Top World News
‘Master yachtsman’ who fled 2005 trial for sexual assault arrested off US coast
Ronald Fischer, 70, was sentenced to life in his absence after telling lawyer he planned to ‘enjoy life in another country’A “master yachtsman” who went on the run for more than two decades after fleeing a sexual assault trial in Rhode Island which resulted in his conviction despite his absence was captured on Thursday on a sailboat off New Jersey’s coast, according to authorities.Ronald L Fischer, 70, had been considered one of Rhode Island’s most wanted fugitives before his arrest, state police officials said in a statement on social media. And his case had been mentioned repeatedly over the years on the true-crime television program America’s Most Wanted. Continue reading...
Meta trying to destroy whistleblower Sarah Wynn-Williams, US senator says
Republican Josh Hawley accuses Mark Zuckerberg’s firm of relentlessly pursuing and attempting to bankrupt herA US senator has accused Meta of using lawfare in “efforts to destroy” a whistleblower who made allegations about the social media company’s dealings with China and its treatment of teenagers.In a letter to its founder, Mark Zuckerberg, the Republican senator Josh Hawley demanded to know what measures Meta had taken to monitor Sarah Wynn-Williams, Facebook’s former global head of public policy, and her family. Continue reading...
Iran Claims It Destroyed Many US Jets, Caused "Serious Damage" To Many More
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they destroyed "several US refuelling aircraft and fighter jets" and caused "serious damage to many more".
Israeli strike on Gaza funeral killed at least seven people, hospital says
Another 22 reportedly injured while mourning Palestinian killed in Israeli attack earlier in the dayAn Israeli strike on a funeral in the Gaza Strip has killed at least seven people and injured another 22, according to a local hospital.There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. Continue reading...
US hits civilian infrastructure as it expands strikes against Iran
Tehran bombs US allies in Middle East after US attacks on bridges, energy facilities and key portThe US hit bridges, energy facilities and a key Iranian port on Friday, expanding its aerial campaign against Iran, and prompting swift Iranian strikes against US allies in the Middle East.US airstrikes hit bridges in Iran’s southern Hormozgan province, killing at least seven people, Iranian state TV reported. The bridges were a key transit point for Bandar Abbas, Iran’s main port. Further US airstrikes brought down a tower in Chabahar port on the Gulf of Oman that the US military claimed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) used to facilitate attacks on vessels in the strait of Hormuz. The US also targeted key electrical infrastructure and Iranshahr airport. Continue reading...
Europe’s most effective tool to cut greenhouse gas emissions ‘risks being weakened’
European Commission proposal to overhaul emissions trading system would give companies less demanding pathway to reductionsEurope’s most effective method of cutting dangerous planet-heating gases risks being weakened after the European Commission proposed an overhaul of its flagship carbon market, critics have said.In a long-awaited review of the European Union emissions trading system (ETS), the European Commission proposed giving companies a less demanding and cheaper pathway to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Continue reading...
Iran proves it can still inflict damage despite waves of US attacks
Leaked US intelligence report concluded Iran retained 70% of missiles and launchers after 38-day spring campaignIran and the US have been trading blows for six consecutive nights and there are no shortage of signs that the renewed fighting will worsen further. Tehran and Washington remain far apart diplomatically, and though the US retains a significant military overmatch, Iran has more than enough capability to inflict damage.Friday’s developments are a case in point. A wave of US attacks, with missiles launched from jets, drones and warships, targeted Iranian ports and the south of the country, collapsing a tower at Chabahar, on the Gulf of Oman, and highways and bridges into the strait of Hormuz port of Bandar Abbas, perhaps in an effort to cut it off. Continue reading...
Brenda Fricker, Oscar winner for My Left Foot, dies aged 81
The acclaimed Irish actor started her career in Coronation Street and Casualty before a string of high-profile Hollywood rolesBrenda Fricker, who became the first female Irish Oscar winner for acting with My Left Foot, has died aged 81. Her agent Phil Belfield told the BBC in a statement: “We will never see her like again and the world is lesser for the lack of her … I was honoured to know, love and work with her and she will always have a place in my heart and in the heart of so many film and TV fans the world over.”In My Left Foot, Fricker plays the mother of Christy Brown, whose cerebral palsy means he only has muscular control over one of his feet. The film, directed by Jim Sheridan, was released to enormous acclaim in 1989, winning the best actor Oscar for Daniel Day-Lewis as well as best supporting actress for Fricker. Continue reading...
Trump speech lays groundwork for him to tamper with midterm results, critics warn
Democrats and advocates sound alarm at Trump rehashing false claims about 2020 election in his primetime addressDemocrats and voting rights groups say Donald Trump’s primetime speech making unverified claims of Chinese interference in the 2020 election is the clearest sign yet that the president is laying the groundwork to tamper with the results of November’s midterms.The upcoming elections to decide the balance of power in Congress and many state legislatures will be a major test of Trump’s appeal to voters two years after he resoundingly beat the Democratic candidate Kamala Harris to return to the White House. With polls showing that the president is disliked by majorities of voters and his Republican allies are at risk of losing their control of the House of Representatives, the president’s Thursday evening speech rehashing allegations about the 2020 election he lost to Joe Biden sparked fears he was already looking for ways to ensure November’s results are in his favor. Continue reading...
Iranian airport and bridges hit as US forces board ship amid ports blockade – as it happened
This blog is now closed, you can read more on this story here:US marines board tanker amid blockade of Iranian portsThe IRGC has threatened “more crushing” attacks against neighbouring countries hosting US bases, warning that they will pay a “devastating price” if American forces continue to attack Iran’s civilian infrastructure.In a statement carried by state media, it said:The American enemy and the hosts of its bases in the region should know that crossing red lines and attacking civilians and civilian infrastructure will have a very severe and devastating price to pay. Should the enemy continue on this path, even more crushing responses are on the way.” Continue reading...
Biodiversity fears as human-bred hybrid fish integrate into Philippines lake
Escaped flowerhorn cichlids are causing concern for native species and about parasites capable of infecting humansEscaped ornamental aquarium fish have integrated into a local ecosystem in the Philippines, but scientists say they may be threatening the native biodiversity of the lake.Flowerhorn cichlids – human-bred hybrid fish prized for their bright-gold colour and prominent head humps – are believed to have escaped from breeding facilities into Lake Sampaloc, which sits in a volcanic crater, during a typhoon. Continue reading...
Dismissal of Ukraine’s defence minister highlights wider issues for Zelenskyy
Mykhailo Fedorov, celebrated by many for innovative, tech-driven approach, was sidelined for military old guardVolodomyr Zelenskyy’s abrupt dismissal of Ukraine’s youthful and innovative defence minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, at precisely the moment Kyiv appeared to be gaining advantages in several spheres of its war with Russia has exposed, not for the first time, a troubling flaw in the president’s leadership.The move, which has startled senior European officials and caused consternation, and demonstrations, in Ukraine, is all the more shocking given Fedorov’s role in pushing a clear strategy to prosecute the war, leveraging Ukraine’s rapidly developing technological advances in drone and missile technology. Continue reading...
Jul 17, 2026