One child dead and two children and woman in critical condition after Blue Mountains stabbing 20. September 2026 (07:05) Crime scene established at Waratah Road, Valley Heights as NSW police say they ‘are not looking for any other people at this time’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA child has died in a stabbing attack in the Blue Mountains, with two other children and a woman in hospital in critical condition, New South Wales police say.In a statement on Sunday afternoon, police said emergency services responded to reports of three children and a woman with stab wounds in a vehicle on Waratah Road, Valley Heights. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Are global stock markets heading for a crash? 20. September 2026 (07:00) Economies thrown into renewed turmoil as AI debt, Iran war and soaring government bond yields fuel alarmAt the height of the summer, the mood was optimistic in the world’s financial capitals. Powered by the AI revolution, the US stock market had rallied to a fresh all-time high, as investors bet the multitrillion-dollar investment spree would overshadow the hit from the Iran war.Now the warning lights are flashing red. As the fighting in the Middle East intensifies without clear sign of a resolution, financial markets have been thrown into renewed turmoil. A slowdown looms in the AI arms race, and tinderbox conditions in the market for government debt are fuelling alarm. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
More Australians to live into their 90s as life expectancy forecast to rise over coming decades 20. September 2026 (06:32) Treasury’s latest intergenerational report projects life expectancy at birth will reach 89 for women and 86 for men by 2066Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralian households will shrink but more people can expect to live well into their 90s, according to the latest update to forecasts of the country’s long-term future.Treasury’s latest intergenerational report, to be published in full on Monday, will project the impact of government policies 40 years into the future. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Three men charged with domestic violence-related murders after three women killed in separate incidents in NSW 20. September 2026 (04:41) A Bondi Beach woman in her 90s, a 23-year-old in Wagga Wagga and a woman in her 70s in Mole River died within hours of each other on Saturday Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThree men have been charged with domestic violence-related murders after three women died in separate incidents during a horror 12-hour period in New South Wales.A 23-year-old woman was unable to be saved after being found with fatal stab wounds inside a home in Wagga Wagga, in south-west NSW, about 11.45am on Saturday. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Future of German chancellor hangs in the balance as two states go to polls 20. September 2026 (04:00) Embattled Friedrich Merz faces nervous wait while far-right Alternative für Deutschland party targets further gainsVoters in two German states are going to the polls with the political future of the embattled chancellor, Friedrich Merz, hanging in the balance and an emboldened far right targeting further gains.Coming two weeks after a seismic election in Saxony-Anhalt in which the anti-immigration, pro-Kremlin Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) scored its highest ever result in a regional poll, the nativist party is expected to drain support again from Merz’s conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Gavin Newsom signs election security bills to thwart federal interference by Trump 20. September 2026 (02:43) Bills signed by California governor safeguard vote by mail and make seizing ballots or election records a felonyCalifornia governor Gavin Newsom has signed off on a package of bills aimed at bolstering election security, including measures to thwart federal political interference, his office announced on Sunday.The pieces of legislation appear to address hot button national and state electoral issues, including an extension to the hours for mail-in voting drop off locations. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Kemi Badenoch accuses Andy Burnham of ‘fiddling while Europe risks burning’ 20. September 2026 (01:09) Tory leader claims prime minister is avoiding difficult decisions as she urges him to increase defence spending Kemi Badenoch has accused Andy Burnham of “fiddling while Europe is at risk of burning”, as she repeated her call for the prime minister to cut the welfare budget to fund increase spending on defence.Speaking to the Telegraph, the Tory leader said that “Burnham may be a people pleaser but difficult choices cannot be avoided through dither and delay”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Baby born via surrogate can leave Texas for treatment in California, court rules 20. September 2026 (00:46) Ruling latest step in legal fight over medically fragile child born after surrogate rejected couple’s request for abortionThe Texas supreme court has decided that the month-old infant that surrogate McKenna West gave birth to can be relocated to Los Angeles, a Thursday ruling that came weeks after a California court had recognized the biological parents’ custody rights.“Sustaining the life of the medically fragile child is the paramount concern in this time-sensitive matter,” the court wrote in a Thursday order, referring to the baby’s rare severe heart defect. West had attempted to block the biological parents from removing the child from Texas and taking him to a hospital in Los Angeles where the couple live. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Footballers and fans pay tribute to Noah Woods after toddler’s death in Suffolk 20. September 2026 (00:13) Players in Everton v Ipswich Town match wear black armbands as supporters join in minute’s applausePlayers wore black armbands during Everton’s home match against Ipswich Town on Saturday, as part of a tribute to three-year-old Noah Woods, whose body was found after he went missing in Suffolk this week.A photograph of the boy was shown on the big screen before the Premier League game in Liverpool, and three minutes after kick-off both sets of supporters stood to applaud in memory of Noah. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Ed Davey takes aim at Reform and Elon Musk as Lib Dem conference begins 19. September 2026 (23:37) Leader says party ‘won’t give up the fight’ to defeat ‘nasty populism’ in first-day speech to delegatesThe Liberal Democrats’ leader, Sir Ed Davey, took aim at Nigel Farage’s Reform UK and Elon Musk on the first day of his party’s annual conference, saying that they “won’t give up the fight” to defeat “nasty populism” and the far-right party’s “£72m arsenal of hate and lies”.Speaking from the main stage at Brighton Centre, Davey called on the assembled delegates not to be deterred in the face of Reform’s hope “that the anger and the hatred and the lies will grind us down until eventually we just give up”, and praised earlier speakers for showing “why we care and why we fight”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
