Crime

Published: 16 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online Violence involving Islamist extremist groups in Africa’s Sahel region is on course to reach its highest recorded level this year, according to figures compiled by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project, or Acled, highlighting the continuing expansion of militant activity across Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. The latest figures come 25 years after the 11 September...

Published: 16 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online At least three people have died after an NBC news helicopter crashed and caught fire in the Chatsworth neighbourhood of Los Angeles, with the accident occurring while news crews were covering a separate fatal bus collision nearby. The helicopter came down on Tuesday evening close to a single-storey commercial building in the San Fernando Valley. Los Angeles fire...

Published: 16 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online The discovery of the bodies of seven women in and around the area near Johannesburg’s international airport has renewed widespread anger and fear in South Africa, where campaigners have long demanded stronger action against gender-based violence and femicide. Five of the women were found within the space of a week, while the other two deaths were discovered earlier...

Published: 16 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online Residents of the Oxfordshire village of Piddington have voted overwhelmingly in favour of symbolically declaring independence from the United Kingdom, using an unusual local referendum to express opposition to government plans for a large asylum accommodation centre nearby. The unofficial poll, held on Tuesday, was organised by campaigners seeking to demonstrate the strength of local feeling over proposals...

Published: 16 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online The UK government is preparing to strengthen protections against online harassment and doxxing, with Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy warning that social media platforms must take greater responsibility when users publish private information or target people with intimidation. Nandy criticised Elon Musk’s X after the platform did not attend a meeting she hosted with social media companies to discuss...

Published: 16 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online People defending forests, rivers and Indigenous territories are facing continuing threats of violence, intimidation and murder, with communities in several countries increasingly organising local protection groups as criminal networks move deeper into environmentally sensitive areas. A new assessment cited by the independent watchdog Global Witness says 124 land and environmental defenders were killed in 2025, equivalent to roughly...

Published: 15 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online. Fugitive property developer Jean Nassif launched an extraordinary series of accusations during a tense appearance before New South Wales’ corruption watchdog, declaring that he was not corrupt, defending his family and threatening to pursue legal action against the Australian government from overseas. Nassif, 58, gave evidence to the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) from his bedroom in...

Published: 14 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online. British ministers are facing growing pressure to address an unusual diplomatic case after US authorities reportedly removed a diplomat from the United Kingdom following an investigation into allegations involving indecent images of children. The diplomat was reportedly questioned and investigated by American authorities after officials searched his London residence in August. He was subsequently taken to a US...

Published: 14 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online. Israel is facing fresh allegations that its policies in the occupied West Bank are systematically making Palestinian life increasingly difficult and threatening the conditions required for Palestinian communities to survive and remain on their land. The allegations are contained in a major report by the Israeli human rights organisation B’Tselem, which argues that restrictions on movement, settler violence,...

Published: 14 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online. New historical research has shed further light on the British monarchy’s deep and long-standing involvement in the transatlantic slave trade, including evidence that enslaved Africans were branded with marks bearing symbols associated with the crown. The findings add another troubling dimension to Britain’s history of slavery and are likely to intensify calls for King Charles to formally acknowledge...