Summary: G77+China, a group of developing and emerging countries representing 80 percent of the world's population, held summit in Cuba with call on 15 September to "change the rules of the game" of the global order — ground.news main source: AFP, 40 media reports — 17 September 2023 (LINK)

WHO chief pushes China for 'full access' to determine COVID-19's origins: Report — ground.news main source: Financial Times, 44 media reports — 17 September 2023 (LINK)

Fire engulfs an 18-story tower block in Sudan's capital as rival forces battle for the 6th month — ground.news: 27 media reports — 17 September 2023 (LINK)

heathercoxrichardson: Four years of the Republicans in power — substack.com — 17 September 2023 (LINK)

Auto collision kills 4 Greek rescue workers and 3 Libyan family members, health minister says — ground.news main source: AP, 44 media reports — 17 September 2023 (LINK)

Landslide in northwest Congo kills at least 17 people after torrential rain — ground.news: media reports — 17 September 2023 (LINK)

At least 20 mine workers killed after bus collides with lorry in South Africa — ground.news: 16 media reports — 17 September 2023 (LINK)

Thousands of people rallied in Australia to support recognizing the country's Indigenous people in the constitution, aiming to address the disadvantages they face — ground.news main source: Reuters, 19 media reports — 16 September 2023 (LINK)

Thousands without power and 1 dead after Atlantic storm Lee pummels New England and Maritime Canada — apnews.com — 17 September 2023 (LINK)

Aid arrives in flood-hit Libya as Derna death toll estimated at 11,300 — ground.news: 23 media reports — 17 September 2023 (LINK)

UK comedian and actor Russell Brand accused of rape and sexual assault — www.bbc.com — 17 September 2023 (LINK)

Swiss NGO IAM says 18 staff members detained in Afghanistan — ground.news: 35 media reports — 16 September 2023 (LINK)

IAEA chief Grossi condemns Iran's 'unprecedented' barring of inspectors — www.reuters.com ● — 16 September 2023 (LINK)

Iranian guard killed, some 260 arrested in protests on anniversary of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini's death — ground.news: 59 media reports — 16 September 2023 (LINK)

Bloomberg: world disappointed by the UN now looks elsewhere for answers — news.yahoo.com — 16 September 2023 (LINK)

Speed dating for diplomats: An inside guide to the UN General Assembly: Reuters talks to its journalists around the world about what to expect from the United Nations General Assembly when it meets in New York this week(podcast) — www.reuters.com ● — 16 September 2023 (LINK)

Poland, Hungary, Slovakia to introduce bans on Ukraine grains despite EU phase out — www.reuters.com — 16 September 2023 (LINK)

US approves most Egypt military aid, despite human rights concerns — ground.news: 11 media reports — 15 September 2023 (LINK)

Bahrain: Maryam Al-Khawaja prevented from boarding flight for visit to demand father's release — www.amnesty.org — 16 September 2023 (LINK)

Australia swelters in 'uncommon' spring heat ahead of likely El Nino event — ground.news: 10 media reports — 16 September 2023 (LINK)

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton acquitted by GOP-led state Senate on all 16 articles of impeachment — www.cbsnews.com — 16 September 2023 (LINK)

Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis step down from anti-child sex abuse group Thorn after backlash over their letters appealing for leniency for Danny Masterson after Masterson's rape conviction, and their recognition of error in judgement — ground.news: 104 media reports — 16 September 2023 (LINK)

UN refugee agency: update on 7,000 migrants who landed on Lampedusa — www.reuters.com ● — 15 September 2023 (LINK)

Poland, Hungary, Slovakia to introduce bans on Ukraine grains despite EU phase out — www.reuters.com — 16 September 2023 (LINK)

US approves most Egypt military aid, despite human rights concerns — ground.news: 11 media reports — 15 September 2023 (LINK)

California sues five oil giants, accuses them of deception on climate change risks — ground.news: 37 media reports — 15 September 2023 (LINK)

Polish government hit by cash-for-visas scandal — www.dw.com — 15 September 2023 (LINK)

Chinese defence minister reported under investigation for corrupt procurement — www.reuters.com — 15 September 2023 (LINK)

