Absence of violence in Drumcree does not make standoff any less significant 28. September 2026 (20:37) Row comes amid rising division and a tendency towards cynical political posturing in Northern IrelandThree decades ago, it took the deaths of three Roman Catholic children – the Quinn brothers, Jason, nine, Mark, 10, and 11-year-old Richard – in a petrol bomb attack to bring an end to the Drumcree dispute. “No road is worth a life, let alone the lives of three little boys,” the Orange Order’s County Armagh chaplain said at the time.It is perhaps extraordinary to think that this could ever have needed saying – but that was then. Northern Ireland is very different place today. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Dengue fever outbreak prompts Florida counties to declare state of emergency 28. September 2026 (20:21) CDC says 392 cases of Dengue were reported for the year so far in the state, along with different county-level dataSeveral Florida counties recently declared a state of local emergency in response to a spate of dengue fever infections.Hillsborough county, Florida, officials made the declaration on 24 September as health authorities recorded 134 confirmed cases of dengue fever, which is a mosquito-borne sickness typically found in countries outside the US. Officials said that the spread of the illness poses “an immediate and widespread threat to the public health, safety, and welfare of the residents and visitors of Hillsborough county”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Questions remain over Iran’s link to alleged RAF Fairford bomb plot 28. September 2026 (19:52) Tehran has been trying to step up attacks on targets in the west but its track record has been mixedInvestigators may be some way from determining exactly what led five men with three vans to a village just outside RAF Fairford in the small hours of Sunday – but the fact they have all been released on bail without immediate charge suggests they are not deemed to pose a serious and violent threat.In a moment where wider geopolitical tensions mean external threats are perceived to be close, the question of whether Iran had a hand in the alleged plot remains open. Nonetheless, the bailing of the men is a mercifully lower-key development in an investigation that appeared of the utmost gravity. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Arizona frat suspended after allegedly making new recruits swallow live goldfish 28. September 2026 (19:32) Case of alleged hazing at the University of Arizona is latest in series of controversial incidents involving US fraternities A college fraternity at the University of Arizona has been suspended after new members were allegedly plied with alcohol and forced to swallow live goldfish.College officials informed the university’s Sigma Tau Gamma chapter by letter earlier in September that it was under investigation for multiple alleged violations of the student code of conduct, including “endangering, threatening, or causing physical harm” to members of the campus community. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
