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In first assessment since pandemic in 2020, World Bank urges other countries to step up supportExtreme poverty is accelerating in 39 countries affected by war and conflict, leaving more than a billion people to go hungry, according to the World Bank.Civil wars and confrontations between nations, mostly in Africa, have set back economic growth and reduced the incomes of more than a billion people, “driving up extreme poverty faster than anywhere else”, the Washington-based body said. Continue reading...

Johnny Noviello was detained by US immigration in Florida over a 2023 conviction and died while awaiting deportationAuthorities in Canada are seeking information about the death of a 49-year-old Canadian man who died while in US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) custody in Florida this week.In a statement, Ice, part of the Department of Homeland Security, said Johnny Noviello, 49, died on 23 June after being found unresponsive at a federal detention center in Miami, where he was being detained “pending removal proceedings” from the US. Continue reading...

Purge is latest sign President Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption drive has reached highest echelons of armed forcesA top Chinese general has been dismissed from the body that oversees the Chinese military in the latest sign that Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption drive has reached the highest echelons of the armed forces.Miao Hua, a senior admiral from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) navy, was the director of the political work department of the central military commission (CMC), making him responsible for ideology and loyalty within the armed forces. The six-person CMC is one of the most powerful institutions in China and is headed by Xi himself. Continue reading...

Someone who worked closely with Donald Trump and his associates is sounding the alarm about who the president is actually beholden to.Lev Parnas, whose story of working with Trump on issues that led to the president's first impeachment is told in a documentary called From Russia with Lev, used to work closely with Trump and his aides. More recently, Parnas, a former "trusted operative," reported that Trump plans to "stonewall" Congress on crucial war issues.On Thursday, Parnas wrote a piece called Trump’s War on Truth Explodes — Nuclear Lies, Media Attacks, FBI Abuse, in which he argues, "This week will go down in history — not just for what happened, but for how hard they’re trying to rewrite it.""And today, it only unraveled more. As I’ve been telling you, what we’re watching isn’t just an international crisis. It’s a coordinated disinformation campaign, a national security threat, and a blatant assault on democracy, all unfolding in real time," he wrote. He then noted that Pete Hegseth and Karoline Leavitt tried to "change the narrative" on the Iran strikes, saying that Trump's military attack "completely obliterated" the country's nuclear program."But it’s a lie. And they know it," the ex-insider said. "Instead of admitting what really happened, they’re now launching an FBI investigation — not into Trump’s actions, not into the strike that violated international norms — but into the truth-teller who exposed it. That’s right. The leaker who revealed that Iran’s nuclear infrastructure is still intact is now being targeted by federal agents."Parnas added that the media is "chasing noise," before doubling down on his reports about Trump's plans to stonewall Congress."My sources now confirm that Trump’s team plans to stonewall Congress. In today’s Senate briefing, officials gave only selective, cherry-picked info. Even Lindsey Graham, one of Trump’s staunchest defenders, came out afterward and said it plainly: 'We still don’t know where the 900 pounds of uranium are,'" he wrote Thursday. "Let that sink in."According to Parnas, this is all "about how dictators stay in power — by rewriting history.""Trump started it with the 2020 election lie, saying it was stolen. He repeated it so much that tens of millions still believe it. Now he’s applying that same blueprint to foreign policy. He’s lying about the Iran strike. He’s lying about nuclear weapons. He’s even lying about our allies and enemies," Parnas wrote. "Meanwhile, Iran is canceling inspections. They’re cutting off access to international nuclear monitors. That means they can now develop a nuclear weapon without oversight — and Trump is letting it happen."Going further, Parnas noted that Iranian oil will now go to China, and said Trump is taking orders from another foreign leader."Trump claims he’s tough on China. But he just handed them discounted oil on a silver platter and let Iran resume nuclear development," the ex-operative said. "And if that wasn’t enough, Russian diplomats are now in D.C. — not making deals, but delivering Putin’s demands. Trump isn’t running foreign policy. He’s taking orders."Read the full post on Substack here.

