Top World News
UN agency warns of 17,000 children in urgent need of assistance as aid reaches some Nepal survivors
Aid has begun to reach survivors of the catastrophic flash floods that swept through the mountainous border region between Nepal and China
Treasury announces new sanctions on Egyptian bank's UAE branch
The U.S. Treasury Department on Friday announced new restrictions on the United Arab Emirates branch of the Egyptian state-owned bank Banque Misr as part of Operation Economic Outcast, the Trump administration's new strategy to economically isolate Iran.
Eswatini receives 2 more U.S. deportees under a controversial third-country deal
Two migrants deported from the United States arrived in Eswatini, authorities in the southern African country said, under an agreement between the two countries that has drawn criticism from rights groups.
Detroit despairs as ‘insanity’ of Trump’s Canada trade war punishes city
Unpopular new policy comes as midterms loom and control of Congress could be decided by several Michigan racesEvery day $1bn worth of goods crosses the river dividing Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario, two largely blue-collar US and Canadian cities that have come to act as one in the creation of North America’s auto industry.News this week of Donald Trump’s escalating trade spat with Canada has everyone worried. Political and economic leaders and observers labeled the move an act of “hubris” , blamed Trump’s “ego”, and called the escalation “insanity”. Continue reading...
Trump used to say he saw a quick end to his Iran war, but 6 months later he claims he's in no hurry
President Donald Trump arrives at an awkward moment for his presidency on Friday as the U.S.-Israel war against Iran reaches the six-month mark, a notable milestone for a conflict that the Republican leader repeatedly assured Americans would be a "little excursion" lasting a matter of weeks.
Nepal-Tibet flood rescue efforts resume after being halted by overflowing lake
Risk of fresh flooding had forced rescue teams to withdraw as residents rushed up hills to escape possible river surgeNepal-Tibet flash flood – latest updatesVisual guide: how the deadly flooding unfoldedTell us: have you been affected by the flash floods?Rescuers searching for survivors of deadly flash floods on the Nepal-Tibet border have resumed their efforts after suspending operations when a debris dam burst its bank on Friday, increasing the risk of fresh flooding.Residents in Nepal’s Rasuwa district, on the border with Tibet, were seen rushing up hillsides on Friday to escape a possible surge in the river, according to witnesses. Fears of another flood came as authorities in Nepal and China said that at least 543 people had been killed in the disaster. Continue reading...
What could Meta’s US settlement mean around the world – and what now for other claims against firm?
Other governments could seek similar concessions, while separate legal action is pending in places ranging from Kenya to the NetherlandsIn October 2021, Abrham Meareg’s father, a professor of chemistry in Ethiopia’s northern town of Bahir Dar, was shot at close range and died outside his family home. This was in the middle of the country’s civil war.For weeks, Facebook’s algorithm had actively promoted posts calling for the academic to be murdered, according to Meareg and Foxglove, a nonprofit organisation supporting Meareg’s lawsuit against the company in Kenya. These posts included photos of his father and his home address. Continue reading...
