South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has introduced new steps to fight the killing of women and violence based on gender. This decision follows the discovery of at least 11 women’s bodies near Johannesburg, which caused public concern across the country.
Key Facts
President Ramaphosa is responding to rising cases of femicide, which means the killing of women because of their gender.
At least 11 women’s bodies were found since July in an area east of Johannesburg.
These killings have sparked widespread calls for the government to take stronger action.
The new measures aim to reduce gender-based violence, which includes harm or threats targeting women.
This issue is serious in South Africa, where many women face violence every day.
The government’s response is part of an effort to make the country safer for women.
President Ramaphosa has publicly committed to addressing these crimes.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Democrats believe that young voters, who usually do not vote much in midterm elections, are upset about issues like war and higher living costs. They hope this frustration will encourage more young people to vote and help Democrats gain control of Congress.
Key Facts
Young voters usually have low turnout in midterm elections.
Many young people feel unhappy about ongoing wars.
Rising costs for essentials are making life harder for young Americans.
Democrats see young voters as important for winning seats in Congress.
Political strategist Celinda Lake highlights the importance of young voter participation.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
A restaurant in South Korea named after Chinese leader Xi Jinping was vandalized by four Chinese men who then fled to China. The attack caused around $11,100 in damage, and police plan to ask Interpol for help in finding the suspects.
Key Facts
The restaurant is located in Seongnam, South Korea, and is named "Xi Jinping."
Four masked men attacked the restaurant early on September 24, damaging furniture and spraying lacquer.
The restaurant owner said he named it after Xi Jinping to be the best Chinese restaurant, without political reasons.
The restaurant has operated for eight years but has faced demands to change its name for about a year.
Some people offered money for a name change, including business claims from China.
A previous complaint about a dish named "Xi Jinping Special Rice" was reviewed and dismissed by South Korea's Ministry of Intellectual Property.
The attackers are Chinese men aged 20 to 40 who fled to Shanghai and Yantai, China.
South Korean police plan to request Interpol red notices to help find the suspects; these notices ask police worldwide to hold the suspects awaiting extradition.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Beau Lamarre-Condon is on trial for allegedly shooting Jesse Baird and Luke Davies in Baird’s home in February 2024. Crime scene photos show blood stains and damage, and prosecutors say Lamarre-Condon tried to clean up and hide evidence after the shootings. Lamarre-Condon pleads not guilty and claims self-defense.
Key Facts
Beau Lamarre-Condon, 31, is charged with two murders and aggravated break and enter.
The shootings happened on 19 February 2024 in Baird’s home in Paddington.
Police used a chemical called luminol to reveal bloodstains in the house.
There was a bullet hole in Baird’s bedroom door, covered up with putty and a hook.
Bloodied personal items were found in a skip bin near the crime scene.
A bloodied shoe print matched a print near the place where the bodies were found.
The defence says the shootings were in self-defense and Lamarre-Condon panicked and tried to clean up.
The trial is ongoing before Justice Natalie Adams.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order requiring federal agencies to stop using the terms "artificial intelligence" and "AI" and instead use "Super Intelligence" or "SI" in official documents. This change aims to highlight the advanced abilities of the technology and was chosen after asking his followers for their preference.
Key Facts
President Trump signed an order to replace "artificial intelligence" and "AI" with "Super Intelligence" (SI) in federal government materials.
He said the word "artificial" makes the technology seem fake, and the new term better reflects its power.
Trump asked his Truth Social followers to choose between "super intelligence" and "superior intelligence"; 65% preferred "super intelligence."
The order applies to non-law official documents in the executive branch but does not clearly affect laws or agency names with "AI."
Experts say "super intelligence" has a specific tech meaning as intelligence beyond humans, making the rebranding unlikely to catch on soon.
On the same day, Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson met with tech leaders like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk to discuss AI concerns.
Trump also launched America.gov, a new AI-powered website to help Americans find government services using a chatbot.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
A dam in southern New Mexico is close to breaking due to heavy rain from the remains of Hurricane Polo, which may cause dangerous flash floods. The flooding threat is spreading across several U.S. states in the Southwest, Plains, and Midwest, with emergency warnings and evacuations underway.
Key Facts
The McLeod Dam in southern New Mexico is facing possible failure, leading to emergency evacuations in the Hatch Valley area.
