Top World News
Monday briefing: How the Cockroach protests have exposed the cracks in India’s government
In today’s newsletter: Across the country, a younger generation is turning private disillusionment into public defiance against a government that once felt untouchableGood morning. As flames engulfed parts of France and Spain this weekend, in India, the prime minister, Narendra Modi, was trying to put out a very different kind of fire. Thousands of people arrived in Delhi on Saturday to demand the resignation of his education minister, Dharmendra Pradhan. When he stepped down in the early afternoon, the protests turned into a triumphant block party.But the Cockroach protests that have swept through India this summer are about much more than a single minister. They have humiliated Modi and undermined the indomitable power of his Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) that has ruled India for the past 12 years. They’re also a lesson in using humour to political advantage.Wild fires | Authorities in France battled to contain a huge wildfire near Bordeaux in the south-west as Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, warned Spain and the Iberian peninsula were suffering the effects of the climate emergency.Germany | A man suspected of driving a van into a crowd near Berlin’s Pride festival then going on a knife rampage in an Islamist terror attack has been shot dead by police, German officials have said.Iran | The US has paused strikes on Iran for a second night as top military officials advised Donald Trump to halt his bombing campaign, and diplomatic negotiations have continued to avoid a return to all-out war.UK politics | Britain’s foreign secretary, Ed Miliband, is to indicate he will put the climate crisis and overseas development at the heart of UK international relations by taking up the country’s seat on the board at the World Bank.UK news | Five Palestine Action activists face being sentenced as terrorists for breaking windows and throwing red paint at a branch of Barclays Bank in Lancashire.Monday | Andrew and Tristan Tate are due back in the Florida court where they’re fighting their extradition to the UK, to face rape and sex-trafficking charges.Tuesday | Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy are expected to be among those attending the Washington DC memorial service for the late South Carolina senator and Trump ally Lindsey Graham.Thursday | People will go to the polls to elect the next mayor of Greater Manchester, who will replace Andy Burnham. Continue reading...
Nightmare scenario likely after Trump's nuclear deal creates 'giant firestorm': expert
President Donald Trump's foray into nuclear politics has created a "giant firestorm" that makes a nightmare scenario increasingly likely, according to one political scientist. Robert Pape, a political scientist at the University of Chicago, argued during a recent episode of "The Court of History" podcast on the Legal AF Network that Trump's demand that Saudi Arabia sign the Abraham Accords, and thereby normalize relations with Israel, is likely to backfire. Pape noted that the agreement provides no way to prevent Saudi Arabia from enriching uranium because there is no oversight or enforcement. "President Trump seems to realize this has touched off the giant firestorm," Pape said, noting that the deal increased Saudi Arabia's chances of getting a nuclear weapon from 98% to 99.999%. Once Saudi Arabia has a nuclear weapon, it's only a matter of time before other nations start knocking, Pape said. All of a sudden, nuclear weapons would proliferate across the globe. "What does it mean for [countries] besides Iran? It means the [United Arab Emirates] knocking on the door, 'Hey, what do you mean Saudi Arabia doesn't have to abide by these gold standards? We want to slip them as well here.' And then, of course, it doesn't take much to start looking at why Ukraine is not going down this road ... And why isn't Poland talking about doing this?"Pape said the situation could result in another forever war "quagmire" that Trump is unable to pull the U.S. out of. "If you thought you couldn't have made the situation worse, there was already a fire, and we're already pouring gasoline on the fire," Pape said.
Dire warning as Trump confidant switches sides on key issue: 'This could be his undoing'
There's something ominous in the air after one of President Donald Trump's confidants apparently switched sides in Ukraine's war against Russia. Recently, MAGA influencer and Trump whisperer Laura Loomer traveled to Ukraine to interview President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a move that even Loomer admitted was odd given her past denunciations of the country. But the event signaled something even more dire may be afoot for one global leader who seemed to have Trump's ear, according to William Taylor, a distinguished fellow at The Atlantic Council and a former ambassador to Ukraine. "I think what we're seeing is a change on the battlefield, and that's allowing the Ukrainians to demonstrate that they are actually winning on the battlefield," Taylor told CNN's Erica Hill on "CNN Newsroom." "They're taking the war to the Russians, deep into Russia. [Vladimir] Putin is on his back foot."The situation on the battlefield has become so dire that Putin is calling for a new draft to restock his military capacity, according to reports. That happened at a time when at least eight Russian soldiers are dying on the battlefield for every Ukrainian soldier lost, Taylor said. "This could be Putin's undoing, [his] political undoing. He's got big problems. He's not sure where to go," Taylor said.
