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Initiative aims to keep alive age-old skill, and at Muchelney Abbey in Somerset improve habitat for rare shrill carder beeIt sounds like something out of a Thomas Hardy novel: a merry band of men and women roaming the West Country cutting meadows by hand in exchange for hunks of bread and cheese.But the conservation charity English Heritage is recruiting a team of volunteer scythers to maintain 21st-century meadowland in the old-fashioned way. Continue reading...

• Robert Kraft pledged to donate $2 million to Gaza following a challenge from the artist Macklemore. • The donation comes after Kraft barred Macklemore from Ed Sheeran’s tour due to the singer's pro-Palestinian remarks. • This move reflects a growing trend where public figures and entertainment promoters face pressure to provide financial support during global crises.

Latest daily reductions will further choke one of the world’s most important shipping lanesThe Panama canal plans to again cut maritime traffic due to worsening drought caused by the El Niño climate phenomenon, further choking up one of the world’s most important shipping lanes.The canal handles 5% of global maritime trade and about 40% of US container traffic; it is favoured by shippers because it usually reduces cost and transit times, especially for companies trading between China, Asia and the US. Continue reading...

• The European Commission intervened in Germany's legislative plans to introduce a mandatory streaming levy for media services. • The Commission used a formal notification procedure to challenge the legality of the proposed tax on streaming platforms. • This intervention creates legal uncertainty for streaming companies operating in Germany that would have been required to pay the levy.

Meltdown that grounded thousands of flights caused by ‘spurious’ flight data being entered into system, report saysThe air traffic control outage that caused thousands of flights to be grounded across the UK earlier in the week was caused by a military aircraft entering “spurious” flight data into the system, according to a report.Hundreds of thousands of passengers were affected after more than 2,000 flights were cancelled on Tuesday when the system used by the National Air Traffic Services (Nats) shut down for four hours. Continue reading...

• NASA's Genesis spacecraft crash-landed in the Utah desert on September 8, 2004, after its parachutes failed to deploy. • The mission was the agency's first attempt to return samples to Earth since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. • A basic design flaw caused the crash, which shattered the collected solar wind particles gathered from the sun.

• Luxembourg-based fundcraft raised €12 million in funding co-led by Riverside Acceleration Capital and CCAP Investments to digitize European private equity buyout funds. • The company is developing an AI-native solution to scale digital fund operations for the buyout market. • This investment allows fundcraft to modernize how private equity firms manage their assets and operations through automation.

Rubio visits Ecuador and welcomes cooperation after campaign of unilateral strikes on alleged ‘narco-terrorists’US secretary of state Marco Rubio gave new clarity on the approach toward combating drug trafficking in Latin American waters, saying the Trump administration was focused on working with allied countries and aligning with their laws but insisting the military will “still blow up ships if need be.”The public acknowledgment of a shift in US strategy comes a year after Washington began a campaign of unilateral deadly strikes against those it calls “narco-terrorists” operating boats in international waters. Continue reading...

• The NSA, CISA, and the FBI issued a joint Cybersecurity Advisory asking American AI developers to degrade responses sent to suspected Chinese distillation traffic. • The agencies identified six China-based AI companies conducting industrial-scale knowledge distillation campaigns, which involve using a powerful model's outputs to train a smaller, cheaper model. • This directive treats AI model outputs as an exfiltration surface, meaning the data generated by the AI is viewed as a target for theft by foreign adversaries.

Departures from London airports worst hit with most flights since 2pm affected as National Air Traffic Services investigates technical problemFlights around the UK are facing delays and disruption due to an air traffic control issue which has affected a string of airports including Heathrow and Gatwick.Departures from London airports are most severely affected, with few take-offs since a fault was reported early on Tuesday afternoon. Continue reading...

• NASA funded an early-stage spacecraft concept called "Slingshot" to develop new techniques for mapping minerals on the moon, asteroids, and Martian moons. • Project lead Sobron noted that landing in the wrong location could bankrupt a company or end an entire exploration program due to the high cost of failure. • This technology aims to reduce the financial risk of space mining by proving the existence of valuable resources before expensive landing missions occur.

