“France and Britain are abandoning a landmark migration deal that allowed the British to return migrants who crossed the English Channel illegally in exchange for those who applied to enter via official means. The deal, known as ‘one in, one out,’ struck in the summer of 2025, was intended to deter dangerous illegal crossings of the channel, which have roiled politics in Britain and raised tensions between London and Paris. The original deal was struck for one year and was extended by a month, until Oct. 1, but will not be renewed. France pulled the plug despite entreaties from London to keep it in place, according to officials in both countries, in part because the French government wants Britain to strike a broader deportation deal with the 27 countries of the European Union.” (10/01/26)
“A judge on Thursday dismissed the criminal case accusing former U.S. Olympic canoeist David Hearn of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and permanently barred prosecutors from refiling the same charges. District of Columbia Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman, in his order tossing the case ‘with prejudice,’ cited the ‘exceptional circumstances’ of the risk that President Donald Trump would pressure prosecutors to re-charge Hearn. A dismissal with prejudice prevents a case from being refiled.” (10/01/26)
“A series of blasts were heard across the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa on Wednesday night, hours after the government banned the use of drones and as fighting continued in the northern region of the country. An intelligence service official, who was not authorized to speak to the media, confirmed that there had been three blasts in three different locations but declined to provide further details. A diplomatic source who requested anonymity for his safety described hearing a blast at 7 p.m. near the defense headquarters, followed by a siren. Residents near the defense headquarters also said they heard a blast near a factory in the area past midnight. It remains unclear whether the blasts were related to an attack or were part of training exercises at the defense headquarters.” (10/01/26)
“Japan hiked its permanent residency fee for foreigners living in the country on Thursday to $1,266, a 2,000% rise, along with new minimum requirements covering income, pensions and Japanese-language ability. The changes, in line with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s immigration reforms in response to the country’s rapidly expanding community of non-Japanese, saw long lines at immigration offices in recent days of people trying to get in their applications before the higher charges — first rise in 50 years — kicked in. … other changes, including income above Japan’s average annual household income, proficiency in Japanese on a par with an ‘independent user’ and a pension with projected benefits similar to a 30-year employee pension on an equivalent income are scheduled to come into force next April, with the earnings requirement back-dated to applications made from April 2026.” (10/01/26)
“Like many Florida municipalities, officials in St. Lucie County recently decided to get rid of all their automated license-plate readers made by Flock, the company whose cameras have drawn scrutiny over police misuse and data privacy concerns. County officials thought they had 52 of the cameras — which law enforcement agencies use to record passing vehicles’ license plates as well as the time and location of each sighting — scattered across the county’s main roads on Florida’s east coast. But as they prepared to remove them, they discovered 14 more that they hadn’t known about and that the county hadn’t permitted.” [editor’s note: It’s unclear whether these cameras are on government or private property; if the latter, why would the government need to “permit” them? – TLK] (10/01/26)
“French security forces detained more than 600 people while dozens of police and gendarmes were wounded as protests that have seen blockades of high schools and violent clashes escalated, the interior minister said on Wednesday. The movement in the lycées, attended by students aged 15 to 18 for their final three years of secondary education in France, has angered the government. Since last week, students have staged protests outside schools over grievances ranging from timetables, class sizes and a shortage of teachers to overheated classrooms during this year’s heatwaves. The protests started in the Île-de-France region around Paris but have now spread to other cities nationwide.” (10/01/26)
“Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall joined the attorneys general of Arkansas and Louisiana in asking the U.S. Supreme Court to block abortion shield laws in three states. Marshall joined the attorneys general of Arkansas and Louisiana in filing a lawsuit Wednesday, arguing that California, Massachusetts and New York are interfering with Alabama’s ability to enforce its abortion ban. The case asks the Supreme Court to invalidate laws that protect abortion providers from investigations, prosecutions and other legal action originating in states where abortion is prohibited. … Federal regulations allow abortion pills to be prescribed through telehealth and dispensed by mail, meaning a provider in a state where abortion remains legal can potentially prescribe medication to a patient in a state with an abortion ban.” (10/01/26)
“Egyptian police arrested six journalists from a fact-checking and investigative media outlet, accusing them of spreading misinformation on behalf of the banned Muslim Brotherhood, which the publication denied. The arrests comprised the entire newsroom of Matsaddash, a digital platform that has operated since 2018, according to the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), which is providing the journalists with legal representation. According to the EIPR, plainclothes security personnel had started raiding the journalists’ homes on Monday evening and confiscated electronic devices.” (10/01/26)
“Chinese automotive groups have cause to celebrate their go-global strategy amid breakneck export growth in recent years, with deliveries in 2026 expected to beat expectations already buoyed by an international energy shock caused by conflict in the Middle East. Leading carmakers from BYD to Chery Automobile have doubled down on overseas expansion, with some evolving into powerful contenders in markets such as Europe and Africa, which were once dominated by the likes of Volkswagen. … The government-backed industry body recently forecast that overseas Chinese vehicle sales – which comprise passenger cars, buses and lorries – could top 12 million units in 2026, up 44 per cent from last year’s 8.3 million.” (10/01/26)
“About one in eight new cancer cases worldwide in 2024 — 2.3 million cases — have been linked to infections, according to a new analysis from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). The researchers identified 12 specific infections that were linked to human cancer cases, including Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), human papillomavirus (HPV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), Epstein–Barr virus (EBV), Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus, Schistosoma haematobium, HTLV-1, Opisthorchis viverrini, Clonorchis sinensis, Merkel cell polyomavirus and HIV. The following five infections contributed to nearly all the global cases: H. pylori, ~760,000 cases; HPV, ~750,000 cases; HBV, ~360,000 cases; EBV, ~260,000 cases; HCV, ~160,000 cases.” (10/01/26)
