI startup have posted their own dire warnings about the safety of the technology, but Elon Musk called the chorus of concerns a “setup” and a “psyop”.
California has adopted what Gavin Newsom described as “nation-leading” legislation that bans addictive social media features for young users, regulates companion chatbots and implements new safeguards around AI.
Sales of previously occupied US homes declined in August to their slowest annual pace in more than a year as home shoppers grappled with rising mortgage rates and home prices.
Continue reading...Houthis take control of Yemen’s Red Sea coast, key shipping route
Six Nigerians accused of romance scams to be extradited to the US
Trump shadow looms large over Brics as Modi hosts Putin and Xi in Delhi
Yemen’s Houthis seize strategic Red Sea port of Mokha – BBC
- Yemen's Houthis seize strategic Red Sea port of Mokha BBC
- Iran war live: Houthis take control of Yemen’s entire Red Sea coastline Al Jazeera
- Iran-backed Houthis seize key port in Yemen, advance on another vital oil choke point CNBC
- Houthis Seize Strategic Red Sea Port, a Major Victory for Iranian Ally The New York Times
- Why Houthi gains in Yemen could push gas prices even higher NPR