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Democrats outraged at US military’s downing of CBP drone near Mexico border
Second time in two weeks military used laser to attack what it mistakenly thought was a threat, disrupting air trafficSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxDemocratic members of Congress have expressed astonishment and anger at what they claim is the incompetence of the Trump administration after the US military used a laser on Thursday to shoot down what it thought was a threatening drone on the US-Mexico border in Texas but later turned out to belong to US Customs and Border Protection (CBP).The apparent confusion between two entities in the US government led to airspace being closed around Fort Hancock, right along the border. It was the second time in two weeks that air traffic was disrupted in the region as a result of a high-energy laser being deployed against drones. Continue reading...
Trump is on the ropes because the Epstein release has been 'botched Bondi-style': MS NOW
Donald Trump’s inability to get past the questions about his relationship with convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein can be placed directly at the feet of Attorney General Pam Bondi over her seemingly unending series of blunders with the Epstein files, according to MS NOW hosts.According to the co-hosts of MS NOW’s “Morning Joe,” the Trump appointee has not only damaged the credibility of the agency she heads, but has dragged down the president and the Republican Party with her. From the day Bondi proudly stated she had Epstein’s client list “sitting on my desk right now” to new reporting that there are missing interview documents where a woman claimed Epstein and Trump sexually and physically assaulted her when she was approximately 14, the AG has been key contributor to the cloud hovering over the White House.With Republican lawmakers now expressing dismay at the DOJ redactions, photos of victims being released and evidence of a cover-up, Joe Scarborough claimed, “So right now, think about it. Right now, there are news stories all over talking about how a young woman, a minor, maybe as young as 13, 14, 15, has talked to the FBI repeatedly about the president of the United States. Many years ago, when she was 13 or 14. Doing terrible things to her. Now, if that is not true, you want to get that out, even if it is true, it has to get out. Because since the information is out there, a cover-up only makes the jury, in this case voters, think the absolute worst, right?”“What the Justice Department has been doing has been so stupid,” he added. “It's been so self-defeating. And it has only kept this story alive. I swear, we've been talking about this for nine months now. I keep talking about they are doing damage to Donald Trump's reputation because they have so badly mishandled this.”Co-host Mika Brzezinski pointed out, “The Republicans have lost all credibility on redactions after re-traumatizing countless victims by releasing unredacted, countless pictures and information about these women while covering up the men and holding back the information on Donald Trump.” “The damage is done; this has been botched Bondi-style. I mean, it is bad,” she added. - YouTube youtu.be
Pakistan declares state of ‘open war’ after bombing major Afghan cities
Wave of strikes comes after Taliban forces attack Pakistani border troops following earlier action from IslamabadPakistan has bombed major cities in Afghanistan including the capital, Kabul, with Islamabad’s defence minister declaring that the hostile neighbours were in a state of “open war” as a cycle of retaliatory attacks escalated further.Witnesses in Kabul and Kandahar, the southern Afghan city, reported explosions and jets overhead until dawn, while the Taliban government said later that Pakistani surveillance aircraft were still flying over Afghanistan. Continue reading...
Pakistan declares ‘open war’ against Afghanistan after cross-border attack – as it happened
This blog is now closed, you can read our full report hereBoth sides are reporting they have inflicted heavy casualties on each other, but it is difficult to know the true numbers when they are presenting sharply divergent figures.Pakistan’s information minister Attaullah Tarar claims 133 Afghan Taliban fighters were killed, with more than 200 injured. Of its own soldiers, Tarar says that two were killed in the cross-border fighting, while three were injured.The UK is deeply concerned by the significant escalation in tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan. We urge both sides to take immediate steps toward de‑escalation, avoid further harm to civilians, and re‑engage in mediated dialogue. Continue reading...
‘More exploitation, fewer rights’: Argentina braces for sweeping overhaul of labor laws
Javier Milei’s boosters say law will revive employment, but critics decry cuts to severance and longer working hoursArgentina’s senate is poised to approve a sweeping overhaul of labour laws aimed at weakening trade unions and lowering labour costs for businesses.The government of the self-styled “anarcho-capitalist” president, Javier Milei, says the initiative will help revive formal employment, after 290,600 registered jobs were lost between December 2023, when he took office, and November 2025. Continue reading...
What to know about the latest fighting between Afghanistan and Pakistan
Pakistan's defense minister says there is a state of “open war” with Afghanistan
Boss of theatre hosting Chinese dance group Shen Yun in Sydney won’t be intimidated by ‘outrageous’ threats
Graeme Kearns, chief executive of Foundation Theatres, says: ‘Our job in theatre is to absolutely defend the right to tell stories about culture’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe head of the theatre hosting the Shen Yun dance troupe in Sydney says the company would not be intimidated to pull the shows by any “outrageous” anonymous threats and that the publicity had increased interest in the show.On Monday, the Gold Coast venue for the Shen Yun performances was forced to evacuate after a bomb threat, with a similar threat forcing the evacuation of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s official residence, The Lodge, in Canberra the next day. Continue reading...
