Australia and Turkey criticised for hosting UN climate conference while embracing coal 04. October 2026 (16:00) Global campaign group 350.org urges Cop31 hosts to announce a coal phase-out date and national roadmaps to get off fossil fuelsSign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter hereThe hosts of the next major United Nation climate conference, Turkey and Australia, are facing criticism for being partners in a coal supply chain while remaining near silent on the need for a global deal to rapidly get off fossil fuels.With the Cop31 summit in the Turkish Mediterranean city of Antalya just a month away, the two countries running the fortnight-long talks have been accused by activists of a “vacuum of action” on plans for a transition away from coal, gas and oil – a key goal of many nations at the talks. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
JD Vance flexing Maha connections as he eyes 2028 election 04. October 2026 (16:00) Considered Republican frontrunner for presidential election, Vance is cozying up to the movement – as it splitsJD Vance, widely considered to be the Republican frontrunner for the presidential election in 2028, is aligning himself with the Make America Healthy Again (Maha) movement as some say it is shedding its grassroots supporters in favor of political and corporate interests.The US vice-president has positioned himself as the inheritor of Make America Great Again (Maga), and attaching himself to Maha, which many in the Trump administration believe helped to win the 2024 election, signals a greater overlap between the two movements as the administration’s popularity plummets amid the war in Iran and rising prices. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Debris found as US Coast Guard search for missing medical plane carrying six people 04. October 2026 (16:00) Six passengers and crew onboard still unaccounted for after medical plane vanished off coast of MassachusettsResearches found debris from a medical transport plane that was carrying six people when it vanished over the Atlantic early on Saturday during a flight from Bermuda to Boston, the US Coast Guard said.A statement from the Coast Guard issued on Saturday evening said crews searching off the coast of the Massachusetts island Nantucket “located a debris field confirmed to be from the aircraft”, described as an air ambulance. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
US marine arrested in Japan on suspicion of killing woman, police say 04. October 2026 (15:46) Suspect allegedly killed woman at hotel in Okinawa as prime minister calls crime ‘exceptionally brutal and vicious’A US marine stationed on Japan’s southern island of Okinawa is accused of murdering a Japanese woman and has been arrested on suspicion of murder, police said on Sunday.The suspect allegedly “killed [a] 39-year-old woman at a hotel in Naha and stole her wallet” as well as her backpack, local police told news media outlets. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump names intelligence chief Jay Clayton as new White House AI czar 04. October 2026 (15:44) Calyton said AI was a ‘gamechanger’ but it also posed ‘a threat’ during his DNI Senate confirmation hearing Donald Trump on Sunday named Jay Clayton, the director of national intelligence, to serve also as the new White House AI czar.Clayton, who leads the US’s 18 intelligence agencies, previously served as the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan and led the Securities and Exchange Commission during Trump’s first term. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
After a deadly paper mill explosion, a community in Washington state looks to a key House race 04. October 2026 (15:00) In a district shaken by the deaths of 11 workers, Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez faces a stiff challenge to keep her seatOn a misty morning in May in south-west Washington state, Laura Oltmann, a 41-year-old dietitian, had barely clocked in when an unfamiliar overhead announcement echoed through the hospital.“We get overhead pages for different types of emergencies. But this one, we don’t get very often,” recalled Oltmann. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Russia strikes Kyiv bridge as German chancellor visits Ukraine in show of support 04. October 2026 (13:53) Attack happened shortly after Friedrich Merz arrived in city, on unannounced visit intended to underline Germany’s backingRussia has struck another major bridge in Kyiv as the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, arrived in the capital in a show of support for Ukraine.A Russian drone hit Kyiv’s key Northern Bridge over the Dnipro River, marking the fourth consecutive day that Russia has targeted bridges used by thousands of residents commuting between the city’s two banks. Video footage showed cars driving across the bridge as the drone plunged into the roadway and exploded in a burst of fire. Two people were injured in the strike, said Kyiv’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Court quashes block on mothers and children in Gaza joining families in UK 04. October 2026 (13:00) Immigration court judge finds ‘unsafe journeys’ policy was applied unlawfully to two familiesA decision by the Home Office to block mothers and children in Gaza from joining their families in the UK has been quashed by a court.Families abroad who have had their applications approved to reunite with loved ones in the UK usually have to undergo biometric checks, including fingerprinting and facial images at a visa application centre. But the VAC in Gaza has been closed since October 2023 and it is difficult to get out of the territory. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump sets off on midterm blitz – are his trademark rallies a liability for Republicans? 04. October 2026 (13:00) Rallies have been mainstay of president’s brand but even some in his own party fear voters are sick of the sight of him“Get your asses in that car.” That was Donald Trump’s order, he later recalled, to his motorcade after foul weather grounded Air Force One in Texas on Thursday. The 85-mile dash to Oklahoma at nearly 100mph was proof that nothing can keep Trump from a Trump rally.Which might not be the good news for Republicans it once was. As the US president embarked on a 32-day campaign blitz aimed at helping them defend narrow congressional majorities in next month’s midterms, some fear that he is driving them towards an electoral wipeout. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Republicans say they hate communists. So why do they like Donald Trump? 04. October 2026 (13:00) Trump supporters may be surprised to learn the state takeover of means of production is not driven by the leftAmericans will never accept the Democratic party’s slide to the left, or so desperate Republicans are hoping.With the midterm elections fast upon us, Zohran Mamdani’s promise of a few city-run bodegas in New York City will scare the bejeezus out of middle America. Disgust over the democratic socialists’ unicorn-and-puppy promises of a world without capitalism will keep the Republicans in power. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
