News without the noise
World news from every region: conflicts, elections, diplomacy, disasters and the people at the centre of them.
7572 articles · page 140 of 158 · The World front page
The number of Australians missing after catastrophic flash floods and landslides on the Nepal-Tibet border has risen to 41, with the overall death toll surpassing 500, as rescue efforts continue under the threat of new flood surges.
· 11 sourcesThe Rhine River, a vital artery for European commerce, is experiencing record-low water levels, causing severe disruptions to shipping and industry. According to a new analysis by Foreign Policy, the economic toll is just one of the multifaceted consequences of the drought, which is affecting agriculture, energy production, and freshwater ecosystems across Germany and the Netherlands.
Critical minerals continue to flow out of Myanmar despite the country’s deepening civil war, according to a Foreign Policy analysis published Thursday. Authors Kristina Kironska and Jan-Sha argue that while international attention has focused on the humanitarian crisis, the opaque supply chains for tin, tungsten, and rare earths remain largely undisturbed — and accountability for human rights abuses and environmental damage is becoming harder than ever.
A devastating flood that swept through Tibet and Nepal this week has been described as a stark warning about the growing climate security risks in the Himalayan region, prompting calls for international frameworks that address both environmental threats and geopolitical sensitivities.
Representative Jared Golden (D-Maine) on Tuesday reaffirmed his support for President Donald Trump's tariffs on Canadian goods, telling the Portland Press Herald that any Canadian retaliation 'won't go well for them' and daring the neighboring country to test its leverage in the trade dispute.
Sally-Anne Bowen, a 65-year-old former chemistry teacher, has been found guilty of indecently assaulting two teenage pupils at Christ's College in Finchley, north London, in the late 1980s, in a case that has resurfaced decades after the offences occurred.
A catastrophic flash flood that tore through border communities in Nepal and Tibet on Wednesday has killed at least 360 people and left 1,400 missing, with satellite imagery indicating a glacier collapse high in the Himalayas as the primary cause — an event experts say underscores fears that the climate crisis is destabilising geology in mountain and polar regions.
A Russian military serviceman was killed in a car bomb explosion in St Petersburg on Thursday, according to Al Jazeera, marking the latest in a string of attacks targeting military personnel and others linked to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The blast occurred in the second-largest Russian city, raising questions about security and the effectiveness of counterintelligence efforts.
Qatari and Iranian officials have held talks focused on reducing escalation in the Strait of Hormuz and creating “appropriate conditions” for dialogue, Qatar’s foreign ministry said on Saturday, as international observers expressed cautious hope that the discussions could revive stalled diplomacy between Tehran and Washington.
Two airport workers in Frankfurt, Germany, have died and four others have recovered from malaria after a rare outbreak likely caused by a mosquito transported on a plane, German health officials and the airport's operator said. The infections, which occurred this summer, mark an unusual instance of local transmission in a country where the disease is not endemic.
The director of the Central Intelligence Agency made a secret visit to Moscow last week, where he privately conveyed a grim appraisal of Russia’s faltering war effort in Ukraine and raised concerns that President Vladimir V. Putin may not be receiving accurate assessments from his own advisors, according to U.S. officials familiar with the matter.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday renaming Lake Ontario to 'Lake America,' a provocative move that comes as trade negotiations with Canada collapsed late last week and the two countries continue exchanging blows in a damaging trade war.
· 6 sourcesThe ongoing US-Israeli military campaign against Iran is rapidly draining the US Navy budget, forcing the service to divert funds from payroll and other sources to cover combat costs, according to documents obtained by the Guardian and interviews with officials, contractors, and defense analysts.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is facing sharp criticism after responding to the first U.S. measles deaths of 2026 — including a newborn — with a series of anti-vaccine posts on social media. The two deaths, both in unvaccinated individuals in Pennsylvania's Lancaster County, are the state's first measles fatalities in 35 years and come amid a nationwide surge of nearly 2,800 cases.
Travel writer Michael Gebicki has advised first-time visitors to China against travelling independently, arguing in a column published across Nine newspapers that despite the rewards of solo adventure, newcomers are better served by an organised tour.
· 3 sourcesFiona Carruthers has published the ultimate passenger guide, answering three critical questions for air travellers: which aircraft give the widest seat, how to reduce jet lag, and which plane flies the longest route. The guide, revealed across Brisbane Times, The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, aims to help passengers make informed choices before booking their next flight.
