CPJ, RSF, and Foley Foundation Urge US to Designate Shelly Kittleson as Hostage and Secure Her Release

• Prof Michel Chossudovsky and Drago Bosnic released a video on August 31, 2026, alleging that President Trump and the Pentagon are targeting civilians globally. • The authors argue that the U.S. military has maintained an unspoken practice of routinely targeting non-combatants from World War II to the present day.

Sally Dowling tells budget estimates that Michael Daley called to tell her he was appointing a senior counsel and ‘raised quite a number of names’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe top prosecutor in NSW says she discussed a list of barristers to lead an independent review into controversial findings against her office with the state’s attorney general, before he appointed someone she had known “professionally and socially” for nearly 30 years.Last month, a state parliamentary committee voted 4-3 to find that the New South Wales director of public prosecutions (DPP), Sally Dowling SC, had given false evidence about the pitching of a story about an Indigenous child performing an acknowledgement of country at a sentencing hearing to radio station 2GB. Continue reading...

Critically endangered New Zealand bird enjoys record breeding season triggered by mass fruiting of native tree, pushing its numbers to 325The population of the world’s heaviest parrot, the kākāpō, has surpassed 300 birds for the first time in 75 years, after a record breeding season triggered by the mass fruiting of a native New Zealand tree.Ninety chicks were officially added to the population of the critically endangered birds on 1 September, pushing the total to 325 – a record high since recovery efforts began. Continue reading...

A Las Vegas jury on Monday found Duane ‘Keffe D’ Davis guilty in the 1996 murder of the hip-hop iconJury finds Duane Davis guilty of murder of Tupac ShakurThirty years after the killing of Tupac Shakur, conspiracy theories and rumors about the perpetrator’s identity, one man has now been held criminally responsible for the rap icon’s death.A Las Vegas jury convicted Duane “Keffe D” Davis, a 63-year-old former South Side Compton Crips gang leader, of murder for his role in the drive-by shooting. During the two-week long trial, prosecutors argued Davis was the “on-the-ground, on-site commander of the effort to kill Tupac” and had sought revenge after the musician was involved in a fight with his nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson. Continue reading...

Pamela Cisneros, 49, was wielding two knives when she stabbed a woman, who died in the hospital, and a manNew York City police shot and killed a woman Monday after she stabbed two people in Times Square, city authorities said during a press conference.Jessica Tisch, the New York City police commissioner, described the stabbings as “random and unprovoked” acts carried out by a woman with previous mental health problems. Continue reading...

Alleged offenders at large after man in his early 20s fatally shot in early hours of TuesdayFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA man in his early 20s has been fatally shot in an alleged home invasion in Sydney’s south-west that police believe was a “targeted attack”. A homicide investigation is underway, with the alleged offenders still at large.Acting supt Gretchin Atkins said the man, who was yet to be formally identified, was at his Glen Alpine home with his family in the early hours of Tuesday morning when multiple individuals allegedly broke in. Continue reading...

‘Opera House of the west’ still slated to open to the public as scheduled on 7 November, NSW arts minister saysFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAn investigation is under way into allegations of misconduct involving senior executives at the soon-to-be-opened Powerhouse Parramatta.The $915m museum in western Sydney, billed as one of the world’s most significant new museum projects, is set to open in November. Continue reading...

Resignation comes after months of turmoil at Pentagon, from leaked investigation to ousting of senior officialsArmy Secretary Dan Driscoll has handed his resignation to Donald Trump, the White House said on Monday,The army official, who is second in line to defense secretary Pete Hegseth, had reportedly been eyeing an exit from the Pentagon amid apparent friction with the secretary. Continue reading...

Report calls for legally binding targets to cut microplastic pollution as soil ‘is a complex living ecosystem’The accumulation of microplastics in soil presents an emerging threat to the UK’s food security, according to scientists, MPs and campaigners who have called for legally binding targets to cut microplastic pollution.UK agricultural soils have been identified as among the most contaminated by microplastics in Europe, often as a result of repeated applications of sludge from water treatment works as fertiliser, according to a report published by the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on microplastics. Continue reading...

Premium of nearly 10% paid by housebuyers comparable with cost of a cheaper private school over seven yearsA house near a top state secondary school costs an extra £40,000 on average, according to research that reveals education premiums that rank alongside some private school fees.The average property in a postcode district that includes a top 50 state secondary commands a price tag of £415,791, compared with £375,217 across the wider local authority areas in which those schools are located, a UK-wide analysis by the estate agent Yopa found. Continue reading...

Dale Sanders said he fell 71 times on the trail, but completed the journey as ‘people are motivated … by my efforts’A 91-year-old hiker has reclaimed his record as the oldest person to complete the more than 2,000-mile Appalachian Trail.By his count, Dale Sanders, of Tennessee, fell 71 times during the feat, six of which he said were hard falls and one which required a brief hospitalization and another just 200 yards from the end. The 2,193-mile trail runs between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine. Continue reading...

Flash flooding in Arizona tourist destination was likely triggered by compounding climate factors, such as drought and warming in Pacific OceanRemote Grand Canyon lodge hit by deadly flash flood boasts fabled historyA deadly flash flood in the Grand Canyon over the weekend was likely driven by a confluence of climate factors, including drought, wildfire scarring and warming temperatures in the Pacific Ocean that can supercharge storms.At least two people have died and 15 remain missing or unaccounted for after a surge of water and debris swept through the immensely popular tourist destination on Saturday, fueled by torrents of rain that hit the national park’s Bright Angel Creek area. Continue reading...