headlines
Wednesday
30
September
2015
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State executes Kelly Gissendaner despite last-ditch appealsIntervention by Pope Francis, pleas from three of her children and a flurry of legal appeals fail to stop first execution of a woman for 70 years
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Saudis say Assad must go or be removed by forceForeign minister Adel Al-Jubeir says there are no circumstances where Bashar al-Assad can remain in power – whether that exit is through politics or by force -
Taliban widen offensive as army fails to retake KunduzMilitants appear to have dug in around key northern city despite authorities’ claims to have killed prominent Taliban leader -
highlights
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The cosy relationship between Nasa and HollywoodNasa helped make The Martian. But it also advised on Men in Black III. So what exactly is its relationship with movies? The agency’s director of planetary science reveals all
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Can you identify these world cities from their street plans?We’ve stripped out the street names and lost the labels – but can you still recognise the cities from their aerial views?
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Disappointed star may not play again in 2015, says coachPatrick Mouratoglou says the world No 1 may not play again this year, so disappointed is she with her loss at Flushing Meadows
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Hillary Clinton's dress and how it influenced fashionDonna Karan’s famous ‘cold-shoulder’ dress was a favourite of Hillary Clinton, as she revealed in a recent interview with Lena Dunham. It’s also a staple in fashion today
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Retailers who want to satisfy all appetites at once should remember that there can be too much of a good thingHysterical consumerism ruins food. And holidays. And books
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While we marvel at Nasa’s discoveries, we destroy our irreplaceable natural resources – so we can buy pre-peeled bananas and smartphones for dogsThere may be flowing water on Mars. But is there intelligent life on Earth?
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President keeps cool in face of congressional grillingHouse Republicans subjected Cecile Richards to questions about her salary and her honesty but she defended her organization’s role in women’s healthcare
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Court rejects possible early release for 'White Boy Rick'Rick Wershe Jr will continue serving life sentence for 1980s drug crime under abolished law after judges overturned previously granted bid for re-sentencing
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Indian court sentences five to death for 2006 attacksSeven other men given life sentences for attacks on packed commuter trains that killed more than 180 people
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Slavery reparations call overshadows David Cameron's visitThe prime minister is under pressure to mention Britain’s involvement in the slave trade when he addresses the nation’s parliament on Wednesday
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special report: the counted
in brief
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OS X El Capitan: bringing even older Macs up to speedLatest version of Apple’s laptop and desktop operating system gains an injection of speed, a new font and a raft of useful small tweaks
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Nicki Minaj to film autobiographical comedy series on ABC FamilyThe pop star has signed with the network for a show based on her life growing up in Queens, New York as an immigrant from Trinidad and Tobago
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The best albums of 2015 (that no one knows about)From established names such as Don Henley and Jewel to fiddle-wielding newcomers, 2015 has produced a slew of off-kilter albums worth exploring
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Tinder and Grindr outraged over STD testing billboards that reference appsTinder demanded its name be removed while Grindr halted Aids Healthcare Foundation ads on site as AHF president called dating app companies ‘tone deaf’
in depth
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Young Muslim leaders who were shaped by 9/11Four young, active Muslim community leaders talk about their work, after growing up in a climate of Islamophobia in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks
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Comeback complete after $343m sale of Business InsiderJust a decade after he was charged with fraud and banned for life from the financial industry, Blodget’s star is stratospheric – and so is his bank account
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Atlantic journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates leads diverse group of recipientsPuppeteer Basil Twist, photographer LaToya Ruby Frazier and more artists, advocates and scientists will get this year’s grants
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Trevor Noah clears first night hurdles as host – but only justJon Stewart’s replacement marks his first night behind the desk with some groan-worthy jokes and an awful interview, saved by flashes of inspiration
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Tax proposal is 'nothing radical' – and the richest get the biggest cutsRepublican candidate promised to eliminate income tax on those earning less than $25,000 a year, but that group already pays no such tax, experts say
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Will Belfast ever have a Berlin Wall moment?Permanent walls were built to separate Catholic and Protestant districts of Belfast in the 1970s, and the city is still scarred by almost 100 of them. Defensive architecture, it turns out, is easier to build than tear down
video & pictures
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Michelle Obama’s plans after the White House? Shop, drive, open a windowThe first lady tells Stephen Colbert what her plans are after she leaves the White House
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Afghan civilians flee Kunduz as fighting ragesHundreds of Afghan residents flee Kunduz province as heavy fighting rages inside the key northern Afghan city for a third day on Wednesday
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Eontemporary Mexican photographySkewed gender norms and twisted, dreamlike scenes abound in this selection of images from book Reveal and Detonate: contemporary Mexican photography, released on 29 September
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The patriotic graffiti blossoming around MoscowPhotographer Andrey Ivanov spent three years documenting slogans on the outskirts of the city to explore contemporary Russian identity. The Calvert Journal reports
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Glass suspension bridge across gorge opens to brave visitorsA 180-metre-high glass bridge has opened in Hunan Province. Dare you cross Haohan Qiao? Translation: ‘brave men’s bridge’?
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Violent protests erupt in Cape Town districtDemonstrations at the lack of policing in Masiphumelele, Cape Town, an area that has been volatile for weeks
people
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David Oyelowo has a dream: not having to bang on about diversityThe debate about underrepresentation might feel endless. But imagine being the person who has to keep bringing it up
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John Stamos and Rob Lowe's mid-career triumphsBoth actors play middle-aged men forced to reinvent themselves in their new shows, and in the process they have created some of TV’s freshest material
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The Log Lady will be sorely missed. She was Twin Peaks' greatest heroCatherine Coulson, who played Twin Peaks’ lovably eccentric Log Lady, has died. She represented us all and asked the vital questions we needed answers to
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I knew there was water on Mars months agoDirector of The Martian was shown photographs of water flows by Nasa ‘about two months ago’, but by then it was too late to include the information in the plot of the Matt Damon film
the big picture
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Selfie strandings and fire ceremoniesA Moscow man’s selfie fear, work by artist Jeff Koons on display in Austria and the band AC/DC in the US
Kim Davis Kentucky clerk in secret meeting with Pope Francis, report says
Italy Pope criticises Rome's mayor as a 'pretend Catholic'