The National Weather Service issued Flash Flood Emergencies for parts of southern New Mexico, urging residents to seek higher ground.
The flooding risk is expanding across 10 states, including Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and others.
Hurricane Polo made landfall Monday night in Mexico and weakened to a tropical storm moving north with heavy moisture.
Nearly 80 trillion gallons of rain could fall across the U.S. this week, enough to fill over 122 million Olympic-sized swimming pools.
Heavy rain could cause flash floods and mudflows, especially in areas with wildfire burn scars like southern Colorado.
Flooding has already caused water rescues in Arizona, with vehicles trapped in floodwaters.
The flooding threat will continue through the week as moisture from Tropical Storm Rachel adds to the rainy weather.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Missile alerts in Ukraine are causing businesses to stop, costing about $45 million every hour. The Russian attacks, including new jet-powered drones, target Ukraine’s key economic infrastructure, forcing many workers to stay in shelters and disrupting the economy.
Key Facts
Missile alerts cause business shutdowns that cost Ukraine $45 million per hour.
Russia targets industrial sites, warehouses, logistics hubs, and datacentres in Ukraine.
New jet-powered Russian drones have increased the frequency and damage of attacks.
Ukraine uses a two-tier warning system: “red” alerts for missiles (requiring shelter) and “yellow” alerts for drones (some businesses stay open).
A drone attack during a “yellow” alert recently killed two people at the National Academy of Sciences in Kyiv.
Damage to Ukraine’s fixed assets this year is estimated at $10 billion.
Russia has blockaded Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, reducing export capacity.
Ukraine’s government is working to allow private companies to buy air-defense systems but warns protection is never guaranteed.
Ukraine faces a $20 billion budget shortfall this year and is seeking more international financial aid.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Tern bird colonies in England are showing signs of recovery after facing problems like bird flu, flooding, and bad weather. The National Trust reported record numbers of little terns at Long Nanny, Northumberland, and more sandwich terns returning to breed in Norfolk.
Key Facts
Little tern pairs at Long Nanny doubled, reaching at least 126 pairs, with over 82 chicks fledging.
The arctic tern colony at Long Nanny had around 730 breeding pairs and 1,346 eggs, a slight increase after recent declines.
Bird flu in 2023 killed more than 600 arctic tern chicks at Long Nanny.
Sandwich terns returned to breed at Blakeney Point in Norfolk after two years' absence, with over 1,100 pairs.
Black tern, a rare bird in the UK, has returned for the seventh year to Long Nanny.
The National Trust praised careful protection and management of breeding sites for helping recovery.
Despite some improvements, there was a 27% drop in arctic tern numbers on the Farne Islands.
Common terns were absent from the Farne Islands this year, down from five last year, and sandwich tern numbers there stayed the same at two pairs.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
An art exhibition called Living Labyrinths opened in Exeter, England, to explore fungi through art and science. It includes music made from fungal electricity, sculptures, and watercolors highlighting fungi’s role in nature and culture.
Key Facts
The exhibition is at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery (RAMM) in Exeter.
It took five years to develop and focuses on fungi’s cultural and natural importance.
Musician Jason Singh created a sound piece using electricity signals from fungi’s root-like networks called mycelium.
The exhibition features works by Beatrix Potter, known for her fungi studies, and contemporary artists who collaborated with scientists.
Artist Gemma Anderson-Tempini made artworks based on the fungi living inside the human body, called the mycobiome.
The displays include Victorian fungi collections alongside modern art pieces.
The show celebrates fungi’s connections to ecology, folklore, and even music.
Living Labyrinths opened on October 3rd and highlights increased interest in fungi thanks in part to recent books on the topic.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Women in New Delhi, India, are protesting after several rape cases. They are using strong slogans to ask for safer public places and to oppose limits on their freedom that are said to protect their safety.
Key Facts
There have been multiple rape cases in New Delhi recently.
Women have organized street protests to raise awareness.
Protesters use bold slogans to express their demands.
They want public spaces to be safer for women.
They challenge rules that restrict their movement for "safety."
The protests have spread to social media campaigns.
The movement calls for better protection without limiting women’s freedom.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Tens of thousands of public workers in France, including teachers, firefighters, and healthcare workers, went on strike to demand higher pay and better working conditions. At the same time, students protested against school problems, leading to clashes with police and multiple arrests.
