Higher education regulator apologises for imposing £585,000 fine on university

• The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit 2026 took place in Bishkek from August 31 to September 1, commemorating the 25th anniversary of the organization. • Discussions focused on regional cooperation, security, trade, energy, and connectivity, while addressing major geopolitical issues including the Russia-Ukraine war.

• This daily news roundup from September 2, 2026, highlights several critical global issues, including Ukrainian President Zelensky's threats regarding civilian aircraft. • The collection features reports on the widespread deployment of AI, the potential appointment of an IDF fanatic to a top U.S. Army position, and the environmental impact of extreme heat.

• Experts from the Brookings Institution are analyzing the long-term global implications and policy requirements resulting from the war in Iran. • The conflict has highlighted a "jarring reckoning" regarding the fragility of economic security across Asia within a degraded geopolitical landscape.

• Kyrgyzstan is hosting a pivotal Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, bringing together global heavyweights involved in current geopolitical conflicts. • The host nation is strategically balancing its diplomatic ties with major global powers to leverage its geographic position for political and economic gain.

• Prof Michel Chossudovsky and Drago Bosnic released a video on September 2, 2026, alleging that Pfizer Inc. has a criminal record with the U.S. Department of Justice. • The report highlights a previous $2.3 billion health care fraud settlement mandated by former U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., citing it as the largest of its kind.

• The Harvard Kennedy School is launching a new program dedicated to diplomacy, focusing on negotiation scholarship and the management of international ties. • Co-led by Simcock and Nick, the initiative aims to build a professional "bench" capable of addressing emerging geopolitical issues and managing disputes.

• Iran has claimed responsibility for new attacks targeting military bases used by U.S. troops in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, ignoring previous warnings from Donald Trump. • Simultaneously, the Pentagon is investigating reports that a separate U.S. military strike may have accidentally hit a wedding party.

Troops escort settlers into al-Mughayyir and raze village outside Hebron as ethnic cleansing of West Bank continuesIsraelis have shot dead two teenagers in a Palestinian village encircled by settlers and Israeli troops have razed an entire village outside Hebron, the latest attacks in a surge of Israeli terror and ethnic cleansing across the occupied West Bank.The shootings targeted Khalil Abu Alia, 16, who was about to start 11th grade at the al-Mughayyir boys school, and 19-year-old Omar al-Nassan, who graduated from the same institution with top marks this summer. Continue reading...

Liz Oyer says department fired her after she refused to recommend restoring gun rights of actor and Trump allyThe former pardon attorney for the US justice department, Elizabeth Oyer, filed a lawsuit on Thursday against the department and attorney general Todd Blanche, accusing them of “unlawfully” firing her last year after she said she refused to recommend restoring actor Mel Gibson’s gun rights.In the complaint, filed in the US district court for the District of Columbia, Oyer alleges that in early 2025, while she was serving as pardon attorney, she was asked to “disregard her duties and facilitate a political favor” for Gibson based on his “relationship with President Trump”. Continue reading...

Itamar Ben-Gvir claims proposal for illegal forced displacement of 2 million people is ‘realistic’ and ‘concrete’Israel’s far-right national security minister has set out a plan for the illegal forced displacement of all Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, to force them abroad.Speaking in the run-up to close-fought Israeli elections, Itamar Ben-Gvir said the plan aimed to remove 250,000 Palestinians from Gaza in the first year, followed by the rest of its population of roughly 2 million over the next six years. Continue reading...

Student protesters among those hacked, Share Foundation says, but government denies spyingAt least 14 people from across Serbian civil society were targeted with advanced spyware earlier this year, the digital rights group Share Foundation has said.The wave of spyware infections was discovered in August after Apple notified people in 110 ⁠countries that they had probably been victims ⁠of mercenary spyware. Share said on Wednesday it marked the largest documented ​wave of such infection in Serbia to date. Continue reading...