Top World News

Oct 20, 2026 - World

​After a protest clip went viral, a teenager’s life was torn apart by threats that sent her and her family into hiding. Plus, a book on citizen journalism• Don’t get This is India delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereBefore 24 July, a person I will call R was preoccupied with the ordinary routines of teenage life: experimenting with makeup, grumbling over mathematics homework and hanging out with friends at a tea stall.That month, as the fever of student protests spread across the country, the 15-year-old watched on her phone as young people poured into Jantar Mantar, the designated protest site in Delhi, demanding education reform. She went too. But an 11-second video clip from the protest site, in which she made crude and profane remarks about the prime minister, Narendra Modi, upended her life. Continue reading...

Oct 20, 2026 - World

Veteran technology journalist Kara Swisher was flabbergasted Monday as President Donald Trump and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk seemingly played games in Ukraine with people's lives at stake. Over the last week, reports indicate that Trump's White House gave an order to slow down Ukraine's access to Starshield systems, a Musk-developed product that helps the Ukrainian military defend against Russian ballistic missile attacks. Trump and Musk have both pointed fingers at each other about the incident, even though both were at least aware of the incident, Swisher said. "I don't think he's telling the truth. Obviously someone knows how it happened, and I would tend to believe the Ukrainians over Musk or Trump at any time," Swisher said on CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360." "They were basically trying to pass the hot potato back and forth when things blew up in them, so to speak," she added. The slowdown of Ukraine's Starshield capabilities was followed up by a series of moves by Trump that have some Republicans up in arms. Trump has agreed to purchase millions of barrels of diesel fuel from Russia, which gives the country more money to fight its war of aggression against Ukraine, and has suspended sanctions on Russia that were due to go into effect this week.Swisher noted that Trump and Musk's finger-pointing has served both men as a distraction. "This is just kind of ridiculous that we even play these games with these people," Swisher said. She also noted that it is "hard to square" how Trump can deny he knew about the order coming from his White House. It raises questions about why he didn't know and who is making decisions about a war that has resulted in American casualties. At the same time, Trump appears to be entertaining a hypothetical summit between himself, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and China's Xi Jinping to end the war in Ukraine. Such a summit would seem like a blast from the distant past, according to Swisher. "It's an incredible idea to do something to slice up dominion, essentially. It feels like we're back in another century," she said.

Oct 19, 2026 - World

Veteran journalist Dan Rather spotted one issue that President Donald Trump can't avoid much longer after he made his latest turn toward Russia. Over the last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin has received several gifts from Trump. The U.S. president has agreed to purchase Russian diesel fuel, which analysts say won't have any impact on gas prices ahead of the midterms. The Trump White House has also reportedly ordered a slowdown in Ukraine's Starshield systems, the military equivalent of Elon Musk's Starlink, which helps the country identify incoming Russian ballistic missile attacks. Trump has also moved to lift sanctions on Russia included in a bill to honor the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) just days before they were scheduled to go into effect. Rather argued in a new essay for his Substack "Ready" that these moves could spark calls to investigate Trump for treason. "Most Americans don’t want to think about it, but in the background of these developments is this: Article III, Section 3 of the Constitution defines treason against the United States as 'levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort.' By any objective measure, lifting Russian sanctions is giving aid and comfort to an enemy," Rather argued. "Any suggestion of holding the president to a standard of treason is too far out for a clear majority of Americans. But as Trump draws ever closer to Putin, the subject is bound to come up in some conversations," he continued.

Oct 19, 2026 - World

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth took a secret trip to Israel on Monday to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of the country's elections, according to a new report from Axios, citing "two sources with knowledge."Hegseth's trip came just days after President Donald Trump endorsed Netanyahu for re-election. Trump has also said that he would not be "inclined" to continue the war against Iran if Netanyahu were to lose. Israel's elections will be held on October 27.

Oct 19, 2026 - World

Just ahead of the midterms, the Trump administration appears to be softening one of its signature policy pledges, immigrant advocates told The Washington Post.According to a Trump administration official who spoke with the Post on the condition of anonymity, and to the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington, the Department of Homeland Security is expected to extend Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, which shields noncitizens from certain countries from deportation, for around 100,000 Ukrainians whose protections were scheduled to expire Monday. An embassy spokeswoman said the extension is expected to last six months.DHS did not confirm the extension. “An announcement on Ukraine’s TPS will be made at the appropriate time. Until such an announcement is made, Ukrainian individuals present in the U.S. under TPS remain under protection,” the department said in a statement.The move follows DHS’s decision last month to let TPS remain in place for around 232,000 migrants from El Salvador. The administration never formally announced a decision, instead issuing what the Post described as a “last-minute notice.” The lack of a clear timeline has forced Salvadorans “to grapple with an uncertain future,” the Post reported. Sudanese TPS holders, also set to lose protections Monday, will keep them until further notice, DHS said.“This is different,” said Jessica Bansal, an attorney focused on TPS litigation, speaking with the Post.The Trump administration has moved to strip protected status from 13 of 17 countries whose nationals were covered by TPS when Trump returned to office. As to why the administration is now letting protections continue for some groups, Bansal speculated that officials may be reluctant to deprive American businesses of workers so close to the election. The administration’s mass deportation push has also proven unpopular with voters.“There’s some very concrete negative consequences for businesses and other sorts of constituents that the administration may care more about if they strip these people of their status,” Bansal told the Post.Todd Schulte, president of the pro-immigration advocacy group FWD.us, told the Post that forcing out tens of thousands of Ukrainians just ahead of the midterms would be politically costly.“From a political perspective, demanding Ukrainians with TPS in battleground states like Ohio — who fled Putin’s invasion — leave the U.S. would be very unpopular,” Schulte said. “This is weeks before voters in the U.S. would issue a judgment on what would be seen as purging Ukrainians and a signal that the administration is siding with the Russian authoritarian.”