Top World News
Run-up to G20 in South Africa marred by host’s simmering row with US
Group’s first summit on the continent, which opens on Saturday, comes at a febrile time in global politicsThe dispute between South Africa and the US over the Trump administration’s decision to boycott the G20 in Johannesburg has continued, with South Africa objecting to a US plan for a junior embassy official to take part in the closing ceremony meant to mark the handover to the next summit, which will take place in Florida.The two-day summit, which opens on Saturday, comes at a febrile moment in global politics. The US has proposed a deal to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which it agreed with Moscow without the involvement of Ukraine or the EU. Continue reading...
Nigeria reels after second mass school abduction in a week
Students taken from Catholic school in Niger state amid threats from Donald Trump to intervene to end what he calls a ‘Christian genocide’Unknown gunmen have abducted an unidentified number of students from a Catholic school in central Nigeria, the second mass abduction in the country in a week.The latest kidnapping, in Papiri community in Niger state, came against the backdrop of Donald Trump’s threat to intervene militarily to end a “Christian genocide”, which the Nigerian government has denied is happening. Continue reading...
Trump has assembled least diverse US government this century, study shows
President has chosen white men for key posts at expense of women and people of colour, Brookings Institution findsDonald Trump has assembled the least diverse US government of the 21st century, filling the corridors of power with white men at the expense of women and people of colour, research shows.Nine in 10 individuals confirmed by the Senate in the first 300 days of the second Trump administration were white, according to the Brookings Institution thinktank in Washington. Continue reading...
Starmer rebuffs renewed talk of Andy Burnham leadership challenge
PM says Burnham doing ‘really good job’ as Manchester mayor and urges colleagues not to brief against each otherKeir Starmer has attempted to dampen the latest round of speculation about his leadership, insisting that one of his potential rivals, Andy Burnham, is doing a “really good job as mayor of Manchester” and warning colleagues not to waste their time briefing against each other.The prime minister gave his backing to Burnham on Thursday night as he travelled to the G20 summit in Johannesburg, after the Manchester mayor repeatedly failed to rule out challenging Starmer for his party’s leadership during interviews on Thursday. Continue reading...
First Thing: Outrage after Trump accuses Democrats of ‘seditious behavior, punishable by death’
US president roundly decried for Truth Social post after lawmakers told military personnel to refuse illegal orders. Plus, Superman comic found in attic becomes most expensive ever soldDon’t already get First Thing in your inbox? Sign up hereGood morning.Democrats expressed outrage after Donald Trump accused a group of Democratic lawmakers of engaging in “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH” and that they should be arrested after they posted a video in which they told active service members they should refuse illegal orders.What did the lawmakers say in the video? “Our laws are clear: you can refuse illegal orders, you must refuse illegal orders. No one has to carry out orders that violate the law or our constitution.”What did the report say? A “joint situational information report” from the FBI and the New York police department (NYPD), dated 28 August 2025, quoted from a chat on Signal, the encrypted messaging app, and also characterized the court watchers as “anarchist violent extremist actors”.Where did it come from? The two-page report was distributed to other law enforcement agencies across the US. The records were obtained by Property of the People, a government transparency non-profit, through public records requests. Continue reading...
Reform UK’s former Wales leader jailed for taking bribes for pro-Russia speeches
Police say Nathan Gill received at least £40,000 while he was an MEP from Oleg Voloshyn, an alleged Russian assetReform UK’s former leader in Wales, Nathan Gill, has been jailed at the Old Bailey for 10 and a half years for taking bribes to make statements in favour of Russia when he was an MEP.Gill, a member of the Ukip and Brexit party blocs led by Nigel Farage in the European parliament, had pleaded guilty to eight counts of bribery between 6 December 2018 and 18 July 2019. Continue reading...
Trump Plan Targets Florida, California For Coastal Oil Drilling
The Trump administration is proposing to open new areas off of California, Florida and Alaska to crude drilling as part of a draft blueprint released Thursday that would dramatically expand the sale of oil and natural gas rights.
Workers inside Department of Education say Trump’s latest bid to dismantle agency ‘makes no sense’
‘Morale is completely lost,’ say workers as Trump administration strips some programs and transfers othersDonald Trump’s bid to gut the US Department of Education “makes no sense”, according to workers inside the federal agency, who accuse the administration of trying to make their lives “as difficult and traumatic as possible”.Three employees inside the department spoke to the Guardian, with one warning that morale has been “completely lost”, 10 months after Trump returned to the White House. All requested to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation. Continue reading...
UK Plans To Overhaul Immigration Policy. How It Will Affect Indians
In its biggest immigration shake-up in nearly half a century, the United Kingdom is planning to make some legal migrants wait up to 20 years before letting them apply to settle in Britain permanently.
Eleven injured after grizzly bear attacks schoolchildren and teachers in Canada
Two critically hurt after attack on walking trail in British Columbia as police and conservation officers search for bearA grizzly bear has attacked a group of schoolchildren and teachers on a walking trail in British Columbia, Canada, injuring 11 people, two of them critically.The attack happened late on Thursday in Bella Coola, 435 miles (700km) north-west of Vancouver. The Nuxalk Nation said the “aggressive bear” remained on the loose and police and conservation officers were on the scene. Continue reading...
Lloyds Ex-CEO Lost Rs 150 Crore Job After Office Romance
American International Group Inc.'s announcement last week that it was parting ways with incoming President John Neal stunned insurance industry observers and raised questions about what caused the veteran executive to lose a $17 million job.
US Coast Guard To Call Swastikas, Nooses "Potentially Divisive"
The US Coast Guard is poised to change some of its language and policies surrounding the display of hate symbols like swastikas and nooses as well as how personnel report hate incidents.