'People are scared': MAGA senator lashes out at Trump over 'hair trigger' tensions
A MAGA Senator took to the airwaves to call out President Donald Trump for hypocrisy. Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) admitted on "Face the Nation" Sunday that he was not "comfortable" with Trump's newly announced and already problem-laden nuclear deal."We're bombing a country to keep'm from getting a nuclear weapon," said Kennedy. "But we're signing a deal with another country...that the world perceives as possibly, someday leading to a nuclear weapon."The countries, of course, are Iran — which Trump ostensibly started to dismantle their nuclear program — and Saudia Arabia, the nation Trump wants to allow to enrich uranium.The U.S. struck the deal Wednesday but hit a snag over the Saudi government's relationship with Israel. Less than 24 hours after announcing the deal, Trump added a condition that the Saudis normalize those relations. Experts warn the deal could trigger a cascade of nuclear ambitions across the Middle East, The Wall Street Journal has reported, and critics note the Saudis gave Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner's private equity firm $2 billion."Face the Nation" host Margaret Brennan noted Sunday that any deal would have to be approved by Congress, which prompted Kennedy to list off his concerns. "The world's on a hair trigger," Kennedy said. "The world looks at what's going on in Ukraine, the Middle East, the world looks at America's relationship now with Europe."He added, "People are scared." The Louisiana lawmaker is hardly the first U.S. senator to vent frustration with Trump this week. White House demands that Majority Leader Sen. John Thune (R-SD) do more to pass the SAVE America Act — a non-citizen voting ban critics describe as redundant and dystopian — have infuriated GOP members of the Senate. "Instead of pointing the finger at Republicans," Thune said, "they might think about going after the people who are stopping it on the floor, which is the Democrats."Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) added, "I have 1000 percent confidence in Thune, and anybody in the White House who thinks he's not a good leader isn't qualified for their job.""This idea that he can just command members of the Republican conference to get in line is just a fantasy," responded Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX). “It’s creating a circular firing squad for Republicans.”Kennedy himself added, “John can’t put a gun to people’s heads."
'Deadly mistakes': Trump border czar gets pummeled on-air for shrugging ICE answers
A high-ranking official in President Donald Trump's administration was subjected to ridicule and scorn Sunday after he struggled to answer basic questions.CNN anchor Dana Bash asked White House Border Czar Tom Homan about Immigration Control and Enforcement officers in Texas and Maine who fatally shot unarmed fathers this month. "Do you know specifically what happened to the officers involved in the Texas and Maine shootings?" Bash asked. "Are they on administrative leave?""I don't know, specifically," he said. "The policy would be to put them on administrative leave."Bash pressed, "But as border czar, you don't know for sure if they have been?"Homan shrugged and said, "No."Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 52, was killed during a traffic stop in Texas on July 7 — FBI claims that he had drugs in his car were later disproved.Joan Sebastian Durán Guerrero, 25, was fatally shot in Maine on July 13 by an ICE agent identified in reports as David Brouillette, an Army veteran whose two ex-wives have accused him of abuse.Bash quizzed Homan on this point. "One of the ICE officers connected to the fatal shooting in Maine was accused of abuse by two ex-wives…Should someone with those issues be an ICE agent?" asked Bash.Homan replied, "No, if those are facts, I don't think he should have ever cleared vetting."Homan's admissions of ignorance stunned onlookers who expected greater detail from an official who oversees Trump's mass deportation initiative."If Tom Homan doesn't know he should be fired on the spot," replied X user Craig Carl. "This is a blatant lie or gross incompetence.""ICE has vetting?" political commentator Mike Bates quipped. "Who knew!""Feckless lying stupid sack of s---," fumed Lizzie Cochrane.Even Bash joined in on the bashing, as video shows, when Homan declared, "I wouldn't say that mistakes were made.""We've seen with our own eyes that mistakes were made," she said. "Deadly mistakes were made. At least 5 of them."
