Top World News
One killed and buildings damaged as magnitude 7.4 earthquake strikes Indonesia
Quake with epicentre west-north-west of Ternate island shakes cities and prompts regional tsunami warningOne person has been killed after a 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia’s Ternate island, damaging buildings and triggering small tsunami waves.The quake, which had a depth of 35km, occurred on Thursday at 6.48am local time, according to the United States Geological Survey. Its epicentre was 127km (79 miles) west-north-west of Ternate, an island in Indonesia’s North Maluku province. Continue reading...
Trump's Iran 'update' signaled America plans to 'escalate': expert
A former presidential envoy said on Wednesday that President Donald Trump signaled the U.S. plans to escalate the war in Iran during his primetime address to the nation. Trump spoke for about 19 minutes on Wednesday, where he addressed a lot of outstanding questions people have been asking about the war in Iran, which has gone on for about five weeks. Trump said the U.S. is nearing completion of its objectives in the war, and called on the rest of the world to figure out how to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which the Iranian regime has effectively blocked since the war began. Brett McGurk, a former White House coordinator, told CNN's Kaitlin Collins on Wednesday night that he didn't hear much of a plan for exiting the war. "My takeaway is that we might be in for an escalation to this war," McGurk said. "He said, if there is not a deal put back on the table.""If we thought we were going to hear a deescalatory speech, that this might be over in just a couple of weeks, I heard something different," he added. "My takeaway was that we might be in for an escalation of this war," @brett_mcgurk says. pic.twitter.com/Mw2weRABAA— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) April 2, 2026
New Zealand signs defence pact with Cook Islands after quarrel over China deal
Agreement comes after Wellington halted millions in aid to its former colony after Cook Islands formed strategic partnership with Beijing New Zealand and the Cook Islands have signed a defence and security declaration, ending a year-long diplomatic row that erupted after the Cook Islands struck strategic agreements with China.The Cook Islands was a dependent New Zealand colony from 1901-65 but has since operated as a self-governing nation in “free association” with New Zealand. Its roughly 17,000 citizens hold New Zealand citizenship. There are obligations between the two nations to regularly consult on matters of defence and security. Continue reading...
Trump gives NATO stark ultimatum during Iran address
President Donald Trump gave NATO allies a stark ultimatum during his national address on Wednesday night. The speech was the first address Trump has given since the war in Iran started about five weeks ago. Trump addressed the progress of the war and claimed the U.S. is "nearing completion" of its objectives. He also told NATO allies that they have two choices to make when it comes to reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway that Iran has effectively shut down in retaliation for the continued bombing strikes. European countries account for roughly 4% of the oil imports and 10% of liquified natural gas imports that pass through the Strait of Hormuz, according to data from the International Energy Agency. "The United States does not import any oil through the Hormuz Strait, and we won't be taking any in the future," Trump said. "We don't need it. We have completely decimated Iran, both militarily and economically, and every other way.""The countries that do receive oil through the Strait must take care of that passage; they must cherish it," he continued. "They must grab it and cherish it. They can do it easily. We will be helpful, but they should take the lead in defending the oil that they so desperately depend on.""So, to those countries who refused to get involved in the decapitation of Iran - we had to do it ourselves - I have a suggestion: number one, buy oil from the United States. We have plenty. We have so much. And number two, build up some delayed courage ... and take it, protect it, and use it for yourselves."
Steve Bannon expects Trump will tell America 'Hormuz situation' is everyone else's problem
MAGA influencer and former chief White House strategist Steve Bannon anticipated what President Donald Trump will announce during his address to the nation on Wednesday night. Trump was slated to speak to the American public at 9 p.m. ET about important updates related to the war in Iran, which has reached its fifth week since the United States and Israel began launching military strikes, according to Politico. Bannon expected that Trump would make the case that the U.S. has been victorious, describe the military achievements and what comes next before American troops leave the region. One of the largest issues Trump has faced amid the military conflict has been the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman where approximately one-third of the world's seaborne oil passes, making it one of the most strategically important maritime chokepoints globally. Bannon also said Trump would blame NATO allies for reopening shipping traffic in the region.According to Bannon, the president would talk about "dumping on the NATO allies – it’s their issue."“Two, three weeks, definable objectives. ‘I came, I saw, I conquered’ — and we are hanging around a couple of weeks to conquer some more — maybe even then a ceasefire, while reiterating that the Hormuz situation is the Gulf Emirates’ and the Europeans’ to solve, and declare victory,” Bannon said.
'Is that a serious response?' GOP analyst gets heated as poll shows 'bad news' for Trump
Conservative analyst Scott Jennings got heated during a panel discussion on CNN's "The Arena" on Tuesday after new polling found the American public largely does not approve of President Donald Trump's war in Iran. A new poll from CNN revealed that two-thirds of Americans disapprove of the war, and 63% said they believe the conflict will develop into a prolonged war. Another 70% of respondents said they oppose sending ground troops to Iran, and another 71% of respondents said they want Congress to reject the Pentagon's $200 billion funding request for the war. CNN anchor Abby Phillip, filling in for Kasie Hunt, called the poll "a lot of bad news for President Trump in terms of how the American people view this war."It shows that the president tonight is speaking maybe a little too late," Phillip said.Jennings said the poll is "somewhat irrelevant now" because the U.S. is already engaged in the conflict with Iran. Lulu Garcia-Navarro, a journalist at The New York Times, responded by spelling out "L-O-L," an acronym for "laugh out loud," after Jennings spoke. "Is that a serious response to a serious answer?" Jennings snapped. "President Trump chose to do this, and now he's changing what the metrics of success are," Garcia-Navarro said. "This is a disaster for the region, and it has been a disaster for the American people because they have had to pay for this war.""L-M-A-O. That's my response to that," Jennings shot back, using a vulgar acronym with similar meaning.
