Sydney woman sentenced for killing and dismembering abusive husband 18. September 2026 (04:06) ‘Disposal of the body in this case was as thorough as it was brutal,’ justice Peter Hamill said when sentencing 55-year-old Nirmeen NouflFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA woman who lied to police multiple times to cover up killing and dismembering her abusive husband will spend a further 12 months in jail.Nirmeen Noufl was sentenced on Friday to at least three years in jail after pleading guilty in August to killing her husband, Mamdouh Noufl, in excessive self-defence while she was being choked and assaulted in their Sydney home. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Russians go to polls against backdrop of Ukraine war and Putin’s tightening grip 18. September 2026 (04:00) President’s United Russia party faces no meaningful opposition after liberal anti-war party barred from ballotRussians are going to the polls to elect a new State Duma in a tightly controlled vote stripped of meaningful competition and with little doubt about the result.Vladimir Putin’s United Russia is expected to extend the grip on parliament it has held for 23 years, alongside a handful of nominal opposition parties that reliably vote with the Kremlin on the issues that matter. The three-day vote begins on Friday, with results expected after polls close on Sunday. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
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)
