Top World News

Nov 8, 2026 - World

National party will be largest in parliament but ultimate shape of next government won’t be settled for some timeNew Zealand could be facing a weeks-long wait to know the shape of its next government, after its nail-biting election failed to hand a decisive victory to either the incumbent rightwing coalition or opposition left bloc.On preliminary results, the centre-right National party, led by the prime minister, Christopher Luxon, managed to secure enough seats to govern alongside its traditional coalition partners, the libertarian Act and populist New Zealand First parties. Continue reading...

Nov 7, 2026 - World

Secretary of State Marco Rubio laid down a stern warning to his top deputies behind closed doors, according to a new report.Rubio told senior State Department officials in a meeting last week that unethical conduct would get them fired no matter how well connected they were, Reuters reported Saturday, citing four people familiar with the matter. The meeting came after Kimberly Guilfoyle resigned as U.S. ambassador to Greece in mid-October, following news reports that raised concerns she had traded access to Trump administration officials for money, gifts and favors.Guilfoyle has denied those reports and said on social media that she would defend her reputation.According to the people who spoke to Reuters, the meeting included many of the department's roughly two dozen assistant secretaries. Rubio complained that too many officials were pushing their own policy agendas without coordinating, and he told them major decisions needed approval from him or Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau.The State Department declined to comment on the meeting.Shortly afterward, policy chief Jeremy Lewin was pushed out of his post, three of the sources told Reuters, partly over concerns that he was working on issues beyond his portfolio. One source said department leadership had grown frustrated with his "freelancing." None of the sources tied his exit to ethical misconduct.Lewin, who came to government through Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, disputed that account in a statement to the outlet."The suggestion that I was fired is false," he said, adding that he left to take a private sector job and plan his wedding.Rubio's office now also has to sign off on all political travel after he grew frustrated with how often political staff were traveling overseas, one of the sources said.The crackdown arrives as Republicans regroup after Tuesday's midterm losses handed Democrats control of Congress. Democrats have vowed to investigate dealings between Trump aides and foreign officials once they take power in January. The Trump administration has denied allegations of self-dealing.Rubio has played down speculation about a 2028 presidential run but has not ruled one out, and Reuters noted his handling of the department could become a campaign issue if he jumps in.

Nov 7, 2026 - World

Trump’s military wants help finding Iran’s nuclear program via social media, and critics can’t help pointing out that the president said he “obliterated” it.U.S. Central Command posted on X Friday that the State Department’s Rewards for Justice program “is offering a reward of up to $20 million and possible relocation for information about Iran’s nuclear program.” The post said that includes “its facilities, equipment, and associated personnel, such as those in the scientific community, or the movement of any of the above.”The post had drawn nearly 5 million views as of early morning Saturday, along with a flood of mockery. Many critics brought up President Donald Trump’s claim that U.S. strikes in June 2025 had “completely and totally obliterated” Iran’s key nuclear sites.The offer comes as the U.S. war with Iran drags into its ninth month. Trump and Vice President JD Vance have both acknowledged the war’s unpopularity was a leading reason Republicans lost both chambers of Congress on Tuesday.“WTF????” wrote broadcaster Piers Morgan. His post alone had drawn more than 2 million views.MeidasTouch co-founder Brett Meiselas asked CENTCOM directly: “Aren’t you embarrassed?”His brother, MeidasTouch founder Ben Meiselas, went further.“If an adversary hacked the CENTCOM account and started making posts it wouldn’t be as damaging or embarrassing as what CENTCOM has been doing,” he wrote.“The Mossad outsourced, Centcom crowdsourced, and comedy ensued,” wrote Max Blumenthal, editor of The Grayzone.Tehran-based academic Seyed Mohammad Marandi, a frequent defender of the Iranian government, called the post a sign of a “dying Zionist empire: weak, ignorant, and pathetic.”Other users kept returning to the same question: How can the administration need help finding a program the president says it already destroyed?“Wasn’t it totally wiped out forever a year and a half ago?” one user asked. Another wrote: “Paying $20 million for a nuclear site that Trump already destroyed.”Another user pointed out that the post went up on a Friday night: “Are they rly asking X on a Friday night for Iran’s nuclear information.”

Nov 7, 2026 - World

This blog is closed, you can read our report on the New Zealand election hereAnother update here with 8% of the vote counted. National on 31.2%, Labour 28.4%, the Greens 12.9%, Act 11.2%, NZ First 9.6%, Opportunity 5.7% and Te Pāti Māori 0.4%.On these numbers, we would have a right bloc coalition back in power. Long way to go. Continue reading...

Nov 7, 2026 - World

Department had claimed that being kidnapped for ransom was not exploitation of trafficking victims in case of Syrian man abducted in LibyaThe court of appeal has rejected claims by the Home Office that being kidnapped for ransom is not exploitation of trafficking victims.The ruling means that many people who have been kidnapped for ransom, whom officials have previously excluded from being victims of exploitation under trafficking rules, will now have to have these claims considered. They may be eligible for the support and recovery package trafficking victims are entitled to. Continue reading...