Paul Keating says Aukus locking Australia into a US war against China, which it would ‘certainly lose’ 18. September 2026 (06:06) Former prime minister says US would ‘scuttle itself back to San Diego’, leaving Australia to deal with retribution from ChinaFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our new political email, free app or daily news podcastAukus critic Paul Keating has said the submarine deal is locking Australia in to any future US conflict with China – “a war America would certainly lose” – and making Australia a target for retribution.The former prime minister seized on comments reported out of Washington this week from Republican congressman Michael McCaul – a China hawk and co-chair of the Congressional Friends of Australia caucus – who said “Australia is a target” for enemies of the US already. However, McCaul argued that greater integration with the US military would better protect Australia rather than leaving it more vulnerable. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Indonesia gets its first aircraft carrier amid debate over cost and military ambitions 18. September 2026 (06:04) The gift from Italy has sparked fierce debate among defence analysts and opposition politicians who question its true cost and purposeIndonesia has received its first aircraft carrier, a former Italian warship that the government says will strengthen the archipelagic nation’s maritime security and disaster response capabilities.The 41-year-old former ITS Giuseppe Garibaldi, with capacity for short takeoff and vertical landing aircraft and helicopters, arrived Friday morning at a naval base in North Jakarta’s Tanjung Priok port, where it was welcomed with a military ceremony. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Is Trump’s AI obsession walking the world into disaster? – podcast 18. September 2026 (06:00) Tech bosses have called for a slowdown in artificial intelligence and the creation of formal guardrails from the US government. But why is President Trump unmoved by the doomsday predictions, dismissing them as a ‘hoax’? What lies behind his embrace of the AI industry? Jonathan Freedland speaks to the Guardian US tech editor, Blake MontgomeryWatch Jonathan Freedland on our new Politics Weekly YouTube channelSend your questions and feedback to politicsweeklyamerica@theguardian.comListen to the latest season of Black Box Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Sydney woman sentenced for killing and dismembering abusive husband 18. September 2026 (04:06) ‘Disposal of the body in this case was as thorough as it was brutal,’ justice Peter Hamill said when sentencing 55-year-old Nirmeen NouflFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA woman who lied to police multiple times to cover up killing and dismembering her abusive husband will spend a further 12 months in jail.Nirmeen Noufl was sentenced on Friday to at least three years in jail after pleading guilty in August to killing her husband, Mamdouh Noufl, in excessive self-defence while she was being choked and assaulted in their Sydney home. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Russians go to polls against backdrop of Ukraine war and Putin’s tightening grip 18. September 2026 (04:00) President’s United Russia party faces no meaningful opposition after liberal anti-war party barred from ballotRussians are going to the polls to elect a new State Duma in a tightly controlled vote stripped of meaningful competition and with little doubt about the result.Vladimir Putin’s United Russia is expected to extend the grip on parliament it has held for 23 years, alongside a handful of nominal opposition parties that reliably vote with the Kremlin on the issues that matter. The three-day vote begins on Friday, with results expected after polls close on Sunday. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
US court sentences ex-Syrian official who ran notorious ‘punishment wing’ to 60 years 18. September 2026 (02:37) Samir Ousman al-Sheikh, part of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, was in charge of Adra prison where prisoners were torturedThis article contains descriptions of torture.A US federal court in Los Angeles sentenced a former Syrian government official who ran one of the country’s most infamous prisons to 60 years in prison on Thursday – the most significant punishment handed to an official of ousted president Bashar al-Assad’s regime by a foreign court and to a defendant present in person. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
LA woman charged with murder over bus crash that preceded deadly helicopter plunge 18. September 2026 (02:34) Bailee Lynn Rios, 36, accused of driving on wrong side of road to cause fatal crash NBC news helicopter was coveringA California woman was allegedly driving under the influence when she sped down the wrong side of the road, ran a red light and plowed her SUV into a Los Angeles metro bus on Tuesday, killing two passengers, prosecutors say, in a tragedy compounded when a news helicopter covering the crash plummeted from the sky, killing three.Bailee Lynn Rios, 36, has been charged with two counts of murder over the deaths of the two people on the bus, identified as Daniel Castillo, 46, and Gage Weida, 31. Rios was being held on $4.1m bail and is set to be arraigned on 18 September. Online court records did not list a lawyer who might speak on her behalf, and the public defender’s office did not immediately return a message about whether it was representing her. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Almost 50 dead in Nigeria after drinking alcohol suspected to contain methanol 18. September 2026 (02:23) Drinking locally made alcohol is common in Nigeria, especially in rural areas where it is more affordable and poorly regulatedAt least 48 people have died and about 100 others are receiving treatment in southern Nigeria after consuming a locally brewed alcoholic concoction suspected to contain methanol, officials said on Thursday.Banji Ajaka, Ondo state’s commissioner for health, said the cases had been reported in the Odigbo and Irele local government areas. A total of 182 people are believed to have been affected and some are being treated in the hospital, he said. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘Outright racist’ activist Daniel Thomas will face ‘full force of law’ over any crimes, says home secretary 18. September 2026 (01:01) Shabana Mahmood says she wants to distinguish between far-right extremism and legitimate local concerns over asylum sitesShabana Mahmood has described the anti-asylum activist Daniel Thomas as “a far-right and outright racist” who will feel “the full force of the law” if his organisation commits crimes near contested asylum sites such as Piddington.In an interview with the Guardian, the home secretary also “wanted to reassure” concerned villagers that asylum seekers due to move in to a neighbouring former defence site would not “put pressure” on local resources because they would be given “self-contained facilities”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Find a credible plan for British Steel, ministers told as ‘startling’ costs soar 18. September 2026 (01:01) Government spending watchdog warns of price of keeping publicly owned firm in businessLabour has been urged to lay out a credible plan for the future of British Steel, as the government spending watchdog warned of the “startling” costs of keeping the struggling manufacturer in business with no end in sight.British Steel was taken into public ownership in July to protect “the future of steel production”, 15 months after the government stepped in to prevent the closure of its steelworks in Scunthorpe and the loss of 4,000 jobs. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
