Indonesia fights fire with dry ice as toxic haze spreads across region 15. October 2026 (06:25) Having tried cloud seeding and water bombing, one pilot project will see dry ice dispersed by plane across the province of South SumatraAs fires ravage Indonesia, emitting a toxic smoke that has drawn the ire of regional neighbours, the government is testing an unusual new approach to tackle the haze: dry ice.Having tried cloud seeding, water bombing and sending in army personnel to fight the fires, Indonesia’s coordinating security minister said dry ice would be dropped on the province of South Sumatra on Thursday. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Verse from the waste land: Rotterdam’s poetic bin lorries granted cultural status 15. October 2026 (06:00) Lyrical lines printed on side of city’s fleet of rubbish trucks now recognised as one of Netherlands’ proud traditionsIt is best known for its rich migration history and striking modern architecture. But now the Dutch city of Rotterdam is seeking recognition for a rather different characteristic: its tradition of printing poetry on bin trucks.Since a poetry festival first came up with the idea in 1988, lines of verse have been printed on all of the city’s waste vehicles. The practice was this week elevated to the status of intangible cultural heritage, with formal recognition from a Dutch body that guards the nation’s traditions. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Texas Democrat James Talarico faces grilling from voters at town hall in tight Senate race 15. October 2026 (05:08) Talarico casts himself as a moderate who would put Texans’ needs over party allegiances amid close contest against Republican Ken PaxtonJames Talarico, the Texas Democratic nominee for Senate, sat face to face with several undecided voters who grilled him on a slew of contentious issues including Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, abortion and foreign aid, during a CNN town hall on Wednesday evening.One voter, a devout small business owner, questioned the authenticity of Talarico’s faith, referencing a past remark where he described God as nonbinary. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Brazil cuts work week to 40 hours in win for Lula ahead of runoff 15. October 2026 (04:45) Congress approves constitutional amendment that bans six-day workweeks, which could effect up to 30 million Brazil’s congress has approved a constitutional amendment to shorten the working week to a maximum of 40 hours, a move that could affect 30 million workers and that will hand a political victory to the leftist president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva ahead of the presidential runoff in under two weeks.In an attempt to overturn the first-round lead secured by his opponent, far-right senator Flávio Bolsonaro, Lula has strongly championed the amendment, which will give some workers an extra day off each week. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Senior Victorian public servants hid loss of up to $285m from Covid grants given to ineligible businesses 15. October 2026 (04:39) Whistleblowers applauded as Ibac finds ‘decisions were made to withhold information about the magnitude of the loss’Senior public servants in one state covered up losses suspected to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars arising from flawed Covid-19 business support payments, an investigation has found.During the pandemic, the Victorian government spent an estimated $257m on support grants to 9,000 ineligible businesses.Follow our Australia politics live blog for latest updates Continue reading...(The Guardian)
