Top World News

May 8, 2026 - World

Two Singaporeans and a local person were in no-go zone when they were killed, say officialsThree hikers – two Singaporeans and an Indonesian – have died in an eruption of Indonesia’s Mount Dukono volcano, where they found themselves in a no-go zone, officials said.The eruption, on Halmahera island, sent an ash cloud about 6 miles (10km) into the air, with no towns or villages near enough to face any immediate threat. Continue reading...

May 8, 2026 - World

Trump is leaving business executives and CEOs confused and uncertain about whether they're invited to cooperate with China, according to a new report. “The president is ‘wheels up’ in about a week," Sean Stein, the president at the US-China Business Council, told Politico in a Thursday piece, referring to an upcoming summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. "There are still CEOs waiting to find out if they will be part of the president's trip." According to Politico, the White House spent "weeks" deciding how many business executives and CEOs to bring to the summit, and started sending out invitations. The Trump administration is divided over "how much to encourage private sector engagement with its biggest economic rival." It doesn't help that CEOs are saying that the White House is sending "mixed signals," Politico wrote, citing two people briefed by the White House. "Administration officials in recent weeks circulated a draft list of executives from roughly two dozen companies to potentially participate," according to Politico. "However, some officials, including U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, pushed for a group closer to half that size." Amid the indecision, "we have multiple CEOs who've been told, 'well maybe you're going to be invited,'" Stein told Politico. "The indecision has left executives interested in participating in the summit in limbo days ahead of the trip," according to Politico reporting. "One prominent American CEO, who does business in China and the U.S., had an aide recently follow up with an administration official to try to join the delegation after getting no response from the White House." "It's hard to get in this time," the official told the CEO.

May 8, 2026 - World

Stone being paid $50,000 a month to ‘rebuild’ relations between Washington and Myanmar’s military-backed governmentThe US lobbyist Roger Stone, a longtime friend and ally of Donald Trump, has been condemned for accepting $50,000 a month to “rebuild” relations between Washington and Myanmar’s military-backed government.Myanmar’s leaders have been internationally isolated since seizing power in a coup in 2021, and have repeatedly been accused of atrocities that may amount to war crimes. Activists say the military rulers, which recently held widely condemned “sham” elections, are now trying to reassert themselves abroad. Continue reading...

May 8, 2026 - World

Trump described U.S. military strikes against Iran on Thursday as a "love tap," prompting scathing ridicule and skepticism that the attack didn't violate a delicate ceasefire. "President Trump tells me in a phone call the retaliatory strikes against Iranian targets are just a 'love tap,'" ABC senior political correspondent Rachel Scott posted on X. "When I asked if it means the ceasefire is over, 'No, no, the ceasefire is going. It's in effect.'" U.S. and Iranian naval forces briefly exchanged fire on Thursday. While Trump touted U.S. success in sinking Iranian ships like "a butterfly" in a Truth Social post, he downplayed the intensity to reporters to uphold the ceasefire deal. "I've also never heard someone use the term 'love tap' who wasn't also the kinda jack-- that would hit their wife," journalist and political consultant Adam Cochran responded. "Just sayin'""President Trump says the U.S. strikes that just occurred in Iran were a 'love tap' and that the ceasefire remains in place," journalist Yashar Ali wrote. "The Islamic Republic of Iran, however, says the strikes were a violation of the ceasefire and that it will respond.""The ceasefire is apparently still in effect, just with light physical affection," joked White House correspondent Nandita Bose. "At what point do exchanges of fire during a ceasefire constitute an end or violation of said ceasefire?" Foreign Policy writer John Haltiwanger demanded. "What is the threshold?""An idiot runs this country," Daily Kos reporter Emily Singer wrote. "He's insane," agreed former GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger.

May 7, 2026 - World

Trump's reasoning for carrying on the war in Iran while facing upcoming midterms and trying to open the Strait of Hormuz for shipping doesn't make sense, said New York Times White House correspondent Maggie Haberman."I see it as very confusing," Haberman told CNN's Jake Tapper on Thursday. "It is very hard to know what is happening. Frankly, from either government."Haberman pointed out that Iranians "are facing economic difficulties. There's no question about that," but "gauging exactly what that means is quite hard," she said."The economic issues that are being created by the energy crisis from this war are pretty measurable in terms of the cost of gas at the pump," at home in the U.S., though, Haberman added. But Haberman is perplexed that Trump's strategy with the war doesn't factor in voters' discontent with the bump at the pump."We'll see if President Trump gets more engaged in the midterms and feels as if there's some personal interest in it for him," Haberman said. "Maybe he will decide he wants to travel, but as long as gas prices remain where they are, it's not a great climate for his party."Iran and U.S. Naval forces exchanged fire on Thursday. Trump boasted U.S. military action in a Truth Social post shortly after the skirmish, writing that Iranian ships "dropped ever so beautifully down to the Ocean, very much like a butterfly dropping to its grave!