· 3 sourcesNvidia, the $2 trillion chipmaker at the center of the artificial intelligence boom, has formally entered the campaign finance arena with the launch of a corporate political action committee, signaling an intensification of its lobbying and political strategy in Washington, D.C.
Multiple Australian news outlets report that the Wallabies' scrum, which has shown significant improvement in recent matches, will face its toughest challenge yet against Argentina, drawing comparisons to the dominant pack of the 1984 Grand Slam tour.
· 3 sourcesMore Australian women are seeking out the so-called 'egg timer' fertility test, but doctors warn the anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) test is being marketed misleadingly and cannot determine a woman's actual chances of conceiving.
· 3 sourcesCanadian universities have begun hiring prominent researchers from Harvard and other top U.S. schools, citing a crackdown on academia by the Trump administration as a driving factor that has opened a rare window to attract talent northward, according to a New York Times report.
EnergyAustralia has confirmed it will begin winding down the open-cut mine that supplies its Yallourn coal-fired power station in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley, locking in the plant’s planned exit in 2028. The move, announced on Thursday, signals the start of a multi-year process to decommission the mine, with the coal unit expected to cease operations by the end of the decade as part of the company’s transition away from fossil fuels.
A federal appeals court on Wednesday rejected a lawsuit by pharmaceutical industry representatives challenging the Medicare drug price negotiation program, ruling that drugmakers have no constitutional right to dictate prices paid by the federal program. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld the program, which allows Medicare to negotiate prices for certain high-cost drugs, marking a significant legal victory for the Biden administration’s prescription drug cost reduction efforts.
A coalition of 23 states filed a lawsuit Thursday in Maryland federal court to block the Trump administration from imposing new conditions on a federal family planning grant program, arguing the changes would strip funding from states and providers unless they adhere to the administration's political priorities.
Nepal's Prime Minister has blamed recent deadly floods in the country on climate change, as scientists warn that melting glaciers and permafrost in the Himalayas are increasing the risk of catastrophic landslides and flash floods.
· 3 sourcesA sudden collapse of part of a mountain in Nepal unleashed a flash flood of such ferocity and speed that survivors had no time to react, killing hundreds and leaving many more missing, according to officials and eyewitnesses. The catastrophe, which struck without warning, has overwhelmed rescue efforts and raised urgent questions about disaster preparedness in the Himalayan nation.
UEFA has asked a US court to compel FIFA to hand over documents related to a potential criminal complaint against FIFA president Gianni Infantino over plans to sell off the World Cup, according to a report from Al Jazeera. The request signals an escalating legal battle between European football’s governing body and the global football federation’s leadership.
A California judge has suspended criminal proceedings against a man found with a loaded gun near Donald Trump's golf course in Los Angeles, ordering a mental health evaluation after ruling the suspect unfit to face a felony charge. Jeanine John Taele, 38, was arrested for weapons violations days before the former president spoke at a Republican fundraiser at the Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes on August 5.
A catastrophic flash flood that swept through villages in Nepal’s central region on Thursday has left hundreds dead or missing, triggering desperate searches among Australia’s large Nepali diaspora for friends and family. Suman Shrestha, a Sydney resident who moved from Kathmandu in 2017, described the scene as ‘awful’ after seeing video of a thick, muddy wall of water smashing into towns. ‘Lots of my friends are missing,’ he said, voicing the fear gripping the community as they await news.
UK Labour MP Burnham is expected to introduce a ban on goods produced in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, a move that has garnered broad support from fellow lawmakers and activists who argue it upholds British moral obligations and international legal standards, according to a report by Al Jazeera.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called for Washington and Beijing to ‘overcome obstacles’ in bilateral relations during a meeting with U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue in Beijing on Wednesday, as preparations begin for Chinese President Xi Jinping's scheduled visit to the United States next month.
UEFA has announced it is preparing a criminal complaint against FIFA President Gianni Infantino, accusing him of ‘criminal mismanagement’ over a plan to sell World Cup broadcasting and sponsorship rights that was scrapped earlier this month after widespread backlash.
· 3 sourcesChristian Castro, a former U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent accused of a nonfatal shooting in Minnesota, was released by Texas authorities on Thursday following an apparent lapse in extradition proceedings. The development raises questions about interstate cooperation and the handling of cases involving former federal law enforcement officers.
A 19-year-old male suspect has been arrested following a domestic violence incident at a school near Berlin that left two people dead, German police said Wednesday. The attack occurred in the state of Brandenburg, though authorities have released few details about the victims or the circumstances of the event, which is being treated as an isolated domestic matter.
