Author: DispatchTimes News Desk

A frightening encounter with a swooping magpie on a Sydney cycle path prompted British expatriate Jon Clark to create Magpie Alert, a website now used by Australians to report attacks and warn others about dangerous hotspots. Mr Clark, who moved to Australia more than a decade ago, was cycling along the M7 in north-west Sydney in 2013 when a large black-and-white bird suddenly began diving at him. “I thought ‘what the f**k’. I knew I had to turn back and it came at me again. It was frightening,” he recalled. Unlike Australian magpies, which can become fiercely territorial while protecting…

Serena and Venus Williams were knocked out in the first round of the women’s doubles at the US Open after their much-anticipated return to Arthur Ashe Stadium ended in defeat on Friday evening. The American sisters were beaten by 14th seeds Hao-Ching Chan of Taiwan and Australia’s Maya Joint, who had already defeated Serena in the Wimbledon singles draw earlier this summer. ([usopen.org](https://www.usopen.org/amp/en_US/news/articles/2026-09-01/who_are_serena_williams_and_venus_williams_playing_in_2026_us_open_doubles.html?utm_source=openai)) The match marked Serena’s return to the US Open doubles competition for the first time since 2022, when the sisters also exited in the opening round. They had received a wildcard to compete together in New York…

The US government has structured its 35% stake in a Venezuelan oil venture to protect it from dilution as billions of dollars are raised to develop the fields, Reuters has reported. The Pentagon holds “penny warrants” in North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP), giving Washington the right, but not the obligation, to acquire shares later at a nominal exercise price, according to a US official cited by Reuters. ([investing.com](https://www.investing.com/news/economy-news/us-shields-35-stake-in-venezuela-oil-venture-from-dilution-reuters-reports-4890149)) The arrangement is intended to preserve the US government’s economic interest while NABEP secures private capital for its operations. Washington will also be entitled to receive dividends before formally exercising the…

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman is to hold a Labor Day picnic at MacArthur Park with his family, friends and colleagues, saying the troubled Los Angeles park is now safe enough for a public gathering. Hochman made the commitment during a series of high-profile drug enforcement operations at the park in June. He said he would return with his family over the holiday weekend if conditions improved. “My family, myself, along with many of my colleagues in the DA’s office, friends, will be celebrating a picnic this coming weekend in MacArthur Park,” Hochman told FOX 11. The event…

The murder trial of Lindsay Clancy has ended in a mistrial after a Massachusetts jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict over whether she was criminally responsible for the deaths of her three children. Clancy, 36, is accused of strangling five-year-old Cora, three-year-old Dawson and eight-month-old Callan at the family home in Duxbury on January 24, 2023, before attempting to take her own life. Her defence argued that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis, a rare and severe mental illness, and should not be held criminally responsible. Prosecutors maintained that she knew what she was doing and had planned the…

Serena and Venus Williams were beaten in a dramatic first-round clash at the US Open, losing to 14th seeds Maya Joint and Hao-Ching Chan after more than three hours on Arthur Ashe Stadium. The sisters recovered from losing the opening set to force a deciding tie-break, but Joint and Chan held their nerve to win 6-3, 6-7, 7-6 in New York. The defeat ended the Williams sisters’ first appearance together at Flushing Meadows since 2022, when they also lost in the opening round. They had previously won the US Open women’s doubles title in 1999 and 2009. Serena, 44, returned…

Corie Walsh, 40, has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder after her two-year-old son, Barrett “Bear” Walsh, was found unresponsive in the basement of their home in Frankfort, Illinois. Police were called to the property on Brook Stone Court shortly after 4pm on Tuesday following a 17-year-old neighbour’s emergency call. The teenager found the child in the basement and began performing CPR before officers arrived. Barrett was taken to hospital but was later pronounced dead. The Will County Coroner’s Office said an autopsy indicated that he died from asphyxia, while the investigation into the circumstances remains ongoing. Court…

Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial has ended in a mistrial after a Massachusetts jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict over whether she was criminally responsible for the deaths of her three children. Judge William Sullivan declared the mistrial on Friday, September 4, after seven days of deliberations and repeated warnings from jurors that they remained deadlocked. Clancy, a former labour and delivery nurse, is accused of killing her children at the family home in Duxbury, south of Boston, in January 2023. She does not deny strangling them but has argued that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and should not…

Families searching for relatives missing after Nepal’s devastating floods are gathering outside a Kathmandu morgue, facing the possibility that the bodies inside may hold the only answers to their desperate wait. At Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, police, doctors and volunteers are working through a growing number of remains recovered from the Bhotekoshi River and other flood-hit areas. Relatives study photographs and examine personal details, hoping to recognise a loved one while dreading what they may find. The hospital’s forensic medicine department said 177 bodies had been brought there for examination. Post-mortems had been completed on 129, while 21 bodies had…

Tiphaine Auzière, the 42-year-old daughter of Brigitte Macron, has gone public with a relationship with a man 20 years her junior — prompting comparisons with her mother’s romance with French President Emmanuel Macron. Ms Auzière shared a video on Instagram showing herself with 22-year-old Antoine Lecomte during a trip to Amsterdam. The footage documented the couple’s journey from France to the Dutch capital and a 48-hour visit to the city. Mr Lecomte is a kitesurfer, business student and entrepreneur who is understood to have met Ms Auzière at the French resort of Le Touquet, where he works as a watersports…