Top World News

Oct 13, 2026 - World

Civilians warned to leave target area near Sana’a before attacks as conflict between Riyadh and Houthi forces escalatesSaudi Arabia has launched a series of strikes on a strategic oil depot on the outskirts of Yemen’s capital, Sana’a, while later on Tuesday it said it had intercepted missiles launched toward Dharan, location of the headquarters of the huge national energy company Saudi Aramco.The attacks on both sides were a fresh escalation of the conflict between Riyadh and the Iran-backed Houthi forces. Before its offensive on Tuesday, a Saudi spokesperson warned civilians to leave the target area, in an apparent attempt to strike fear into the local population before the biggest attack so far on Houthi energy infrastructure. Continue reading...

Oct 13, 2026 - World

The United States was one of just three nations to vote against a declaration on “pandemic prevention, preparedness and response” that was adopted by the United Nations, drawing alarm from public health advocates.“They are going to kill us,” advocate Laura Miers, best known for her commentary on COVID-19, wrote in a social media post on X Tuesday.Adopted in a vote of 153-3, with two abstentions, the declaration outlines how countries can improve their response to future pandemics and includes 64 recommendations such as expanding access to vaccines, committing to protect vulnerable populations, and strengthening international coordination. The declaration is not legally binding.The United States, Israel and Argentina were the only nations to vote against adopting the declaration. New Zealand and Paraguay abstained from the vote.The text had been expected to pass by consensus at a high-level meeting in September, but objections from the United States and a few other countries forced a vote, according to UN News. The U.S. representative had cited “divisive ideologies that lack definitional consensus,” as well as the declaration’s references to ongoing negotiations over an annex to the World Health Organization’s pandemic agreement.“Now why would the US, Israel, and Argentina very specifically vote NO on a new global pandemic preparedness declaration?” Miers asked. “Let’s think about this for a moment.”Colorado-based journalist Mat Smith blamed Republicans.“Republicans stopped believing in science when it became profitable to do so,” Smith wrote, reacting to the U.S. vote against the pandemic preparedness declaration.For decades, the United States has often voted against the overwhelming consensus of the United Nations alongside Israel, particularly on issues related to Palestine.In 2021, the United States and Israel were the only nations to vote against a resolution affirming that having access to food was a human right. The United States and Israel were the only nations to vote against ending the longstanding U.S. embargo on Cuba in 2024, and in 2023, the United States and Israel were joined by just two other nations, Micronesia and Nauru, in voting against affirming Palestinians’ right to self-determination.The United Nations General Assembly adopted a new Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response (PPPR) declaration. The United States, Israel, & Argentina stood alone & voted against it. They are going to kill us. https://t.co/3q7s0Ca260— Laura Miers (@LauraMiers) October 13, 2026

Oct 13, 2026 - World

Marches in Delhi against changes to voting registration led to dragnets, internet blackouts – and questions about India’s electoral independence. Plus, the cinematographer capturing the beauty of the mundane• Don’t get This is India delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereMonths of simmering public anger have given rise to a season of discontent in India. In its latest iteration, the demand is for the removal of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the scrapping of a controversial electoral rolls revision that has struck 130 million people off the register. Protests have erupted every day over the past week, prompting a violent crackdown on dissenters in the capital.Over the weekend, Delhi was effectively under lockdown, transformed into a militarised landscape of barricades, road closures and paramilitary forces marching through the streets. Ahead of a protest led by the Cockroach Janta party on Saturday, authorities deployed a massive dragnet: 245 trains to Delhi were cancelled, 45 metro stations were shut, liquor shops were closed, internet services were cut off in the heart of the city and activists were put under house arrest. Continue reading...

Oct 12, 2026 - World

President Donald Trump astounded analysts on Monday after he uttered what some described as an "exceptionally stupid" claim about Russia's war against Ukraine. Trump was asked about his recently announced energy "ceasefire" between Russia and Ukraine while speaking with reporters outside the White House. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday that Russia carried out a barrage of attacks against the country's energy infrastructure after Trump announced the ceasefire. "How will you make Putin abide by the ceasefire?" the reporter shouted. "Well, I think that's happening is that [Putin] wants to make a deal, and we have to get Zelenskyy to want to make a deal," Trump replied. Trump has repeatedly blamed Ukraine for prolonging the war and blamed the country for the rising cost of diesel fuel in the U.S. because of its attacks on Russian oil refineries. The president's comments also seem to contradict recent history. In a recent call with Trump, Putin vowed to continue the war and rejected the idea of holding peace talks, The Kyiv Post reported. Trump's comments caused a firestorm on social media. "You have to be exceptionally stupid to believe this," Pradheep Shanker, a National Review contributor, posted on X. "How delusional and sinister," Laura Rozen, a foreign policy reporter, posted on X. "If only Trump defended Americans as hard as he defends Russia," Joni Askola, a Finnish geopolitical analyst, posted on X. "Based on what? Because Putin told you that in one of your long, loving phone calls?" Garry Kasparov, founder of Renew Democracy, posted on X. "Zelenskyy keeps agreeing to deals, Putin keeps rejecting them and increasing Russian attacks on civilians. Putin could end the war in an instant. He doesn’t want to."

Oct 12, 2026 - World

A recent report from the New York Times sheds new light on the speedy marriage between a Turkish billionaire and one of President Donald Trump's former lawyers. Alina Habba, a former U.S. attorney in the Trump administration, and 29-year-old Turkish businessman Turhan Mildon married last month after getting together earlier this year. While the MAGA power couple's wedding was attended by high-ranking Trump officials like FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Todd Blanche, the timeline of the couple's relationship raises questions about some of the shady deals that were up in the air around the time Habba and Mildon got together, according to the report. For instance, the Times noted that Venezuelan leader Delcy Rodríguez had her sights set on Mildon's business interests before she learned of his relationship with Habba. Rodríguez had planned to audit one of the state-owned cement factories that Mildon operated, "citing a failure to meet investment targets," the report noted. She had also supported the U.S.'s efforts to sanction Mildon, which could have crippled his businesses, according to the report. "But there was a bright spot: Mr. Mildon had met Ms. Habba, one of Mr. Trump’s most prominent legal defenders," the report reads in part. "They started dating this year, soon after Mr. Maduro’s downfall. By this past summer, the couple’s burgeoning romance had begun to draw attention. Specifically, it caught the eye of Ms. Rodríguez, according to two people close to her. Mr. Mildon was in a serious relationship with a woman who had high-level access to Mr. Trump — the one person keeping Ms. Rodríguez in power."Mildon also made some intentional steps to further integrate himself within Trumpworld, like frequently attending the Kennedy Center and networking with its president, Richard Grenell. Mildon met Habba at one of the events in 2025, according to the report. Mildon also used his experience as a back-channel diplomat between the Maduro regime and the Trump administration to get closer to Republican officials who helped him repair his relationship with Rodríguez, according to the report. "When Christopher Ruddy, the chief executive of Newsmax, a pro-Trump news channel, secured a meeting with her in February, Mr. Mildon tagged along. The spokesman for Mr. Mildon said he has spoken with Ms. Rodríguez several times since," it reads. These circumstances raised questions about the quick wedding that Habba and Mildon threw together, which the Times noted took just 60 days. Habba denied advocating for her husband's businesses in her meetings with Trump. “I have never, under any circumstances, got involved with this White House or administration on behalf of my husband, nor would he ever ask me to,” she told the outlet.