India’s Cockroach Janta party protest victory signals trouble ahead for Modi
Ally forced to resign, with opposition parties reinvigorated and strongman leader’s grip over media channels rockedEven the night before Narendra Modi accepted the resignation of his education minister, India’s prime minister appeared confident that the largest mass uprising to take place in his 12 years in power would do little to rattle his government.Addressing his “young friends” in a late-night Instagram selfie reel on Friday, he thanked the people – who were mobilised en masse across the country, shouting anti-government slogans – for their “thoughtful suggestions”. Continue reading...
Trump just turbocharged Iran's nuclear ambitions in a big way: report
President Donald Trump has repeatedly said the main rationale for the Iran war is to stop Tehran from getting a nuclear weapon.But according to The New York Times, everything he has done may have actually made it more likely.New assessments from U.S. intelligence have determined "that Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, is far more interested than his father and predecessor in pursuing a nuclear weapon," said the report. Mojtaba Khamenei assumed command of Iran after his father, the longtime supreme leader, was taken out as part of the U.S. offensives."American officials caution that most of the intelligence on Mojtaba Khamenei’s views comes from before the war," the report noted. The new supreme leader has not made many public appearances since he was injured in the war, out of concern for his own security and public image.U.S. officials believe the Iranian regime has not truly restarted its nuclear program. However, per reports, Israeli intelligence identified that Tehran is moving centrifuges to a secret underground facility U.S. officials call "Pickaxe Mountain," which they believe is more secure from conventional airstrikes than the facilities damaged by U.S. forces at Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan.Trump has spoken openly about a strike against Pickaxe Mountain in response.After the initial round of airstrikes, Trump had promised that Iran's nuclear capabilities had been "obliterated," even though the stated basis for the war is to stop Iran's nuclear capabilities.
Ex-ambassador erupts over Trump admin's 'huge mistake': 'This is so crazy'
Former ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul expressed on MS NOW Friday morning extreme dismay at the sloppiness of President Donald Trump’s nuclear cooperation agreement with the Saudis.McFaul scoffed at the deal that would allow U.S. companies to help the Middle Eastern nation develop its atomic energy infrastructure and the reason it recently stalled: Trump's sudden demand Saudi Arabia normalize relations with Israel.“This is so crazy,” McFaul said. “I just just just to step back for a minute: This is a pattern of how they make decisions in the Trump administration.”McFaul explained his frustration stemmed from the Trump administration's tendency to make big moves without clearing it first in-house. “There's no interagency process, the National Security Council doesn't meet Secretary [Marco] Rubio's the national security adviser and half a dozen other jobs, so they roll this out,” he elaborated. “There doesn't sound like there was a discussion with the president, no explanation why they didn't sign the additional protocol that is to give more inspections. I think that's a huge mistake.”“And then the president finds out what's happening,” he added with a laugh. “He says, ‘Well, no, I want to change the deal.’ And I just think we're suffering from the consequences of this chaos.”“Same with the decision to invade Iran,” the diplomat exclaimed. “Was there a big decision? They sit down, did they talk about secondary consequences, tertiary consequences? It appears they didn't. And this is yet another case where it just appears that they didn't really talk about what they were doing.” - YouTube youtu.be
'Off the charts': Trump admin slammed for 'despicable' deletion of fallen heroes' names
A decision by President Donald Trump’s administration to delete the names of four US service members from the Iran war dead was slammed Friday on MS NOW as “among the more offensive moves that the administration has made."The panel was responding to a New York Times report that the number of dead listed by the Pentagon mysteriously dropped from 18 to 14, ostensibly “because their deaths occurred after President Trump declared a cease-fire in the war in April.” The “Morning Joe" panel said they didn't buy it, calling the move both “outrageous” and “despicable,” with co-host Jonathan Lemire reminding viewers of the president’s low opinion of American service members who die in wars.“I mean, this wouldn't be the first time that the government, that the Trump administration has tried to doctor things to make the president look better,” Lemire stated. "It is a nonsensical argument that these four lives would matter less because they happened after a ceasefire was declared, when obviously the ceasefire is over; there are major strikes happening in the region now for well more than a week. To me, this was particularly outrageous and disgraceful.”MS NOW contributor Sam Stein offered, “Well, to me too. It's both not shocking that the Trump administration would do this, and it's shocking that it happened. What is the actual goal of doing something like this is to try to limit your political exposure for the war.”