Worst ever outbreak of bluetongue hits British farms 03. October 2026 (07:00) Climate crisis blamed as virus that originated in Africa spreads to livestock as far north as AberdeenshireBritish farmers are experiencing the worst bluetongue season on record, with the number of cases surpassing the past three years combined.The viral disease, which affects sheep and cattle among other animals, can cause fevers, ulcers, a swollen head and lameness. The tongue may go blue and even protrude from the mouth. In the most severe cases, the animal can die. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Manchester City’s guilty verdict brings football’s great sell-off crashing to earth 03. October 2026 (07:00) On the day Andy Burnham spoke of the wrong turn Britain took under Thatcher, football was facing a day of reckoning over its own story of corporate acquisitionIt was somehow fitting that Tuesday’s damning ruling against Manchester City landed in the heart of the Labour party conference, in the afterglow of Andy Burnham’s rapturously received prime minister’s speech.I was there, and read the astonishing 40 pages of findings – that City created “sham” contracts to boost income artificially by £900m – on my phone during a long meeting of the Socialist Campaign Group, where people were celebrating Keir Starmer’s ousting and Burnham’s more leftwing direction. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘A beacon of peace’: London’s oldest mosque celebrates centenary 03. October 2026 (07:00) Fazl Mosque was used as an air raid shelter in the war – but that is not its only link to a pivotal moment in world historyExactly 100 years ago the Guardian wrote about the opening of London’s first mosque, an impressive white building surrounded by immaculate flower gardens in the heart of south London suburbia.A report described the mosque, in its incongruous surroundings, as “a thing of beauty”. The journalists who attended the opening ceremony witnessed the mosque’s large black doors being opened with a silver key. About 600 eminent guests attended the grand opening. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘We swept a lot under the carpet’: Vichy regime film hits home in France of 2026 03. October 2026 (06:00) Movie about Nazi-collaborating administration strikes chord during what director calls ‘time of great uncertainty’It is the story of how a lowly state administrator unthinkingly becomes a cog in the machine of an authoritarian regime, embracing the bureaucracy and logistics of sending people to their deaths – and it is drawing in audiences to French cinemas.The French film Notre Salut (Our Salvation), with its modern lighting, improvised scenes and anachronistic 1980s Europop soundtrack, is far from the standard historical costume drama about the second world war. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Bangkok at breaking point as floods turn streets into stagnant lakes 03. October 2026 (04:00) With 40 dead and a disaster declared across all 50 city districts, experts warn extreme flooding will only worsen across south-east AsiaBangkok is used to absorbing the sudden afternoon downpours that inundate the city during the rainy season. Even streets in many central high-rise districts can briefly turn into rivers, with rats and cockroaches racing out of sewers and taking temporary refuge on trees and buildings as the subterranean world is flushed out.But every city has a breaking point, and this year rain fell so fast and so hard that whole neighbourhoods of the Thai capital have been transformed, not into rivers, but stagnant lakes. In parts of the city, roughly 300mm of rain – the equivalent of half a year of average rainfall in London – fell in about two days. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Several people injured after vehicle hits crowd at Knights grand final farewell in Newcastle 03. October 2026 (02:51) NSW Ambulance confirms multiple people injured after a car hit a crowdA car has crashed into a crowd of people in Newcastle injuring several as fans waited to farewell the Knights team bus before the NRL grand final.NSW police said that emergency services were called to Newcastle Link Road at the Transfield Drive roundabout in Wallsend about 9.30am after reports a vehicle struck multiple people in a crowd. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Cyclospora found at Mexican farm linked to lettuce outbreak, FDA says 03. October 2026 (02:27) Announcement from US officials comes after CDC declared end to outbreak that infected nearly 13,000 peopleThe Food and Drug Administration said on Friday its inspectors had detected cyclospora at the Mexican farm blamed for the largest foodborne illness outbreak of the parasite in US history.FDA inspectors said Friday they found cyclospora in two places: a wastewater tank and a drainage ditch used for lettuce cultivation. They said it was unclear how the lettuce became infected. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Partner of Gypsy Rose Blanchard found dead in Louisiana home 03. October 2026 (01:53) Kenan ‘Ken’ Urker, 34, who died of apparent drug overdose, was partner of woman convicted of murder of mother The on-and-off partner of Gypsy Rose Blanchard, who spent time in prison for her role in the murder of her abusive mother, was found dead inside his Louisiana home on his 34th birthday on Thursday in what authorities described as an apparent drug overdose.The sheriff’s office in Lafourche parish, Louisiana, confirmed Kenan “Ken” Urker – the father of Blanchard’s daughter – was discovered on Thursday after relatives asked police to conduct a welfare check at his residence. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Federal judge halts Big Bend border wall construction in blow to Trump agenda 03. October 2026 (01:32) Plan to install barriers through popular national park sparked outrage from advocates and politicians alikeA federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from expanding the border wall and other security infrastructure across the Big Bend region of west Texas, where contentious plans to build roads and vehicle barriers through a popular national park have led to furious backlash and public protests.US district judge Kathleen Cardone’s ruling after a Friday hearing in El Paso deals a major blow to the Trump administration’s efforts to expand the border wall through west Texas at breakneck pace, while riding roughshod over the objections of local business owners, landowners, public land advocates and politicians from both parties. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
DoJ declines to reopen investigation into former Fed chair Jay Powell 03. October 2026 (00:32) Kevin Warsh’s predecessor had been investigated over cost overruns related to central bank renovation projectThe US justice department is not reopening a criminal investigation into former Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell for cost overruns related to the central bank’s building renovation project, a department spokesperson said on Friday.Attorney general Todd Blanche – in comments to Bloomberg News, which first reported the development – said he has not ruled out continuing to look into the project’s oversight and potentially take action if evidence of wrongdoing came to light. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
