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  • Russia launches largest attack on Ukraine energy infrastructure since spring

    Russia launches largest attack on Ukraine energy infrastructure since spring

    In a major escalation of targeted strikes against critical civilian infrastructure, Russia has carried out the largest-scale attack on Ukraine’s energy network since the spring of this year, with the capital Kyiv and its surrounding suburbs bearing the brunt of the assault, Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhiy Koretskyi has confirmed.

    Local Ukrainian authorities confirmed Wednesday that the overnight barrage left at least six people dead across 11 different regions of the country, and injured 33 more. Among the fatalities is one child killed in the Kyiv region, whose body was recovered from the rubble of a destroyed residential home, according to Kyiv regional governor Timur Tkachenko.

    The wave of combined strikes not only claimed civilian lives but also severely disrupted national power distribution, cutting electricity service to thousands of households. DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private energy provider, announced Wednesday that crews had managed to restore power to 8,000 homes in Kyiv following what the company described as an extraordinarily difficult night of restoration work amid ongoing security risks.

    Russia’s defense ministry claimed one of its primary targets in the assault was the Trypilska power station, Kyiv’s single largest supplier of electricity. As of Wednesday afternoon, this claim remained unconfirmed by any Ukrainian official sources.

    In an official statement posted to the messaging platform Telegram, Prime Minister Koretskyi noted that enemy strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure have become a near-daily occurrence since the start of summer. “However, a mass and combined attack of this scale has occurred for the first time since the end of the last heating season,” he added.

    Ukrainian officials have been preparing for months for a renewed, extended campaign of Russian attacks on the country’s energy grid – a pattern that has repeated every winter since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The overnight assault marked the beginning of that anticipated campaign, as temperatures begin to drop ahead of the winter heating season.

    Beyond energy facilities, the barrage also targeted civilian sites across 11 Ukrainian regions, including residential apartment blocks, public social infrastructure sites, private civilian enterprises, and railway lines, according to Koretskyi. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that critical infrastructure was hit in the Zhytomyr, Mykolaiv, Kirovohrad and Rivne regions, extending the attack far beyond the Kyiv metropolitan area.

    As of Wednesday, the Ukrainian energy ministry reported that multiple households in Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Sumy and Kharkiv regions still remained without power. Ukrenergo, the country’s state-owned national grid operator, issued an urgent advisory asking residents to avoid using high-power electrical appliances between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. local time, noting that overall electricity generation capacity remained well below normal levels after the strikes.

    For residents of Kyiv, Wednesday morning brought a city shrouded in thick, acrid smoke, with the lingering echoes of explosions from overnight air defense engagements. An active air raid alert remained in effect for hours after the last strike, with the distant sound of anti-aircraft gunfire cutting through the hazy urban atmosphere. Local officials ordered residents in multiple Kyiv districts to keep their windows closed until the toxic smoke plume could dissipate completely.

    Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klischko confirmed that three people were killed in the capital alone, including a worker at a Ukrainian utility company who died at a targeted warehouse facility. It remained unclear Wednesday whether the child killed in the Kyiv region was included in this three-person death toll.

    Regional officials confirmed additional fatalities outside the capital: two people were killed in the northeastern Sumy region, according to governor Oleh Hryhorov, and one more fatality was recorded in the southern Mykolaiv region, per acting regional governor Heorhiy Reshetilov.

    Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and currently occupies approximately 18% of Ukraine’s internationally recognized territory, with fighting continuing along hundreds of kilometers of frontline in eastern and southern Ukraine.

  • ‘Rock, paper, scissors’ decides London Marathon dates

    ‘Rock, paper, scissors’ decides London Marathon dates

    The 2026 London Marathon, a historic one-off two-day edition of one of the world’s most prestigious distance running events, will see its elite men’s and women’s races split across separate days after an unexpected, playful twist: a game of rock-paper-scissors that determined the final schedule.

    Next year’s race made headlines earlier when organisers confirmed the new two-day format after receiving a staggering 1.33 million public ballot entries, an all-time record for the event. The change was designed to accommodate far more participants than the traditional single-day format could support, opening the door for thousands more recreational runners to chase their marathon goals alongside the sport’s elite. For 2027, the event will expand even further, hosting a historic 100,000 total participants and projecting that participants will raise more than £150 million for charitable causes across the United Kingdom.

