Thousands of ebikes seized by London councils as anger rises over blocked paths 12. September 2026 (08:00) Operators blame lack of parking and councils bemoan lack of central regulation, as more than 3,000 badly parked bikes seizedLondon boroughs have seized at least 3,000 ebikes this year, a Guardian investigation has found, as hire companies face growing calls to stop bicycles littering streets and blocking pavements.Local authorities across the capital have seized 3,393 hazardously parked or abandoned ebikes so far this year, 23% higher than the number seized during all of 2025. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Saudi Arabia shuts down oil pipeline, blaming drones from Iraq 12. September 2026 (07:22) Riyadh has increased its use of the East-West pipeline since the start of the Middle East war to bypass the closure of the strait of HormuzSaudi authorities said Friday drones launched from Iraq led to the temporary closure of a crucial oil export route used to bypass the lockdown of the strait of Hormuz.Riyadh has increased its use of the East-West pipeline, which links Abqaiq, near the Gulf, to the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea, since the start of the Middle East war to bypass strait of Hormuz closed by Iran. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Sweden’s extremely close election could see far right enter government 12. September 2026 (07:00) Latest poll shows 0.3-point gap between left and right blocs, with country’s reputation as global champion of human rights said to be at stakeSweden goes to the polls on Sunday in an extremely close election that could see the far right enter government for the first time if the country’s rightwing parties can form a majority.Opinion polls show the centre-left opposition alliance ahead, with Magdalena Andersson of the Social Democrats the favourite to become prime minister again after four years in opposition, but her bloc’s lead has narrowed considerably in the final days of the campaign. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
From black-clad agitators to an appeal for ‘Tommo’s Mum’: an unsettling week with the Patriot Platform 12. September 2026 (07:00) A militaristic operation with features of influencer culture, the new anti-migrant movement seems to show a shift in tactics and rhetoricShortly after 7am last Saturday in the English coastal town of Dover, livestreamed footage distributed by Britain’s newest anti-migrant movement showed dozens of men in paramilitary outfits jumping out from the backs of vehicles, their faces covered beneath balaclavas, their hands in black gloves.Within an hour, hundreds more masked agitators, dressed head to toe in black, some wearing silver crosses around their necks, were marching through the town’s streets, clapping and chanting “Stop the boats” and “Christ is king”, blockading the busy port for hours. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Artist delights in beautiful ‘mess’ and dead trees of England’s rewilding sites 12. September 2026 (07:00) Rebecca Howard spent two years visiting projects and painting landscapes that feature in West Sussex exhibitionRewilding areas do not usually conform to traditional notions of beauty in England’s green and pleasant land. Detractors may bewail the beaver-felled trees, untidy scrub, deadwood, weeds, mud and “mess”.But a new exhibition highlights the aesthetic delights that can be discovered on rewilding sites where fungi grows on dying trees, water buffalo gather in new wetlands and brown-watered beaver pools flood once-desiccated fields. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Death toll from Philippines ferry fire rises to 35, as officials warn toll will grow 12. September 2026 (06:53) The deadly fire had begun in the ferry’s cargo hold, then tore through the ship within secondsThe bodies of passengers killed in a ferry fire off the Philippines arrived at a port near the resort town of Coron, Palawan, on Saturday morning, as the country’s coast guard warned the death toll of 35 would grow.Tents were being set up to receive 30 bodies brought from the M/V June Aster, which ran aground near the tourist hotspot after a fire erupted on Wednesday evening and tore through the vessel “in seconds”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Alleged drone operator charged with murder after mistaken identity shooting in Sydney 12. September 2026 (06:37) NSW police say 18-year-old was operating drone when arrested and likely ‘conducting surveillance on someone or some premises’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA Sydney teenager has been charged with murder after police accused him of operating a drone as part of a suspected botched gang hit in the city’s west.Joshua Macdonald, 40, was shot dead at a Merrylands West home on 2 September in what police believe may have been a case of mistaken identity. He was not known to police and had no links to organised crime. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Nearly 50,000 Yemeni civilians flee as Houthis advance along Red Sea coast 12. September 2026 (06:00) Global struggle for control of Bab al-Mandab strait threatens to turn Yemen’s on-off conflict into a forever warViolence erupts in Yemen again: why it matters globally and how it is linked to the US-Iran warNearly 50,000 people have fled a sudden advance by Houthi forces in western Yemen, with entire villages emptied and families trapped near frontline fighting with depleting food supplies, according to aid workers.Civilians in the Middle East’s poorest country have found themselves victims of a global struggle for control over one of the most important shipping routes in the world, which threatens to turn Yemen’s on-off conflict into a forever war. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Firewall compromised: has Friedrich Merz blown ‘democracy’s last shot’? 12. September 2026 (06:00) Many fear chancellor is wrong man for the job at a time when Germany’s defences against far right are crumblingA cataclysm. A 9.0 earthquake. A five-alarm fire. A bitter rejection of Germany’s joyous reunification three decades ago, and a threat to the democratic postwar order.Sizing up the repercussions of last weekend’s win for the far-right Alternative für Deutschland party in the former communist state of Saxony-Anhalt, German commentators expressed a sense of doom, panic and helplessness in the political establishment. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Court case brought by Zionist federation against journalist Mary Kostakidis ended ‘by consent’ 12. September 2026 (05:21) Former SBS newsreader had been accused by Zionist Federation of Australia of breaching Racial Discrimination Act when sharing X postsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastFederal court proceedings brought by the Zionist Federation of Australia (ZFA) against journalist Mary Kostakidis have been discontinued “by consent” with “no order as to costs”.The former SBS newsreader had been accused by the federation of breaching the Racial Discrimination Act (RDA) by sharing two X posts about a speech by the late Hezbollah secretary general Hassan Nasrallah in January 2024. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
