IJR News

Sri Lanka Convicts 15 Over Easter Bombings — Sep 20, 2026The Colombo Three-Judge High Court Trial-at-Bar will deliver the verdict tomorrow in the main Easter Sunday 2019 terrorist attacks case against 24 defendants on about 23,270 charges, with 10 confessions and 2,076 court exhibits entered as evidence. The attacks killed 274 people and injured 577, and the bench comprises Judges Navaratne Marasinghe, Sujeewa Nissanka, and Ramanathan Kannan.

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Israeli Bulldozers Uproot Olive Trees Near Ramallah Before October Harvest — Sep 23, 2026"They are uprooting, and we will plant again with the help of God," a Deir Nidham farmer said after bulldozers cleared nearly nine acres of olive trees days before harvest.

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Nicole Hardy The farmer's plan to replant shows determination, but losing established trees sets them back years.

Israeli Forces Raid West Bank Town, Surround Mosque — Sep 20, 2026Israeli forces raided Biddu in the West Bank, surrounded the Abdullah bin Jaber Mosque during Asr prayers after a shooting near Halamish that killed an Israeli settler, with the suspect, Qadri Samara, a Biddu resident and former prisoner, wounded and later detained at a Ramallah hospital. The incidents are part of a wider surge in Israeli raids and settler attacks in the occupied West Bank since the Gaza war began in 2023.

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US Again Denies Abbas Visa Ahead of UN Assembly — Sep 16, 2026The United States again denied entry visas to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and dozens of his officials for the UN General Assembly, forcing Abbas to address the gathering virtually for a second year in a row. Washington cited deviations from US law and failure to reform by Ramallah as grounds for the visa bans, while the Palestinian mission pushed a virtual address and sought to keep the UN gathering on schedule.

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Tom Gallagher A virtual speech again this year just highlights how little trust exists between Washington and Ramallah right now.

Nine Women’s Deaths Spur South Africa Protests — Sep 17, 2026Memorials and silent protests across South Africa followed the discovery of eight to nine deaths of women in the Ekurhuleni and Kempton Park areas, renewing public anger over femicide and calls for stronger policing and action against gender-based violence. Authorities and activists cite a national crisis in GBV, with President Ramaphosa pledging intensified investigations and police operations like a broader crackdown to protect women.

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Most Influential Women in World HistoryYourlist — RankingFrom ancient queens who ruled empires to modern activists who changed laws, these women left indelible marks on politics, science, and culture. Vote for who you think shaped history most profoundly.

Black Sea Tanker Ablaze, 23 Indians Rescued — 22hAll 23 Indian crew of the Liberian-flagged Aframax Rio were rescued uninjured after an unmanned-vessel attack set the tanker ablaze off Sochi; crude oil burned on the Black Sea.

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Paramount+ Renews ‘Tulsa King’ for Season 5 — 2dParamount+ renewed Sylvester Stallone’s crime drama Tulsa King for a fifth season ahead of Season 4’s premiere. Season 5 is filming in New York, where the story will return to Dwight Manfredi’s mafia roots, with Scarlet Rose Stallone promoted to series regular and four new regular cast members joining.

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Figure gives F.02 robots fiery Terminator farewell in Finland — 3dCalifornia robotics company Figure retired its F.02 humanoid robots by melting them at a Finnish steel foundry, turning the disposal into a dramatic farewell inspired by Arnold Schwarzenegger’s suggestion. Figure said the approach protected proprietary technology and spared engineers from dismantling the machines as it shifts to newer models.

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Evans wins WRC title after Solberg crash — 5dElfyn Evans won his first World Rally Championship title after rival Oliver Solberg crashed two corners from the finish of the decisive Rally Italy Sardinia stage. The dramatic result made Evans the first Welsh champion and Britain’s first WRC champion since 2001.

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Pedro Pascal drama Behemoth! premieres at 2026 New York Film Festival — 4dPedro Pascal’s drama Behemoth!, directed by Tony Gilroy, premiered as the New York Film Festival’s centerpiece, with Pascal playing a cellist who returns to Los Angeles after two decades away. Pascal said he undertook an intensive cello crash course for the role; early reviews have been largely positive, and the film is scheduled to open in theaters Dec. 4.

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Dana Whitfield Pascal's cello crash course for the role shows real commitment. The premise of a musician returning home after twenty years sounds intriguing.

