World

World news from every region: conflicts, elections, diplomacy, disasters and the people at the centre of them.

7561 articles · page 143 of 158 · The World front page

US Politics

Trump Appoints Mark Paoletta, a Close Thomas Associate, to Lead Agency Overseeing Federal Construction

President Trump has named Mark Paoletta, a longtime conservative lawyer and close associate of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, to lead the National Capital Planning Commission, a federal agency responsible for reviewing major construction projects in the Washington, D.C., region. The appointment, reported by The New York Times, places a figure with deep ties to the Trump administration and the judiciary at the helm of a panel that could soon weigh projects linked to the president's own business interests.

·3 min
Australia

Queensland woman gives birth to twins with different biological parents after surrogacy and natural pregnancy coincide

A Queensland woman delivered twin children on the same day in November 2025, each with a different set of biological parents, after an IVF embryo transfer undertaken for a surrogacy arrangement coincided with a spontaneous natural pregnancy — a situation so rare it had not been contemplated by state surrogacy laws, according to a court judgment released this week.

·3 min·2 sources
US Politics

Military Judge Sets June 2028 Trial Date for Alleged 9/11 Mastermind and Three Co-Conspirators

A military judge at Guantánamo Bay has set a June 2028 trial date for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-proclaimed mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks, along with three other alleged conspirators, according to an order issued Wednesday. The ruling marks the first firm trial date after more than 20 years of legal delays, pre-trial hearings, and contentious debates over the military commission system's legitimacy.

·2 min·2 sources
Australia

Carroll scraps secret $8bn transport levy after auditor-general exposes hidden fare charge

Victorian Premier Carroll has scrapped a secret $8 billion levy embedded in public transport fares, acting a day after the state's Auditor-General revealed the charge had been quietly introduced on January 1 last year without public knowledge. The levy, which applied to all Myki trips, was collected as part of standard fare increases and funnelled directly into consolidated revenue rather than transport upgrades.

·2 min·3 sources
World

Himalayan landslide survivors recount terror as death toll rises on Nepal-China border

Survivors of a catastrophic landslide on the Himalayan border between Nepal and China are telling harrowing stories of escape and loss as authorities recover bodies from the debris. The disaster, described by witnesses as a sudden 'huge gush of mud' and a 'wall of rock and water,' struck without warning, burying homes and sweeping away infrastructure in a region already vulnerable to monsoon-triggered landslides.

·2 min·3 sources
US Politics

Fed Governor Lisa Cook Rebukes Trump Over Mortgage Fraud Allegations

Federal Reserve Governor Lisa D. Cook publicly pushed back on Tuesday against President Trump’s accusation that she committed mortgage fraud, marking the most direct confrontation yet in the president’s ongoing campaign to oust her from the central bank. Cook, who has been a target of Trump’s criticism since her appointment, denied any wrongdoing and called the allegations baseless, while supporters of the Fed’s independence warned that the attack threatens to politicize monetary policy.

·3 min·2 sources
US Politics

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Rejoins Democratic Socialists of America After Seven-Year Lapse

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has renewed her membership in the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) after letting it lapse for seven years, a move that comes amid growing speculation about a potential presidential campaign in 2028. The New York Democrat, who initially joined the organization in 2018 during her first run for Congress, had not renewed her membership after her first year, according to reports first published by The Guardian.

·2 min
US Politics

Early Government Projection Showed Thousands at Risk from East Palestine Chemical Exposure, Documents Reveal

Newly obtained government documents show that an early federal projection following the 2023 East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment estimated that thousands of Americans could have been exposed to harmful levels of toxic chemicals—a figure far larger than previously disclosed. The records, released by a watchdog group, reignite questions about the adequacy of the public health response and the transparency of both Norfolk Southern and federal agencies.

·3 min
Geopolitics

UNRWA Chief Accuses Israel of Seeking to Eliminate Agency and Palestinian Refugee Status

The head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has accused Israel of deliberately working to dismantle the agency and erase the issue of Palestinian refugees, following the seizure of an UNRWA training centre in East Jerusalem. The claim, made on Tuesday, underscores deepening tensions between the UN agency and the Israeli government, which has long criticised UNRWA's mandate and operations.

·3 min
World

Israeli Forces Install New Gate in West Bank Village, Isolating Palestinian Home

Israeli forces have installed a new gate around the home of Palestinian American Lou Ridi in the village of Qusra, in the occupied West Bank, effectively isolating the property and raising concerns about heightened movement restrictions for Palestinian residents. The move, reported on Wednesday, is the latest in a series of measures that critics say further entrench the occupation and fragment Palestinian communities.

