US court sentences ex-Syrian official who ran notorious ‘punishment wing’ to 60 years 18. September 2026 (02:37) Samir Ousman al-Sheikh, part of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, was in charge of Adra prison where prisoners were torturedThis article contains descriptions of torture.A US federal court in Los Angeles sentenced a former Syrian government official who ran one of the country’s most infamous prisons to 60 years in prison on Thursday – the most significant punishment handed to an official of ousted president Bashar al-Assad’s regime by a foreign court and to a defendant present in person. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
LA woman charged with murder over bus crash that preceded deadly helicopter plunge 18. September 2026 (02:34) Bailee Lynn Rios, 36, accused of driving on wrong side of road to cause fatal crash NBC news helicopter was coveringA California woman was allegedly driving under the influence when she sped down the wrong side of the road, ran a red light and plowed her SUV into a Los Angeles metro bus on Tuesday, killing two passengers, prosecutors say, in a tragedy compounded when a news helicopter covering the crash plummeted from the sky, killing three.Bailee Lynn Rios, 36, has been charged with two counts of murder over the deaths of the two people on the bus, identified as Daniel Castillo, 46, and Gage Weida, 31. Rios was being held on $4.1m bail and is set to be arraigned on 18 September. Online court records did not list a lawyer who might speak on her behalf, and the public defender’s office did not immediately return a message about whether it was representing her. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Almost 50 dead in Nigeria after drinking alcohol suspected to contain methanol 18. September 2026 (02:23) Drinking locally made alcohol is common in Nigeria, especially in rural areas where it is more affordable and poorly regulatedAt least 48 people have died and about 100 others are receiving treatment in southern Nigeria after consuming a locally brewed alcoholic concoction suspected to contain methanol, officials said on Thursday.Banji Ajaka, Ondo state’s commissioner for health, said the cases had been reported in the Odigbo and Irele local government areas. A total of 182 people are believed to have been affected and some are being treated in the hospital, he said. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘Outright racist’ activist Daniel Thomas will face ‘full force of law’ over any crimes, says home secretary 18. September 2026 (01:01) Shabana Mahmood says she wants to distinguish between far-right extremism and legitimate local concerns over asylum sitesShabana Mahmood has described the anti-asylum activist Daniel Thomas as “a far-right and outright racist” who will feel “the full force of the law” if his organisation commits crimes near contested asylum sites such as Piddington.In an interview with the Guardian, the home secretary also “wanted to reassure” concerned villagers that asylum seekers due to move in to a neighbouring former defence site would not “put pressure” on local resources because they would be given “self-contained facilities”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Find a credible plan for British Steel, ministers told as ‘startling’ costs soar 18. September 2026 (01:01) Government spending watchdog warns of price of keeping publicly owned firm in businessLabour has been urged to lay out a credible plan for the future of British Steel, as the government spending watchdog warned of the “startling” costs of keeping the struggling manufacturer in business with no end in sight.British Steel was taken into public ownership in July to protect “the future of steel production”, 15 months after the government stepped in to prevent the closure of its steelworks in Scunthorpe and the loss of 4,000 jobs. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
