Europe ‘faces window of vulnerability until 2030,’ Dutch chief of defence warns - Europe live 30. September 2026 (14:50) Chief of defence of the Dutch armed forces, Gen Onno Eichelsheim, says Europe urgently needs to learn lessons from UkraineMeanwhile, Ukraine’s total war costs will reach $155bn this year and the government is struggling to close a $27bn funding gap to ensure it can still conduct combat operations at the start of 2027, prime minister Sergii Koretskyi said.Koretskyi said the government planned to cover $7bn of the gap by postponing expenditure, reallocating money from other parts of the budget and cutting some costs, and was in talks with partners on how to cover the remaining $20bn, Reuters reported. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Israeli minister claims ‘terrorist’ wanted to crash plane after Tel Aviv-bound flight’s emergency landing – latest 30. September 2026 (14:48) Israeli media say incident, which raised fears of possible hijacking, stemmed from feud between plane’s two pilotsFull report: Israel-bound passenger plane makes emergency landing in Saudi Arabia In a video from inside the plane that was reposted by Israeli social media users, one passenger, blood dripping from an open wound on his head, pleaded for assistance and said they were descending into Saudi Arabia, with which Israel has no diplomatic relations.“We are here during an attack on the plane. We just subdued the terrorists and are preparing to land,” the man said in Hebrew. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Burundi agrees to receive ‘third-country’ migrant deportees from US 30. September 2026 (14:47) Burundi joins several other African nations in accepting people deported under Trump’s hardline policyBurundi has agreed to join a clutch of other African nations in receiving migrants from other countries deported from the US under Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policy.However, the authorities in Bujumbura, the country’s economic capital, said Burundi will only accept those not accused of crime or terrorism links, said Nancy Ninette Mutoni, a spokesperson for the country’s president, Évariste Ndayishimiye. Tuesday’s announcement gave no details of numbers, timing or financial details. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Ranulph Fiennes’ stepson says he is in contact with police about explorer’s wellbeing 30. September 2026 (14:39) Exclusive: Alexander Millington-Cotes says call from police has given him hope concerns are being taken seriouslyThe stepson of Sir Ranulph Fiennes has been contacted by police and says he intends to speak to them this week over his concerns about the wellbeing of the explorer.Alexander Millington-Cotes – who is estranged from his mother, Louise, Fiennes’ second and current wife – said an officer from Cheshire police had called him in recent days. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘Oozing everyman charm’: what the papers say about Andy Burnham’s speech 30. September 2026 (14:23) PM’s oratory at least as good as Blair’s, says Andrew Marr, while Mail asks who pays for Honest Andy’s ‘New Jerusalem’UK politics live – latest updatesWhen assessing British political speeches, even many critics of the New Labour years measure success against Tony Blair, a leader whose podium appearances are regarded as the peak of oratory.On that measure, Andrew Marr, the former BBC political editor and now the New Statesman’s chief political commentator, reached for the ultimate accolade. “Rather to my surprise, I have to report Andy Burnham is at least as good a platform speaker” as Blair, he said. “Perhaps better.” Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Top Trump figures push to direct human rights funding to rightwing causes 30. September 2026 (14:00) Support for white Afrikaners, anti-communism and others reveals how US redefining what qualifies as human rightsWith hours left before the funding expires, the Trump administration is pushing to direct more than $175m of the state department’s flagship human rights fund to a slate of awards that includes a massive $40m grant for an anti-communism fund, support for a group advancing white Afrikaner rights in South Africa, a campaign against Brazil’s supreme court, and programs that would reward ideological allies in Europe who protect “western civilisational norms”.Critics have focused on 43 awards of a combined $176.9m that will bolster rightwing and conservative causes around the world while likely angering US allies over interference in internal politics. The Guardian has seen a sample of the controversial grants, which makes up most of the $205m in funding that Congress has appropriated for the entire human rights and democracy fund (HRDF). Continue reading...(The Guardian)
UK banks are Europe’s biggest coal financiers, report finds 30. September 2026 (13:58) Study says UK-based banks provided $8.3bn in coal financing in four years, with Barclays and HSBC leading riseUK banks are Europe’s biggest financial backers of the global coal industry, providing billions of pounds in funding for the climate-wrecking fossil fuel in the past four years, according to a report.The study found UK-based banks had provided $8.3bn (£6.2bn) in coal financing since Cop26 in Glasgow in 2021, when global leaders pledged to “phase down” coal use. This compared with $4.9bn from German banks and $3.4bn from French banks over the same period. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
AI tool that copied actor’s ‘lustrous’ voice violated his rights, Tokyo court rules 30. September 2026 (13:09) Kenjiro Tsuda wins case against TikTok account in landmark Japanese verdict to protect publicity rightsA 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...(The Guardian)
Iranian singer’s 74 lashes for performing without a hijab ‘a form of torture’, say rights groups 30. September 2026 (13:09) Iranian court upholds sentence against 29-year-old star Parastoo Ahmadi and other musicians in crackdown on women flouting hijab lawAn 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...(The Guardian)
California rushes to prepare for massive ‘Kelvin’ wave and predicted sea level rise 30. September 2026 (13:00) Wave nearing southern California expected to reach San Francisco Bay Area by October as it crawls toward AlaskaCommunities 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. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