Fury as Trump plans to 'import' more white South African refugees: 'Call it what it is'
The internet was in uproar on Thursday after a new Reuters report disclosed that the U.S. has planned to admit 4,500 applications from white South Africans as refugees. The Trump administration has pushed to limit refugee applications from other countries. But an unreported State Department document from Jan. 27 revealed a new target for specifically white South Africans. People sounded off on the Trump administration's move, questioning the decision. "Ripping Latinos from their homes while importing whites. Let’s call this what it is: ethnonationalism," user Mina, who self-described as "an American woman with wide-ranging interests," wrote one user on Bluesky. "Gotta import new racists as the older ones in America have been dying off," user S.T. Jones wrote on Bluesky."The Trump/MAGA vision: Make the US the Hungary of North America, a nation of, for and by white Christian male racists," systems analyst Ric Steinberger wrote on Bluesky."[turns over ‘days since I muttered a bigoted remark about white South Africans’ counter back to zero]," Ryan Cooper, senior editor at The American Prospect, wrote on Bluesky. "We need to shut it down until someone figures out just what the hell is going on," artist Luke Russell joked on Bluesky.Economist Tony Yates reacted, "US policy =Black refugees bad; white refugees good."Labor economist Aaron Sojourner wrote on Bluesky, "POTUS loves exactly one kind of import."
Trump admin wants to bring in thousands of white South Africans as refugees: report
A new report revealed Thursday that the U.S. has planned to admit 4,500 applications from white South Africans as refugees, according to Reuters. The Trump administration has limited its refugee applications from other countries. This new target, according to an unreported U.S. State Department document from Jan. 27, showed a push to increase refugees from South Africa, Reuters reported."Trump has said the U.S. would only admit 7,500 total refugees from around the world in fiscal year 2026, while a much higher cap of 40,000 to 60,000 was discussed internally last year," according to Reuters. "Only 2,000 white South Africans had entered the U.S. as refugees as of January 31 under a program launched in May 2025, although the pace has picked up in recent months."More than 67,000 people had expressed interest in moving to America, the South African Chamber of Commerce in the U.S. said in 2025. Trump demanded a stop to refugee admissions after he returned to office in 2025, citing his policy on stopping legal and illegal immigration. "But weeks later, he launched an effort to bring in white South Africans of Afrikaner ethnicity as refugees, saying they had been violently persecuted in the majority-Black country," Reuters reported. "South Africa's government has rejected that claim, while some refugee advocates have criticized the Trump policy."
Mamdani secures release of 'illegally arrested' Columbia student after Trump call
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani secured the release of a Columbia University student taken by the Department of Homeland Security after a phone call with President Donald Trump.On Thursday morning, Claire Shipman, acting president of the university, said agents had misled staff about a missing person to gain access to the student, who was later identified as Ellie Aghayeva.“DHS illegally arrested me. Please help," the student said in a one-second video recorded from the back of a vehicle.The New York Times described the incident as a "significant escalation of immigration enforcement on Columbia’s campus."By Thursday afternoon, Mamdani announced that he had spoken with Trump."Just got off the phone with President Trump," the mayor wrote on X. "In our meeting earlier, I shared my concerns about Columbia student Elaina Aghayeva, who was detained by ICE this morning.""He has just informed me that she will be released imminently," he added.
Secretive 17-page executive draft handed off to Trump to derail election: WaPo
A secret 17-page draft has been circulating among pro-Trump activists and the White House that would potentially give President Donald Trump the path to "unlock extraordinary presidential power over voting," a The Washington Post report revealed Thursday.The draft executive order claims that China interfered in the 2020 election, which would justify Trump declaring a national emergency, according to The Post. Trump has pushed a scheme to mandate voter ID and launch a ban on mail-in ballots for the midterm elections. The pro-Trump activists tell The Post they expect the draft will play a role in Trump's "promised executive order." The White House has reportedly not commented. Florida lawyer Peter Ticktin, who attended the New York Military Academy with the president, has been advocating for the draft executive order. In 2022, he was part of Trump's legal team in the unsuccessful lawsuit that included accusations that Democrats had colluded to damage his reputation by alleging that Trump conspired with Russia in his 2016 campaign. “Under the Constitution, it’s the legislatures and states that really control how a state conducts its elections, and the president doesn’t have any power to do that,” Ticktin told The Post. “But here we have a situation where the president is aware that there are foreign interests that are interfering in our election processes,” Ticktin added. “That causes a national emergency where the president has to be able to deal with it.”
Two women arrested in Uganda for allegedly kissing in public could face life sentence
Wendy Faith and Alesi Diana Denise were taken into custody under laws that have outraged LGBTQ+ community and rights activistsTwo women have been arrested and detained in Uganda after allegedly kissing in public, an act of “same-sex activity” which can lead to a life sentence in the east African country..Wendy Faith, a 22-year-old musician known as Torrero Bae, and Alesi Diana Denise, 21, were taken into custody after police raided their rented room in Uganda’s north-west Arua City last week. Continue reading...
