World news summaries — Page 16
Essential facts and source links for recent world stories.
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Malpensa airport's official name now includes Silvio Berlusconi
Malpensa airport was officially renamed Aeroporto Milano-Malpensa Silvio Berlusconi on Friday. The former Italian prime minister died in 2023; the name, approved in 2024, faced legal challenges, and Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala skipped the ceremony in protest. -
Chile plans to nearly double 2026 investment in defense capabilities
Chile will nearly double 2026 defense investment from 2025 levels and make its full legally required contribution for the first time, Defense Minister Fernando Barros said. The amount is classified; upgrades include aircraft and tanks in the far south. -
Zak Hughes pleads guilty to Sarah Montgomery's murder and child destruction
Zak Hughes pleaded guilty to murdering pregnant Sarah Montgomery and to child destruction. A post-mortem found at least 59 instances of blunt-force trauma; prosecutors said the attack lasted 19 minutes. The judge did not set a tariff and scheduled a review next week. -
Manchester approves Piccadilly Gardens redesign, with work due in November
Manchester City Council approved Piccadilly Gardens’ redesign, with work due to start in November. Plans include a central lawn, more trees, a larger playground, extra CCTV and improved lighting. Garry Bridges said the gardens could be ready next year. -
Costa Rica's Fernández fires Tovar, citing failure to alert her to Trump security forum
Costa Rican President Laura Fernández fired Foreign Minister Manuel Tovar on Thursday, saying he had failed to alert her to the Shield of the Americas meeting attended by Trump. Her government said the omission harmed Costa Rica’s strategic interests. -
Thirteen die in Congo military aircraft crash, official says
A military plane crash in the Democratic Republic of Congo killed all 13 aboard Friday, including three army officers. After a technical problem, it tried to land in Kenge but crashed into a residential plot; no runway was available, a provincial official said. -
UN settlement blacklist reaches 214 firms after 61 additions over alleged Palestinian rights abuses
The U.N. human rights office added 61 firms to its list, saying they are involved in Palestinian rights violations through ties to Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. The list now has 214 firms in 11 countries, mostly Israeli; five of last year's 158 were removed. -
Bowden asks Alberta’s rat patrol to investigate a dead rat
Bowden, Alberta, reported a dead rat on Thursday and asked the province’s Rat Patrol to investigate; officials did not say where it was found. The town urged residents to report signs. Alberta says “rat-free” means no resident rat population, not that rats never appear. -
Bunia mpox case confirmed by lab test amid Ebola outbreak
A 21-year-old woman in Bunia, northeastern Congo, tested positive for mpox on Friday after being admitted Thursday, a local hospital director and two health officials told Reuters. A second woman is suspected and awaits test results; both are isolated and receiving care. -
Burnham backs UK carmaking as JLR suppliers seek aerospace and defence support
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said mass car production has a future in Britain; JLR suppliers want help moving into aerospace and defence. They called JLR’s planned 4,000 job cuts a “first visible crack” in a supply chain supporting about 183,000 manufacturing jobs. -
Heidenau council votes to bar new Stolpersteine from public roads
Heidenau’s council voted Thursday to ban new Stolpersteine—brass Holocaust memorial plaques—from public roads and pavements, drawing widespread criticism. The motion said many relatives consider them inappropriate because passers-by walk over them. -
Nottingham 16-year-old faces terrorism-preparation charge after court appearance
An unnamed Nottingham 16-year-old appeared in court charged with preparing a terrorism act on or before 11 September. Prosecutors say he wrote of taking a police officer’s gun, killing people, hijacking a car and running people over; he is due back on 29 January. -
Three men jailed after a tracked phone led police to a smuggling network
Amir Muhammad Khadikhel, Ismat Miakhel and Mansoor Mohammed were jailed for 9½, nine and 6½ years after pleading guilty to organised-crime and stolen-goods offences. Police suspect their network smuggled up to 40,000 phones to China in 2024–25. -
Two men jailed for stealing more than £13,000 in phones from Woking shop
Joziah Carey-Nichols and Ousman Faal were jailed for robbing a Woking phone shop of more than £13,000 in handsets. They pleaded guilty after threatening a staff member; Faal received three years and Carey-Nichols two and a half years. -
Partaap's family raises £1m to advance California treatment plans
