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Scientists have identified a small wild cat from Bolivia's cloud forest as a new species, Leopardus tilcayo. It is the first new living cat species formally named and described in more than a century. The same study, published in Current Biology, found that tiger cats are five genetically distinct species.
Indigenous students at Brandon University in Manitoba can now study Indigenous languages without paying tuition. The university's Board of Governors approved the fee waiver unanimously in January 2026. It launched this fall, and the first students are taking part.
On 12 October 2026, brothers Maddox and Grant Larger, aged 15 and 14, pulled a grandmother and two young children from a retention pond in Carmel, Indiana. Neither the grandmother nor the 4-year-old could swim. Carmel public safety teams said the brothers' quick actions saved the life of the 2-year-old.
On 14 October 2026, the World Health Organization validated that Egypt has maintained its Gold Tier status on the path to eliminating hepatitis C. Egypt is the first country to keep this status. It first reached Gold Tier in 2023, after cutting hepatitis C prevalence from around 10% to under 0.38%.
Provisional Department for Education figures show that 82% of year 1 pupils in England met the expected standard in the 2026 phonics screening check, up from 80% in 2025 and back to the 2019 level. Pupils with special educational needs reached 46%, their highest result since the check began in 2012.
On 17 September 2026, the US Food and Drug Administration approved Fayuvi, the first treatment for children with Sanfilippo syndrome type A (MPS IIIA). Until now, care was limited to managing symptoms. The one-time gene therapy helps the body make an enzyme the disease leaves missing.
A two-year trial with 10 Cornish fishers found that a 'floating scarecrow' buoy cut the chance of guillemots and razorbills being caught in gillnets by 59%. A kite shaped like a bird of prey cut it by 71%. University of Exeter scientists analysed the data, and the results appear in the journal Conservation Letters.
National Trust rangers counted at least 126 pairs of little terns at Long Nanny, Northumberland, in 2026. That is more than double the site's previous record of 57 pairs, set in 1994. The wider picture was mixed: Arctic terns on the Farne Islands fell by 27%.
A new practice offering NHS dental care, One Smile Dental - Littlehampton, has opened on Beach Road in the town centre. NHS Surrey and Sussex says it has the potential to support about 24,000 patients. It officially opened on 16 October 2026 and is taking online bookings.
Between January and September 2026, implementing partners cleared 14,066 items of explosive ordnance from Al-Sweihli Farm in Misratah, Libya. The UN Support Mission in Libya's Mine Action Programme supported the work. Clearance is still under way, and the city's mayor has asked for help in three more areas.
At Indonesia's request, the Netherlands is returning 20 cultural objects that the Dutch government says were wrongfully removed during the colonial period. They include the Banjarmasin Diamond, a 38-carat diamond from the regalia of the Sultan of Banjarmasin. The transfer was agreed on 9 October 2026; the objects will be handed over later.
Pandora the cat escaped in 2020 when her family's car crashed in Perthshire while they were moving house. Six years later, a Cats Protection volunteer scanned a cat near Perth and found Pandora's microchip, with the family's details still on record. She is now back home.
An RSPCA animal rescue officer cut a badger free from football netting at a school in Swanwick, Derbyshire. Vets at the RSPCA's Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre treated its swollen leg and rope burns, and the badger has been released back into the wild.
J-P Mayhew, owner for 40 years, has donated the freehold of 34-35 Maiden Lane in Covent Garden, home of Rules restaurant since 1798, to the National Trust. The gift is valued at more than £11m. Rules will keep trading under its proprietor, who becomes a Trust tenant, and the rent will support conservation.
A paper in the New Zealand Journal of Zoology documents the recovery of wētāpunga, New Zealand's heaviest insect. Zoos bred tens of thousands, and 11,000 were released to 10 new wild sites in 45 translocations. The species' threat status has improved from Nationally Endangered to Nationally Increasing.
World Animal Rescue Network has opened an appeal to support wildlife-related fire response, recovery and prevention in Kalimantan. Its September 8 update says staff are assessing needs in Indonesia, with grant recipients still to be selected.
WHO has validated Bhutan’s elimination of dog-transmitted human rabies as a public health problem. Its September 4 announcement reports no human deaths from dog-mediated rabies since June 2023.
England has expanded free school meal eligibility to children in all Universal Credit households for the 2026–27 academic year. Government guidance confirms the change, expected to make around 500,000 additional pupils eligible.