Thick smoke seen near Riyadh airport after air-raid alerts in Saudi capital 19. September 2026 (16:54) Authorities also issued warnings for Jeddah and Yanbu, a major industrial port and home to vital oil facilitiesFlames and a large plume of black smoke were seen rising above Riyadh airport in Saudi Arabia on Saturday after the government sent air-raid alerts to citizens by phone overnight warning of aerial attacks.Explosions were heard in the capital and firefighters battled to extinguish the flames of a burning fuel tank emblazoned with the logo of the Saudi oil company Aramco near the city’s King Khalid international airport. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Jewish heirs of Holocaust victims sue California museum over Nazi-looted art 19. September 2026 (16:52) Pasadena’s Norton Simon Museum holds 16th-century paintings stolen by the Nazis during the second world warJewish heirs of Holocaust victims and their representatives have filed two lawsuits in California staking their claims to Nazi-looted paintings that still hang on the walls of prominent museums in Los Angeles and Auschwitz.This pair of lawsuits are the first to be filed after the recent passage of laws by California and the US Congress, which strengthen US-based claims to artwork that were forcibly taken from Jewish families during the second world war. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump’s battle to rename the Kennedy Center has put its future at risk 19. September 2026 (15:30) The president has threatened to block renovations and suggested the landmark could be demolished after courts ruled against his bid to rename it It was born with the world premiere of Leonard Bernstein’s Mass. “Young people will come here and they will see this cultural centre,” Rose Kennedy, the mother of slain US president John F Kennedy, said at that opening night gala. “They will carry some of these ideas back to their different communities.”More than half a century later, the potential death knell came just after 4.30pm on Tuesday with a perfunctory announcement on the public address system: “The centre is now closed to the public. Please exit the centre by way of the Hall of States.” Soon barricades had been erected and security guards were blocking access. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Likelihood of eating fresh produce increases with income for US adults, new CDC report shows 19. September 2026 (15:00) The report highlights deep divides between low- and middle- income, a disparity that dates back decadesA new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reaffirms that adults are more likely to eat fresh fruits and vegetables as their income increases.The data brief comes as Republican cuts to food assistance programs, colloquially called “food stamps”, have led enrollment to “plummet”. Changes to US dietary guidelines, led by health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, have also made a government-recommended diet more expensive. A new “food pyramid” released in January emphasized animal protein, fresh fruit and vegetables, all of which cost more, according to studies. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘Way too many guns around’: experts say firearm access key factor in spate of US family killings 19. September 2026 (14:00) Acts of ‘familicide’ have increased dramatically this year – in the US, the killer is more likely to have easy access to a gunThe US is often known globally for its shocking levels of violence, but acts of “family annihilation” or “familicide” rank among the most disturbing of crimes.They occur when an assailant kills four or more of their own family members and often see the killer also kill themselves. These types of crime have increased dramatically this year, according to data from Northeastern University. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
US fashion CEO resigns after physically restraining animal rights activists 19. September 2026 (13:58) Steven Kolb of the Council of Fashion Designers of America was filmed during an altercation at New York fashion weekThe chief executive of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, Steven Kolb, has resigned after he was filmed physically restraining two animal rights activists during an altercation at New York fashion week.“After 20 years leading the CFDA, I have made the difficult decision to step down as CEO and president,” Kolb said in a statement. “I am enormously proud of what we have built together and believe this is the right moment for both me and the organisation to begin a new chapter.” Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Michael Marra elected Scottish Labour leader – and faces uphill battle to reverse party’s fortunes 19. September 2026 (13:14) Marra vows to ‘reconnect’ with Scotland after succeeding Anas Sarwar, who quit Holyrood to join Westminster governmentMichael Marra has been elected as the new leader of the Scottish Labour party, winning almost two-thirds of the vote to lead the party in Holyrood.The MSP for North East Scotland is Scottish Labour’s 11th leader, replacing Anas Sarwar after his shock decision to resign in July to join Andy Burnham’s new government as a trade minister. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Students scramble for accommodation after provider goes bust in Dundee 19. September 2026 (13:00) Case highlights severe financial strain on sector across UK as string of university housing schemes failAre you having problems with your accommodation provider?Nearly 70 students in Dundee have been left scrambling to find accommodation for this academic year after the latest in a string of university housing schemes went bust amid severe financial strain on the sector.Students in the city have been forced to find alternative housing and rapidly move their possessions as term begins this month after the collapse of the owner of Marketgait Apartments, a city centre block. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
The US air force admitted to deploying weapons in space. Don’t expect the White House to explain why 19. September 2026 (13:00) The revelation ‘left experts scratching their heads at exactly what Donald Trump has in his cosmic arsenal’In Hollywood at least, space weapons are a relatively simple concept. The good guys, from Captain Kirk and his crew in Star Trek, to Luke Skywalker’s rebel alliance in Star Wars, battle intergalactic villains with an array of colorful lasers and particle-beam cannons, then the bad guys get dispatched in a spectacular, explosive finale.The messaging coming out of the White House on the subject, by contrast, could not be more vague. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Kevin Warsh may be the adult in the room. But can he calm the US economy? 19. September 2026 (13:00) Fed chair presided over unanimous decision to raise interest rates despite intense campaign from White HouseIn the end, Kevin Warsh’s Federal Reserve acquitted itself well. For all the uncertainty he had sparked at the previous meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, when he refused to provide any indication of what he was prepared to do to tame stubborn inflation, the chair on Wednesday presided over a unanimous decision to raise interest rates for the first time in three years.“Today’s action starts to show that we’re serious about this,” he said at the press conference after the meeting, with “this” meaning inflation in excess of the Fed’s 2% target for over five years. Welcome though it was, his embrace of economic orthodoxy nonetheless did little to dispel the Keystone Cops quality of governance in Donald Trump’s US. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