The Israeli army had helped plan the delivery of food aid on 1 April 2024, but things went wrong from the beginning and ended in seven deaths• Exclusive: why seven international aid workers were killed in Israeli airstrikeOn the evening of 1 April 2024, a team of aid workers from World Central Kitchen (WCK) stood on Gaza’s Mediterranean shore overseeing the unloading of a barge full of desperately needed food on a makeshift jetty made of sand and rubble.The Gaza war had been raging for six months and Israel’s closure of land crossings had left the whole territory facing the threat of famine. WCK and local Palestinian contractors had constructed the jetty out of everything they could lay their hands on, including debris from the bombed house of one of the contractors, so that the pallets of humanitarian assistance could be delivered by boat from Cyprus. Continue reading...

• The European Space Agency located its Philae lander on the surface of Comet 67P on September 2, 2016, ending a two-year search. • Philae had previously made history as the first spacecraft to achieve a soft-landing on a comet before it disappeared from view. • Finding the lander allowed scientists to understand the specific environment and conditions where the probe had been resting.

Marx’s All Things Possible Florida model uses private funds for cop pay and surveillance tools without public oversightThe All Things Possible ministry (ATP) is an unusual, and critics say potentially dangerous, operation. It has in the last year funded surveillance equipment and salaries for out-of-state law enforcement agencies, hired a range of private security and intelligence contractors, and is connected to a network of other self-appointed sex-trafficking rescue groups whose leading figures have attracted significant controversy.And its founder is the man who wants to be Colorado’s next governor. Continue reading...

• The Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) released preliminary traffic figures for July 2026 on September 3, 2026. • The data indicates a further moderation in international passenger markets across the Asia Pacific region. • Demand is being negatively impacted by higher air fares, which are particularly weighing on price-sensitive leisure travelers.

Team circumvented salary cap rules to sign starOwner Steve Ballmer lands one-year banThe NBA has handed down one of the biggest punishments in the history of the league to the Los Angeles Clippers after finding that the franchise circumvented salary cap rules when it courted Kawhi Leonard as a free agent.The league has stripped the team of five first-round draft picks, giving the team no natural pick in the draft from 2029 through 2033. Continue reading...

Artist rose to prominence in 2018 by painting his eponymous tag in public spots across southern EnglandThe street artist Helch, known for murals and tags across England, has died, his gallery has said.He rose to prominence in 2018 by painting his eponymous tag in capital letters across a string of public spots in London as well as bridges on the M4, M1 and M25. Continue reading...

• On August 28, 1993, NASA's Galileo spacecraft performed a flyby of the asteroid Ida while en route to Jupiter. • During the encounter, the spacecraft discovered Dactyl, a tiny moon orbiting the larger asteroid Ida. • This discovery was significant as it provided the first evidence that asteroids could have their own satellites, offering new insights into the formation of the solar system.

• The U.S. Treasury Department launched "Operation Economic Outcast" this week, targeting Iranian financial networks to increase economic pressure on Tehran. • As part of the operation, FinCEN proposed a rule to revoke the U.S. correspondent banking access of Banque Misr UAE, an Egyptian bank branch allegedly linked to the Iranian regime. • Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has acknowledged the resulting economic hardships, while Banque Misr UAE stated it is reviewing the accusations with "utmost seriousness."

Maxwell sought to vacate Epstein-related conviction, alleging hidden trial evidence and juror’s abuse historySign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailA federal judge has rejected Ghislaine Maxwell’s legal effort to throw out her 2021 conviction on sex-trafficking charges and 20-year prison sentence, calling her claims “demonstrably meritless, and generally based on speculation, distortions, and/or outright falsehoods”.In a 67-page decision filed on Tuesday, US district judge Paul Engelmayer for New York’s southern district denied the former British socialite’s petition for relief, finding that Maxwell had failed to make a substantial showing that her constitutional rights were denied when she was convicted for her role in crimes linked to late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Continue reading...

