Top World News

Jul 14, 2026 - World

Bar owner offers ‘deepest apologies’ as police investigate whether exits were either blocked or hard to accessThe Bangkok pub that became the scene of the city’s deadliest blaze in 17 years has said it will cooperate with an investigation into alleged negligence, as the death toll rose to 30.The local district office said on Tuesday that three more people had died after the devastating fire that broke out in the early hours of Monday. An initial assessment by disaster officials found an electrical short ‌circuit in an air conditioner located in the ‌ceiling had caused the fire. Continue reading...

Jul 14, 2026 - World

Counterterror police say former politician and reality TV contestant Ann Widdecombe was the victim of a "targeted attack."

Jul 14, 2026 - World

Aid worker flown to Berlin as Trump administration bars Americans from traveling to US on commercial flightsA US national who contracted Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has arrived in Germany for treatment, the health ministry in Berlin said on Monday, weeks after another American infected with Ebola in the DRC was treated in Berlin.Meanwhile, the Trump administration on Monday said it was blocking American citizens in ⁠the DRC from traveling to the US on commercial flights, Reuters reported, citing a White House official. Continue reading...

Jul 14, 2026 - World

A former U.S. Army intelligence officer was left dumbstruck Tuesday following President Donald Trump’s latest attempt to degrade Iran’s control of the Strait of Hormuz, an effort they described as a manifestation of the president’s “new levels of desperation.”On Monday, Trump announced that the United States would be reinstating its naval blockade on Iran and charging hefty fees to transiting vessels. The decree came amid renewed exchanges of fire between the United States, Iran and U.S.-aligned Middle Eastern nations.“This is just new levels of desperation that I couldn't have imagined a couple of months ago,” said Harrison Mann, a former U.S. Army major and intelligence officer, during an appearance on CNN.“We've got to remember that the free protection from the U.S. Navy has not been successful for the past several months; it's why we're in a new cycle of escalation over the past week. The Navy has repeatedly tried to secure transit through the Strait of Hormuz – Iran has still been able to attack ships.”The flare-up in violence was sparked last week after Iran struck a container ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz in a manner Iranian officials claimed was a violation of the U.S.-Iran ceasefire agreement. The United States launched strikes at Iran in retaliation, which itself was met with a flurry of strikes from Iran targeting U.S. allies in the region.Mann, who resigned in protest over the U.S. facilitation and support for the Israeli siege on Gaza – which a United Nations commission and countless human rights organizations have described as a genocide – said that not only was the Trump administration’s plan doomed to fail, it also undercut its own position.“So the protecting ships part of it, we already know won't work. Is he actually going to charge fees? I doubt it, but he is doing something that's kind of dangerous for his own strategy, which is legitimizing that demand,” Mann said.“Marco Rubio just two weeks ago said nobody can charge passage through this international waterway. Trump is now saying, 'oh no, that's fine, we're going to try and do it.'"

Jul 14, 2026 - World

Country risks new tariffs from US and EU as it looks likely to match or beat last year’s record surplus of $1tnBusiness live – latest updatesChina’s monthly car ‌exports topped 1m for the first time in June as overall overseas shipments from the world’s second biggest economy rose 27%.Official Chinese customs data showed that a stronger-than-expected trade performance kept China on track to match or beat last year’s record trade surplus of $1tn (£748bn), achieved despite Donald Trump’s curtailed tariff war. Continue reading...