Osama bin Laden and al-Baghdadi are dead, but jihadist networks now reach from Kabul to Lagos. One question remains: Is the world safer 25 years after 9/11 and the War on Terror across Afghanistan, Iraq and West Africa?
The attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001, killed nearly 3,000 people and triggered the War on Terror. The campaign, led by the US with allies across Europe and beyond, aimed to destroy al-Qaeda and stop Afghanistan from being a terrorist safe haven.
A quarter-century later, Osama bin Laden is dead, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead, and the War on Terror cost countless lives and trillions of dollars.
Did it defeat Jihadist terror? DW digs into the data, examines maps and talks with experts from around the world to find out.
We investigate what’s left of al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group: Are they still plotting attacks on the West, or have they changed their strategy? And what about African groups like JNIM and Boko Haram — are they advancing? Do jihadists still want a Caliphate? And what lessons are they learning from the Taliban being in charge of Afghanistan again and a former al-Qaeda-linked militia leader leading Syria as president?
A US defense startup plans to produce up to 5,000 long-range Anthem cruise missiles a year in eastern Germany. What could that mean for European defense autonomy and Germany’s growing arms industry?
The long-range “Anthem” cruise missile is designed to be cheaper and easier to mass-produce than systems such as the Tomahawk. Its planned production in Germany comes as Germany and other European countries seek to strengthen their long-range strike capabilities and deterrence against Russia.
Reports suggest the Bundeswehr could be among the missile’s first customers. DW speaks to defense journalist Thomas Wiegold about why mass-produced cruise missiles are gaining attention, what they could mean for Germany’s defense needs and how greater weapons production could affect Germany.
The US president gave a wide-ranging speech at the Republican midterm convention. He defended the war in Iran, trade wars and tariffs, and the White House ballroom. He also called Democrats evil and immigrants animals.
Trump asked voters to ‘pretend’ that his name was on the ballot at the upcoming midterm electionsImage: Callaghan O’Hare/REUTERS
US President Donald Trump made a pitch to voters on Wednesday: a $5,000 (€4,300) “dividend” for every American adult if the Republican Party keeps control of both houses of Congress in the midterm elections.
“If the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the United States Senate, both of them … because of our tremendous strength and success economically, I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000,” Trump said at the Republican midterm convention on Wednesday.
“The only caveat we have is that the dividend must be spent in the United States of America,” he added. “We don’t want you going to Canada spending the money, we don’t want you going to China or Germany.”
The president did not say how he would finance the measure, nor how the government would track where citizens spend the funds. He had previously promised citizens $2,000 checks from tariff revenues that have so far not materialized.
What else did Trump talk about?
Trump made the announcement as the two-day event kicked off in Dallas, Texas.
In a wide-ranging speech, Trump talked up some of the biggest — and most divisive — aspects of his second term in office, including the crackdown on immigration, the war in Iran, tariffs and subsequent economic retaliation, the White House ballroom, and restrictions on transgender people.
The president told voters to “pretend” that he’s on the ballot at the elections that will see new representatives and senators elected in November.
Trump joked about renaming a third body of water from the Strait of Hormuz to ‘Trump Strait’Image: Jessica Koscielniak/REUTERS
His attempts to rename the Gulf of Mexico and Lake Ontario after America were met with rapturous applause. Later, he riffed on renaming the Strait of Hormuz as the “Trump Strait.”
Who else was at the Republican convention?
Other speakers focused less on the Trump administration’s track record and instead attacked Democrats as “evil,” “communists” and “socialists.”
Among those who spoke on Wednesday were Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a close Trump ally who is locked in a tough Senate race against rising Democratic challenger James Talarico, who represents a younger and more progressive wing of that party.
Another Republican senator, Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania, was introduced by his Democratic counterpart, John Fetterman, in an unusual move.
Fetterman, who has increasingly broken with Democratic Party positions in recent years, introduced the Republican as his “great friend” and pledged to work with Trump to protect the state’s steel industry.
Senator John Fetterman, a Democrat, made the highly unusual move of giving a video message at the Republican conventionImage: Kent Nishimura/AFP
Conservative activists were also in attendance.
The Associated Press spotted Stewart Rhodes, founder of the Oath Keepers extremist group. Rhodes had been sentenced to 18 years in prison for his role in the January 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol, but later benefited from Trump’s sweeping clemency after he returned to office.
Trump also praised Erika Kirk for being in attendance on the eve of the one-year anniversary of the killing of her husband, Charlie Kirk.
Vice President JD Vance received a brief shoutout near the end of the speech.
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It’s no exaggeration to say that if you own an LG smart TV, it might be spying on you.