White Sox Clinch Playoff Berth, Pope Reacts — Sep 24, 2026Pope Leo XIV, a lifelong Chicago White Sox fan, smiled and replied “No comment. Great things happen in Chicago” when asked whether he had helped the team clinch a 2026 postseason berth. The playoff run marks a dramatic turnaround after several 100-loss seasons, including a modern-era record 121 losses in 2024.

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Toy Story vs ShrekYourlist — VS BattleThe toy box vs the swamp: two animation revolutions, one inevitable playground argument.

Red Sox Remove Interim Tag From Chad Tracy, Extend Craig Breslow — Sep 22, 2026The Boston Red Sox named Chad Tracy their full-time manager on a three-year contract through 2029 with a club option for 2030, after he steered a dramatic midseason turnaround from a 10-17 start. The club also exercised chief baseball officer Craig Breslow’s contract options for 2029 and 2030, ensuring continuity at the top alongside Tracy for the coming seasons.

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Priya Raman Glad they locked in Tracy after that midseason run, and keeping Breslow adds some needed front office stability.

Revolution rally in stoppage time to defeat Orlando City 4-2 — Sep 20, 2026Carles Gil and 18-year-old Peyton Miller delivered stoppage-time goals to lift the New England Revolution to a dramatic 4-2 comeback win over Orlando City, with Miller also doubling earlier in the match and Gil scoring earlier. The victory, aided by a late rally at Gillette Stadium, kept the Revs strong at home and extended their recent success while Orlando’s late surge fell short despite an 88th-minute equalizer.

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Elena Vasquez Peyton Miller at 18 years old coming through with two goals including the late winner is a huge sign for the Revs future.

Taliban Seeks U.S. Return, Embassy Remains ClosedWorld — Sep 18, 2026Five years after the U.S. withdrawal from Kabul, the Taliban are seeking diplomatic engagement and an embassy, but Washington remains reluctant to recognize the government while regional powers including Turkey, Qatar and Pakistan push for talks amid security concerns like the TTP. At the same time, the regime is pursuing a UN-backed opium-ban effort that has dramatically reduced cultivation, a shift noted by UNODC, even as families of Afghanistan’s victims await justice five years on.

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Yom Kippur: Judaism’s Holiest Day of AtonementLifestyle — Sep 16, 2026Across sources, Yom Kippur is portrayed as the holiest day focused on fasting, repentance, and atonement, with the Beit Hamikdash era highlighting the High Priest's confessions and the dramatic Avoda rituals in the Holy of Holies. Modern observance expands with guidance on rituals and personal practices, while a historical note explains the fast of Gedaliah between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur as a pivotal moment in Jewish memory.

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The Big FiveQuizie — QuizThe personality model scientists actually use — five traits, twenty questions, your real percentages, and an AI read of what your mix means.

Oracle CEO Says AI Speeds Coding, Stalls DeliveryTech — Sep 18, 2026Oracle has rapidly adopted OpenAI-backed AI tools, with 80% staff adoption cutting coding timelines dramatically, yet product delivery remains bottlenecked by testing, validation, and release processes, offsetting internal productivity gains. The company has spent billions on AI infrastructure, while substantial layoffs and a reported $1.84 billion in severance accompany the shift, underscoring that faster coding does not automatically translate into faster time-to-market or ROI.

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Morocco’s PJD Details 2026 Program After 2021 Rout — Sep 20, 2026Morocco’s Justice and Development Party (PJD) suffered a dramatic 2021 electoral collapse, slumping from 125 seats to 13 while the monarchy retained significant constitutional influence. Analysts question whether Abdelilah Benkirane’s recognizable personal brand can lead a genuine comeback or if the party’s revival requires more than his leadership.

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Dana Whitfield Benkirane's name recognition might help a bit but the PJD lost those 125 seats for reasons that a familiar face alone won't fix by 2026.

Fed Raises Rates, Signals Further 2026 Hike — Sep 14, 2026RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra met Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman amid rising inflation risks linked to crude oil prices, with SBI Ecowrap signaling a higher chance of rate hikes as oil crosses $100 a barrel. The meetings precede the RBI’s October 5–7, 2026 MPC policy review, following India’s 7.8% Q1 GDP growth and a kept repo rate of 5.25% in August.