How does Iraq’s security change after US forces withdraw?
Iraq marks US troop withdrawal with 'Sovereignty Days', symbolising a shift after decades of foreign military presence.
Iraq celebrates National Sovereignty Day as US troops withdraw
Iraq’s security forces held parades in Baghdad and Najaf to celebrate ‘Sovereignty Day’ as US troops withdraw.
Zelensky visits Lyman sector, says Operation Vivaldi reclaimed 125 square kilometers – The Kyiv Independent
- Zelensky visits Lyman sector, says Operation Vivaldi reclaimed 125 square kilometers The Kyiv Independent
- Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, September 28, 2026 Critical Threats
- Zelenskiy says he visits military command post near Ukraine's eastern frontline reuters.com
- An Overture to Victory: Operation Vivaldi and Ukraine’s Path to Battlefield Decision Modern War Institute -
- Ukraine Plans 4th Phase of Operation Vivaldi After Retaking 176 Square Km, Inflicting 5,000 Russian Losses Kyiv Post
Botswana condemned for slaughtering 23 elephants for independence celebrations
The government authorises the hunting of elephants and dozens of other wild animals for independence day feasts.
Is Iran losing its leverage over the Strait of Hormuz?
Crude flows through Hormuz have recovered, but tanker insurance costs and geopolitical risks remain barriers to a return to normality.
Trump administration diverts human rights funds to push far-right agenda abroad – The Guardian
Evangelical leader slams Palestinian official’s Bible claims as ‘contemptible’ – Fox News
Voters back Burnham’s plan to cut back triple lock to fund social care reform by 48% to 28%, poll suggests – UK politics live
The data suggest Burnham may be able to win the argument with the public amid lobbying efforts
Andy Burnham has suggested that it would not be legitimate for a party to form a majority government with less than 30% of the vote.
In his Today interview, asked why he wanted electoral reform and a move towards proportional representation, Burnham replied:
I found it better being elected under a different system as mayor of Greater Manchester, where people had one or two, they could put that on the ballot paper.
Because you had a reason to stop on every doorstep and chat to people who might not always support your party and try and get their second preference.
No, it could happen with any political party. It’s whether that would be a legitimate government.
I think you’ve got it completely wrong really, if you don’t mind me saying, to put it like that, because I have put out … a vision for a national care service.
There are pensioners out there who watch your programme who are paying for care costs from their basic state pension. Now, is that right or fair?
Continue reading...Flydubai flight to Israel diverted after attack on pilot
Dramatic video shows the aftermath of an attack on a pilot on a Flydubai flight to the Israeli city of Tel Aviv.
Ireland vs Israel Nations League match will go ahead, coach confirms
The Football Association of Ireland says the team will fulfil the second fixture despite public opposition.
Last UK and US troops leave Iraq as anti-Islamic State mission ends
The withdrawal of coalition forces, under a deal agreed two years ago, was a key demand of the Iraqi government.
Africa’s richest man launches Kenya oil refinery despite land protests
The Kenya refinery is part of Dangote's ambitious bid to expand and help industralise Africa by 2030.
Russia extends diesel export ban – Financial Times
- Russia extends diesel export ban Financial Times
- Russia Extends Diesel-Export Ban as Global Supply Squeezed Bloomberg.com
- Russia’s Crude Exports Rise as Diesel Ban Limits Gains From Higher Oil Prices The Moscow Times
- Russia extends diesel export ban until end of October reuters.com
- Russia's Black Sea diesel exports fall to zero for first time on record S&P Global
‘Third country’ deportation can resume, US supreme court rules | First Thing
Trump administration can deport immigrants to countries other than their homeland. Plus, 550lb bear returns to LA neighborhood
Good morning. The supreme court has ruled the Trump administration can resume deporting immigrants to “third countries”, or countries other than their homeland, without giving them any opportunity to contest their removals.
The six-justice conservative majority of the high court temporarily lifted a decision by a lower court that required the administration to provide immigrants sufficient notice and the opportunity to claim fear of torture or persecution in the countries where they were being sent.
What has the administration asked the supreme court to rule on about trans prisoners? The administration asked the justices to allow it to deny gender-affirming care to transgender people in federal prisons. The solicitor general, D John Sauer, wrote that gender-reassignment surgeries, hormone therapy and social accommodations such as undergarments, makeup, padding and wigs “could no longer be justified.”
