The Israeli military says 3 hostages recovered months ago were likely killed in November airstrike — 15 September 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 157 media reports (LINK)

At the UN, world leaders are negotiating the biggest health issue you've never heard of: antimicrobial resistance — 15 September 2024 (LINK)

Son of suspect after apparent Trump assassination attempt in Florida says dad was passionate about Ukraine cause — 15 September 2024 (LINK)

Questions will be raised about Trump's exposure to attack, but Secret Service is also being commended for stopping itsource — (LINK)

Venezuela arrests US and Spanish citizens over 'plot' to assassinate Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and other top officials. — 15 September 2024 (LINK)

— It comes two days after Washington sanctioned 16 Venezuelan officials who are closely aligned with President Maduro, following his disputed election victory.

Saudi Central Bank caught secretly buying 160 tonnes of gold in Switzerland to boost price — Nemos News Network — 15 September 2024 — ground.news: 3 media reports (LINK)

Switzerland unveils new supercomputer 'Alps', already ranked sixth in the world — 15 September 2024 (LINK)

— Staff at the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre in Lugano (CSCS) say 'Alps' could rank even higher today as it wasn't completed when the rankings were put together in June.

— The focus of 'Alps' will be on scientific research, solving complex calculations in the fields of medicine, space research and climatology. The computer is already being used by Switzerland's federal weather bureau to provide up to date mapping of weather systems. "If you look up the weather forecasts on your mobile phone in the MeteoSwiss app, they come from simulations on 'Alps'," said Thomas Schulthess, the director of CSCS.

New York City mayor's chief counsel resigns amid federal probes — 15 September 2024 (LINK)

Prince William and King Charles wish Prince Harry happy 40th birthday in surprise gesture amid ongoing rift — 15 September 2024 (LINK)

Comoros president is 'slightly injured' in knife attack. The suspect is found dead in police cell — 14 September 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 92 media reports (LINK)

Russia, Ukraine swap 206 prisoners in exchange deal, Zelensky says — 14 September 2024 (LINK)

Nearly 30% of US Gulf of Mexico oil output offline after storm — 14 September 2024 (LINK)

Iran says it successfully launched a satellite in its program criticized by West over missile fears — 14 September 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 168 media reports (LINK)

4 ISIS leaders killed in raid that left 7 US service members injured — 14 September 2024 (LINK)

Algerian court certifies Tebboune's landslide reelection win — 14 September 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 73 media reports (LINK)

— Notably, both challengers surpassed the threshold required to receive reimbursement for campaign expenses. With 7.7 million votes, the first-term president won 84.3% of the vote, surpassing 2019 win by millions of votes and a double-digit margin. Cherif, running with the Movement of Society for Peace, won nearly 950,000 votes, or roughly 9.6%. The Socialist Forces Front's Youcef Aouchiche won more than 580,000 votes, or roughly 6.1%.

At least 40 people feared dead in Nigeria boat accident — 14 September 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 91 media reports (LINK)

— The vessel was ferrying 53 farmers to their farms across the Gummi River in Zamfara State when it capsized, a local official said.

More men accuse ex-Abercrombie boss over sex events — 14 September 2024 (LINK)

Jetstream Designs shares Geneva Airport previews ahead of release — 14 September 2024 (LINK)

US and British citizens among 37 sentenced to death in DR Congo coup trial — 13 September 2024 (LINK)

Dollar dives to 2024 low, gold at record high on revived bets for jumbo Fed cut — 13 September 2024 (LINK)

Trump lies about stock price, sends it soaring until sales are paused twice on suspicion of manipulation — 13 September 2024 (LINK)

— Trump Media stock up 25% in a lightning spike. The stock price went up $3.50, from 16.27 to $20.76. This happened betewen 2:20 and 2:40pm. When investors realized they'd been played — and that the markets had paused trading on the stock because the whole thing was highly suspicious — the stock fell to %17.97 where it closed.

— In addition to briefly manipulating the markets, Trump also lied outright to whoever was out there with him. In the video below he says the stock originally opened at "two dollars" and "went to 182." This, of course, is a lie. The Trump Media stock hit $97.54 on March 2, 2022. That was the highest it ever got, and that lasted one day. The stock price collapsed. When Trump merged his company with Digital World in March 2024, the price rose briefly to $61.96 from $34.69. Now it's worth about half of that.