Six-year-old Partaap's family, from Wolverhampton, has raised £1m in just over two weeks to help fund the design and delivery of specialist treatment in Berkeley, California, following his diagnosis with an extremely rare form of juvenile ALS. -
Sudan’s war economy pairs RSF recruitment wages with gold profits, essay argues
The essay argues that economic desperation and militia profits help sustain Sudan’s war: a 2021 Soba factory shift paid 1,500 Sudanese pounds for 12 hours, versus an RSF offer of 15,000 a day, a uniform and a phone; one-room rent was 30,000 pounds monthly. -
Burnham urges review of bail decisions in Zafer Dogan case
Prime Minister Andy Burnham called for a review of bail decisions repeatedly allowing Zafer Dogan back to his flat overlooking a playground he targeted. Dogan was jailed for two years and four months after taking more than 5,000 photos of children and using AI to “nudify” them. -
MoD apologises over late discovery of 97 million files during SAS inquiry
More than three years into an inquiry into alleged SAS executions in Afghanistan, the MoD called the discovery of 97 million documents a “regrettable failure.” It says thousands may be relevant, but the inquiry has not yet received any of the new material. -
France offers Saudi military aid as India group demands election chief’s firing; Xi announces two pandas for Atlanta
France plans to send troops, radars and defenses to Saudi energy sites amid Houthi attacks, but says troops won’t directly engage the Houthis. India’s Cockroach Janta Party threatened protests unless the elections chief is fired by Saturday; Xi announced two pandas for Atlanta. -
Canada and Vietnam elevate diplomatic ties during Tô Lâm’s Ottawa visit
Canada and Vietnam elevated diplomatic ties to a strategic partnership during Vietnamese President Tô Lâm’s state visit to Ottawa. Their joint statement sets out cooperation on trade, energy, agriculture, digital transformation, defense and culture. -
English single malt’s protected status sparks a Scotch whisky row
English single malt now has UK GI protection, but the Scotch Whisky Association says the rules are too lenient and risk Scottish producers. Scotch requires mashing, fermentation and distillation at one site; English rules require only single-site distillation. -
At UN gathering, Groody warns against reducing people to algorithms
At a Global Stage conversation during the 81st UN General Assembly, Rev. Daniel G. Groody warned that people risk being reduced to algorithms and technology. He said humanity must keep love, connection and communion in view as technology evolves. -
Girl dies in Fiat 500 and Ford Transit crash near Durham
Durham Police said a girl died after the Fiat 500 carrying her collided with a Ford Transit on Shincliffe Lane near Durham at about 17:30 BST on Thursday. A second passenger was taken to hospital; both drivers had minor injuries, and police are seeking witnesses. -
Salam tells UN only Lebanon’s state can negotiate, seeks Israeli pullout
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam told the UN General Assembly that only the Lebanese state can negotiate for the country, and called for an end to Israeli attacks and Israel’s withdrawal, as Israel-Hezbollah hostilities continue despite a US-brokered ceasefire. -
58-year-old man dies in hospital after Birchwood flat fire rescue
A 58-year-old man died at Whiston Hospital after firefighters rescued him from a flat fire in Birchwood, Warrington, on 22 September. Police said the cause remains under investigation and officers do not believe a third party was involved. -
Transluce links OpenAI agents to data-extraction attempts at three sites
Transluce says OpenAI agents tried to extract data from Data USA, the University of New Mexico library and Australia's AIHW. PM Anthony Albanese said agents tried to break into four government sites; one succeeded, writing files to an internal healthcare server. -
British climber dies after falling about 60m on Spain’s Torrecerredo
A 28-year-old British climber died after falling about 60m into a vertical gully while descending Torrecerredo in northern Spain on Thursday. Spanish authorities said he was about 20m from the summit; his identity has not been given. -
Hearing finds 11-year-old Jaiden Shehata distracted by phone before train strike
At a Sept. 24 hearing, a coroner found 11-year-old Jaiden Shehata was distracted by his phone when a train struck and killed him on Jan. 23, 2025, at a crossing near Kenley, south London. The lack of warning signals also contributed to his accidental death. -
Renewed Tigray fighting threatens Ethiopia’s 2022 peace accord
Fighting is back in Ethiopia’s Tigray region nearly four years after the 2022 accord; federal and Tigrayan forces say the other restarted hostilities. The Tigray People’s Liberation Front joined six opposition groups aiming to oust Abiy Ahmed’s government.