    To settle which elite division would get the historic traditional Sunday race slot, two of the event’s confirmed 2026 champions-to-be faced off in the lighthearted contest: Catherine Debrunner, the women’s wheelchair marathon world record holder, and Sebastian Sawe, the men’s world record holder who recently made history by breaking the elusive sub-two-hour marathon barrier in London. Debrunner claimed victory in the rock-paper-scissors match-up, securing the elite women’s and women’s wheelchair divisions their place on Sunday, 25 April. As a result, the elite men’s open and men’s wheelchair races will move to the opening day of the event, Saturday 24 April.

    Hugh Brasher, chief executive of London Marathon Events, framed the playful decision-making process as a fitting way to kick off the historic edition, noting that the unexpected contest added fun to the schedule announcement. “Splitting the elite races will allow us to shine an even brighter spotlight on the extraordinary athletes taking part,” Brasher said in a statement following the decision.

    The 2026 edition will also bring a landmark change to the mass participation race structure for women’s events: for the first time in London Marathon history, all women’s championship waves will start immediately behind the elite women’s open field, with the elite women’s wheelchair field stepping onto the course just ahead of the open elite group. Brasher explained that the re-seeding will create a standalone, focused celebration of women’s marathon running, putting the achievements of female and female wheelchair athletes front and center.

    On both days of the 2026 event, the mass participation waves will follow the elite races, featuring mixed open fields that welcome male, female, and non-binary runners of all abilities.

  • Watch: Couple describes relief at rescue after whale destroys their yacht

    Watch: Couple describes relief at rescue after whale destroys their yacht

    For a pair of passionate deep-sea sailors, a routine voyage hundreds of miles from land turned into a life-threatening nightmare when a massive sperm whale collided with their private yacht, leaving the vessel wrecked and the couple stranded in the open Pacific. Now, days after their dramatic rescue, Jeremy and Gemma Cooper have opened up about the split-second chaos of the incident and the overwhelming relief they felt when help finally arrived.

    The collision unfolded roughly 500 nautical miles off the rugged coastline of New Zealand, where the Coopers were navigating their yacht, the *Tai Tam*, across open blue water. In media interviews, the pair described how the large marine mammal surfaced unexpectedly directly in the path of their moving vessel, leaving them no time to maneuver out of the way. The impact was devastating: the collision punched a large hole in the yacht’s hull, caused irreparable structural damage, and left the Coopers scrambling to deploy emergency beacons and life rafts before their vessel sank beneath the waves.

    Marine rescue authorities launched a coordinated search effort after receiving the couple’s emergency distress signal, locating the pair adrift in their life raft within hours and pulling them to safety. Speaking to reporters after reaching shore, Jeremy Cooper called the experience “surreal” and “the scariest moment of our lives,” but added that the pair felt incredibly lucky to have walked away unharmed. Gemma Cooper echoed that sentiment, noting that the quick response from rescue teams turned what could have been a fatal tragedy into a story of survival.

    Sperm whale collisions with small recreational vessels are a rare but documented risk in the South Pacific, where the large cetaceans are known to dive to great depths for food and surface unexpectedly in open shipping and sailing lanes. Marine biologists note that such incidents are almost never the result of aggressive behavior from the whales, which are often just as surprised by the contact as the humans on board. For the Coopers, the experience has left them with a new appreciation for the power of the ocean and the importance of being prepared for emergency situations at sea.

  • Watch: Luxury prison in Indonesia demolished after public outcry

    Watch: Luxury prison in Indonesia demolished after public outcry

    In a move responding to massive public outrage, Indonesian lawmakers ordered the demolition of a controversial high-end luxury compound built inside a correctional facility just outside the country’s capital on Wednesday. The unauthorized luxury accommodation, which was constructed for incarcerated individuals inside the overcrowded state-run penitentiary, sparked fierce public condemnation after images and footage of the privileged facilities emerged on social media platforms. Critics argued that the special compound exposed deep systemic inequalities within the country’s correctional system, allowing wealthy or well-connected inmates to access comfortable living conditions completely out of reach for the vast majority of the prison population. The decision to tear down the facility marks a quick response from legislative authorities to address public frustration, with lawmakers stressing the need to restore public trust in the fairness of Indonesia’s criminal justice system. Footage captured on-site showed heavy machinery beginning the demolition process shortly after the order was issued, bringing an end to a facility that had become a national symbol of institutional inequality in just days after the scandal broke.

