Top World News
Families on rooftops, homes buried by mud: Asia floods show water is overtaking wind as main threat
Much improved response systems are struggling to cope with ever more powerful and destructive stormsDeath toll from Indonesia floods passes 700 as 1 million evacuatedFamilies stranded on their rooftops. Homes buried by fast-flowing mud. Jagged brown craters scarring lush green hillsides.The scenes are the result of a series of cyclones and storms in a heavy monsoon season that have struck Asia with torrential rains, gutting essential infrastructure and reshaping landscapes. The violent weather has killed at least 1,200 people in the past week and forced a million to flee without knowing whether their homes will still be standing when they go back. Continue reading...
Trump frees ex-Honduran president from prison as country awaits knife-edge election result
Release of convicted cocaine trafficker Juan Orlando Hernández is latest US interference in election and comes despite Trump’s apparent ‘war on drugs’Analysis: Trump’s pardon of Honduras’s ex-president shows counter-drug effort is ‘based on lies and hypocrisy’A former president of Honduras who was convicted of drug trafficking has walked free from a US prison after receiving a pardon from Donald Trump, as the country’s presidential election remained on a knife edge with the US-backed candidate leading by 515 votes.Juan Orlando Hernández, who was sentenced to 45 years in prison for allegedly creating “a cocaine superhighway to the United States”, was released from a West Virginia prison after Trump’s intervention, Hernández’s wife confirmed on Tuesday. Continue reading...
British women stranded by landslides in Sri Lankan mountains running out of food and water, daughter says
Friends Melanie Watters and Janine Reid have been trapped in Pussellawa since ThursdayTwo British women stranded by landslides in Sri Lanka’s tea mountains are running out of food and water, the daughter of one of them has said, as officials reported that the death toll of Cyclone Ditwah has reached 465.Melanie Watters, 54, and her friend Janine Reid, 55, both from London, were being driven through the mountains from Kandy in central Sri Lanka on Thursday when the road in front of them was swamped, sending a bus nearby over a cliff-edge. Continue reading...
Tunisian police detain leading human rights defender as sweep against critics widens
Tunisian police on Tuesday arrested prominent opposition lawyer and longtime human rights defender Ayachi Hammami at his home outside the capital, acting on a five-year prison sentence issued against him last week in a prominent "conspiracy against state security" case, his family said.
WATCH: Germany launches new federal police's drone defense unit
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt on Tuesday inaugurated the country's new federal police drone defense unit, which can be deployed across the country and "is equipped with the latest technology for smart drone defense."
Conservative Salvador Nasralla leads Honduras presidential contest after pause in results reporting
A day after Honduran electoral authorities stopped reporting updates to the presidential vote count because of "technical problems," candidate Salvador Nasralla of the conservative Liberal party had a slight edge Tuesday over Nasry Asfura, the National Party candidate endorsed by U.S. President Donald Trump.
St Lucia prime minister Philip Pierre keeps majority as ruling party wins
Labour party holds at least 13 seats after campaign centered on crime, economy and passport salesSt Lucia Labour party (SLP) of the prime minister, Philip Pierre, has held its legislative majority, putting Pierre on course for re-election after a campaign centered on economic management, violent crime and passport sales.Official election results on Tuesday showed the social democratic SLP winning at least 13 seats in the small Caribbean island’s 17-seat House of Assembly, matching its current majority with two seats left to be called. The results showed Pierre with 57.1% of the popular vote against the conservative opposition leader Allen Chastanet’s 37.3%. Continue reading...
China's plan for 'mega' embassy in London faces further delay
British authorities have delayed a decision on a super-sized Chinese embassy in central London amid growing security concerns
Lee backs a nuclear-armed South Korea, but says without U.S. support, the prospect is off the table
The nuclear genie keeps trying to wriggle its way out of the bottle in South Korea, with President Lee Jae-myung addressing rumors about Seoul using the technology.
NATO chief dismisses concerns about US commitment to the alliance ahead of Ukraine meeting
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte brushed off fresh concern about the United States’ commitment to the military organization on the eve of a meeting of allied foreign ministers focused on Russia’s war against Ukraine
Nigeria's president nominates ex-military chief for defense minister weeks after he was forced out
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday nominated the former military chief as defense minister just weeks after he was made to step down.
NATO chief dismisses concerns about U.S. commitment to the alliance ahead of Ukraine meeting
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte brushed off fresh concern Tuesday about the United States' commitment to the military organization on the eve of a meeting of allied foreign ministers focused on Russia's war against Ukraine.
