“Jason Arday, a former University of Cambridge professor who was at the centre of a plagiarism scandal, has died aged 41. Arday had resigned earlier this month as a professor of sociology of education following the accusations, which caused a furore in the world of academia. He was the university’s youngest ever [b]lack professor. … A high-profile professor who appeared frequently in the media, Arday faced accusations this year that parts of his 2015 PhD thesis were plagiarised, which he denied. The allegations expanded to include apparent inconsistencies in Arday’s other academic work, and questions over his claims about his career, personal life and medical conditions.” (08/14/26)
“One person was killed in a storm-related car crash as Hurricane Lala brought fierce winds and pouring rain to Hawaii’s Big Island on Saturday. Footage on social media showed floodwaters rising, overtaking roadways and bridges as Lala dumped rain on Hawaii’s Big Island. Howling winds whipped the tops of palm trees and waterways swelled with fast-moving runoff from relentless rain that blew nearly sideways. According to the National Weather Service Honolulu, two homes were swept away due to intense rainfall over Naalehu, with flash flooding ongoing. More than 125,000 utility customers in the state, most on the Big Island, were without electricity, according to utility tracker PowerOutage.us.” (08/16/26)
“Liechtenstein has announced that it has changed royal succession rules to allow women to ascend the throne. The declaration was made on the national day of the central European country, which has a population of just 44,000. Liechtenstein’s current ruler, Prince Hans-Adam II, has been the head of their royal family since 1989. The rule change will not affect his heir, Hereditary Prince Alois, who was his first-born. Alois has carried out most official royal duties for the last two decades. ‘The order of succession is being changed from male primogeniture to absolute primogeniture,’ the House of Liechtenstein said in a statement. ‘This means that in future the first-born child, regardless of sex, will become heir to the throne and later princess or prince of Liechtenstein.'” (08/15/26)
“Two Israeli strikes hit Lebanon and killed at least 11 people early Saturday, the Lebanese health ministry said, then struck another site killing four more. Health ministry officials said an overnight strike in Ansar, near the city of Nabatieh, killed seven people, including three children. A few hours later, Israeli planes attacked Deir al-Zahrani, killing at least four and injuring 17. Ansar is about 43 miles south of Beirut. The Israeli military said in a statement that the Ansar attacks targeted Hezbollah infrastructure. The Israeli prime minister’s office said in a statement that Hezbollah first struck and seriously injured three Israeli soldiers.” (08/15/26)
“President Donald Trump’s war against Iran is stretching the limits of U.S. aircraft carriers and leaving the western Pacific without one of the key American warships as China shows more signs of aggression. The USS George Washington is departing the Pacific and expected to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Middle East amid growing concerns about mental health and supply issues aboard the long-deployed carrier. The Lincoln has had its time at sea extended from its original May return date to support operations against Iran. The lack of a U.S. carrier in the Pacific may be short-lived if the Navy deploys another in the next couple of months. But it shows how the open-ended operations with Iran are running some American sailors ragged, analysts say, while the Trump administration further retreats from the Asia-Pacific region and focuses on the Western Hemisphere.” (08/15/26)
“Australia’s most populous state will launch a gun buyback scheme later this year, becoming the first to offer cash in exchange for firearms in the wake of the Bondi Beach terror attack. Gun owners in New South Wales (NSW) will be offered up to AUS$1,000 (£523) to hand over eligible handguns, shotguns and rifles from 2 November. Australian authorities had pledged sweeping firearm law reforms after 15 people were shot dead at a Jewish festival on Sydney’s Bondi Beach, which is located in NSW, last December. The state’s premier Chris Minns said on Saturday: ‘We want those guns handed in, compensated for and safely destroyed’. He said the move could see hundreds of thousands of guns surrendered.” (08/15/26)
“South Korean President Lee Jae-myung proposed talks with North Korea to formally end the long-running Korean War, as Pyongyang deepens ties with Russia while asserting its status as an ‘irreversible’ nuclear state. The two Koreas remain technically at war because their 1950-53 conflict, triggered by a North Korean attack, ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty. Lee made the proposal in his speech at a ceremony marking the anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule. … Lee has reversed the stance of his hawkish predecessor since taking power in Seoul in June 2025, offering nuclear-armed Pyongyang talks without preconditions.” (08/15/26)
“Searchers dug through collapsed buildings and landslide debris Sunday in eastern Indonesia as they searched for bodies and possible survivors a day after a powerful earthquake killed at least 47 people, injured more than 100 and displaced thousands. At least 24 people died in Manggarai regency and 17 in neighboring East Manggarai, with additional fatalities reported in Sikka, Ngada and Ende regencies, the National Disaster Management Agency said. Rescuers were still searching for villagers feared buried beneath landslides triggered by the quake across six regencies on Flores, a predominantly Catholic island in Muslim-majority Indonesia. The USGS said the magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck 68 kilometers (42 miles) north-northwest of Ende in East Nusa Tenggara province. The quake, at a depth of about 10 kilometers (6 miles) off the coast of Flores, rattled much of the island and sent residents fleeing in panic.” (08/15/26)
“The BBC has sought to subpoena members of Donald Trump’s family for documents and testimony in the US president’s $10bn (£7.4bn) defamation lawsuit against the broadcaster. Court filings show that representatives for the BBC’s legal team attempted in May to serve subpoenas to the president’s son Donald Trump Jr, his daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner. The president is suing the BBC over an episode of Panorama that edited together two different sections of a speech he gave before the 2021 Capitol riots. The BBC has previously apologised for the edit, but denied it was grounds for defamation. In a statement to the BBC, a spokesman for Trump’s legal team said the BBC had ‘intentionally defamed’ the president, and with its subpoena request was now ‘seeking to harass him, his family, and supporters by abusing the deposition process’.” (08/15/26)
“A homeless man who was shot multiple times after breaking into a Portland granite and marble shop is now suing the business and its owner. … Voyles, who was homeless at the time, claims he was cold and sleep-deprived. He entered the closed business through a damaged portion of a garage bay door, seeking warmth and food. While inside, Voyles picked up a drill bag and admitted in the filing that he was a trespasser who intended to keep it. The encounter escalated when Grant emerged from a back room. The lawsuit claims Voyles apologized immediately, but Grant threw a coffee mug and heavy tiles at him as Voyles ran toward the garage door to escape. When Voyles picked up a pair of bolt cutters to shield himself and unsuccessfully tried to open the locked door, Grant allegedly left the room and returned with a gun.” (08/14/26)