Nobel Prize-winning economist pinpoints major flaw in Trump's 'nervous' Iran war ploy
Donald Trump's plan for the war with Iran could cause even further trouble for taxpayers across the country, according to a Nobel Prize winner. Paul Krugman has warned that the president's current task in Iran is to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Crude oil prices reached a staggering $100 a barrel earlier this week, and the veteran economist does not see the price improving any time soon. Even though the United States' own oil exporters profited from the Strait of Hormuz closure, Krugman claims there is no way this will help the average citizen. Writing in his Substack, he explained, "Now, America produces a lot of oil, and the domestic oil industry will be earning large windfall profits even as U.S. consumers suffer. But so what? "We don’t have any mechanism in place to capture and redistribute those windfall gains, so ordinary U.S. families will bear the full brunt of the global oil shock even though America is a net oil exporter.""The Fed could, in principle, try to look through the effects of the Strait crisis on business costs as well as direct effects on consumer prices. But given how nervous everyone is about the risk of 70s-type stagflation, it probably won’t."Krugman went on to suggest the reaction of the Federal Reserve could be a cause for concern. "There’s an additional, technical but important reason to be even more worried about soaring prices for diesel, jet fuel and industrial materials than about gasoline prices," he wrote. "It involves how the Federal Reserve is likely to react."The Fed normally bases its decisions about whether to reduce or increase interest rates on 'core' inflation — inflation excluding food and energy prices. The reason it does this is that food and energy prices are highly volatile and are usually a poor indicator of what inflation will be over the next few years.""So the Fed tries to 'look through' inflation fluctuations driven mainly by the prices of groceries and gasoline. For example, it didn’t raise rates in 2011, when there was a temporary uptick in inflation driven entirely by oil prices."
News outlets falsely report Somaliland called for extradition of Ilhan Omar
Reports, based on X post from unofficial account, follow JD Vance’s accusations and threats of finding ‘legal remedies’Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxSeveral news outlets have falsely reported that Somaliland’s government called for the extradition of Ilhan Omar, basing their stories on a post from an X account that does not represent the state despite its claims to the contrary.Fox News, the New York Post, Sinclair Broadcast Group’s the National News Desk and the Independent ran stories on the US representative. The reports centred on a post by @RepOfSomaliland in reaction to claims by JD Vance that Omar had committed immigration fraud, which echoed prior allegations against the Somali-born Minnesota Democrat that she has vehemently denied. Continue reading...
Interpol arrest warrant requested in Congo-Brazzaville for Jean-Guy Blaise Mayolas
Football federation president on the run with wife and sonConviction in absentia of wide-ranging corruption chargesAuthorities in Congo-Brazzaville have applied to Interpol for an international arrest warrant against Jean-Guy Blaise Mayolas, the president of the country’s football federation, Fecofoot, after he was convicted of embezzling $1.1m in Fifa funds.Mayolas is on the run with his wife and son after they were all sentenced to life imprisonment this month for embezzling funds provided by world football’s governing body as part of its Covid-19 relief plan in February 2021. As the Guardian revealed last year, that included almost $500,000 earmarked for the Congo women’s team. Continue reading...
Weather tracker: Thunderstorms drench UAE and Saudi Arabia
Abnormally strong jet stream triggers deluge in Middle East, while north Africa braces for 60-80mph gustsAn unusual weather pattern unleashed severe thunderstorms across parts of the Middle East last week, battering countries including the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. The Arabian peninsula – typically dominated by arid desert climates – received up to 150mm of rain in just a few days.The deluge was caused by an abnormally strong jet stream, which helped a deep area of low pressure to develop north of Saudi Arabia. This, in turn, drew moist tropical air from the Indian Ocean and triggered intense storms. Continue reading...
KP Sharma Oli: Nepal’s former prime minister arrested over alleged role in deadly protest crackdown
At least 77 people killed in anti-corruption youth uprising in September, which began over a brief social media banNepal’s former prime minister KP Sharma Oli was arrested early on Saturday morning over his alleged role in the deaths of dozens of people who took part in the gen Z protest that toppled his government last year.Police detained the three-time former prime minister at his residence in the capital Kathmandu, and also arrested his former home affairs minister Ramesh Lekhak. Continue reading...
Nepal’s PM-to-be uses rap to call for unity in first post-election message
Balendra Shah, 35, is a symbol of change in country whose government was toppled last year in youth-led uprisingNepal’s rapper turned politician Balendra Shah, who is about to be sworn in as prime minister, has issued his first post-election message in the form of a rap urging unity.Hours before the release he swore an oath as a newly elected lawmaker, and he is due to become the Himalayan republic’s new prime minister on Friday. Continue reading...