·2 min
World

Final witness in Lindsay Clancy trial casts doubt on postpartum psychosis defense

The trial of Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts mother accused of killing her three young children in 2023, is heading toward closing arguments after an FBI psychiatrist testified Wednesday that he does not believe she was acting under a command hallucination. Dr. Gregory Saathoff, a witness for the prosecution, told the court in Plymouth that Clancy likely understood the wrongfulness of her actions, challenging the defense’s central claim that she suffered from postpartum psychosis and heard a voice ordering her to commit the killings.

·2 min
US Politics

Florida Catholic Bishops Rebuke Attorney General Over Vaccine Exemption Demands

Florida's Catholic bishops have delivered a sharp rebuke to Attorney General James Uthmeier after he threatened to block funding to Catholic schools unless they begin granting religious exemptions from vaccination requirements. The bishops, in a theological counterargument, stated that the Catholic Church recognizes no legitimate religious objection to vaccines and will not bend to what they called the state's misguided anti-vaccine policies.

·2 min
Geopolitics

UNRWA chief condemns Israeli seizure of East Jerusalem training centre as part of campaign to weaken agency

The acting head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Christian Saunders, has condemned Israel’s seizure of the agency’s training centre in East Jerusalem, describing it as part of a broader campaign to weaken UNRWA and undermine Palestinian rights. The raid on the facility, located in the contested city, marks the latest escalation in a long-running dispute between Israel and the UN agency that provides education, health care and social services to millions of Palestinian refugees.

·3 min
US Politics

Judge Sets June 2028 Trial Date for 9/11 Case, Delaying Long-Awaited Proceedings

A military judge has set a June 2028 trial date for the five defendants accused of orchestrating the September 11, 2001 attacks, pushing the start of proceedings more than 26 years after the hijackings. The date, approved on Wednesday at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, falls short of the earlier timeline requested by prosecutors and comes as the judge has yet to resolve multiple legal issues stemming from the defendants' torture in CIA custody.

·2 min
US Politics

ICE Arrests Nearly 50,000 in July, Highest Monthly Total of Trump’s Second Term

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained almost 50,000 people in July, the highest monthly arrest total of President Trump’s second term, according to data published by the Deportation Data Project, a joint initiative of the University of California, Berkeley and UCLA. The figures, released on Thursday, underscore a continued ramp-up in immigration enforcement under the current administration.

·2 min
US Politics

Growing Backlash Against ALPR Surveillance: Flock Safety Faces Federal Probe as Contract Cancellations Mount

Flock Safety, a leading vendor of automated license plate readers (ALPRs), is facing a mounting backlash across the United States as citizen protests, contract cancellations, and a new federal investigation challenge its widespread surveillance network. Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) this week announced an investigation into Flock's data practices, while the Institute for Justice (IJ) published a database documenting 93 local governments that have terminated ALPR contracts, amid growing public concern over warrantless mass surveillance.

·4 min
World

'Be yourself but look like everyone else': Imelda Staunton on the paradox of modern youth

As she prepares for the release of her new film '& Sons', acclaimed actor Imelda Staunton reflects on the pressures young people face to both express individuality and conform to social norms, describing it as a dilemma that defines a generation. In an interview with Stephanie Bunbury, Staunton also discusses the privilege of her craft and her enduring 40-year partnership with fellow actor Jim Carter.

·2 min·3 sources
World

Global Movement Gains Momentum: Governments Restrict Social Media for Children

Governments around the world have passed or proposed a sweeping array of bans and restrictions on social media use by young teens, citing mounting evidence that addictive platforms harm mental health and development. The movement, detailed in a New York Times report, marks the most coordinated global push yet to regulate how children interact with technology, with laws ranging from outright age bans to mandatory parental controls.

·2 min
Geopolitics

Analysis: Syria’s al Sharaa Wins Abroad, Struggles at Home as Sanctions Relief Yields Mixed Results

A year after the United States lifted sanctions and removed Syria from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, the analyst who originally argued that sanctions relief was a necessary tool for positive engagement with President Ahmed al Sharaa’s government has issued a sober reassessment: while al Sharaa has won diplomatic breathing room abroad, deep-rooted domestic problems — economic stagnation, lagging reconstruction, and questions over governance — threaten to undermine his leadership.

·3 min