NSW parole authority says Mohommed Farhat followed ‘extremist ideology of antisemitic character’ while separately judge ruled ‘Fuk Israel’ was ‘political comment’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA Sydney man convicted of writing “Fuk Israel” on cars and setting another vehicle alight has had his release on parole rejected a second time, despite a supreme court judge stating the case appeared to be a “serious miscarriage of justice”.Mohommed Farhat, 22, was initially due to be released on parole in December after serving 10 months in prison following the November 2024 vandalism in Woollahra. Continue reading...

• A fleet of 17 spacecraft positioned across the solar system collaborated to track a single coronal mass ejection (CME) from multiple vantage points. • The coordinated measurements revealed that the eruption was lopsided, which caused a previously hidden cloud of charged particles to be directed toward Earth. • This discovery is significant because it demonstrates how multi-point observations can uncover the true extent and structure of solar eruptions that single-point views might miss.

• A fleet of 17 spacecraft positioned across the solar system collaborated to track a single coronal mass ejection (CME) from multiple vantage points. • The coordinated measurements revealed that the eruption was lopsided, which caused a previously hidden cloud of charged particles to be directed toward Earth. • This discovery is significant because it demonstrates how multi-point observations can uncover the true extent and structure of solar eruptions that single-point views might miss.

Michael Jeffries is ruled mentally competent to stand trial after being hospitalized for months for dementia symptomsThe former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch has been ruled mentally competent to stand trial as he faces sex-trafficking charges after being hospitalized for months for dementia and Alzheimer’s symptoms.Michael Jeffries, who is 82 and free on bond for now, is scheduled to be tried in late October, alongside two co-defendants: his partner Matthew Smith and staffer James Jacobson. A pretrial hearing was slated for Thursday. Continue reading...

• President Donald Trump appeared at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center tonight to campaign for Sen. Darline Graham. • The rally serves as a final push ahead of Tuesday's runoff election for South Carolina's 5th District. • Graham is competing for the seat against her opponent, Rep. Ralph Norman.

Letter written in 1847 to Sandbach, Tinne and Company’s Liverpool office reveals it engaged in practice after receiving taxpayer-funded compensation, book saysWhen Britain abolished slavery, plantation owners from powerful families notoriously received huge sums in compensation, while those who were enslaved got nothing.Now evidence has come to light that Sandbach, Tinne and Company – a corporation closely linked to the merchants who got the biggest taxpayer-funded compensation payouts – continued to traffic enslaved Africans illegally after abolition to Guyana, in South America. Continue reading...

Many males are returned even if they are trafficking victims but Home Office must now consider new legal guidanceUK politics live – latest updatesThe Home Office could be blocked from deporting many young male trafficking victims to Albania after a major court ruling.Thousands of Albanian males have been identified as potential trafficking victims in the UK in recent years. Many are sent back to their country even if they are potential or confirmed victims of trafficking, as the Home Office contends they will be safe there. Continue reading...

The USS George Washington has arrived in the Middle East. Plus, an investigation into the add-on utility fees that can lead to evictionsGood morning.The USS George Washington aircraft carrier has arrived in the Middle East, to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln from its record deployment amid concerns about poor living conditions and morale.What are conditions like on the Lincoln? The ship has spent more than 250 days at sea supporting US operations against Iran without a significant port visit or date to return home for the 5,000 sailors and marines onboard. Reports from families of crew members published in the Navy Times and Stars and Stripes military newspapers described food and water shortages, disrupted mail services, plumbing problems, low morale and worsening mental health, prompting Democratic lawmakers to demand answers from the Pentagon.How are people fighting back? At least 13 lawsuits have challenged Rubs since the start of 2025 across five states – including a case in California that led to a nearly $500,000 settlement last fall with a national property manager. “Some California landlords have tried to get away with illegal rent increases by shifting utilities and other fees to tenants and pretending those new charges are not ‘rent’” under state law, Rob Bonta, California’s attorney general, said when announcing the settlement. Efforts to limit or ban add-on utility fees are also gaining momentum across several cities. Continue reading...