Why is the EPA union suing the administration? The union, which represents more than 8,000 workers at the Environmental Protection Agency, has filed a lawsuit against the EPA and the agency’s administrator, Lee Zeldin, alleging it illegally terminated a collective bargaining agreement.
Which legal battle has Trump appeared to have conceded? The president has agreed to stop fighting the disbursement of E Jean Carroll’s $5m verdict in her 2023 sexual abuse and defamation civil trial against him, a procedural development as the funds had already been distributed to her.
What new product has OpenAI announced? Less than 24 hours after OpenAI said it would scrap the launch of a model over safety concerns, the company debuted a whole new suite of artificial intelligence tools, including “dots”, agents it said were “more ambitious” than ChatGPT and a “whole new way to work with AI.”
Why is Greta Garbo making AI headlines? More than a century after her screen debut and decades after she was laid to rest, the actor has been reanimated by AI for a Swedish advert. Peter Bradshaw has given it a damning one-star review.
Continue reading...Israel-bound passenger plane makes emergency landing in Saudi Arabia after reported fight between pilots
Israeli officials scrambled fighter jets amid fears of possible hijacking before plane landed at Tabuk airport
A commercial plane travelling from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates to Israel has been forced to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia, after an apparent brawl between its pilots prompted distress signals that briefly raised fears of an attempted hijacking.
The flydubai flight was over Jordan when it diverted to Saudi Arabia, transmitting three emergency signals, one of which indicated a possible unlawful interference.
Continue reading...AI tool that copied actor’s ‘lustrous’ voice violated his rights, Tokyo court rules
Kenjiro Tsuda wins case against TikTok account in landmark Japanese verdict to protect publicity rights
A court in Japan has ruled that the human voice has legal protection after a landmark case involving a well-known actor and a TikTok account that he claimed had cloned his “lustrous” baritone voice in its AI-generated videos.
Tokyo district court said on Wednesday that voices should enjoy the same protection as publicity rights, at the end of a closely watched legal action brought against TikTok by Kenjiro Tsuda – best known for voicing the character Kento Nanami in the anime Jujutsu Kaisen.
Continue reading...Iranian singer’s 74 lashes for performing without a hijab ‘a form of torture’, say rights groups
Iranian court upholds sentence against 29-year-old star Parastoo Ahmadi and other musicians in crackdown on women flouting hijab law
An Iranian court’s decision to uphold a sentence of 74 lashes against the popular singer Parastoo Ahmadi for performing without a hijab has sparked outrage among rights groups, who described it as “a form of torture”.
In June, Ahmadi, 29, and eight members of her production team, including musicians, were sentenced by a court in the city of Qom over a concert that was streamed online in 2024, which went viral and racked up millions of views. The court said the group had violated the country’s “legal and cultural norms” and called the performance “obscene and vulgar”.
Continue reading...What’s behind French student protests that turned violent? – Al Jazeera
- What’s behind French student protests that turned violent? Al Jazeera
- Hundreds Detained in France as Some Student Protests Turn Violent The New York Times
- France: Hundreds of students arrested as protests over school conditions escalate DW.com
- Dozens hurt and hundreds arrested in wave of French school protests BBC
- Hundreds detained as student protests across France turn violent The Guardian
Couple describes relief at rescue after whale destroys their yacht
Jeremy and Gemma Cooper were 500 miles off the coast of New Zealand when their yacht, the Tai Tam, collided with a sperm whale.
California rushes to prepare for massive ‘Kelvin’ wave and predicted sea level rise
Wave nearing southern California expected to reach San Francisco Bay Area by October as it crawls toward Alaska
Communities across California are rushing to prepare for the imminent arrival of the so-called “Kelvin wave”, a massive underwater band of warm water threatening to inundate swaths of the vast North American shoreline.
The wave is nearing southern California and expected to reach the San Francisco Bay Area by early October, as it crawls toward Alaska. Waters could rise by a foot along the California coast, according to scientists, who have warned that this could dramatically double the 8-12in rise in sea levels already caused by climate change over the last century.
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