FDA may allow some toxic chemicals to be added to food without safety review. Experts are alarmed 10. October 2026 (14:00) Regulator looks to expand loophole to allow dangerous compounds in food as long as they’re not carcinogenicThe US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is proposing to expand a controversial loophole to allow some of the world’s most toxic chemicals to be added directly to food without a safety review.The “threshold of regulation” (TOR) exemption currently allows dangerous compounds to be used without review in food contact materials, such as packaging or processing equipment, if they are not carcinogenic, and are added at levels below 0.5 parts per billion (ppb). Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Study explores links between 19th-century Manchester workers and enslaved Africans in Caribbean 10. October 2026 (14:00) Global Threads research project reveals how slavery hung ‘like a spectre’ over the Peterloo massacre and other Mancunian struggles for equalityThey were the killings that changed Britain, paving the way for working-class people’s right to vote, as well as leading to the founding of the Manchester Guardian. In the Peterloo massacre of 1819, peaceful protesters were shot and trampled to death by the Manchester and Salford Yeomanry at St Peter’s Field in the city.A study by Global Threads, a public history project, has examined how the exploitation of Africans enslaved in the Caribbean was linked with the struggles of cotton workers at Peterloo. Though these workers were divided by thousands of miles and led different lives, they were exploited by the same forces – as Robert Wedderburn, a Black abolitionist in London, said at the time. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Candidate named Hitler Mussolini elected mayor in Peru 10. October 2026 (14:00) Leftwing Hitler Mussolini Simeon Flores beats far-right candidate in election in remote district of AndesA businessman called Hitler Mussolini Simeon Flores has been elected the mayor of a remote district in the Peruvian Andes, according to local election data.The 45-year-old, who shares two of his names with the notorious European dictators, won the race for mayor of Queropalca, in Peru’s central Huánuco region, and will take office on 1 January. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Greens must avoid ‘capture by extremists and racists’, says party MP 10. October 2026 (13:46) Ellie Chowns says vote for ‘Zionism is racism’ policy by 0.4% of members shows party processes are not workingA Green Party MP has said she wants to make sure her party is not “vulnerable to capture by extremists and racists” amid the continuing fallout from the “Zionism is racism” vote.The party faces a political maelstrom over its policy decision last week to treat Zionism, the movement for a Jewish state, as any other form of racism, and to back a single Palestinian state over a two-state solution. The motion was passed at the annual party conference with just over 1,000 votes, approximately 0.4% of the total membership. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘Cockroach’ leader among thousands detained in Delhi protest crackdown 10. October 2026 (13:17) Authorities impose strict lockdown in capital to try to stop rally against removal of 130m names from electoral rollIndian authorities have placed Delhi under a severe lockdown and detained tens of thousands of people, including the leader of the youth-led “Cockroach” movement, in an attempt to stop an anti-government protest.Thousands of people from across India were blocked from attending the demonstration, which had been called by the “Cockroach Janata party” (CJP) to protest against an exercise that has stripped 130m names from India’s electoral roll. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Marcy Kaptur: longest-serving congresswoman’s bid for another House term roiled by anti-trans ad 10. October 2026 (13:00) Democrat in Congress since 1983 rebuked over ‘dangerous’ campaign ad – will it harm her chances in tight Ohio race?Last month, Marcy Kaptur, the longest-serving woman in congressional history, released a video advertisement in which she looks directly at the camera and says exactly what she thinks about one of the most divisive issues facing Democrats today.“Here’s the truth: I voted with Republicans to keep transgender ideology out of our schools because parents know what’s best for their kids,” Kaptur says, “and boys should not play in girls’ sports.” Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘People are pissed’: union decries TSA’s removal of chairs for checkpoint staff 10. October 2026 (13:00) Order for workers to remain standing to ‘reinforce professionalism’ draws rebuke amid plunging moraleUnion officials have launched a campaign to allow airport security staff to sit once more after the Trump administration unilaterally removed all the chairs for Transportation Security Administration (TSA) staff at checkpoints.“People are pissed,” said Johnny Jones, secretary-treasurer of American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) TSA council 100 and president of AFGE local 1040, which represents TSA workers in Dallas-Fort Worth. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Dozens injured and buildings damaged as tornadoes hit Sicily 10. October 2026 (13:00) Marsala on island’s west coast badly affected after powerful storm approached from MediterraneanTwo tornadoes have struck the coastal town of Marsala in western Sicily, injuring dozens of people, damaging buildings including a school, and overturning cars.A series of videos began to circulate on Friday morning showing two waterspouts approaching the Sicilian town from the sea as people braced for their arrival. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
UK must not be beholden to foreign AI, says head of Alan Turing Institute 10. October 2026 (12:00) George Williamson says ‘national resilience’ is key focus of ATI amid US and China’s runaway leadership in fieldThe UK must not become dependent on foreign AI systems that can be switched off at short notice and must develop its own versions of the technology, according to the head of the Alan Turing Institute.The country needs a stronger domestic position in AI in response to the US and China’s runaway leadership in the field, with “national resilience” a key focus for ATI said George Williamson. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Suicide memorial in Chicago signals compassionate shift by Catholic church 10. October 2026 (12:00) First US memorial for suicide victims dedicated by Chicago archdiocese earlier this year at Queen of Heaven cemeteryThe Chicago archdiocese has recognized the Rev Charles Rubey’s work supporting families whose loved ones died by suicide this year by dedicating in his honor a memorial to the lives lost to suicide and the victims’ surviving families.In 1979 Rubey founded the Loving Outreach to Survivors of Suicide, a counseling and support program run by Catholic Charities of the archdiocese of Chicago. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