  • Asia can’t just pipeline its way around Hormuz

    Asia can’t just pipeline its way around Hormuz

    Global discussions around cutting reliance on the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical energy chokepoints, almost exclusively center on bypass pipeline projects developed by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. But for major Asian energy importers that depend heavily on Hormuz-bound oil and gas flows, these infrastructure projects are only a partial solution to regional energy security risks. The physical bottleneck sits in the Persian Gulf, but the bulk of global economic exposure to potential disruptions is concentrated thousands of kilometers east across Asian markets.

    Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) shows that in the first half of 2025, 89% of all crude oil and condensate passing through the Strait of Hormuz was bound for Asian economies. Just four nations – China, India, Japan, and South Korea – accounted for 74% of these total flows. For these major economies, the strait is far more than a distant geopolitical flashpoint; its reliable operation is baked into the core structure of their national energy supply systems.

    To date, regional producers have pursued logical infrastructure efforts to reduce exposure to Hormuz disruptions. Saudi Arabia’s 7 million barrels per day (bpd) East-West Pipeline moves crude oil west from Persian Gulf fields to the Red Sea export terminal at Yanbu, fully bypassing the strait. The UAE already routes crude through an existing pipeline to the Gulf of Oman port of Fujairah, and state oil firm ADNOC is currently constructing a second parallel pipeline that will double the port’s export capacity when it enters operation in 2027. These projects are designed to give producers far more operational flexibility if Hormuz is closed or disrupted.

    However, a recent attack on Saudi Arabia’s key bypass pipeline offers a stark warning that extra pipeline capacity does not automatically equate to full energy security. On September 10, multiple attacks targeted sections of the East-West Pipeline in the Riyadh and Madinah regions. Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Energy ordered a full precautionary shutdown while technical teams inspected the line for structural damage, and Reuters reported on September 22 that operations had only resumed at a reduced output rate. This incident comes just six months after the same pipeline proved the value of bypass infrastructure: during the first quarter of 2026, Saudi Aramco ramped flows through the East-West Pipeline to its full 7 million bpd maximum capacity when Hormuz shipping was constrained, calling the line a “critical supply artery” for global markets.

    This recent shutdown does not mean investments in bypass infrastructure are misplaced. Instead, it highlights a critical practical reality: backup routes can deliver enormous value during a crisis, but they still remain vulnerable to the same broader regional conflicts that created the need for a backup in the first place.

    Industry data also puts clear limits on how much substitution bypass pipelines can actually deliver. The International Energy Agency (IEA) reports that roughly 20 million bpd of oil flowed through Hormuz in 2025, equal to around one-quarter of all global seaborne oil trade. Combined available bypass capacity from Saudi and Emirati pipelines ranges between just 3.5 million and 5.5 million bpd, per IEA estimates, while the EIA puts total operational capacity of the two countries’ main bypass systems at roughly 4.7 million bpd. While several million bpd of alternative capacity is undeniably valuable during a crisis – enough to soften the blow of a major supply shock and give exporters options they would not otherwise have – it cannot replace the full volume of normal traffic through the strait.

    Beyond raw capacity numbers, the full story of bypass infrastructure is more complex. Pipelines depend on an interconnected network of supporting assets: pumping stations, power grids, storage facilities, communications systems, export terminals, and safe maritime access at the end point of the route. If multiple parts of this network are exposed to the same regional conflict, a route that looks fully separate from Hormuz on a map may be far less independent in practice.

    For Asian buyers, the challenge grows even more acute when it comes to liquefied natural gas (LNG). IEA estimates show that 93% of Qatar’s LNG exports and 96% of the UAE’s LNG exports normally pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Combined, these flows make up roughly 19% of total global LNG trade. In 2025, nearly 90% of all LNG exported through Hormuz was destined for Asian markets, covering approximately 27% of the region’s total LNG imports.

    There is currently no pipeline-style workaround for these massive LNG volumes. Qatar transports small volumes of pipeline gas to the UAE and Oman via the Dolphin Gas Project, but spare capacity on the line is extremely limited, and Oman’s existing LNG terminals already operate near full utilization. Moving large volumes of Qatari LNG to an alternative export terminal would require far more than just new pipeline infrastructure: it would require rebuilding the entire network of liquefaction facilities, storage tanks, and export terminals that took years to construct and billions of dollars in financing to develop.