“It's despicable, honestly,” he added. "It's failing to own the consequences of their actions, or at least trying to avoid the consequences of their actions. And honestly, it's insulting to the people who sacrificed to say, ‘Hey, this was not actually a war casualty.’ It was what a casualty of a — what's the word he uses? — skirmish. I found this to be among the more offensive moves that the administration has made politically, but it obviously reflects a larger thinking that they have internally, which is that this is politically problematic.”“The callousness here is off the charts,” Lemire agreed. “And but perhaps not surprising. I agree with you, Sam. Remember, President Trump and his first term called those who were reportedly killed in combat ‘suckers and losers.’” - YouTube youtu.be
'Scumbags!': Trump's 'expletive'-riddled temper tantrum leaked to WSJ
President Donald Trump recently threw a curse-riddled temper tantrum inside the Oval Office over his own failure end the war in Iran, according to an inside source.Trump called Iranian leaders "scumbags" and lunatics" and was heard "unleashing a series of expletives," the Wall Street Journal reported late Thursday night."Trump is increasingly frustrated that a conflict he once thought would be over in a matter of weeks has dragged on with no end in sight," the Wall Street Journal reported. "Some of Trump’s advisers now worry that the war—which has resulted in higher prices, falling approval ratings and the deaths of more than a dozen U.S. service members—is consuming his presidency."Trump's frustration stems from his growing fear that he cannot negotiate the lasting peace he promised the American people after launching a war without Congressional permission he promised would last “four to five weeks,” the Journal reported. The memorandum of understanding with Iran, signed in June, lasted just over a month. "The president in recent days has grown skeptical that negotiations with Iran can produce a lasting peace, according to people familiar with the matter," the Wall Street Journal reported. "A senior administration official said Trump believes that the only thing Iran understands is military force, adding that he was in 'revenge mode' against Tehran."
Weather tracker: More than 900 wildfires rage across Canada
Fires remain out of control in Northwest Territories and Ontario, while Argentina endures record night-time heatRecent hot, dry weather in Canada has triggered hundreds of wildfires across the country. As of Wednesday, more than 900 were burning, scorching about 3m hectares of land. While fires have broken out in several provinces, the greatest concern is in the Northwest Territories and Ontario, where several remain out of control.Poor air quality has been reported across affected regions, with wildfire smoke carried by winds into the US and even across the Atlantic to northern Europe. The risk of further blazes remains high as North America enters the peak of fire season. Continue reading...
'It's stunning!' CNN's Erin Burnett floored as Trump 'raking it in' with Saudi deal
The details of President Donald Trump's nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia caused alarm bells to ring out on CNN on Thursday. CNN's Erin Burnett and Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-VA) discussed a new report during a segment on "OutFront" that the Trump company has been awarded a $63 billion development opportunity in Saudi Arabia, and that award happened around the same time that the Trump administration was negotiating with the Saudis in a deal that allows the country to enrich nuclear energy for civilian purposes. The company that awarded the development agreement is also linked to Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed Bin-Salman, who has also invested in Jared Kushner's $2 billion hedge fund during the first Trump administration. It also noted that Trump gets to keep 80% ownership in the development deal himself, while his family gets the remaining 20%. Burnett was taken aback by the report. "It's stunning," Burnett said about the report. "Congressman, the White House [told] Forbes there are no conflicts of interest. What do you say?"Walkinshaw did not mince words in his reaction. "Clearly, we have a president of the United States, Donald Trump, who has been bought and paid for by MBS and the Saudi royal family," Walkinshaw said. "As the American people struggle to make ends meet, Donald Trump is raking it in. And it appears, at least initially, [he's] giving them in return a much sweeter nuclear deal, quite frankly, than was on the table in the Biden administration with much weaker inspections, at least initially without a commitment to join the Abraham Accords. The Saudis must have been feeling like they were getting what they paid for."