The widely respected computer hardware experts at the YouTube channel Gamers Nexus found that the company’s boob tubes and pricey OLEDs can scan your Wi-Fi network to search for the devices you own, secretly record audio logs of your conversations using built-in microphones, and keep tabs on what you’re watching and listening to.
It collects all this data, Gamers Nexus found, even when the TV is disconnected from the internet and appears to be off in standby mode.
To unearth these surreptitious practices, Gamers Nexus partnered up with independent security researchers and Level1Techs. Their resulting two-hour video report has since been picked up by other trusted cybersecurity voices like Malwarebytes.
By digging into the firmware and intercepting some of the data the TVs were sending, the team found that the TVs were extensively scanning local Wi-Fi networks to log what devices were on it, including phones, computers, and other smart-home devices like thermostats. It even collected the names of nearby Wi-Fi networks, creating an alarmingly detailed picture of all the devices in a user’s household.
Why might that information be relevant to LG? The TVs also use a controversial technology called automated content recognition (ACR) that routinely scans and determines what you’re watching so it can sell that data to advertisers.
Combined together, they build an advanced and disturbingly comprehensive profile of what you watch and the devices you use, Gamers Nexus warn. All this data is sent back to LG Ad Solutions, its lucrative advertising business.
LG TVs, on top of it all, can also listen to you. Tests showed that their built-in microphones could capture clean audio of nearby conversations and generate transcripts of them, even when the TVs were in standby mode, which most TVs default to when you think you’ve turned them off, with the display powering down. The recording feature continued even when the TVs were unplugged from the internet, storing the audio files locally and uploading them the moment the internet connection was restored.
The researchers also found a vulnerability that allegedly allow a hacker to remotely execute code, though they’re keeping the details on this light so they can responsibly disclose their findings.
Many LG owners are furious about the news.
“LG hardware is just spyware,” fumed a post on the r/LGOLED subreddit. “You[r] TV is wiretapping your whole house.”
Smart TVs collecting data on you isn’t new — ACR in particular is well-documented — but the reported findings here illustrate a degree of invasiveness the public could only speculate about previously.
It’s far from the first time LG has caused a stir over purported privacy violations, either. Another Gamers Nexus investigation last month found that LG monitors were sneakily installing pop-up ads onto customers’ computers. The ensuing controversy caught Microsoft’s attention, with the company demanding LG remove the ads.
I’m a tech and science correspondent for Futurism, where I’m particularly interested in astrophysics, the business and ethics of artificial intelligence and automation, and the environment.
Axios’ Amy Harder kayaking on Spencer Glacier lake, Alaska, in August 2026. That glacier might look close, but it’s nearly 2 miles away. Photo: Amy Harder/Axios
SPENCER GLACIER, Alaska — Sure, seeing is believing, but sometimes seeing leaves you in disbelief. That happened to me while kayaking among icebergs here recently, as the landscape transformed before my eyes, Amy Harder writes.
Why it matters: I began the kayaking excursion certain of what I was seeing. I ended it with my mind blown — by the sheer scale of nature and by how much perspectives can change.
State of play: The glacial lake here, not far from Anchorage, is accessible only by the Alaska Railroad train.
The glacier and lake looked rather small as we approached it on foot with our kayaks in tow. I felt a tinge of disappointment.
I figured the glacier was maybe a half-mile away, with dainty-looking icebergs in between us. Then our guide told us it was 2 miles away. No way, I said, as confident as ever.
“I’m fine being wrong,” the guide joked with equal parts politeness and sarcasm.
Once we got into the water and started paddling, my entire field of vision changed dramatically in an extreme manifestation of “motion parallax.” I soon realized how small I was, how big those icebergs were and how far away that glacier really was.
How it works: “Motion parallax” is a common phenomenon we experience when moving. It’s why trees whiz past us while driving but mountains in the distance barely seem to move. Glacial landscapes can put this phenomenon — and our struggles to perceive depth and scale — on steroids.
From shore, nearly everything in my field of vision was enormous — mountains, ice, water — leaving me with few familiar visual cues to grasp just how big or far away anything really was.
When we started paddling, movement — and our kayaks themselves — gave my brain new information.
Despite paddling quite a ways, the glacier remained stubbornly distant, while those dainty-looking icebergs grew to the size of cars and small buildings.A seagull showing just how big this iceberg is on Spencer Glacier lake in Alaska, August 2026. Photo: Amy Harder/Axios
The big picture: It was strangely empowering to be so wrong. I was confident in what I was seeing, and then my guide — and eventually my own eyes — showed me otherwise.
That sense of wonder has lingered, making me curious about what else I might be so sure about — and wrong about.
It was also a reminder that, from a distance, people and problems can look smaller, simpler and more obvious than they really are. Get closer, learn more and add context, and the picture can change dramatically.