Pope Francis criticizes Trump and Harris and says voters must choose between 'lesser of two evils', deeming former President Donald Trump's anti-migrant policies and Vice President Kamala Harris' support of abortion rights as both being "against life" — 13 September 2024 (LINK)

Sam Bankman-Fried files appeal for conviction on seven felony counts and his 25-year prison sentence — 13 September 2024 (LINK)

China will raise the retirement age for the first time since 1978, a move that could stem a decline in the labor force but risk angering workers already wrestling with a slowing economy — 14 September 2024 (LINK)

— The change will take place over 15 years starting January. Men will retire at 63 instead of 60. Women will retire at 55 instead of 50 for ordinary workers, and 58 instead of 55 for those in management positions.

Prince Andrew secures stay at Royal Lodge amid ongoing talks with King Charles — 13 September 2024 (LINK)

Miss Switzerland finalist Kristina Joksimovic's remains allegedly "pureed" in blender by husband — 13 September 2024 (LINK)

US supports two permanent UN Security Council seats for Africa and one seat to be rotated among small island developing states — 12 September 2024 (LINK)

— This is in addition to Washington's long-held support for India, Japan and Germany to get permanent seats on the council. The U.S. also supports permanent council representation for countries from Latin America and the Caribbean but has not specified details.

UK's Starmer says Russia started Ukraine war and can end it any time in response to Putin's threat that use of long-range British missiles inside Russia would put it at war with Nato — 12 September 2024 (LINK)

Europe cuts interest rates again as economic recovery falters — 12 September 2024 (LINK)

— The widely anticipated decision, which was unanimously agreed by the ECB's 26 rate-setters, takes the benchmark rate in the 20 countries that use the euro to 3.5%, from 3.75% previously.

White House gets voluntary commitments from AI companies to curb deepfake porn: Adobe, Anthropic, Cohere, Common Crawl, Microsoft and OpenAI — 12 September 2024 (LINK)

Former Guatemala police chief, Erwin Sperisen, has been sentenced to 14 years in prison after being found guilty by a Geneva court in fourth trial, of aiding and abetting the murder of seven prisoners in Guatemala. The defence said it would appeal to the Federal Supreme Court again — 12 September 2024 (LINK)

North Korea launches multiple ballistic missiles after Kim vowed to bolster war readiness — 12 September 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 77 media reports (LINK)

SpaceX makes history with first spacewalks ever by private citizens — 12 September 2024 (LINK)

— It was yet another major milestone for SpaceX, the company founded by Elon Musk in 2002. Since then, SpaceX has grown into a powerhouse that in 2020 beat aerospace giant Boeing in delivering a spaceship to provide rides for NASA astronauts to the International Space Station.

— Prior to the hatch opening, the crew underwent a "prebreathe" procedure to remove nitrogen from their bloodstream, preventing decompression sickness. Cabin pressure was then gradually lowered to align with the vacuum of space.

— Leader fintech billionaire Jared Isaacman and crewmate Sarah Gillis, a SpaceX engineer, took turns outside the vehicle, spending a few minutes performing mobility tests on SpaceX's next-generation suits that boast heads-up displays, helmet cameras and enhanced joint mobility systems — before returning inside. Extravehicular activity officially ended after an hour and 46 minutes, following cabin re-pressurization.

— While it marked a first for the commercial sector, the spacewalk fell short of the daring feats from the early space era. Early spacewalkers, including the first, Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov in 1965, floated tethered to their spacecraft, while a select few Space Shuttle astronauts used jetpacks to fly completely untethered.

— The spacewalk followed an audacious first phase of the mission, during which the Dragon spacecraft reached a peak altitude of 870 miles – three times higher than the International Space Station, in a region teeming with dangerous, high-energy particles. All four underwent more than two years of training in preparation for the landmark mission, logging hundreds of hours on simulators as well as skydiving, scuba diving and summiting an Ecuadoran volcano.