The execution of Takahiro Shiraishi would be the first instance of capital punishment in Japan since 2022Japan has executed a man dubbed the “Twitter killer” who murdered and dismembered nine people he met online, in the nation’s first enactment of the death penalty since 2022.Takahiro Shiraishi was sentenced to death for murdering and dismembering nine people he met on the social media platform, now called X, in 2017. He was hanged on Friday.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email [email protected] or [email protected]. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counsellor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...

Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick told Bloomberg on Thursday that President Donald Trump correctly stated they've reached a "deal" with China on trade. "We just signed with China yesterday, right?" Trump asked an advisor during an event at the White House. There were also no further details on what the deal was. In early June, the White House made a deal with China to return to trade levels from April before the two countries began slapping more tariffs on each other's goods, Reuters reported.According to Lutnick, a "deal" was signed two days ago — on Tuesday. As Bloomberg noted, there were no further details on the matter. The previous deal in early June said that after the two countries raised tariffs in a tit-for-tat battle in the global media, they would return to the tariffs decided in April. Two weeks ago, Lutnick said the 55% rate on Chinese imports is fixed and unalterable. When CNBC asked him whether the levels on China would not change, he confirmed, "You can definitely say that.""Our deal with China is done, subject to final approval with President Xi and me," Trump said on Truth Social in early June, ABC News reported. It's unclear if this is the "deal" that Trump is referring to. That agreement would impose a 55% tariff on all goods imported from China.

President Donald Trump delivered a rambling speech Thursday afternoon, during which he appeared to claim he signed a trade deal with China. The comment came in passing, and the president didn't elaborate, despite intense interest over the ramifications of such an agreement. "We just signed with China yesterday, right?" Trump asked an advisor off to his right during an event at the White House. Neither he nor the White House has confirmed if there is a deal with China. There were also no further details on what the deal was. In early June, the White House made a deal with China to return to trade levels from April before the two countries began slapping more tariffs on each other's goods. Independent journalist and author of "Public Notice," Aaron Rupar, speculated that it wasn't real. "We've gone from '90 [deals] in 90 days' to Trump touting fake trade deals," he wrote on Bluesky. He also noted that in the same speech, Trump claimed, "We're cutting $1.7 trillion in this bill and you're not gonna feel any of it. Your Medicaid is left alone. It's left the same."Rupar called it a "brazen lie."Fans of Trump were quick to cheer that he accomplished his goal. If accurate, the deal would be just the second that his team has made in the past 85 days. Trump's goal was to reach 90 deals in 90 days. So far, he's reached one with the United Kingdon and a framework agreement with China. Others were confused, using several question marks or asking, "Huh?"The Kobeissi Letter, which provides commentary on global capital markets, noted that if the deal had occurred on Wednesday, "there was no announcement of this deal."Trump has frequently boasted of his perceived successes.A stock and options trader and retired orthopedic surgeon in Florida shared the comment from Trump with an emoji scratching his chin."There was no announcement of this deal yesterday," Yasir Mahmood also posted with a laughing emoji. "The theater never ends with this guy."

President Donald Trump's administration seemed to fail to convince Senate Democrats that Iran's nuclear program had been "obliterated."Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) spoke to reporters Thursday after emerging from the briefing."The allegations that we have obliterated their program just don't seem to stand up to reason," the senator said, adding: "I just do not think the president was telling the truth when he said this program was obliterated. They were certainly damaged under the program but there is a significant—there's still significant remaining capability for the Iranians.""I walk away from that briefing still under the belief that we have not obliterated the program," he continued. "The president was deliberately misleading the public when he said the program was obliterated."Republicans, however, sided with Trump. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) insisted that the nuclear program had been obliterated, but he also said the fight was not "over.""I don't want people to think that the danger is over, cause it's not," he insisted.Watch the video below from RSBN.