Rebel offensive against Ethiopian army stokes fears of return to civil war 24. September 2026 (17:29) Fighting escalates after Tigrayan rebels form new coalition aimed at overthrowing Abiy Ahmed governmentThere are growing fears of a return to civil war in Ethiopia after an offensive by fighters from Tigray into the neighbouring states of Afar and Amhara and the formation of a new rebel alliance aimed at overthrowing the government of the prime minister, Abiy Ahmed.About 600,000 people died between 2020 and 2022 during a devastating war between the Ethiopian army and the political party and paramilitary group Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). Both sides are now accusing the other of triggering a return to open conflict. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Firms fined £1.3m after man killed by falling window from luxury property in London 24. September 2026 (17:10) Mick Ferris was crushed to death when the 130kg pane fell 26 storeys from the Corniche housing developmentTwo companies have been fined a total of £1.3m over health and safety breaches after a coach driver was killed by a falling window pane.Mick Ferris, 53, was crushed when a window fell 26 storeys from the Corniche, a luxury development in Vauxhall, London, on 2 October 2018. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
TikTok drops appeal against £12.7m fine for not keeping under-13s off platform 24. September 2026 (17:00) UK watchdog fined video app in 2023 for failing to enforce minimum age limit and remove underage usersTikTok will pay a £12.7m fine to the UK’s data watchdog after dropping an appeal against a ruling that it did not do enough to keep children below the age of 13 off the platform.The video app was punished by the Information Commissioner’s Office in 2023 for inadequate checks of who was using the platform, and failing to remove underage users. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Australia’s newest chicken factory looks like a modern art gallery – but will it improve animal welfare? 24. September 2026 (17:00) Three million chickens a week will be processed at the state-of-the-art facility in Tamworth – a fifth of all those eaten nationwideIt is for birds? Is it for planes?The sleek, rust-coloured saucer settles into the earth, mirroring the surrounding hills. It looks like an art gallery or a high-end conference centre – an architectural masterpiece designed to sit lightly on the land. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
AI hack of Medicare exposes Australia’s vulnerabilities and experts warn ‘there is more of this to come’ 24. September 2026 (17:00) Council on AI Strategy chief says incident unlikely to be isolated and country should enhance capability to detect and report incidentsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastTechnology experts have warned revelations an artificial intelligence agent hacked Medicare’s internal systems will not be the only dangerous breach of government data and have called for Australia to boost its protections against the growing risk.The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, challenged the OpenAI boss, Sam Altman, on Thursday after the company’s agent infiltrated systems run by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Victoria’s Department of Health, the New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, and the Medicare statistics reporting service portal of Services Australia. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Boy, 16, held in ‘cramped’ prison cell alone for 22 hours a day for weeks, Victorian ombudsman finds 24. September 2026 (17:00) Ombudsman finds government breached teen’s human rights, saying the conditions ‘bordered on solitary confinement’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA 16-year-old boy was held in conditions akin to solitary confinement in adult prison for 22 hours a day, leading him to have suicidal thoughts, a Victorian ombudsman report has revealed.The report, tabled in parliament on Thursday, found the Department of Justice and Community Safety breached the teen’s human rights when transferring him from the Parkville Youth Justice Precinct to the maximum-security Melbourne Assessment Prison in early 2025. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump administration to ask supreme court to allow third-country deportation policy 24. September 2026 (16:59) US attorney general Todd Blanche says justice department will ask high court for help after lower court rejected policyThe Trump administration will ask the US supreme court to allow it to deport immigrants to countries other than their own, the latest effort to seek approval for a controversial policy that fulfils Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda.Todd Blanche, the US attorney general, said on Thursday that the Department of Justice would ask the conservative-majority supreme court for help, nearly a week after a lower court judge rejected the policy. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Germany investigates 105-year-old suspected former Nazi prison camp guard 24. September 2026 (16:55) Man accused of being accessory to murders at Stalag 326 VI K amid race to prosecute suspects before they dieA 105-year-old man is under investigation on suspicion of being an accessory to multiple murders at a Nazi prisoner of war camp, German prosecutors have said.The case, which is being handled by the public prosecutor’s office in Dortmund, centres on the Stalag 326 VI K camp in western Germany, in what is now the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
EU says Trump plan to ban US diesel exports would ‘negatively impact both sides’ 24. September 2026 (16:46) US president’s suggested 90-day export ban before midterm elections could bring even higher fuel prices across EuropeBusiness live – latest updatesThe EU has warned Donald Trump against plans to ban US diesel exports to the global market, saying the move would negatively affect Europe and the US.The European Commission has reacted with “concern” to reports this week that the US president could prevent diesel from reaching the global market. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
The eyes have it: Rory Stewart’s ‘magnificently strange’ Newsnight moment goes viral 24. September 2026 (16:39) Clip of the former Tory MP staring intently at fellow panellist is shared widely onlineRory Stewart has been an Afghan NGO leader, a Conservative leadership candidate, a Harvard professor, a popular podcaster, and the deputy governor of an Iraqi province. This week, he created a moment that drew wider attention than any of them: he fixed a beady gaze on a fellow Newsnight panellist for the longest four seconds in television history.Stewart, who now co-presents The Rest Is Politics with Alastair Campbell, appeared on the BBC programme on 18 September – but in the last few days, a clip of the moment in question has taken on a life of its own on social media. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