Key Facts
Around 300,000 public workers participated in a one-day strike across France, while police reported about 30,000 in Paris.
Strikers want a pay raise and oppose planned government budget cuts, including a proposed salary freeze for state employees in 2027.
The government plans to freeze civil servant salaries for the fourth year in a row, causing concerns about lost purchasing power.
Student protests took place at over 400 schools, with about 40 blockaded, resulting in injuries to both students and police.
Police detained at least 440 people during the student protests, which involved some acts of violence like setting fires and throwing objects.
The strikes and protests come shortly before the government’s budget announcement and the presidential election.
Firefighters protested partly due to lack of resources exposed by recent wildfires.
Authorities condemned the violence and began legal action against those involved in clashes.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
A new Harvard CAPS/Harris poll shows shifts in voter support for potential 2028 presidential candidates, with Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Donald Trump Jr. gaining support. The poll also highlights divided voter opinions ahead of the 2026 midterm elections and concerns about the economy and inflation.
Key Facts
The poll was conducted online from September 26-28, 2026, with 2,200 registered voters and a margin of error of ±2.1 percentage points.
Among Democrats, Kamala Harris leads with 38% support, down 4 points; Gavin Newsom has 17%, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez rose to 12%.
On the Republican side, Vice President JD Vance leads with 39%, down 3 points; Donald Trump Jr. increased to 24%, followed by Marco Rubio at 17%.
Ocasio-Cortez has not decided whether to run for president in 2028 and has discussed the challenge of electing the first female president.
Trump Jr. has said he has no current interest in running in 2028 but did not completely rule out a future run.
The poll found that 42% of voters have not firmly decided whom to support in the upcoming midterms.
Voters are divided on the economy’s condition compared to Joe Biden’s presidency, with 53% saying it is worse and 47% saying better.
Inflation is the top concern for 45% of voters, and 15% are concerned about artificial intelligence.
President Trump claims the U.S. currently has the best economy and employment numbers in history and expects gas prices to fall after the Iran conflict ends.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Sydney Airport has experienced a higher number of near misses and runway incursions—about 20% more than the national average. Investigations link these incidents to staff fatigue risks, understaffing, and the challenges of managing air traffic at a busy and complex airport.
Key Facts
Sydney Airport’s runway conflicts and near misses are 20% above the national average.
Four major safety incidents occurred in July and August 2024.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is investigating staffing gaps as a key factor.
Air traffic controllers’ fatigue risks were predicted by schedule models before the incidents.
One serious near-miss involved two planes coming within 120 meters during a controller’s rest break.
Other incidents involved planes braking suddenly or crossing runways unexpectedly.
Sydney has had twice the average number of procedural errors compared to other airports since Covid.
An independent assurance panel will be created to oversee Sydney air traffic control improvements.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
South Korea says three of its soldiers were hurt by landmines in the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) between the two Koreas and wants an apology from North Korea. North Korea denies planting the mines and blames South Korea for making false accusations to cause tension.
Key Facts
Three South Korean soldiers were injured on September 21 by explosions in the DMZ.
South Korea believes the mines came from North Korea and sees this as breaking the 1953 armistice that stopped the Korean War fighting.
North Korea denies involvement and calls South Korea’s claims groundless and politically motivated.
Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, warned South Korea about the accusations and said they would face consequences.
South Korea demands North Korea stop strengthening its border with mines and apologize for the incident.
Similar mine explosions and border clashes have happened before, including a 2015 incident where South Korean soldiers were also hurt.
The United Nations Command, which helps oversee the armistice, is investigating and working to prevent further conflict.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Alan Kohler, a well-known financial journalist on the ABC, will retire in December after nearly 30 years with the broadcaster. He is praised for explaining complex economic issues clearly and warmly and will be missed by audiences and officials alike.
Key Facts
Alan Kohler, aged 74, will retire from ABC after almost 30 years.
He started at ABC in 1995 and has been a familiar face on the 7pm news since 2002.
Kohler is known for his clear explanations of finance, often using unique graphs and signing off with “And that’s finance.”
Treasurer Jim Chalmers praised Kohler’s immense contribution and said his reports will be missed nationwide.
Kohler previously worked at major newspapers and founded financial websites like Eureka Report and Business Spectator.
