Alleged flydubai attacker left Australia without finishing engineering course, university says 05. October 2026 (07:52) RMIT confirms co-pilot was a student as Australian authorities examine his time in country between 2015 and 2017An Australian university has confirmed a flydubai co-pilot who allegedly tried to hijack an Israel-bound flight studied at its Melbourne campus, but left before completing his qualification.Disaster was narrowly averted on 30 September when passengers and crew intervened to stop the alleged attempt of the co-pilot, identified by media outlets as Hammam al-Hammami, to take control of a flight to Tel Aviv with 182 people onboard. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
California woman arrested and accused of spying on Taiwan president’s son for China 05. October 2026 (07:39) The FBI arrested Wanying Zhang, also known as Heather, at Los Angeles International Airport before she left for China, the agency saidUS authorities arrested a California woman on Sunday, accusing her of spying on the son of Taiwan’s president at the behest of Chinese officials, the FBI said.The FBI arrested Wanying Zhang, also known as Heather, at Los Angeles International Airport on Sunday before her planned departure to China, the agency said in a statement. Authorities charged Zhang, 34, of Irvine, California, with acting as an unregistered foreign agent. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Authorities issue shark warning over whale that swam 11km upstream in Clarence River and later died 05. October 2026 (07:02) Juvenile humpback was spotted near Bundjalung national park in what experts say is a rare but not unprecedented eventGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastWhile the case of a whale found 11km upstream in a New South Wales river this weekend was unusual, it was not unprecedented, experts say.The juvenile humpback, which swam into the Clarence River on the state’s mid-north coast and later died, was towed out to sea on Sunday, according to NSW authorities. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
BBC morale dented by gradual ‘bloodletting’ after weeks of job cuts 05. October 2026 (07:00) Plans to shed as many as 2,000 employees have been announced in stages, and staff fear further cuts in 2027Morale at the BBC has been severely dented by a gradual “bloodletting” that has seen plans to shed as many as 2,000 staff slowly announced over several weeks, members of the corporation’s staff have warned.More internal meetings have been called for this week to discuss further details of the cuts, which aim to save £500m. Some staff already fear that further waves of cuts will follow soon after in the new year. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
From hotel suites to virtual reality, museums turn to licensing deals as costs rise 05. October 2026 (07:00) Natural History Museum and British Museum among cultural institutions leveraging collections and exhibitionsThey are often free to visit but museums are bolstering their finances by putting their stamp on everything from upmarket hotel suites to trendy jumpsuits and virtual reality experiences.Forget buying a T-shirt. If you can afford the “from £724” price tag, you can spend the night in the Natural History Museum family suite at the Park Plaza London Riverbank hotel, which has an interior inspired by the museum’s founder, Sir Richard Owen, complete with Tyrannosaurus rex bunk beds. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Skull fractures suggest servants of Egypt’s ancient kings were sacrificed 05. October 2026 (06:00) Study of remains taken from royal cemetery at Umm el-Qa’ab appears to confirm early Egyptologist’s theoryCourt officials and craftspeople serving early Egyptian kings may have been sacrificed when their ruler died, according to research that found fractures in several ancient skulls.The royal cemetery of Umm el-Qa’ab near Abydos features the tombs and enclosures of the First Dynasty rulers of Egypt, and dates as far back as 3,000BC. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Ball in UK’s court: EU ambassador says Brussels will be ‘ready to engage‘ after country decides what it wants 05. October 2026 (06:00) Jukka Salovaara, who served in London during Cool Britannia era, will be ‘very close’ to negotiations as Burnham government resets relations with EUJukka Salovaara, the newly installed European Union ambassador to the UK, is likely to become a ubiquitous figure in national politics as the Andy Burnham government grapples with the question of its future relationship with the European Union.Burnham has been clearer than his predecessor Keir Starmer in saying that what exists now is not working and that a full range of options, including rejoining, has to be on the table ahead of Labour’s next election manifesto. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Exiled separatist leader is likely to return to a very different Catalonia 05. October 2026 (06:00) Nine years on from a failed independence push, former president Carles Puigdemont will find times have changedAfter years of legal wrangling, Spain’s constitutional court is expected to remove the last obstacle to the return of the former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont after nearly nine years in exile this week.Puigdemont fled in 2017 to avoid being jailed for his part in the failed and illegal independence push for which nine of his colleagues were imprisoned on sentences of up to 13 years, although all were released within three years. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
One Nation to establish headquarters in multimillion-dollar Brisbane office bought by Gina Rinehart 05. October 2026 (04:35) Barnaby Joyce defends move, saying party will lease space from mining billionaire’s company at commercial ratesOne Nation celebrated stunning success in Queensland in 1998 – then it all fell apart. What happened?Listen to episode 4 of The Populist podcastGet our new political email, free app or daily news podcastBarnaby Joyce has defended One Nation’s plan to move its headquarters to a multimillion-dollar Brisbane office building bought by the mining billionaire Gina Rinehart.The One Nation MP said the party’s national head office would pay the market rate to Rinehart’s company to rent the space, claiming there would be no mate’s rates. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Man shot dead after crashing car and allegedly pointing gun at NSW police 05. October 2026 (03:31) Officers were responding to reports a car had driven into a tree 84km north of Yass on SundayGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA man has been shot dead by police in regional New South Wales after allegedly aiming a loaded rifle at officers responding to a car crash.NSW police were responding to reports that a car had driven into a tree on a road 84km north of Yass about 2.50pm on Sunday. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