Mexico extradites son of drug kingpin 'El Chapo' to US, official says — ground.news: 142 media reports — 15 September 2023 (LINK)

TikTok fined €345m for breaking EU data law on children's accounts — ground.news: 114 media reports — 15 September 2023 (LINK)

French ambassador to Niger living like a hostage in embassy, President Macron says — ground.news: 75 media reports — 16 September 2023 (LINK)

United Auto Workers go on strike against Ford, GM, Stellantis simultaneously for first time in UAW's 88-year history to demand a 40% pay increase over four years, cost-of-living adjustments, the elimination of wage tiers, and enhanced retirement benefits. — ground.news main source: AP,52 media reports — 15 September 2023 (LINK)

Hotels up to 85% cheaper than Airbnbs for single travellers at holiday hotspots, Which? international study reveals — ground.news: 6 media reports — 15 September 2023 (LINK)

Newly uncovered 1942 letter shows Pope Pius XII likely knew of Holocaust — ground.news main source: AP, 45 media reports — 16 September 2023 (LINK)

300,000 Moroccans displaced by earthquake, including 100,000 children — ground.news main source: AP, 17 media reports — 14 September 2023 (LINK)

Casualties in Libya floods could have been avoided with warning system: WMO chief — ground.news: 33 media reports — 14 September 2023 (LINK)

Venice won't be listed on UNESCO list of the world's most endangered sites — www.wpr.org — 14 September 2023 (LINK)

What you need to know about the UN's draft global plastics treaty: WWF explainer on the "Zero Draft" — impakter.com — 14 September 2023 (LINK)

— The good news is that the Draft contains the most important and ambitious measures that are necessary in curbing plastic pollution. The bad news is that the Draft includes options for voluntary measures. Some obligations have also been framed in vague language that lack specificity.

UNESCO puts 2 Ukraine locations on its List of Historic Sites in Danger — ground.news: 45 media reports — 15 September 2023 (LINK)

US to sanction 150 Russian-supporting entities over war in Ukraine — abcnews.go.com — 14 September 2023 (LINK)

California sues five oil giants, accuses them of deception on climate change risks — ground.news: 37 media reports — 15 September 2023 (LINK)

Brazil's top court imposes two 17-year sentences, in first cases against rioters who stormed the capital on 8 January, a third man given 14-year term — ground.news: 58 media reports — 14 September 2023 (LINK)

Dominican Republic to close all borders with Haiti on 15 September in a dispute over a canal excavation affecting water supply — ground.news: 40 media reports — 14 September 2023 (LINK)

Britain, France, Germany to retain ballistic, nuclear sanctions on Iran — ground.news main source: AP, 37 media reports — 14 September 2023 (LINK)

Aung San Suu Kyi's political party says Myanmar junta depriving her of medical care — ground.news: 10 media reports — 14 September 2023 (LINK)

Ex-Guatemala anti-corruption prosecutor granted asylum in US — ground.news main source: AP, 9 media reports — 14 September 2023 (LINK)

Hunter Biden indicted on federal gun charges: accused of lying about his drug use when he bought a firearm in October 2018 — ground.news: 348 media reports — 14 September 2023 (LINK)

Five women's tennis players who got banned for doping, including a Swiss — khelnow.com — 14 September 2023 (LINK)

UNGA78: 'Action is what the world needs' — news.un.org — 13 September 2023 (LINK)

What to expect from the United Nations General Assembly: Not a whole lot. But from Russia's war to climate change and the global south, changes are afoot. — foreignpolicy.com — 13 September 2023 (LINK)

A Crimean shipyard on fire after a Ukrainian attack with 2 ships damaged and 24 people injured — ground.news: 95 media reports — 13 September 2023 (LINK)

Libya flooding death toll tops 5,300, thousands still missing as bodies are found in Derna — ground.news: 99 media reports — 13 September 2023 (LINK)

Credible reports of at least 13 mass graves in Darfur, UN Rights Office says — ground.news: 10 media reports — 13 September 2023 (LINK)