— Upcoming tasks include testing laser-based satellite communications between the spacecraft and the vast Starlink satellite constellation, and completing dozens of experiments, including tests on contact lenses with embedded microelectronics to monitor changes in eye pressure and shape in space.

— Polaris Dawn is the first of three missions under the Polaris program, a collaboration between Isaacman and SpaceX. Financial terms of the partnership remain under wraps, but Isaacman, the 41-year-old founder and CEO of Shift4Payments, reportedly poured $200 million of his fortune into leading the 2021 all-civilian SpaceX Inspiration4 orbital mission.

Judge deems Trump Tower a 'public nuisance' after groups say it killed thousands of fish — 12 September 2024 (LINK)

Harvey Weinstein indicted on additional sex crimes in New York: Prosecutors presented evidence of three additional allegations dating back to the 2000s against the movie producer — 12 September 2024 (LINK)

Ig Nobel prize goes to team who found mammals can breathe through anuses. Scientific research on pigeon missiles and dead trout also win at awards for amusing studies with serious implications — 12 September 2024 (LINK)

Moderna plunges 16% as sales view disappoints, research budget cut — 12 September 2024 (LINK)

US gymnast Jordan Chiles says 'the person I am' was taken from her during Olympic medal controversy, and stripped of bronze medal — 12 September 2024 (LINK)

Jordan Chiles presents at MTV Video Music Awards, gets bronze clock necklace from Flavor Flav — (LINK)

King Charles will force Prince Andrew out of Royal Lodge if needed: report — 12 September 2024 (LINK)

— In 2019, Andrew was forced to step down as a working royal after his friendship with the late pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein came to light.

US and UK pledge almost $1.5 billion to help Ukraine during diplomats' visit to Kyiv — 11 September 2024 (LINK)

Kremlin warns of escalation if US allows Kyiv to hit Russia with long-range missiles — 11 September 2024 (LINK)

Palestine takes up seat among UN member states in 'historic moment' at General Assembly opening session — 11 September 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 35 media reports (LINK)

— Sitting among member states is among the rights for Palestine the General Assembly adopted in May under a resolution supporting Palestine's full UN membership.

UNRWA says six workers killed in two airstrikes in Gaza: "the highest death toll among our staff in a single incident": women and children among at least 34 people killed — 11 September 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 43 media reports (LINK)

UN experts call for global system to trace critical minerals — 11 September 2024 (LINK)

— The committee put forward seven guiding principles. They include: putting human rights at the heart of the production chain; protecting the integrity of the planet; and ensuring that benefits are shared.

— More concretely, the experts, citing disparate existing initiatives, recommended the establishment of "global traceability, transparency and accountability framework along the entire mineral value chain — from mining to recycling." They called for the system to provide an independent assessment of the environmental and social performance of companies involved in the trade — for example, their respect for human and labour rights, levels of corruption, level of greenhouse gas emissions, and so on.

— They also suggested the creation of a global fund, financed by governments and companies, to fund the aftermath of mining operations — particularly land rehabilitation and support for local communities.

— And, with the IEA fearing global supplies of such minerals are running out, the UN experts also called for investment in innovation and recycling to reduce the quantities needed.

— The NGO coalition Climate Action Network, represented on the committee, welcomed the report.

— Too often, "production of these minerals leaves a toxic cloud in its wake: pollution; wounded communities, childhoods lost to labor and sometimes dying in their work," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said when he announced the committee in April. Developing countries and communities have also not reaped the benefits of their production, he said, adding: "This must change."

EU court rules Google, Apple must pay billions of euros in antitrust, tax cases — 11 September 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 302 media reports (LINK)

Vietnam death toll from Typhoon Yagi at 141 as Hanoi faces flood risk — 11 September 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 75 media reports (LINK)

At least 19 killed, dozens wounded in Israeli strikes on Gaza tent camp, Palestinians say — 10 September 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 444 media reports (LINK)

Polio vaccination starts in north Gaza despite obstacles — 10 September 2024 (LINK)

— Health campaign hindered by access, evacuation and fuel problems. More than 640,000 children being vaccinated. Baby paralysed by type 2 polio, first case in Gaza in 25 years.

