Top World News
US tourist arrested for landing on forbidden Indian tribal island
Police say man landed on island in attempt to meet the Sentinelese people – a tribe untouched by the industrial worldIndian police said on Thursday they had arrested a US tourist who sneaked on to a highly restricted island carrying a coconut and a can of Diet Coke to a tribe untouched by the industrial world.Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov, 24, set foot on the restricted territory of North Sentinel – part of India’s Andaman Islands – in an attempt to meet the Sentinelese people, who are believed to number only about 150. Continue reading...
Macron suggests pause on US investment as EU leaders condemn Trump tariffs
Von der Leyen calls tariffs ‘a major blow to world economy’ while calling for last-ditch negotiationsEuropean leaders have condemned Donald Trump’s tariffs as “fundamentally wrong” and creating an “immense difficulty for Europe”, while appealing for last-ditch negotiations to avert an all-out trade war.The French president, Emmanuel Macron, said Trump’s decision to impose tariffs was “brutal and unfounded” and appeared to call for a suspension of French investment in the US until the tariffs were clarified. Continue reading...
Macron calls Trump’s tariffs ‘brutal and unfounded’ and warns France could suspend US investments – as it happened
President says ‘nothing can be ruled out’ in response to US measuresWhat are tariffs and why do they matter?French prime minister François Bayrou told reporters that Donald Trump’s tariffs marked “a catastrophe” for the global economy, and posed “an immense difficulty” for Europe.Speaking on the margins of a meeting in the French Senate, he also said the move will be “a catastrophe for the US and for US citizens.” Continue reading...
Hungary to pull out of ‘political’ ICC as Netanyahu visits Budapest
Israeli PM, who is wanted by the court, hails Viktor Orbán’s ‘bold and principled’ decision to leave the ‘corrupt’ bodyHungary will leave the international criminal court because it has become “political”, the country’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, said as he welcomed his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanhayu – the subject of an ICC arrest warrant – to Budapest for an official visit.Standing beside Netanyahu at the start of the four-day visit, Orbàn said Hungary was convinced the “otherwise very important court” had “diminished into a political forum”. Continue reading...
'Did you have a lobotomy?': Conservative slams 'free-trader' Rubio for kissing up to Trump
Conservative commentator and MAGA critic Ana Navarro-Cárdenas had some sharp words for Secretary of State Marco Rubio's praise of the Trump administration's sweeping tariffs that may well spark a global trade war.Navarro-Cárdenas claimed she has known Rubio for 30 years, from their early days in Miami, FL, politics. She has been highly critical of Rubio's descent into MAGA policies, where he once called Donald Trump a "con artist" who "hijacked the conservative movement."Rubio was present in the Rose Garden Wednesday when Trump declared "liberation day" and signed an executive order imposing reciprocal tariffs affecting some 65 countries.Shortly after the event, Rubio posted on X, "Thank you, @POTUS! 'Made in America' is not just a tagline — it’s an economic and national security priority."ALSO READ: 'The Hard Reset': Here's how the U.S. is exporting terrorism around the worldNavarro-Cárdenas immediately jumped on the tweet, writing, "Marco, you are a free-trader. You argued against tariffs until like 5 minutes ago. Did you have a lobotomy, or does your servility just have no limits?"A search of Rubio's past stance on free trade showed that he challenged Trump's desire to start a punitive trade war against countries he believed treated the United States unfairly. During a 2016 Republican debate, Rubio said, "About the trade war — I don't understand, because your ties and the clothes are made in Mexico and in China. You're going to start a trade war against your own ties and suits. Why don't you make them in America?" Also, in 2016, when Trump argued for 45% tariffs on Chinese goods, Rubio retorted, "I think we need to be very careful with tariffs, and here's why. China doesn't pay the tariff, the buyer pays the tariff: it gets passed on in the price to the consumer. So I think the better approach, the best thing we can do to protect ourselves against China economically is to make our economy stronger. It begins with tax reform. It continues with regulatory reform."Another person who questioned Rubio for going all-in on tariffs was Kyle Matthews, with the Montreal Institute for Global Security. He posted under Rubio's tweet, "Best of luck in your diplomacy. You are going to need it."
Residents of Israeli community attacked by Hamas try to rebuild lives and homes
The tranquility of Kibbutz Kfar Aza, a small Israeli community just a mile from the Gaza border, was shattered Oct. 7, 2023, by a brutal Hamas-led assault that left 67 residents dead, 19 kidnapped and almost every household scarred by violence. The attack was one of the deadliest in the nation's history and exposed the vulnerability of a community that had been defined by its optimism and hopes for peace.