Environmental activists killed at a rate of one every other day in 2022: Colombia was the deadliest country for environmentalists in 2022, with 60 environmental and land rights defenders killed, almost doubling compared to the previous year, primarily Indigenous peoples, Afro-descendant communities, small-scale farmers, and environmental activists. Brazil and Mexico were next worst — ground.news: 20 media reports — 13 September 2023 (LINK)

More than 330 million children in extreme poverty, says UNICEF — ground.news: 14 media reports — 13 September 2023 (LINK)

Earth 'well outside safe operating space for humanity', scientists find in the first complete 'scientific health check': most global systems beyond stable range in which modern civilisation emerged — www.theguardian.com ● — 13 September 2023 (LINK)

— The assessment, which was published in the journal Science Advances and was based on 2,000 studies, assessment found that six out of nine "planetary boundaries" had been broken because of human-caused pollution and destruction of the natural world.

Two are judged to be close to being broken: air pollution and ocean acidification. The one boundary that is not threatened is atmospheric ozone, after action to phase out destructive chemicals in recent decades led to the ozone hole shrinking.

Several planetary boundaries were passed long ago. The boundary for biosphere integrity, which includes the healthy functioning of ecosystems, was broken in the late 19th century, the researchers said, as destruction of the natural world decimated wildlife. The same destruction, particularly the razing of forests, means the boundary for land use was broken last century.

Climate models have suggested the safe boundary for climate change was surpassed in the late 1980s. For freshwater, a new metric involving both water in lakes and rivers and in soil, showed this boundary was crossed in the early 20th century.

Another boundary is the flow of nitrogen and phosphorus in the environment. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization data, three times the safe level of nitrogen is added to fields every year.

The boundary for synthetic pollution, such as pesticides, plastics and nuclear waste, was shown to have been passed by a 2022 study.

US inflation in August rose to 3.7% amid sharp increase in energy prices — ground.news: 14 media reports — 13 September 2023 (LINK)

Two 'non-human alien corpses' unveiled in Mexico's Congress: Report — ground.news: 11 media reports — 13 September 2023 (LINK)

US military resumes drone, manned counterterrorism missions in Niger — ground.news: 15 media reports — 13 September 2023 (LINK)

UBS hires award-winning portfolio manager from a US-based global investment firm — www.finews.com — 14 September 2023 (LINK)

Alex Jones spent over $93,000 in July. Sandy Hook families who sued him have yet to see a dime of the $1.5 bn awarded — apnews.com — 14 September 2023 (LINK)

Scientists call fraud on supposed extraterrestrials presented to Mexican Congress — apnews.com — 14 September 2023 (LINK)

— The apparently desiccated bodies date back to 2017 and were found deep underground in the sandy Peruvian coastal desert of Nazca. The area is known for gigantic enigmatic figures scraped into the earth and seen only from a birds-eye-view. Most attribute the Nazca Lines to ancient indigenous communities, but the formations have captured the imaginations of many.

In 2017, Maussan made similar claims in Peru, and a report by the country's prosecutor's office found that the bodies were actually "recently manufactured dolls, which have been covered with a mixture of paper and synthetic glue to simulate the presence of skin."

Five women’s tennis players who got banned for doping, including Swiss — khelnow.com — 14 September 2023 (LINK)

12 days to sort out US budget + impeaching Joe Biden — heathercoxrichardson — 12 September 2023 (LINK)

7 people have died in Sunday-Monday storms in southern China and 70 crocodiles are reported to be on the loose — ground.news main source: AP, 20 media reports — 12 September 2023 (LINK)

Despite opposition, Britain passes law to curb prosecutions for Northern Ireland 'Troubles' violence — ground.news main source: AP, 14 media reports — 12 September 2023 (LINK)

World Bank spent about $3.7bn backing fossil fuels in 2022, study finds — www.theguardian.com ● — 12 September 2023 (LINK)

Sustainability Portal in Lausanne reveals the breadth of the local network — actu.epfl.ch — 12 September 2023 (LINK)

Lithium deposit found in extinct Nevada volcano could be largest in the world — ground.news: 21 media reports — 12 September 2023 (LINK)

— The McDermitt Caldera in the US may contain the largest deposit of lithium in the world, with 20 to 40 million metric tons in total. Concerns have been raised about the controversial plans to mine the Thacker Pass Lithium mine in the McDermitt Caldera. Indigenous tribes consider the land sacred, and environmentalists worry about the destruction of ecosystems and depletion of groundwater.