EU court rules Google, Apple must pay billions of euros in antitrust, tax cases — 11 September 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 302 media reports (LINK)

Key moments from the Trump-Harris presidential debate — 10 September 2024 (LINK)

Fact-checking Kamala Harris and Donald Trump's 1st presidential debate — 10 September 2024 (LINK)

— Some examples:

— Trump suggested that the July 13 assassination attempt may have been because of Harris. FACT-CHECK: False.

— Harris said, 'The former president said climate change is a hoax'. FACT-CHECK: True.

— HARRIS CLAIM: If elected, Trump would be immune from criminal prosecution. FACT-CHECK: Partly true.

— Harris said, 'If Donald Trump were to be reelected, he will sign a national abortion ban.' FACT-CHECK: False.

AP: a look at false and misleading claims made during Trump and Harris' debate — 10 September 2024 (LINK)

Taylor Swift endorses Kamala Harris after fake AI endorsing Trump — 10 September 2024 (LINK)

— signed Childless Cat Lady — an ironic response to Trump running mate JD Vance's infamous, degrading comments about "childless cat ladies".

Heather Cox Richardson: the debate and before — 10 September 2024 (LINK)

Before G20 Summit in November, youth tell leaders exactly what they want — 10 September 2024 (LINK)

— US delegate Hekmat Aboukhater:
The first message the youth delegates sent out was about Gaza. The delegates called on their leaders to implement an "immediate ceasefire in Gaza with the release of all hostages and all prisoners subjected to arbitrary detainment" and the immediate "withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza." Delegates also demanded the "lifting of aid-blockades" that the Israeli Defense Forces enact through a starvation campaign against the besieged enclave.

— In the global governance reform track, delegates pushed a proposal demanding the reinforcement of the principle of "equal state sovereignty, territorial integrity, and an adherence to the principle of non-interference" as established by international law. Within the same track, a strong statement was made against the weaponization of artificial intelligence, calling for a "global moratorium" to be proposed through the United Nations General Assembly.

— These proposals, ratified by the US, Russian and Chinese delegates, again highlighted the clear divergence in policy priorities between the youth and their leaders in the G20 nations. This cohesion was underlined again in a proposal calling for "leaders to collaborate towards the global reduction of the investment in nuclear armaments," which was incredibly timely as the US is investing in a $2 trillion nuclear armament overhaul and other great powers are gradually following suit.

— Another proposal pushed by the delegates regarded the illegal use of unilateral coercive measures, or sanctions. The proposal advocated for their restriction in a way that "both protects civilian populations and the future system of global cooperation." The proposal also called for a future where these coercive measures are only "imposed by the multilateral system." Considering the US currently sanctions a third of the global population and the dangers borne out of the unrestrained use of secondary sanctions as a weapon of economic war, this proposal is an urgent and much-needed warning.

Tom Cruise did his daring skydiving stunt at Olympics Closing ceremony for free — 10 September 2024 (LINK)

— "The original idea was a person in the stadium as a stunt double," Casey Wasserman, president and chairman of LA28, explained, per The Hollywood Reporter. "About five minutes into the presentation [Cruise] goes, 'I'm in. But I'm only doing it if I get to do everything.' "

— "He finished filming Mission: Impossible at 6 p.m. in London, got right on a plane. He landed in L.A. at 4 a.m., and filmed the scene where he pulls onto a military plane. In L.A., he does two jumps out of the thing," Wasserman recalled, revealing that Cruise "didn't like the first one, so he did a second jump. Then he helicoptered from Palmdale to the Hollywood sign, filmed from 1 until 5, helicoptered to Burbank Airport and flew back to London," the chairman continued.

Crypto scams stole $5.6 billion from Americans last year, mostly from older people — 10 September 2024 (LINK)

— The FBI said in its first-ever Cryptocurrency Fraud Report that people ages 60 and older filed more than 16,000 complaints alleging more than $1.6 billion of losses.