The bottom line: Sometimes changing your mind isn’t a sign that you saw things wrong. It’s a sign that you’re finally seeing more. Share this story.
Google deepens its commitment to Finland with a €13 billion investment in AI infrastructure
Sep 09, 2026
2 min read
Google is deepening its commitment to Finland with a €13 billion investment in digital infrastructure, clean energy, and local partnerships. This investment will support thousands of jobs and help fund regional environmental projects across the country.
Bikash Koley
Vice President, Google Global InfrastructureShare
Since we converted a former paper mill in Hamina into a data center 15 years ago, Finland has been a vital hub for Google. Today, we’re deepening that commitment with a €13 billion investment in digital infrastructure, clean energy projects and economic partnerships across Finland over the next two years, to help meet growing demand for Google’s core services — such as Search, Maps, and Gemini — that people and businesses rely on every day.
Powering growth and local jobs
Throughout our 15-year history in Hamina, we have supported more than 40 social and community organizations in Hamina while pioneering environmental initiatives such as a seawater-based cooling system and offsite heat recovery distribution to local homes and businesses.From 2023 to 2025 alone, Google’s presence in Hamina supported an ecosystem of more than 600 Finnish suppliers across construction, operations, and network fiber that has created a multiplier effect for the economy. The Hamina data center currently supports a variety of jobs, from computer technicians, to electrical and mechanical engineers, to security staff, to catering, to facilities management, and more.
Today’s announcement, our largest single investment in Europe, will provide a significant boost to the Finnish economy. During the initial construction phase in 2027 and 2028, over 37,000 jobs nationwide will be supported and will contribute €3.6 billion annually to Finland’s GDP. Once fully operational, the new facilities will support thousands of permanent jobs, ranging from engineers to security and catering staff.
We’re also investing €31 million into local communities In Hamina, Kajaani, Muhos, and Vaala over the next four years to support education and economic growth.This includes teaming up with local colleges to offer AI upskilling programs for more than 4,400 workers and creating new training opportunities for 100 Finnish students for future data center careers.
Investing in clean energy and nature
As we grow, we are partnering on a portfolio of solutions that are aligned with our commitments to keep energy affordable for consumers and invest in clean energy. We’re taking steps to further support Finland’s grid by signing a 22-year agreement to support the life extension of the Loviisa nuclear power plant, adding new onshore wind capacity, and contracting for a new 94-megawatt battery system to help stabilize prices during cold, windless periods.
Finally, we want to support the local environment. We’re funding projects to regenerate native forests and wetlands near our sites, and building accessible recreational trails, public saunas, and fishing piers for the community to enjoy.
We’re excited to build the next chapter of digital innovation, right here in Finland.
Attack. Deny everything. Never apologize. Claim victory — even in defeat. That was the creed of Roy Cohn — Joseph McCarthy’s chief counsel, New York’s most feared fixer, and the lawyer who taught a young Donald Trump how to win. From the McCarthy hearings to the mob, from the 1973 courtroom where the method was born to the campaign that carried it all the way to the White House, this is the story of the man behind the method — and how he died disgraced, abandoned by the very client he made. Drawn entirely from the historical record and contemporary reporting.
▶ Subscribe for more documentaries on the men who shaped American power. #RoyCohn#DonaldTrump#documentary TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Intro 01:48 The Making of Roy Cohn 06:44 The Red Scare Opens the Market 10:19 The Rosenberg Case 15:09 McCarthy’s Chief Counsel 18:32 The Army Becomes the Target 23:47 Cohn Tries to Break the Army 28:00 Television Turns the Machine Back on Itself 31:16 Cohn Takes the Method to New York 34:39 Trump Finds Roy Cohn 39:32 Teaching Trump the Counterattack 44:02 Trump Tower Rises 46:22 Roy Cohn’s Final Collapse 50:25 The Method Outlives the Man This video was written, narrated, hosted, and edited by James. It is an original documentary work based on my own research, scripting, commentary, and editorial structure. Archival footage, stills, and source clips are included as part of that original analysis and interpretation.
How this was made
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Sounds or visuals were altered or fully generated. Learn more
Sep 10, 2026 The Morning Edition PodcastThis week marks twenty-five years since the United States suffered a terrorist attack that was predicted to change the world forever. Today, international and political editor Peter Hartcher talks about the lessons that the US learned – and failed to learn – and examines the costs and rewards of Australia’s full-throated support of its ally following the attack. Hartcher also discusses what Australia’s alliance looks like today in the face of Donald Trump’s presidency. The Morning Edition brings you the story behind the story with the best journalists in Australia. Join host Samantha Selinger-Morris, from the newsrooms of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, weekdays from 5am. If you enjoyed this episode and want to hear more, rate, review and subscribe on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or whichever platform you find your podcasts.