US caver Mark Dickey, who fell ill at a depth of 1,040 meters in the Morca cave in Turkey, has been successfully rescued after a days-long international operation involving more than 150 rescuers. He was taken to a medical tent for checks — ground.news: 115 media reports — 12 September 2023 (LINK)

Credit Suisse Chief Operating Officer to leave bank for new role — www.bloomberg.com ● — 12 September 2023 (LINK)

New study pit ChatGPT against top MBA students and found it generated ideas much faster than humans — www.mensjournal.com — 13 September 2023 (LINK)

Elon Musk biographer admits suggestion SpaceX head blocked Ukraine drone attack was wrong — www.theguardian.com ● — 12 September 2023 (LINK)

Former tennis world No 1 Simona Halep given four-year ban from tennis for anti-doping violations — www.theguardian.com ● — 12 September 2023 (LINK)

— The 31-year-old Romanian announced in a statement that she would appeal against the decision, which is the biggest in the sport since Maria Sharapova, also a former Wimbledon champion and world No 1, was suspended for 15 months after testing positive for meldonium. "I have never knowingly or intentionally used any prohibited substance. I refused to accept their decision of a four-year ban."

Amid the Hollywood strikes, Tom Cruise's latest 'Mission: Impossible' reveals what's at stake with AI in movies — theconversation.com — 12 September 2023 (LINK)

Libyan prime minister says 2,000 people believed dead in flooding in eastern Libya following storm — ground.news: 131 media reports — 11 September 2023 (LINK)

The death toll in Morocco's powerful earthquake has risen to 2,681, with many more still missing in remote villages. The government has accepted help from only four countries so far — ground.news: 200 media reports — 11 September 2023 (LINK)

Cease-fire declared after four days of intense fighting in Lebanon’s largest Palestinian refugee camp — ground.news: 15 media reports — 11 September 2023 (LINK)

Island states seek climate protection from Law of the Sea — ground.news: 11 media reports — 11 September 2023 (LINK)

China's central bank acts to stabilize yuan amidst a 16-year low — www.cryptopolitan.com — 11 September 2023 (LINK)

President Biden approves deal with Iran to swap prisoners and release $6 billion in frozen Iranian funds — ground.news: 117 media reports — 11 September 2023 (LINK)

— The deal, which was first announced on August 10, involves the release of five US citizens detained by Iran in exchange for the freedom of five Iranians held in the United States. This marks the first time the US government has formally acknowledged the release of the Iranian detainees and the transfer of funds, which will be available only for humanitarian trade.

Ex-Pakistan cricketer Khalid Latif sentenced to 12 years' prison in absentia for inciting murder of Dutch MP — ground.news: 32 media reports — 11 September 2023 (LINK)

Luis Rubiales resigns as president of Spanish FA over Jenni Hermoso kiss — ground.news: 262 media reports — 11 September 2023 (LINK)

Vietnam Air signs US$7.8 billion deal for 50 Boeing 737 max planes: White House — ground.news: 13 media reports — 11 September 2023 (LINK)

— Other business partnerships announced during Biden's visit to Hanoi include Microsoft's plans to develop an AI solution for Vietnam and emerging markets, and Nvidia partnering with Vietnamese companies on AI initiatives.

→Biden claims without evidence he was at Ground Zero on day after 9/11 attacks→ — ground.news: media reports — 11 September 2023 (LINK)

— Records show that Biden was in the U.S. Senate on September 12, 2001, and gave a floor speech about the terrorist attacks. His first known visit to Ground Zero was on September 20, 2001. He faces criticism for not visiting any of the attack sites on the anniversary and for giving his speech in Alaska instead. He is the first president in 22 years to neither spend the day at an attack site nor the White House.

Clashes, arson mar Chile march to commemorate Pinochet victims — ground.news: 40 media reports — 11 September 2023 (LINK)

Internet Archive files appeal in publishers' lawsuit against libraries — blog.archive.org —11 September 2023 (LINK)