US, South Korea and Japan to hold trilateral drill as North Korea ramps up pressure on US
Seoul says South Korea, the U.S. and Japan will go ahead with a trilateral military drill next month to better deal with North Korean nuclear threats
A theater is reimagining Homer’s Odyssey through the agony of Ukraine’s war
A new production of the “The Odyssey” in wartime Kyiv reimagines Homer’s epic through the experience of modern Ukraine
Trump personally deployed his top spy to Russia behind his aides' backs: report
CIA Director John Ratcliffe's secret trip to Russia came at the personal direction of President Donald Trump while senior White House aides were kept in the dark.According to a Thursday report by the Wall Street Journal, the covert diplomatic mission to Moscow was tightly held as Trump dispatched his top spy to carry a message to top Kremlin figures. Trump's move bypassed aides and military brass who would ordinarily be looped in beforehand, The Journal noted.The choice to send Ratcliffe as an envoy also marked a shift, The Journal pointed out. Earlier rounds of talks were led by other Trump confidants but failed to halt the fighting in Ukraine. Trump then turned to Ratcliffe, according to anonymous U.S. officials who talked to The Journal.Ratcliffe reportedly also took a secretive route into Russia as he flew into Moscow aboard an unmarked U.S. C-17 military cargo plane out of Latvia, according to The Journal. European officials told The Journal that the move sent them scrambling to figure out what had happened once word got out about Ratcliffe's mission.Two European officials told The Journal that they were briefed on the meeting. Ratcliffe used the sit-down to stress Washington's continued backing of NATO's mutual-defense pledge and to warn Russia off any strike on alliance members, they told The Journal and later reporting revealed.Trump brushed off worries about Russian aggression when reporters asked him about Ratcliffe's mission on Thursday, The Journal noted. Putin "won't attack NATO territory," Trump told reporters.He also downplayed Ratcliffe's trip when he told conservative radio host Glenn Beck in an interview that the mission was "semi-routine," The Journal noted.Officials along NATO's eastern edge struck a similarly calm tone, according to The Journal. Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs addressed the matter in a video posted to social media, The Journal reported."There is currently no reason for concern," Kulbergs said. "Latvia's level of military threat hasn't changed. The risk of direct military invasion threats to Latvia is currently low."Former senior U.S. intelligence official J.C. Lintzenich, now at the German Marshall Fund, struck a graver tone when talking to The Journal, however."Putin has a tolerance for extraordinary risk and is even potentially willing to escalate to compel de-escalation," Lintzenich said. "But he is unlikely to roll the dice on actions that could threaten the Russian state."
WSJ warns 'frustration' rules Trump country after president left voters 'so angry'
A Wall Street Journal piece is warning that GOP candidates are "running scared" from President Donald Trump as voter frustration grows in Iowa.A Thursday opinion piece published by The Journal highlighted the growing frustration among Iowa voters, which it tied to the hits to farmers caused by tariffs and the war in Iran, and how it's causing GOP candidates to create some separation with Trump."So many people are just so angry," Terry Arbogast, an Iowa nurse, told The Journal. "Things are hitting us more negatively," Dave Struthers, an Iowa farmer, added. "It's frustrating when you don't get your stuff going," southern Iowa limestone miner Brian Schaer said. "Iowans are frustrated, discontented, and downhearted," The Journal piece summed up. "That bodes ill for Republicans in November, and many GOP candidates are running scared—ducking interviews, avoiding issues, seeking a MAGA stance that doesn't involve praising Donald Trump. They're trying to be as generically Republican as they can."According to the Journal, Iowans say that they're downbeat because they've seen a 53 percent decline in net farm income between 2022 and 2024, and rural voters aren't convinced that the GOP has done enough to help them recover."Tariffs, wars, corporations taking advantage, lack of competition," Struthers, the farmer, told The Journal. "Those kinds of things that are on Iowa farmers' minds.""Right at the onset of the Iran war, fertilizer prices increased sharply due to disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz," economist Christopher Pudenz told The Journal. "The longer that conflict drags out, the more likely that it's going to impact fall fertilizer needs and then spring 2027 fertilizer needs."Trump won Iowa three times, and the entire congressional delegation is Republican, The Journal noted. However, the state has a couple of "competitive" races that have attracted national political figures, including Barack Obama, who filmed a video of him playing basketball with Democratic Senate candidate Josh Turek, the Journal noted.Republican gubernatorial candidate Zach Lahn told The Journal that "the first polling that came out pre-primary had me down about 10 points," and although he closed the gap somewhat, the Cook Political Report determined his race "leans Democratic." An August Emerson poll has Lahn's Democratic opponent, State Auditor Rob Sand, up 48 percent to Lahn's 43 percent. Sand is the only elected statewide Democrat in Iowa.
Trump thrashes Fox News 'flunkies' over 'inaccurate' report on his war
President Donald Trump lashed out at a Fox News correspondent on Thursday over what he called "a particularly inaccurate report” about the U.S. war with Iran.“Jonathan Hunt of FoxNews did a particularly inaccurate report on the Failing Islamic Republic of Iran,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “I don’t want to meet, they do. In fact, they are begging to make a deal.”Trump concluded his heated post by demanding action from one of Fox News’ top anchors. “Bret Baier should straighten out his flunkies, for a change!” the president told his followers.