    Market movements from earlier this year illustrate how Asian buyers actually adapt to Hormuz disruptions. The IEA’s Q3 2026 Gas Market Report found that between March and June 2026, LNG loadings from Qatar and the UAE fell by 35 billion cubic meters (bcm) compared to the same period in 2025. Producers outside the Persian Gulf raised output by roughly 27 bcm, replacing around three-quarters of the lost volumes. Asian importers did not resolve the disruption by opening a new route around Hormuz; they adjusted through increased supply from other regions, higher market prices, and targeted demand reduction.

    These developments point to the need for Asian governments to adopt a far broader definition of national energy resilience. Additional bypass capacity from Saudi Arabia and the UAE is certainly useful, and the new ADNOC pipeline to Fujairah will add welcome operational flexibility. But Asia’s overall energy security cannot depend solely on Persian Gulf pipeline engineering. When Hormuz transport routes become unreliable, the full set of resilience tools matters: supplier diversification, strategic petroleum and gas reserves, flexible LNG contracting, adequate domestic storage and regasification capacity, and the ability to switch between different crude oil grades to offset supply gaps.

    This principle also applies to producing nations. Adding a second export route improves overall energy system resilience, but the value of that redundancy depends on how many shared risks the two routes still face – from power supply and storage to terminals, communications, and physical security.

    The Strait of Hormuz is unlikely to become irrelevant to global energy markets any time soon; the volumes of oil and gas passing through it are simply too large, and LNG shipments are particularly difficult to reroute. A more realistic policy goal for dependent economies is to reduce the damage that a potential Hormuz disruption would cause. For Asia, that means framing existing bypass pipelines as one critical layer of energy insurance – not a complete, standalone insurance policy on its own.

    This analysis was contributed by Dr. Mahyar Ramezankhani, a postdoctoral researcher and economics professor specializing in applied economics and regional economic policy.

  • Widespread industrial action begins across Republic of Ireland

    Widespread industrial action begins across Republic of Ireland

    A growing wave of industrial unrest is sweeping across the Republic of Ireland’s public sector, as tens of thousands of healthcare, education, and local government workers have launched targeted work-to-rule action in a long-running pay dispute with the national government. More than 100,000 public employees, ranging from frontline nurses and midwives to school support staff and civil servants, began the targeted work restrictions early Wednesday, marking the first major collective action in what is set to be a escalating series of disruptions through October.

  • Final US military withdrawal from Iraq is a major bonus for Iran

    Final US military withdrawal from Iraq is a major bonus for Iran

    As the final contingent of US-led coalition troops wraps up its withdrawal from Iraq by the September 30 deadline, the moment carries stark geopolitical irony: at the very time Washington is waging a costly campaign to erode Iran’s military and economic power, it is stepping back from the country that has become Tehran’s most consequential strategic gain in the post-Saddam Hussein era. That same September 30 date was also the commitment Baghdad made to bring an array of powerful Iran-aligned militias under formal state control — a deadline that is all but certain to be missed, leaving Iran’s influence in Iraq largely undiminished.

    Iraq has long navigated a delicate balancing act, leveraging its strong nationalist impulse to steer an independent course between competing US and Iranian interests. But the US exit removes a critical counterweight to Tehran, opening the door for expanded Iranian sway over Baghdad’s political and economic decision-making. What makes this outcome particularly striking is that Iran did not create these favorable conditions on its own: decades of US policy, culminating in the 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam, cleared the way for Iran’s rise in Iraq.

    Iran’s deep connections to Iraqi political factions do not date only to the post-2003 era. For decades prior to Saddam’s ouster, Tehran spent years cultivating relationships with Iraqi opposition groups during the Ba’athist regime’s rule. Two of the most prominent groups it supported, the Islamic Dawa Party and the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, remain among the most powerful political actors in modern Iraq.

    The Badr Organization stands as the clearest example of how Iran’s decades-long investments translated to institutional power. Founded in Iran in the 1980s with backing from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and fighting alongside Tehran during the Iran-Iraq War, the group returned to Iraq en masse after Saddam’s fall. It quickly transformed from an exiled militia into a dominant player in Iraq’s security and political spheres.