'Worse-than-anticipated' reaction to Trump tariffs is 'freaking out Wall Street': reporter
Investors are holding their collective breaths over President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs that experts and consumers alike fear could plunge the economy into a recession. CNN reporter Matt Egan declared Thursday, "Clearly the president's trade war is freaking out Wall Street. It's sending shockwaves across global markets." Egan pointed out huge drops in future Thursday morning, with the Dow down 3%, with a nearly 4% drop in the S&P 500, and a nearly 5% drop for the NASDAQ. After the markets closed on Wednesday, Trump held a Rose Garden "celebration" as he prepared to sign his executive order. "While specifics about enforcement and duration of the new tariffs remain unclear, a document distributed to reporters included a list of 65 countries with calculated reciprocal rates," Newsweek reported. ALSO READ: 'The Hard Reset': Here's how the U.S. is exporting terrorism around the world "I guess this answers one question: why the White House waited until after the closing bell for the president to actually roll out his trade plan," Egan said. Egan added that investors "were bracing for some rough news on tariffs yesterday, but I think this reaction shows that the result was even worse than they had anticipated." "Look at this!" Egan exclaimed in front of a chart showing the U.S. tariff rate going back 200 years. "And what you can see here is one, it's going straight higher. Fitch ratings says that it's going to be at at least 22% because of these new Trump tariffs — that is the highest level since around 1910, even surpassing Smoot-Hawley, which infamously made the Great Depression even worse." Egan said JP Morgan financial services issued a note to their clients Wednesday night, "and they say look, if these policies are sustained and they're implemented, it's likely going to push the U.S. and the global economy into recession this year." Egan also quoted Moody's Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi, saying, "If they follow through, i would buckle up and brace for impact. He said a recession seems more likely than not." Watch the clip below via CNN or click the link.
Murders of two female students prompt calls for a ‘cultural rebellion’ in Italy
Sara Campanella and Ilaria Sula were found within 48 hours of each other, bringing the number of femicides in 2025 to 11There have been calls in Italy for a “cultural rebellion” amid outrage and protests over the murders of two female students found within 48 hours of each other, bringing the number of femicides in the country since the start of the year to 11.Sara Campanella, a 22-year-old biomedical student, was stabbed at a bus stop in the Sicilian city of Messina on Monday afternoon and died while being taken to hospital. Continue reading...
Rubio tries to reassure wary allies of U.S. commitment to NATO as Trump sends mixed signals
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Trump administration's new envoy to NATO are seeking to reassure wary members of the U.S. commitment to the alliance.
Liberal candidate says women should not serve in ADF combat roles amid range of controversial views
Benjamin Britton, standing in the seat of Whitlam, told a rightwing podcast Australia’s education system ‘brainwashed’ students with Marxist ideology, and praised Isle of Man flat taxElection 2025 live updates: Australia federal election campaignPolls tracker; election guide; full federal election coverageAnywhere but Canberra; interactive electorates guideListen to the first episode of our new narrative podcast series: GinaGet our afternoon election email, free app or daily news podcastThe Liberal candidate for the New South Wales seat of Whitlam expressed a string of controversial views on fringe podcasts before his preselection, including the claim that women should not serve in combat positions with the Australian Defence Force (ADF).Benjamin Britton, who has been praised by Peter Dutton as an “outstanding candidate”, ran unsuccessfully for the United Australia party at the 2022 federal election. He has since claimed “diversity and equity quotas, Marxist ideology and woke ideologies” have weakened the country’s defences, singling out a 2013 change allowing women to be recruited into frontline combat positions.Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletterExposure to pornography leads to gender dysphoria and “transgender desires”;Labor intentionally keeps some electorates poor to have a better chance of winning them;Australia should “look at the Isle of Man” for lessons on introducing a flat tax rate to attract billionaires;The education system has “brainwashed” young Australians with Marxist ideology. Continue reading...
Russia bans Elton John Aids Foundation over its support for LGBTQ+ rights
Designation as ‘undesirable organisation’ exposes nonprofit’s staff and partners to possible criminal prosecutionRussian authorities on Thursday banned the Elton John Aids Foundation (EJAF), which focuses on HIV/Aids prevention, citing its support for LGBTQ+ rights as a reason for the move.Founded by the British singer and songwriter in 1992, the organisation funds HIV treatment programmes in countries including Russia. It also advocates for LGBTQ+ people, who have faced years of brutal persecution in Russia. Continue reading...
'The patient lived!' Trump celebrates tariffs with 'operation' comparison as markets tank
President Donald Trump tempted fate with a social media post celebrating his controversial tariffs that called to mind George W. Bush's infamous "mission accomplished" speech during the Iraq war. The president announced sweeping tariffs Wednesday on U.S. imports that shook up world markets and will increase prices for American consumers, but he fired off an all-caps post on Truth Social preemptively celebrating his policy's impact on the economy. "The operation is over!" Trump posted at 8:33 a.m. EST. "The patient lived, and is healing. The prognosis is that the patient will be far stronger, bigger, better, and more resilient than ever before. Make America great again!!!" ALSO READ: 'Came as a surprise to me': Senators 'troubled' by one aspect of government funding bill Trump argues that the tariffs will boost domestic manufacturing, although economists generally disagree about their beneficial impact, and the post has the potential to haunt the president like Bush's premature speech weeks after the March 2003 invasion of Iraq. Global markets tumbled on Thursday morning after Trump's announcement, with S&P 500 futures slumping more than 3 percent and the value of the U.S. dollar dropping more than 1 percent.