Five MPs representing Teesside have jointly called on the government to provide additional resources to local police and fire services following a devastating week in which nine people died in separate incidents across the region. The MPs, covering constituencies such as Middlesbrough and Stockton, said the communities they represent deserved the 'strongest possible backing from the government' to improve emergency response and public safety.
Andrew and Tristan Tate told a Florida court on Thursday they should be released from jail while they fight extradition to the UK on charges of rape and trafficking, with the brothers blasting their detention conditions as 'death by scurvy' and insisting they have never committed the alleged crimes.
· 3 sourcesThe death toll from Wednesday's catastrophic flash flood and landslides on the Nepal-Tibet border has risen to hundreds, with many more still missing, local officials confirmed on Friday. The update comes a day after BBC Verify traced the flood's destructive path using verified video footage, revealing the sudden force that swept through villages in the remote Himalayan region.
· 4 sourcesCIA Director John Ratcliffe made an unannounced dash to Moscow last week, a journey described by security analyst Frank Gardner as 'nothing routine', sparking intense speculation about the purpose of the visit at a time when US-Russia relations are at their lowest point since the Cold War.
An Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon has killed a woman described as a 'newlywed' and wounded several other people, local officials report, underscoring the fragility of the region's security despite a recent US-brokered memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran and a separate framework agreement between Israel and Lebanon that had led to an overall reduction in hostilities.
· 2 sourcesScientists and disaster response researchers have concluded that the catastrophic flash floods which struck a remote region of Nepal likely overwhelmed the country's early warning system, which relied on a conventional network of river gauges. The severity and suddenness of the flooding exposed critical gaps in preparedness, raising questions about whether existing infrastructure is adequate for increasingly extreme weather events.
Canada’s minister responsible for trade with the United States suggested Wednesday that negotiations could restart if Washington backs off demands that Ottawa sees as threatening protection for French language and culture. The official was responding to remarks by U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, who in an interview with a Canadian broadcaster described the current impasse as tied to “long-standing Canadian sensitivities.”
The Danish government on Thursday passed a compensation bill for Greenlandic women who were subjected to forced intrauterine device (IUD) implants as part of a decades-long population control policy. The measure, which acknowledges a painful chapter in Denmark's colonial administration of Greenland, will provide financial restitution to hundreds of women affected from the 1960s through the 1980s.
Father Dionysios Tabakis, a Greek Orthodox priest whose home-recorded album of drone metal and religious dubstep has made him a cult figure in experimental music, has issued a statement clarifying his stance on homosexuality, emphasizing that his views align with Orthodox church teachings and calling for unity, love and empathy for all people.
The death toll from the catastrophic flash floods that struck the Nepal-Tibet border region has risen to 469, Nepal police said Friday, as authorities warned that a lake formed at the disaster site was swelling and at risk of bursting, threatening a second wave of flooding in a debris-clogged river downstream.
· 4 sourcesThe US Postal Service announced Thursday that new requirements for mail-in voting are now in effect, implementing a Trump administration executive order aimed at tightening federal oversight of elections. The rules — which mandate state election leaders submit their voter rolls for inspection — are expected to trigger a fresh wave of legal challenges from voting rights groups and state officials.
· 2 sourcesMelbourne Storm and Queensland Maroons star Cameron Munster has publicly stated he is 'not a fan' of the proposed change to the NRL kick-off, which is currently being trialled. The rule change, aimed at reducing concussions by limiting high-speed collisions, has divided opinion among players and coaches ahead of a potential permanent adoption.
· 3 sourcesAutumn Glow, the standout winner of the Golden Eagle, has been named Australia’s best racehorse at the annual Australian Racehorse of the Year awards, marking a historic night for Arrowfield Stud.
· 3 sourcesA coordinated campaign by Israeli settlers targeting Palestinian-owned factories in the occupied West Bank is at risk of collapsing the already fragile Palestinian economy, according to a detailed investigation published by Al Jazeera. The report documents dozens of incidents in which settlers have vandalized, burned, or forcibly occupied industrial facilities, with the apparent goal of driving Palestinian workers from their land and businesses.
Al Jazeera this week marked six months of war on Iran with a new report, a day after it reported that families of children killed in a US missile strike on an Iranian school continue to grieve. The strike killed at least 170 people, most of them children, according to the network.
· 2 sources