    Unlike the United States, Iran already had deep, direct ties to powerful armed and political networks ready to shape the new Iraqi state after 2003. The fragmented political system that emerged from the rushed 2005 constitutional drafting — a sectarian power-sharing quota system known as *muhasasa*, which divides control of state institutions along ethnic and religious lines — created fertile ground for Iran to embed its networks across every level of Iraqi government. Tehran built overlapping ties spanning political parties, government ministries, religious institutions and armed groups, creating a resilient web of influence that cannot be dismantled by removing just one faction, politician or commercial connection.

    The 2014 rise of the Islamic State further accelerated Iran’s growing clout. When IS seized large swathes of northern and western Iraq, Tehran deployed thousands of troops to back Iraqi government forces and anti-IS militias, framing the conflict as a sectarian defense of Shia communities against Sunni extremist aggression. Qassem Suleimani, then-head of the IRGC’s elite Quds Force, even traveled to Baghdad to personally lead the defense of the capital against IS advances.

    It was during this conflict that the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, known locally as al-Hashd al-Shaabi) was formed from a loose coalition of mostly Shia militias, the vast majority of which pledged formal allegiance to Tehran. The PMF proved critical to defeating IS, and was formally integrated into Iraq’s national security structure in 2016. Even so, its most powerful factions retained their close ties to Tehran and built independent political and economic empires within Iraq.

    Beyond political and military influence, Iran has deepened its grip on Iraq through robust economic integration, turning the neighboring country into a critical lifeline that softens the impact of harsh international sanctions on Tehran. Sharing a long border, the two countries have extensive cross-border flows of energy, goods, religious pilgrims and commercial activity. Iraq has long been one of Iran’s largest export markets, and for years depended on Iranian supplies of natural gas and electricity to meet domestic demand. These ties are deeply entrenched: US sanctions have complicated cross-border trade, but they have been unable to sever the economic connections between the two nations.

    As far back as 2022, analyst Bamo Nouri (the author of this analysis) documented how Iraq became a financial lifeline for Iran, providing critical export markets, revenue and alternative trade routes to blunt the impact of Western pressure. While US officials have attempted to crack down on these channels, sanctioning Iraqi individuals and businesses accused of facilitating oil sales that benefit Iran and its allied militias, the effort faces a fundamental barrier: as long as Iran retains deep access to Iraq’s political economy, it retains a major avenue to withstand external pressure.

    The US withdrawal does not automatically hand Iran full economic control of Iraq, but it eliminates a key source of American leverage at the exact moment Washington is ramping up pressure on Tehran. For Iran, full control of Baghdad is not a necessary goal; retaining enough influence to protect its existing networks, and keep open the economic lifeline those networks provide, is sufficient to weather Western sanctions.

    Iran further benefits from Iraq’s highly centralized economy, where the public sector accounts for 40% of all jobs, according to the latest International Monetary Fund estimates. The IMF has warned that this large state footprint has crowded out private sector growth, with profound political consequences: factions that control ministries and state institutions control access to jobs, government contracts and critical resources, building a patronage system that reinforces political loyalty. Many of the most powerful factions that benefit from this system are aligned with Iran.

    A more competitive, dynamic private sector would reduce the ability of Iran-aligned networks to turn state control into political dependence: Iraqis who can build careers or run successful businesses without relying on party patronage are far more likely to remain politically independent. For this reason, economic reform in Iraq is not just a matter of improving public prosperity — it is a question of where ultimate political power in the country will reside.

    If the US withdrawal allows Iran greater room to expand its existing networks and use Iraq as a buffer against international isolation, Washington faces the unintended consequence of strengthening Tehran’s ability to withstand the pressure it is currently applying. For the United States, the end of its military deployment in Iraq may have come at a far higher strategic cost than it initially anticipated.

  • Singapore launches matchmaking service for government workers

    Singapore launches matchmaking service for government workers

    Against a backdrop of accelerating population ageing and a historic collapse in national fertility rates, Singapore’s Government Technology Agency (GovTech) has launched a novel government-backed matchmaking pilot tailored exclusively for younger public sector employees. Dubbed FirstDate, the new service entered its test phase this week, opening eligibility to unmarried government workers between the ages of 21 and 35.