ABC managing director Hugh Marks and news director Simon Robinson expressed admiration for Kohler’s work and announced plans to find his successor soon.
Kohler plans to spend more time with his family, including six grandchildren, after retirement.
Colleagues and economists have publicly recognized his impact on economic commentary in Australia.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
A government building in western Nepal fell into the Daram River after heavy flooding caused erosion near its foundation. Local officials saved important documents and computers before the collapse. Recent floods and landslides in Nepal have caused at least 27 deaths, following an earlier deadly flash flood on the Nepal-Tibet border.
Key Facts
The building collapsed on Sunday, 27 September, into the Daram River in Baglung, western Nepal.
Officials removed key documents and computers from the building before it fell.
No injuries were reported from the building collapse.
Floods and landslides have killed at least 27 people in Nepal over several days.
A flash flood weeks earlier along the Nepal-Tibet border caused around 1,400 deaths and left many missing.
Local disaster authorities continue to monitor the severe weather and its effects on the region.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
President Donald Trump and major technology companies have agreed on a voluntary plan to oversee the development of artificial intelligence (AI). The agreement includes doing self-checks and working together to monitor AI, but it does not create firm rules or legal limits yet.
Key Facts
President Donald Trump joined tech companies in signing a voluntary AI regulation agreement.
The plan focuses on internal reviews by the companies themselves.
The companies also agreed to cooperate in monitoring AI progress and risks.
The agreement does not set strict government-enforced rules or limits for AI.
It aims to promote responsible AI development without immediate legal regulations.
The agreement reflects a preference for self-regulation over formal government guardrails.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Senator Roger Marshall’s lawyers sent a cease-and-desist letter to his Democratic opponent, Adam Hamilton. The letter is about an ad Hamilton’s campaign aired, which features a woman who was sued over medical debts linked to Senator Marshall.
Key Facts
Senator Roger Marshall is a Republican from Kansas.
Adam Hamilton is Senator Marshall’s Democratic opponent in the same race.
Hamilton’s campaign released an ad about a woman named Meischa Zimmerman.
Zimmerman said she was arrested after missing a $50 monthly medical debt payment.
The ad suggests Senator Marshall is responsible for the medical debt lawsuit.
Senator Marshall’s lawyers called the ad defamatory, meaning they say it contains false or harmful claims.
They sent a cease-and-desist letter, which is a legal request to stop the ad.
The conflict revolves around medical debt and political campaigning in Kansas.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Staff at the University of Nottingham are starting a three-month strike over plans to restructure the university and cut jobs. Students have mixed feelings, with some worried about their education and future opportunities, while staff unions say the strike is necessary to protect jobs and teaching quality.
Key Facts
University staff will strike from 5 October to 11 December over Future Nottingham restructuring plans.
The strike follows a no-confidence vote in senior university leaders after trust broke down.
The University plans to close some courses and cut hundreds of jobs due to financial problems.
Some students feel the strikes will reduce their learning and harm the university's reputation.
Union leaders say they want to avoid strikes but must act to save jobs and programs.
The strike includes full walkouts and working only contracted hours without covering for absent colleagues.
The union wants the university to stop compulsory job cuts and consider alternative plans from staff.
The university says it is disappointed about the strike timing but remains open to talks with unions.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
President Donald Trump hosted a meeting at the White House with leaders of major tech companies to discuss the future of artificial intelligence (AI). The companies signed an agreement to self-regulate AI safety and promised to work with independent reviewers to prevent misuse. Trump also expressed support for expanding data centers, which are important for AI development but have faced local opposition.
Key Facts
President Trump met with executives from OpenAI, Anthropic, Nvidia, Meta, and Google.
The group signed a "morally binding" agreement to ensure AI technologies are safe and to fix problems quickly.
Companies agreed to cooperate with independent auditors to check that AI systems work properly and do not hack other systems.
President Trump plans to create a board to oversee AI safety but did not say who will be on it.
Trump has dismissed some AI risk concerns as a "hoax" and stated that only smart leadership is needed as safeguards.
OpenAI recently stopped the release of its new AI model due to safety worries.
Data centers are essential for AI but often face opposition caused by concerns about energy use and impact on communities.
Trump supports building more data centers and says tech companies will benefit local communities.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
