Friday briefing: ​What do the cuts in aid mean for the fight against Ebola in the DRC?

• 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.

Police say the drugs were uncovered as part of ongoing investigations into illicit drugs in BroomeA Western Australian man has been charged after police said they found approximately 3.5 grams of methylamphetamine in a ziplock bag wedged between the bacon and egg of a McMuffin meal during a car search.The arrest on 20 August was part of ongoing investigations into illicit drugs in Broome, in WA’s Kimberley region. Continue reading...

Annette and Kevin Maxwell say children with special needs have become moneymaking tool for private companiesAnnette and Kevin Maxwell were nervous about sending their son Jonah to a residential home for children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send). Jonah has severe autism – he is non-verbal, has epilepsy and behavioural problems and needs round-the-clock care.“It was a huge decision, but we almost had no choice because with Jonah at home, you can’t work and we had two other children to think about. He’s beautiful, but he is very, very complicated,” said Annette. “Outsourcing parenting is just foreign to us and it’s horrible, but we didn’t have another option.” Continue reading...

Beijing-Taipei tensions a feature at meeting in Palau, with Australia and New Zealand saying the forum – not another country – will determine who attendsChina ⁠said it had serious concerns ⁠about Taiwan’s presence at ​the annual Pacific Islands Forum in Palau, warning of “consequences” after the democratically ruled island attended the group’s opening ceremony on Monday.China views Taiwan as its own territory, and China-Taiwan tensions have ⁠featured prominently at the meeting, which is intended to demonstrate regional unity. Continue reading...

In today’s newsletter: First minister John Swinney has pledged to put an end to violence against women and girls. But can he turn ambitious laws into real change?Good morning. Violence against women and girls, in all its myriad forms – physical and mental, blatant and insidious – is a global challenge. It reaches back through millennia and, lately, it has been turbo-charged by technology, which offers abusers new ways to shame, harass and monitor victims. What would it take to eradicate it?Scotland’s first minister John Swinney wants to find out. Today, he will set out his programme for government (the Holyrood equivalent of the King’s speech), and Swinney surprised many when he pledged to put ending violence against women at the heart of his government’s ambitions for the coming year and beyond.Nepal-Tibet | Rescue teams are working to reach more than 900 missing hydropower workers, who are thought to be trapped in underground areas in Nepal, after the devastating flash floods.Iran | The new US sanctions campaign is expected to push many Iranians into deeper poverty as food inflation soars.UK | The British Museum privately hosted Palantir founder Peter Thiel in a private viewing of the Bayeux tapestry, the Guardian understands.Slavery | Countries are legally obliged to consider reparations for the transatlantic slave tried, and address the legacy racial discrimination, a UN committee has said.US news | A Las Vegas jury has found former South Side Compton Crips gang leader Duane Keith Davis guilty of the murder of Tupac Shakur, bringing the case to a close nearly 30 years after the famous rapper was gunned down. Continue reading...

Former 2GB and 2UE broadcaster Jones, 85, has denied 22 indecent assault and sexual touching charges involving six menBroadcaster Ray Hadley has told a Sydney court that an alleged victim of Alan Jones confided in 2019 he’d been “sexually assaulted” by the fellow 2GB broadcaster on a number of occasions.“He said [Jones] put his hand on my cock and kissed me,” Hadley told the Downing Centre local court on Tuesday. Continue reading...

One of 43 unaccounted for Australians has been located in Tibet, Dfat saysAustralians missing in the Nepal floods: what we know so farAn Australian believed to be missing after floods ravaged the Nepal-Tibet border last week has been found alive.The person made contact with officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Dfat) on Tuesday from Tibet. Continue reading...

Boy, 16, testifies he was radicalised on TikTok before connecting to extremists on TelegramFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA school student has testified about falling down a social media rabbit hole that led him to planning to bomb the Sydney Opera House in a terrorist attack.The 16-year-old boy, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, has pleaded guilty to planning a terrorist act over the course of more than a month in 2024. Continue reading...

Exclusive: 7,280 suspected illegal spills in rivers and sea recorded in first five months of 2026The number of suspected illegal discharges of raw sewage into rivers and seas by water companies during dry weather increased significantly during the first five months of 2026.Dumping raw sewage into waterways during dry spells via overflows amounts to pollution. It is considered a breach of the permits given to water companies and is illegal. Discharging during dry weather increases the toxicity of the sewage pollution entering waterways. Rivers have less flow and volume, and there is no rainwater to dilute the sewage pollution entering the waterway. Continue reading...

In-store inflation rises to an annual 1.5% in August, according to a survey for the British Retail ConsortiumThe pace of price rises in UK shops rose to its highest level in two years in August, a trade body index shows, with higher energy costs pushing up the price of food and AI chip demand making technology more expensive.In-store inflation stepped up to 1.5% year on year in August, up from 0.9% in July, led by prices for tinned and packaged food which increased by 2.5% against 1.1% in the prior month, according to data from the research company NIQ for the British Retail Consortium. Continue reading...

U-turn on early release scheme will create ‘stresses and strains’ on prison system, says former justice secretaryAndy Burnham is taking a “big risk” by seeking to continue running prison capacity to the limit, according to the former justice secretary appointed by Keir Starmer to oversee a review of sentencing.As parliament resumes on Tuesday, the government will confirm its U-turn on its early release scheme, which would have seen thousands of prisoners released early as part of a plan to ease prison overcrowding. Continue reading...

Exclusive: FCA pressures firms to do more to sort 760,000 accounts as watchdog urges families to use free tracking serviceChild trust fund providers are being put under the spotlight to check they are treating savers fairly and doing all they can to reunite young people with lost accounts.The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said about 760,000 accounts worth an average of £2,000 were yet to be claimed – more than £1.5bn in total – as it launched a review of the market. Continue reading...