Israel facing water shortages caused by destruction of Gaza’s treatment plants 24. September 2026 (07:00) Five desalination plants shut down for days, while Gaza remains in grip of severe water and sanitation crisisIsrael is facing weeks of water shortages after an exceptional algae bloom crippled much of its desalination capacity, in a crisis scientists say was triggered when Israeli attacks destroyed much of Gaza’s wastewater infrastructure, causing a massive discharge of untreated sewage.“Pollution does not recognise political borders,” said the Zalul Environmental Association, an Israeli NGO dedicated to protecting the country’s seas and shores. “The discharge of untreated sewage from the Gaza Strip into the sea is contributing to the worsening crisis affecting the Israeli desalination facilities. The wastewater contains nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus, which feed microalgae and cyanobacteria and may intensify their blooms.” Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Are pubs and pups a good mix? Dog owners delight as Victoria looks to follow Europe’s lead 24. September 2026 (06:41) ‘Pubs have been pet friendly for years’ in other countries, premier says, as Labor moves to overturn ban on dogs in venuesFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our new political email, free app or daily news podcastFor Steph and her partner Paul, there’s something special about a pub in the British winter.“It’s really lovely – in wintertime, you go with your dog, there’s a fire, it’s really cozy,” she said.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s Politics, really newsletter here Continue reading...(The Guardian)
UK losing up to £6.5bn a year in EU trade due to mismatched product rules 24. September 2026 (06:00) IPPR finds failure to align testing standards has forced companies to abandon exporting to EU and is costing costing 0.18% of national incomeThe UK is losing out on annual exports to the EU that could be worth as much as £6.5bn without a deal with Brussels that allows manufacturers to jettison duplicate product testing.In the latest attempt to calculate the loss of trade with the EU after Brexit, the IPPR thinktank said many companies have given up selling goods to the EU or set up subsidiaries inside the trade bloc after successive governments failed to secure a mutual recognition agreement that would avoid the extra administration costs.Motor vehicle and part exports would have been between £2.48bn and £3.42bn higher each year.Electronic exports could have been between £1.17bn and £1.67bn higher.Pharmaceutical exports would have had an estimated annual uplift of between £740m and £820m. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Elif Eralp: ‘Germany’s Zohran Mamdani’ who vows to be a mayor for all Berliners 24. September 2026 (06:00) Die Linke candidate, a lawyer affected by her experiences as the child of political migrants from Turkey, poised to head Berlin coalition governmentElif Eralp launched her election bid last autumn with the blunt statement: “People like me are actually not supposed to become mayor in this country.” So the fact that the 45-year-old lawyer and daughter of political migrants from Turkey is on the verge of becoming Berlin’s next mayor and the capital’s first leader of Turkish origin is quite the moment in German politics.After last weekend’s city state election, in which her far-left party, Die Linke, came first with more than a quarter of the votes, Eralp has become a household name. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
The long-range drone war: Ukraine and Russia scramble for supremacy in the skies 24. September 2026 (06:00) A conflict that began with tanks and then artillery is now pivoting around a new generation of drones focused on military, industrial, economic and civilian targetsFinally, in the dead of night, the threat above has passed. The rain has eased and the Ukrainian drones are ready, prepared by a ground crew shrouded in hard-to-detect green and red lights. A small succession of Ukrainian Fire Point FP-2 craft, miniature monoplanes with a 6-metre wingspan and more than 100kg of explosive, line up for an attack mission into occupied Luhansk, over 200 miles away.The drone’s main piston engine is a familiar scooter’s buzz, but its launch booster is something else. The jet sound reverberates, almost painfully. A burst of fire lurches into the distance, the last of which signifies it is time for Ukraine’s 413 Raid drone regiment to pack and go.The launch of an FP-2 drone during the mission into occupied Luhansk Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Alan Jones welcomed prominent athlete to luxury home with ‘hug and slap on the bottom’, former butler tells court 24. September 2026 (05:33) Jones, 85, has pleaded not guilty to 21 charges of indecent assault and sexual touching, including two charges involving the athleteFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastListen to the podcast Alan Jones on TrialThe man who was Alan Jones’s butler for almost two decades has told a Sydney court his boss would welcome a prominent athlete to his luxury harbourside apartment with “a hug and a slap on the bottom” and would call him “champion”.The butler, David Allan, testified in the Downing Centre court that he worked at “the coalface” of the broadcaster’s domestic life as a household manager for 18 and a half years up until August 2019. He cooked, cleaned and ironed everything including his underpants and socks, while his employer “tried to exist on 2.5 hours [sleep] a day”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Beau Lamarre-Condon sized up surfboard bag against friend before allegedly murdering Sydney couple, court told 24. September 2026 (03:33) Former NSW police officer has pleaded not guilty to murdering Jesse Baird and Luke Davies before concealing bodies in bags purchased from sports storeBeau Lamarre-Condon was seen sizing up a surfboard bag used to dispose of a victim days before the police officer murdered two men, prosectors have alleged in a Sydney court, with chilling CCTV footage shown to the jury.Lamarre-Condon has been accused of fatally shooting Sydney couple Jesse Baird, 26, and Luke Davies, 29, with his police service weapon at Baird’s Paddington home on 19 February 2024. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
