Top World News

May 22, 2026 - World

US secretary of state says president would like a negotiated agreement with Havana but likelihood ‘is not high’The US president, Donald Trump, and the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, on Thursday again raised the spectre of military intervention in Cuba, a renewed threat that takes on greater weight a day after the administration announced criminal charges against Raúl Castro, the island’s former leader.“Other presidents have looked at this for 50, 60 years, doing something,” Trump told reporters when asked about Cuba during an event in the Oval Office. “And it looks like I’ll be the one that does it. So I would be happy to do it.” Continue reading...

May 22, 2026 - World

Hung Cao’s comments are latest blow to Taipei after Donald Trump recently cast doubt over US’s enduring supportUS arms sales to Taiwan have been “paused” to ensure the US military has enough munitions for its Iran operations, according to Washington’s acting navy secretary, in the latest blow to Taipei after a series of comments by Donald Trump.When asked at a congressional hearing on Thursday about a $14bn (£10.4bn) weapons package awaiting Trump’s signoff for months, Hung Cao said: “Right now we’re doing a pause in order to make sure we have the munitions we need for Epic Fury [the Iran war] – which we have plenty.” Continue reading...

May 22, 2026 - World

Twelve dead as southern and central areas also suffer travel disruption, electricity outages and evacuationsHeavy, prolonged rainfall in southern and central China has resulted in weather warnings for flash flooding, landslides and waterlogging. The slow-moving band of rainfall spanned 620 miles (1,000km) and travelled eastwards across the regions on Tuesday. It was formed from the convergence of multiple bands of rain originating from the Bay of Bengal, South China Sea and Pacific Ocean.Given the accompanying low wind speeds, high daily and hourly rainfall totals have been recorded, with as much as 75mm locally in Hunan, 85mm in Anhui in a 24-hour period, and 95mm on the island of Hainan. Twelve people have died because of the flooding and hundreds of residents have been evacuated by emergency services. There were major travel disruptions, electricity outages, as well as school and business closures. Social media posts showed submerged cars and people fishing along flooded streets. Continue reading...

May 22, 2026 - World

Up to 70% of girls may be in early or forced marriages but law now makes divorce impossible if husbands disagreeChild marriage appears to have been legally recognised for the first time by the Taliban in Afghanistan, as activists say “shameful” new laws make it almost impossible for girls and young women to seek divorce against their husbands’ will.There are no official statistics on forced and underage marriages in Afghanistan, but activists say it has risen at an alarming rate in recent years, driven by the ban on girls being in education after the age of 11. Continue reading...

May 22, 2026 - World

Israel's far-right national security minister has sparked global outrage after promoting a video of himself taunting activists from a flotilla to Gaza who were detained by his police force