    Unlike the swipe-based matching systems that dominate mainstream dating apps, FirstDate takes a data-driven approach built on the Gale-Shapley Stable Marriage algorithm, a Nobel Prize-winning mathematical framework first developed by the late economist Lloyd Shapley, who was awarded the 2012 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for the discovery. This algorithm, which has already been deployed for everything from matching medical school graduates to residency programs to placing students in public schools, works by pairing two equally sized groups of participants based on their ranked personal preferences. The service matches users to one potential partner at a time, with its website marketing the model as a cure for the ‘swipe fatigue’ that plagues users of popular consumer dating platforms.

    To join the pilot, participants log in via Singapore’s trusted national digital identity system and complete a detailed survey covering personal interests, daily habits and core values. For many eligible participants, the government affiliation of FirstDate is a key draw. Elizabeth, a 29-year-old employee at Singapore’s Ministry of Defence who has expressed interest in testing the service, told the BBC that the verified public servant user base drastically reduces the risk of scams that are common on open commercial dating platforms. ‘We’re all public servants looking for a partner, right?’ she noted.

    However, the pilot has drawn sharp criticism from members of the Singaporean public, sparking a divided debate online. Critics have highlighted two core points of contention: the eligibility restrictions that exclude private sector workers, and the hard 35-year age cap for participants. Many argue the restrictions make clear the program’s primary goal is not to help all singles find partners, but to boost fertility rates among the demographic the government deems most likely to have children. One Reddit user wrote that the age cap effectively writes off older singles, noting that the government is willing to disregard people over 35 because of the higher medical risks associated with later-life pregnancies.

    It remains unclear whether GovTech plans to expand the pilot to a broader segment of the Singaporean public after the test phase concludes. The BBC has reached out to GovTech for additional comment on future expansion plans.

    The launch of FirstDate comes as Singapore faces one of the most severe demographic crises in its modern history. In 2025, the country recorded fewer than 30,000 births for the first time in six decades, pushing the national fertility rate to a new all-time low. At the same time, annual deaths have climbed steadily as the population ages, hitting roughly 26,500 in 2025. Just months before the launch of FirstDate, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong unveiled a sweeping package of new pro-natal policies designed to reverse the trend, including up to S$70,000 in total financial support for every child born in the country by the time they reach age 17.

    FirstDate is far from Singapore’s first attempt at government-sponsored match-making. In 1984, the government launched the Social Development Unit (SDU), which organized social events exclusively for graduate-level singles to encourage marriage. The initiative faced widespread backlash for its elitist, exclusionary structure, and the SDU was eventually phased out after a separate agency was created a year later to serve non-graduate singles.

    Singapore is not alone in turning to government-run dating services to address falling birth rates. In September 2024, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government launched its own AI-powered dating app open to all single residents of the Japanese capital. According to official government data released in July 2026, the app has already resulted in 265 marriages between matched participants.

  • What we know about Cornell University frat house rape investigation

    What we know about Cornell University frat house rape investigation

    Nearly two years after an alleged sexual assault at an Ivy League campus, New York state prosecutors have relaunched a criminal inquiry into claims that seven Cornell University fraternity members gang-raped a drugged 20-year-old undergraduate in 2024. The case, which has ignited widespread public outrage over allegations the elite school failed to hold perpetrators accountable, is now set to move before a grand jury for formal consideration of criminal charges.

    The accuser, identified only as Jane Doe in court documents, filed a 101-page civil lawsuit against Cornell, the local Chi Phi fraternity chapter and the seven accused men on September 16 this year. In her legal filing, Doe detailed the alleged October 19, 2024 attack: after leaving her sorority sisters to visit a friend at the Chi Phi house in Ithaca, New York, she became heavily intoxicated and was given the sedative drug ketamine without her consent. She says she was unable to give legal consent, and the seven men assaulted her over the course of several hours. The accused group has become widely known as the “Cornell Seven”.

    Court documents include a screenshot of a group chat for active Chi Phi members, where members discussed the incident using vulgar language, referring to Doe as available for a “free” sexual encounter just before 2 a.m. local time on October 20. Two days after the alleged attack, CBS News New York obtained text messages from one of the accused men that appear to show him apologizing for how events unfolded. He wrote that his memory was “kinda fuzzy”, and that he and another defendant felt guilty for being too drunk to stop the assault before it escalated out of control. Doe replied that her memory was also clouded by alcohol, and she suggested meeting again without the additional men and ketamine, a message her legal team has framed as a trauma response rather than a reflection of consent. She officially reported the incident to Cornell University Police on November 8, 2024, more than two weeks after the attack.