British couple to use "double" euthanasia pod in Switzerland following heartbreaking diagnosis — 10 September 2024 (LINK)

Islamic scholar sTariq Ramadan, grandson of Hasan al-Banna, an Islamist thinker and activist who founded the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, convicted of rape by Swiss appeals court — 10 September 2024 (LINK)

— The ruling by a Geneva criminal court of appeal, dated August 28, reversed his acquittal from May 2023 and sentenced him to three years in prison, of which one must be served. Ramadan can appeal the ruling to a higher Swiss federal court.

Man accused of setting on fire a Ugandan Olympic athlete dies of burns in Kenya — 10 September 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 144 media reports (LINK)

— The woman and her former boyfriend were said to have quarreled over a piece of land that the athlete bought in Kenya, to be near Kenya's many athletic training centers.

Viral Olympic breaker Raygun now ranked No. 1 in the world according to the new rankings released by the World DanceSport Federation, the governing body for breakdancing, after failing in Paris — 10 September 2024 (LINK)

Typhoon Yagi: Vietnam's death toll rises to 59 as bridge collapses and bus swept away by flooding: strongest typhoon to hit Vietnam in decades — 9 September 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 216 media reports (LINK)

Israeli airstrikes in central Syria late on 8 September resulted in 14 deaths and over 40 injuries, according to the state-run Syrian news agency SANA. — 9 September 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 233 media reports (LINK)

— This was "one of the most violent Israeli attacks" in Syria in years, the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor, Rami Abdel Rahman, told AFP.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights denounces Israel's disregard for international law — 9 September 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 31 media reports (LINK)

— He also denounced the increased use of the death penalty and "alarming regressions" on gender equality, in reference to new morality laws in Afghanistan. In Western countries like Britain, Germany and the United States, politicians risk spurring violence by scapegoating migrants and minorities during election periods, he said.

EU facing existential risk without investment — report — 9 September 2024 (LINK)

— The wide-ranging and long-awaited review, which was led by former European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi, said the bloc must increase spending by €800bn (£675bn) per year or face being left behind by the US and China. European leaders were told they would be "forced to choose" between climate, economic and foreign policy goals if the EU does not become more productive.

Trump has lost $4 billion in Truth Social wipeout — 9 September 2024 (LINK

High-ranking military leaders blame Trump for 'chaotic' Afghanistan withdrawal — 9 September 2024 (LINK)

— In a letter, a group calling itself National Security Leaders for America — which includes Adm. Steve Abbott, Major Gen. Peter S. Cooke, and others — argues: Trump "repeatedly fails to take responsibility for his own role in putting service members in harm's way. Without involving the Afghan government, he and his Administration negotiated a deal with the Taliban that freed 5000 Taliban fighters and allowed them to return to the battlefield. Then, he left President Biden and Vice President Harris with no plans to execute a withdrawal, and with little time to do so."

— The letter continues, "This chaotic approach severely hindered the Biden-Harris Administration's ability to execute the most orderly withdrawal possible and put our service members and our allies at risk. Nevertheless, President Biden with the support of Vice President Harris ended America's longest war, oversaw the largest airlift in U.S. history, and brought our troops home."

BBC breaches its own editorial guidelines 1,500 times over Israel-Hamas War — report — 9 September 2024 (LINK)

— The research showed that Hamas was recognized as a terrorist organization just 409 out of 12,459 times, totaling 3.2%, over the four-month period. The most problematic of the BBC's channels was found to be BBC Arabic, with the report showing that it was one of the most biased of all the global media outlets concerning the Israel-Hamas war.

Heather Cox Richardson: Vice President Kamala Harris's presidential campaign launches a new section of its website detailing her policy positions — 9 September 2024 (LINK)

— Titling her plans "A New Way Forward," Harris vows to build the American middle class through an "opportunity economy". Her vision for the future, she says, "protects our fundamental freedoms, strengthens our democracy, and ensures every person has the opportunity to not just get by, but to get ahead".

Catherine, the Princess of Wales, announced that she has completed chemotherapy in a video, confirming her cancer diagnosis without disclosing details of the specific cancer type. — 9 September 2024 (LINK) — ground.news: 432 media reports (LINK)

Ohio police have 'no credible reports' of Haitian immigrants harming pets, contradicting JD Vance's claim — 9 September 2024 (LINK)