Top World News

Sep 1, 2026 - World

Security stepped up in Pattaya before arrival of thousands of sailors and marines whose deployment was extended due to US war in IranAuthorities in the Thai resort city of Pattaya have stepped up security as they prepare to welcome thousands of sailors and marines from the USS Abraham Lincoln who have spent more than 270 consecutive days at sea.“About 600 officials will provide security and other necessary assistance,” the provincial governor, Narit Niramaiwong, told AFP. Continue reading...

Sep 1, 2026 - World

Hong Kong flotation at $26bn by firm once valued at $100bn follows failure to list in US and UKShares in the fast-fashion brand Shein slumped by as much as 10% as the China-founded company made its long-anticipated trading debut on the Hong Kong stock exchange.The Singapore-headquartered company, once valued at almost $100bn (£74bn), went public on Tuesday pricing shares at HK$48.56, valuing the business at just over $26bn. Continue reading...

Sep 1, 2026 - World

As families await news of missing loved ones, the disaster is a stark reminder of how the climate crisis is creating a fast-growing threat. Plus, the town considered India’s ‘Jurassic Park’• Don’t get This is India delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereIt has been hard not to despair while watching the ruinous floods swallow parts of Nepal, and harder, still knowing that the agony compounds each passing day for dozens of Indian families whose members remain unaccounted for.Social media is awash with desperate pleas, photos and details of the young and old, men and women, from Mumbai to Kolkata, posted by families searching for traces of life. The disaster unfolded when a melting glacier slammed into the valley below, unleashing a deadly cascade of rock and ice down the Bhote Kashi River, which flows from Tibet into Nepal. Continue reading...

Sep 1, 2026 - World

President Donald Trump just pulled off what one political expert described as a "mafia state" type of move that revealed the rotten core of a deal he allegedly struck with a foreign country over its oil reserves. Trump recently announced that the U.S. and North American Blue Energy Partners, a private company led by Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Betancourt, entered into a partnership to tap Venezuela's 65 billion barrel oil reserves, a deal that is estimated to be worth tens of billions of dollars. Betancourt was previously under investigation on corruption charges until Trump's former attorney, Rudy Giuliani, persuaded the first Trump Department of Justice to drop its probe. David Rothkopf, global affairs columnist at The Daily Beast and a former international trade official in the Clinton administration, argued during a new episode of "The Daily Beast Podcast," that the "deal" Trump announced is not a deal at all. "The United States is getting this all because we attacked Venezuela and at gunpoint are saying, 'Hand over the oil!' That's illegal under international law," Rothkopf said. "It's also ... illegal under Venezuelan law, which has a constitution that says you can't hand over reserves to a foreign government. It's probably illegal under U.S. law because it involves cash flowing into the U.S. government ... which requires congressional approval." Rothkopf drew a comparison between the Trump administration's move to seize Venezuela's oil and the way Russia's government operates, arguing that the Trump administration will break laws and customs without regard. "It's a crime," Rothkopf said. "It's not a deal."

Sep 1, 2026 - World

MAGA pundits were cornered by panelists on CNN's "NewsNight" with host Abby Phillip on Monday over the president's latest batch of empty threats toward Iran. Over the weekend, President Donald Trump posted an AI-generated video of him attacking Kharg Island, a strategic island in the Persian Gulf that the Iranian regime has used to attack merchant ships in the area. Trump has previously threatened to strike the island and posted the threat on the same day U.S. forces hit Larak Island in the Strait. May Mailman, legal director for Independent Women's Law Center and a former Trump administration staffer, argued that Trump's comments were meaningless because they were written on Truth Social. "When are we going to stop being like, so triggered by Truth Social and an AI video?" she asked. Her comment caused an uproar on the panel. "How dare we take the President of the United States seriously?" Isaiah Martin, a Democratic content creator, responded rhetorically. Leigh McGowan, host of the "Politics Girl" podcast, argued that Trump's video was another in a long series of "unhinged" behavior that should worry Americans. "It's so absurd," McGowan said. "He does crazy things that are completely unhinged; says he's going to annihilate the entire civilization. Then does this bombing thing, and we're supposed to be like, 'Oh, he's just joking. He's just coming in there for a little joke.' It's a terrible way to lead anyone."Noah Rothman, a senior writer at the National Review, argued that he is also tired of Trump's empty threats, and said they are no longer credible in either the U.S. or in Iran. "What is credible is the lawn mowing strategy that we've begun to see articulated in the press, and the Iranians should be very afraid of our degree to degrade their capability to project power," Rothman said. Martin was taken aback by the argument, and pointed out that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had recently claimed "all objectives" of Trump's war had been achieved. "So, they lied?" Martin said. Rothman stammered and conceded that some of the Trump administration's claims about the war have been untruthful.