Malta warned of corruption crisis after Daphne Caruana Galizia verdict sends ‘chill down the spine’

• President Xi Jinping began a series of diplomatic meetings throughout September to redefine China's future role and influence in the world. • Xi met with leaders including Vladimir Putin and Narendra Modi in Bishkek to demonstrate China's ability to manage both geopolitical partners and rivals.

• The United Nations trained nearly 200 community health officers in Rwanda to prepare the government for a potential Ebola outbreak. • Training focused on early detection, risk communication, and infection and prevention and control.

• UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that the multilateral system is straining under fractured geopolitics during his opening address at the 81st UN General Assembly. • Guterres cited a combination of nuclear escalation risks, worsening climate chaos, and declining financial resources for humanitarian operations.

The new ‘true-scale’ map shrinks Europe and North America while enlarging Africa – and depicts the disputed Kuril islands as ruled by MoscowJapan has asked for the revision of a new world map adopted by the UN because it said it made the disputed Kuril islands appear to belong to Russia.The UN general assembly voted on Friday to adopt the new map, which makes the African continent larger while also shrinking North America and Europe, drawing condemnation from the US. Continue reading...

Chemours, DuPont and Corteva reach settlement after lawsuits accuse companies of polluting drinking water Chemours, DuPont and Corteva on Thursday reached a $455m settlement with ⁠North Carolina and 11 local entities over Pfas contamination claims tied to ⁠Chemours’ Fayetteville Works ⁠plant and ​other historical discharges.Lawsuits accusing major chemical companies of polluting U.S. drinking water ⁠with toxic Pfas chemicals – a group of pollutants referred to as “forever chemicals” – have led ⁠to settlements worth billions of dollars, including one struck ​by the three companies ‌in New Jersey ‌last year. Continue reading...

Designer mixes burnt-out velvet and shredded denim with a mythology that keeps getting more profitableThe opening show of fashion’s month of catwalks was not on the official schedule, but Viola Davis and Cynthia Erivo were snuggled on to celebrity-packed benches in a cathedral-sized marble hall where tapestry-hung walls and a gilded coffered ceiling framed a view over lower Manhattan.Ralph Lauren, who is 86, took his bow at the end of this show casually dressed in a varsity jacket spelling out New York. In an industry obsessed with youth and novelty, Lauren is more relevant than ever in his ninth decade. Continue reading...

US government adviser Paul Christiano warns of risks to AI industry as he joins OpenAI’s non-profit foundationOpenAI is not on track to reduce risks of “catastrophic” loss of control to an acceptable level, a member of its non-profit board has warned, amid spreading public and political concern that super-advanced AIs could one day wipe out humanity.Paul Christiano, a US government technology adviser, said “there is a meaningful risk that rapid acceleration in AI capabilities leads to catastrophic and irreversible loss of control in the very near term.” Continue reading...

Tech mogul calls director Alex Gibney a ‘bitter old man’ who has ‘zero integrity’ in series of posts on XElon Musk has issued an angry tirade at the film-maker behind a four-hour documentary about his life and influence, labelling director Alex Gibney a “bitter old man” who has “zero integrity”.Gibney, who has previously made films about the collapse of Enron, WikiLeaks and Vladimir Putin, premiered his Musk documentary at the Venice film festival this week. He said he believed the world’s richest man was “extremely dangerous”. Continue reading...

Arun Arora, bishop of Kirkstall in Leeds, condemns ‘twisted theology’ of groups who demonstrated at south coast ports at weekendUK politics live – latest updatesFascism is on the rise in the UK, a Church of England bishop has warned, condemning the “twisted theology” of the self-described “Christian patriots” who demonstrated at ports on the south coast last weekend.The masked, black-clad, anti-migrant agitators – led by Daniel “Danny Tommo” Thomas, a former bodyguard of far-right influencer Tommy Robinson – were heard chanting: “Christ is King.” Continue reading...

CEO Michael O’Leary tells reporters the businessman was sucked ‘towards’ but not out of the openingBusiness live – latest updatesRyanair has said it will be “disputing” that any part of a passenger’s body was sucked outside when a window on one of its aircraft broke while in flight.US investigators are examining the incident which left Ljubisa Karović, 61, severely injured when the window beside him shattered on a Ryanair flight from Greece to Germany in July. Continue reading...

Billionaire Alex Beard and his former deputy appear in London court over alleged payments to African officialsGlencore’s billionaire former head of oil trading has pleaded ⁠not guilty ⁠to ​two bribery charges after allegedly facilitating payments to west African officials in order to advance the Swiss commodity group’s operations ⁠in the continent.Alex Beard, 59, denied two counts of conspiracy to make ⁠corrupt payments at London’s Southwark crown court on Thursday, in a case brought by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO). Continue reading...