Who was Roy Cohn and to what extent did he shape US President Donald Trump? Newsnight presenter Paddy O’Connell interviews Kai Bird, co-author of ‘American Scoundrel: Roy Cohn’s Dark Journey from Joe McCarthy to Donald Trump’.
Israel’s Netanyahu denies UAE warned him of October 7 attack
Wesley Dockery with AP and dpa09/09/2026September 9, 2026
Israeli media reported that the UAE contacted Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu before the October 7, 2023 attacks, warning him that Hamas was planning a major operation. The prime minister has rejected the reports.
Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime minister in Israeli history [FILE: June 15, 2026]Image: Ronen Zvulun/AP Photo/picture alliance
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office on Tuesday denied a report by left-leaning Israeli newspaper Haaretz that he received a warning from the United Arab Emirates prior to the October 7, 2023 terror attacks by Hamas.
“No warning was given to the Prime Minister from the United Arab Emirates before October 7,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.
What did the reports divulge?
Haaretz, in a report based on a book excerpt by two of the newspaper’s journalists, said that UAE President Mohammad bin Zayed spoke with Netanyahu 10 days prior to the attack. In that conversation, bin Zayed said Hamas and its then-leader Yahya Sinwar were planning a major operation targeting Israel.
The UAE’s Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, did not explicitly confirm the report but said, “When necessary, all relevant intelligence has been and continue to be communicated between the relevant entities.” The UAE normalized relations with Israel in 2021 as part of the Abraham Accords.
According to Haaretz, bin Zayed told Netanyahu that the Hamas operation could disrupt the Middle East region and undermine the Abraham Accords. Prior to October 7, there were signs that Saudi Arabia and Israel could soon formalize ties.
In the call with bin Zayed, Netanyahu reacted with “relative calm” to the UAE’s president warning that Hamas could launch an operation. Netanyahu said Israel was prepared for any scenario and that an attack was more likely to come from the West Bank.
The Haaretz report was also confirmed by The Times of Israel (TOI)on Tuesday, with TOI citing an Emirati source that bin Zayed had warned Netanyahu of the Hamas attack.
The Haaretz article comes after centrist Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported last year that Egyptian intelligence officials had warned Israel that “something big is going to happen” shortly before the October 7 massacre.
The Hamas terror attack on October 7 killed some 1,200 people in Israel, with the group also taking another 251 hostages into Gaza. It was the single deadliest day for Jewish people since the Holocaust.
Survivors mourn victims of October 7 music festival killings
Netanyahu chided by political rivals over report ahead of elections
The latest reports that Netanyahu had advance notice of a major Hamas operation came ahead of Israeli elections next month.
Former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, whose centrist Yashar party is frequently leading Netanyahu’s center-right Likud in the polls, said “More and more signs point to the fact that Netanyahu blindly led Israel into the disaster of October 7.”
Eisenkot, Netanyahu’s top rival in the upcoming elections, was formerly the chief of staff of the Israeli military [FILE: August 14, 2022]Image: Tsafrir Abayov/AP Photo/picture alliance
Eisenkot has pushed for an official state commission of inquiry into the October 7 attacks, an idea which Netanyahu has rejected.
Naftali Bennett, another Netanyahu opponent running in the election who earlier served as prime minister, said, “Netanyahu bears personal and direct responsibility for the failure that led to the deaths of thousands of Israelis on his watch.”
Yair Golan, the chief of the center-left Democrats party, posted a message on X to Netanyahu: “You knew, you ignored, you failed, you are to blame.”
October 7 had wide-ranging consequences
The October 7, 2023, attacks had massive consequences not only for Israeli society but also for Palestinians in Gaza, where Hamas was in charge.
How much of Gaza has been destroyed since October 7, 2023?
Following the Hamas attacks, the Israeli military began a war targeting Hamas in Gaza. That offensive left more than 73,650 Palestinians in Gaza dead, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry, with a UN Commission of Inquiry last year finding that Israel committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
Edited by: Sean Sinico
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Axios’ Amy Harder kayaking on Spencer Glacier lake, Alaska, in August 2026. That glacier might look close, but it’s nearly 2 miles away. Photo: Amy Harder/Axios
State of play: The glacial lake here, not far from Anchorage, is accessible only by the 
How it works: “Motion parallax” is a 
A seagull showing just how big this iceberg is on Spencer Glacier lake in Alaska, August 2026. Photo: Amy Harder/Axios
The big picture: It was strangely empowering to be so wrong. I was confident in what I was seeing, and then my guide — and eventually my own eyes — showed me otherwise.
canisgallicus 