    The lawsuit sparked national anger after Doe alleged Cornell refused to properly investigate or punish the men involved, claiming the school allowed most perpetrators to avoid severe sanctions by only requiring them to submit essays about their conduct. Doe’s legal team confirmed two of the seven accused were ultimately expelled, but the lack of broader disciplinary action led the Cornell Daily Sun, the university’s independent student newspaper, to take the unprecedented step of publishing the full names of all seven defendants in a September 21 editorial titled “Cornell Won’t, We Will”. The move amplified widespread outcry across social media, putting increasing pressure on state and county authorities to revisit the criminal case.

    Cornell has repeatedly pushed back against Doe’s claims that it failed to act. In multiple official statements, the university confirmed it immediately suspended the Chi Phi chapter and several students after the report, launched a Title IX civil rights inquiry and referred the case to a trained internal disciplinary panel that issued a range of sanctions, including expulsions and suspensions. The school did not deny that some students were required to write essays as part of their consequences, but emphasized that no defendant was allowed to use an essay as their sole punishment. “The events that took place on our campus in 2024 were appalling then and remain so now,” the university said in a recent statement, adding that it is committed to fostering a campus culture that does not tolerate sexual misconduct. The Chi Phi Xi chapter has remained closed and barred from campus since 2024. Cornell also confirmed that campus police turned over evidence, including the Snapchat group chat image, to prosecutors shortly after the incident was reported.

    On September 29 this year, Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten announced his office would reopen the dormant criminal investigation. When the incident was first reported in 2024, Van Houten said, prosecutors determined the initial evidence from Doe’s official statement did not meet the legal threshold to file criminal charges. Now, in light of the new allegations and evidence introduced in the civil lawsuit, the case will be presented to a grand jury, which will review all evidence and testimony to decide if criminal charges are warranted. Prosecutors have said they will pursue the case “in the most objective and impartial means possible.”

    Van Houten also publicly noted a key discrepancy between Doe’s 2024 sworn statement to police and the allegations laid out in her recent civil suit. “Jane Doe’s sworn statement in November of 2024 did not allege that she was drugged against her will or gang raped,” he said. “On the contrary, Jane Doe’s statement described her participation in drug use and sexual conduct as voluntary, conscious, and consensual.” However, CBS News New York reports it has obtained a full transcript of Doe’s November 2024 interviews with campus police that contradicts this summary. In the transcript, Doe acknowledges she consented to an initial sexual encounter, but told investigators she can say “with 100% confidence I was raped” when the incident escalated beyond what she agreed to.

    For anyone experiencing trauma or emotional distress related to sexual violence, support is available through global and national mental health organizations including Befrienders Worldwide.

  • US actor Chad Lowe ‘heartbroken’ by death of daughter Fiona aged 13

    US actor Chad Lowe ‘heartbroken’ by death of daughter Fiona aged 13

    Acclaimed American actor Chad Lowe and his wife, producer Kim Painter, are grappling with unthinkable grief after the sudden passing of their 13-year-old daughter, Fiona. In a heartfelt public statement shared exclusively with entertainment outlets Page Six and People magazine, the couple opened up about the light their young daughter brought to their family, describing themselves as “deeply heartbroken” over the loss of their “beloved” child.

    “Fiona was a loving young girl who was smart, creative and loved to dance,” the family’s statement read. The couple went on to note that Fiona was adored by her two older and younger sisters, and held an irreplaceable place at the center of their family unit. “She was deeply loved by her parents. In fact, she was the light of our lives,” the statement added.

    The couple emphasized that Fiona’s death has been a devastating blow to their entire extended family, and asked for respectful space as they navigate their profound loss. “We ask for prayers and privacy at this time,” they wrote.

    In a meaningful closing to their statement that aims to help other families facing similar struggles, the couple included an important mental health resource note: “If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, please reach out to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988.” For readers based in the United Kingdom, additional mental health support information is listed on the BBC Action Line website.

    Chad Lowe, who is the younger brother of fellow Hollywood star Rob Lowe, built a decades-long career in television and film. He earned a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 1993 for his groundbreaking role on the ABC series *Life Goes On*, and later went on to secure recurring roles on hit shows including *Pretty Little Liars* and *Supergirl*. Beyond his professional work, Lowe has long prioritized his life as a parent, sharing three daughters with Painter: 17-year-old Mabel, Fiona, and 10-year-old Nixie.