Mapped: UK areas in drought as thousands issued supply warning ahead of winter

The Independent - Oct 13, 2026

Rainfall was 80 per cent lower than average in September in some areas

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Wyoming grad student who allegedly poisoned colleague arrested before fleeing to China
Oct 14, 2026
Wyoming grad student who allegedly poisoned colleague arrested before fleeing to China

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — A Wyoming microbiology graduate student from China has been arrested on accusations she poisoned the tea of a fellow student who had pending patents and with whom she didn’t get along, then tried to flee the country after police questioned her. Aili Wang, 32, was arrested Oct. 6 at Los Angeles International Airport, where prosecutors allege she sought to return to China. With her were laptops, electronic storage devices and documents now in the possession of police, who allege Wang was seen on surveillance video rummaging through the desk of the victim who specialized in research similar to what she once did in China. Wang remained jailed without bail Tuesday in Los Angeles. She allegedly bought a chemical, acrylamide, over eBay, and it was first detected when the alleged victim’s wife and others tested water from the coffee maker he used to brew tea. U.S. officials for years have accused China of stealing intellectual property from American universities. Wang had no attorney listed in court documents. The AP tried to reach her via email and LinkedIn messages.

Trump administration cuts refugees' deadline to contest status termination, raising fears
Oct 14, 2026
Trump administration cuts refugees' deadline to contest status termination, raising fears

MIAMI — The Trump administration is cutting the time refugees have to contest the termination of their status, a move critics say could put tens of thousands of people who fled persecution and wars in their home countries on a path to deportation. The new policy, which goes into effect Wednesday, reduces from 30 to 10 the number of days refugees have to challenge the revocation of their status. It is part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to restrict and transform a program that has served for decades as a pathway for refugees. The goal of the new policy, according to the document, is to “mitigate potential risks” associated with people who were admitted as refugees but were not eligible for refugee status. The policy does not say exactly how many people could be affected, but it specifically refers to refugees admitted during President Joe Biden’s administration , when it says there was an “alarming erosion of the integrity” of the refugee program. Refugee advocates dispute that claim. The Trump administration is already reviewing the cases of at least 185,000

Saudi Ministry of Energy reports limited fire in building in Aramco compound targeted in attack
Oct 14, 2026
Saudi Ministry of Energy reports limited fire in building in Aramco compound targeted in attack

CAIRO — A limited fire broke out Tuesday in an administrative building at Aramco, one of the world’s largest oil facilities, that was targeted in an attack in the country’s Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Energy said. The ministry said no injuries were reported. The attack came as the Iranian-backed Houthis and the Saudi coalition fighting them exchanged attacks Tuesday night. The fighting marked a fresh escalation in the widening Middle East crisis and came shortly after the Saudi coalition reported a series of alerts for incoming missiles heading for the Eastern Province, a major oil-producing region, and the capital Riyadh. Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defense said debris from two intercepted Houthi missiles fell on residential areas in Riyadh, injuring four people and damaging 15 homes. The coalition of forces in Yemen led by Saudi Arabia carried out new airstrikes Tuesday on the Houthi rebel-held Yemeni capital, the Houthi-run broadcaster Al Masirah and residents said. The strikes marked a fresh escalation in the Middle East crisis and came shortly after a coalition spo

Human rights groups criticize uncontested election of 15 countries to top UN human rights body
Oct 14, 2026
Human rights groups criticize uncontested election of 15 countries to top UN human rights body

UNITED NATIONS — Human rights groups sharply criticized Tuesday's uncontested election of 15 members of the United Nations’ premier human rights body, saying it resulted in countries with poor rights records winning seats. Positions on the 47-nation Human Rights Council are allocated to the U.N.’s regional groups to ensure geographical representation. And for the second year in a row, all regional groups put forward the exact number of candidates for available seats for the three-year term. This meant that in Tuesday’s election in the 193-member General Assembly there were no competitive races. “This uncompetitive vote makes a mockery of the word ‘election,’” said Louis Charbonneau, U.N. director at Human Rights Watch. “No one should have a seat on this crucial body handed to them on a silver platter.” He called on U.N. member nations to “insist on competitive slates so they can reject candidates with poor human rights records.” In Tuesday’s vote, the Africa group’s Zambia, Ghana, Nigeria and Burundi were elected. The Asia-Pacific group’s Kuwait, Nepal, Jord

Employee arrested after listening device found in OpenAI conference room
Oct 14, 2026
Employee arrested after listening device found in OpenAI conference room

WASHINGTON — An engineer at OpenAI has been charged with secretly installing a recording device inside a conference room in what officials said Tuesday was an effort to capture sensitive conversations about the company's technology . The employee, identified as a 35-year-old Saudi national named Abdulrahman Alfozan, was arrested Friday, a week after the ChatGPT maker discovered an audio recording device hidden inside a company conference room, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court in San Francisco. The complaint did not identify the company, but the company confirmed in a separate statement that it had discovered a “sophisticated recording device that was hidden inside one of our offices," reported the finding to the FBI and fired the employee. “We used our models to understand the device and where it had come from, identifying that a specific employee had planted it a few days earlier. We referred the matter to the FBI, and we’re grateful to the agents and prosecutors who moved quickly to make an arrest. The FBI’s investigation is ongoing and we will contin

Anthropic is said to plan pre-IPO investor day as listing nears
Oct 14, 2026
Anthropic is said to plan pre-IPO investor day as listing nears

The meet would give institutional investors an opportunity to quiz senior executives on the issue

Ilhan Omar’s immigration records under scrutiny amid Trump's fraud claims, $30 million net worth controversy
Oct 14, 2026
Ilhan Omar’s immigration records under scrutiny amid Trump's fraud claims, $30 million net worth controversy

Federal agents searched Ilhan Omar’s Washington home over allegations of false statements in immigration records and subpoenaed relatives. Omar denied wrongdoing and called the search political intimidation, while Trump attacked her over her finances and immigration history.

Man and woman charged after baby boy found dead in Australian motel
Oct 14, 2026
Man and woman charged after baby boy found dead in Australian motel

The infant had been deceased for a period of time, police say

Jury finds Tyreek Hill liable for 2 battery counts, awards $500,000 to the NFL star's estranged wife
Oct 14, 2026
Jury finds Tyreek Hill liable for 2 battery counts, awards $500,000 to the NFL star's estranged wife

A Miami jury has found Tyreek Hill liable for two counts of battery but not liable for the eight remaining claims made by his estranged wife, Lakeeta Vaccaro

Manchester United’s latest loss proves time is running out for Michael Carrick
Oct 14, 2026
Manchester United’s latest loss proves time is running out for Michael Carrick

Atletico Madrid 2-0 Man Utd: A red card for Leny Yoro and a Pablo Barrios goal within 47 seconds condemned United to a loss in Madrid

New bridge linking China and North Korea will open more than a decade late
Oct 14, 2026
New bridge linking China and North Korea will open more than a decade late

A new bridge linking China and North Korea is set to open more than a decade after the Chinese side of it was built, in the latest sign of closer ties between the two countries

Beauty World Plaza up for collective sale for third time at S$165 million
Oct 14, 2026
Beauty World Plaza up for collective sale for third time at S$165 million

Beauty World Plaza was previously put up for collective sale in November 2018 and June 2019 at the same guide price.

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