World news

Russian air strikes kill 3, injure 7 in and around Kyiv, officials say

Sept 30 - Russian air strikes killed three, including a child, and injured another seven people in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and the surrounding region early on Wednesday, officials said.

Ranulph Fiennes’ stepson says he is in contact with police about explorer’s wellbeing

Exclusive: Alexander Millington-Cotes says call from police has given him hope concerns are being taken seriously

World’s “grumpiest cat” moved into a Ladakh couple’s home with 3 kittens; family gave up their house so she could raise them

A remarkably elusive Pallas's cat has chosen an unexpected nursery in the high-altitude village of Hanle in Ladakh.

An Indiana man planned one Hobbit house; seven years later, he had built an 11-building fantasy village from recycled and secondhand materials

Rick Sparks never intended to build a village.

‘Oozing everyman charm’: what the papers say about Andy Burnham’s speech

PM’s oratory at least as good as Blair’s, says Andrew Marr, while Mail asks who pays for Honest Andy’s ‘New Jerusalem’

Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv diverted; Israeli PM Netanyahu holds meeting

An Israeli ⁠source ‌said the ​plane ‌is expected to ‌land ​in Saudi ​Arabia ​shortly and that ​the situation will ⁠then become more clear.

Africa

Somali families face renewed violence amid worsening hunger crisis

Children have been killed and injured in fresh fighting in Baidoa, in Somalia’s South West State, where families were already facing severe hunger and other overlapping crises.

Africa

Botswana condemned for slaughtering elephants for independence celebrations

The government authorises the hunting of 23 elephants and dozens of other wild animals for independence day feasts.

Two Michigan builder brothers bought Ypsilanti’s crumbling 1861 Gilbert Mansion for just $1 in 1986 and spent 14 months saving it from demolition; four decades later, the restored property is asking $1.13 million

A historic mansion in Ypsilanti, Michigan, that once appeared headed for demolition has taken a remarkable turn over the past four decades.

Europe

Eiffel Tower chief to step down after BAPS Hindu delegation row in Paris

Eiffel Tower operator SETE said an investigation found operational failures after female staff were excluded during a September 5 BAPS delegation visit.

Americas

Top Trump figures push to direct human rights funding to rightwing causes

Support for white Afrikaners, anti-communism and others reveals how US redefining what qualifies as human rights

Somali pirates kill five crew on board hijacked oil tanker, officials say

The deaths aboard the Palau-flagged ship appear to be the first at the hands of Somali pirates in over a decade

Middle East

In 2017, Jordan sank a retired 30-metre C-130 Hercules off Aqaba to create an artificial reef; the aircraft now rests about 16 metres underwater and attracts coral, fish and other marine life

A retired military aircraft has found an unusual second life beneath the Red Sea after Jordan deliberately sank it off Aqaba in 2017 to create an

Hungarian court reduces sentence for German anti-fascist convicted in far-right rally assaults

A Hungarian appeals court has reduced the sentence of a German anti-fascist activist from eight to seven years

ChatGPT maker wants to be the App Store for AI as safety concerns grow

Other companies will be able to offer their software directly within ChatGPT.

Works by van Gogh and Cézanne up for sale in Sotheby's $450 million auction

A dozen Impressionist and post-Impressionist artworks valued at almost half a billion dollars are going up for auction

Russia launches largest attack on Ukraine energy infrastructure since spring

At least six people were killed and 33 others injured across the country in the overnight attacks, local authorities reported.

Middle East

Israeli minister claims ‘terrorist’ wanted to crash plane after Israel-bound flight’s emergency landing – latest

Israeli media say incident, which raised fears of possible hijacking, stemmed from feud between plane’s two pilots

Homicides fall as organised crime grows more profitable – and networked

Homicide rates are falling across much of the world, but organised crime is on the rise in many regions as criminal networks diversify into trafficking, migrant smuggling, and the exploitation of natural resources, a new UN report launched on Wednesday revealed.

Hulk star Lou Ferrigno fulfills childhood dream meeting with Pope Leo XIV

The Incredible Hulk fulfilled a childhood dream by meeting with Pope Leo XIV

How a Bush-era New York Fed account gave the US ultimate leverage over Iraq’s oil wealth

Since its 2003 ​invasion of Iraq, the US has held effective control of the country's oil revenue dollars

Europe

Eiffel Tower chief to step down after female staff excluded during Hindu delegation visit

The head of the company that runs the Eiffel Tower will step down at the end of the year after female staff at the landmark building in Paris were excluded during a visit by a Hindu religious group.

Americas

First Thing: ‘Third country’ deportation can resume, US supreme court rules

Trump administration can deport immigrants to countries other than their homeland

Meet Jayda Dawn, the Indiana 11th-grader who became America's national poetry champion in her first year and won $20,000

Jayda Dawn, then an 11th grader at University High School of Indiana in Carmel, was named the 2026 Poetry Out Loud National Champion in April and won a