Backpack edges past Dancing Queen to win the Fat Bear Week title

• The United Nations concluded its 81st General Assembly amid rising geopolitical tensions that threaten global cooperation and peace. • The organization is currently facing a rupture of multilateralism, which is the process of multiple countries working together to solve shared problems.

• Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger appointed Douglas Mercado, a visiting lecturer in public and international affairs, to the advisory board of the state’s Office of New Americans in September 2026. • Mercado cited his decades of professional experience supporting refugees, internally displaced persons, and disaster-impacted communities as the basis for his appointment.

• External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar stated that the United States and other partners must better understand India's concerns regarding cross-border terrorism. • The minister indicated that a lack of understanding on these specific security threats could negatively impact diplomatic relations.

• Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett warned on September 29 that mass draft evasion and the potential collapse of the Israel Defense Forces are the greatest dangers facing the country. • The Israel Defense Forces reported that its troops physically prevented harm to a Palestinian family during a settler riot in the West Bank.

• Interconnected conflicts are expanding on both sides of the Red Sea while the United States continues to provide inconsistent policy signals. • The African Union estimates that the conflict leading to the 2022 Pretoria Agreement resulted in approximately 600,000 deaths.

The state governor and supreme court earlier refused calls for clemency for Christa Pike, who was convicted of murderTennessee’s first execution of a woman in 200 years was halted by a court on Wednesday morning an hour before it was set to take place.The state governor and the supreme court had earlier refused calls for clemency in the case of Christa Pike, who was convicted of murder 30 years ago. Continue reading...

President announces measures amid anger at authorities over recent murders of womenSouth Africa’s president has called on men to take more responsibility for violence against women as he announced measures to tackle the problem, amid anger at authorities over a recent wave of murders.Cyril Ramaphosa acknowledged that not enough had been done to protect women. He said police would be reviewing unsolved murders, attempted murders and serious sexual offences against women and children, as well as producing a funded plan to reduce the forensic backlog for such cases, both within 60 days. Continue reading...

Settler violence in West Bank makes everyday life ‘untenable’ for Palestinians, says ICRC after assault on family trying to return home in JaludThe ICRC has warned that Israeli settler violence in the West Bank has made everyday life for Palestinians “untenable”, as a mob attack on Palestinians trying to return home prompted one of Benjamin Netanyahu’s main rivals to warn of a campaign of settler terror.More than a hundred militant settlers overwhelmed Israeli security forces early on Tuesday to attack a Palestinian family as they attempted to reclaim their homes which had been seized by settlers in the West Bank village of Jalud. Three Israeli security officials were injured and houses were set on fire. Continue reading...

Boost for John Healey before budget as GDP figure shows UK economy grew faster than first estimated in second quarterBusiness live – latest updatesUK households’ incomes grew at a stronger pacethan previously estimated during the first six months of the year, according to revisions of official data.The rise in income per head to 1.1% between January and June followed an increase in the level of economic growth that illustrated the resilience of the UK economy since the outbreak of hostilities in the Middle East more than seven months ago. Continue reading...

Steve Hilton’s long-shot campaign for governor is courting Golden state voters with unapologetically populist messageSteve Hilton stands almost no chance of becoming California’s next governor, but that isn’t stopping him from campaigning as though he was just one step away from pulling off the impossible.The former Downing Street political advisor and Fox News host refuses to be daunted by the rancid political environment for Republican candidates this year, or by opinion polls that tell him he is lagging 20 percentage points or more behind his Democratic rival, Xavier Becerra. Continue reading...

Environment Agency warns residents of 6m properties to prepare for a wet and windy three months aheadMore than two million people in England are unaware their properties are at risk of flooding, as the UK braces for a wet and stormy start to the winter, according to the Environment Agency.Experts say the next three months are more likely than usual to be wet and windy – due to a combination of large-scale weather patterns and the “subtle” impact of a supercharged El Niño – increasing the risk of flooding. Continue reading...

‘The era of writing blank checks to international bureaucracies is over,’ state department spokesperson saysDonald Trump’s administration has withdrawn the United States from the Council of Europe’s anti-corruption monitoring body, arguing that paying to belong to the multilateral group no longer serves US interests.The US formally notified the Strasbourg-based organization on Monday that it was leaving the Group of States against Corruption, known as Greco – the latest step in a broader effort by the administration to pull back from international bodies it regards as inefficient, overreaching, or out of step with its priorities. Continue reading...