Top World News

Aug 2, 2026 - World

Exclusive: At a launch site in the Ukrainian countryside, members of the elite ‘Magyar’s Birds’ brigade are turning Russia’s vast size into a weaknessSparrows were cheeping as the sun set over a field of tall yellow sunflowers when a moped-like growl suddenly disturbed the evening calm. The noise rose, dipped, and rose again. Lt Col Ray – a Ukrainian commander with the 414th aviation brigade – took cover in a leafy ditch.Seconds later a Ukrainian drone roared into a mauve sky. It jerked upwards at a 45-degree angle, orange flames fizzing, and then motored serenely onwards. The flying object resembled a sleek grey biplane with a wooden propeller and tail. It left behind clouds of billowing black smoke and a whiff of gunpowder. Continue reading...

Aug 2, 2026 - World

President claims delay is ‘subject to being able to rapidly make a deal’ as intervention by Saudi crown prince is revealed and Iran warns neighboursDonald Trump said on Saturday night that the US would hold off on any new strikes on Iran provided a deal to end the months-long conflict is quickly reached – marking the president’s latest climbdown from extravagant threats to hit the Tehran regime hard.The Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman called Trump on Saturday to express concerns about his strike plans, it was reported. Trump’s reversal also came after Iran threatened to retaliate decisively against its neighbours in the event of US strikes, while Kuwait reported being hit by Iranian drones on Saturday and two ships were attacked off Oman in the strait of Hormuz. Continue reading...

Aug 2, 2026 - World

Activists in the region say politicians regard LGBTQ+ people as ‘the easiest scapegoats to maintain their power’A growing number of west African countries are implementing or strengthening anti-LGBTQ+ laws, amid local political pressures and a global pushback against LGBTQ+ rights.In March, Senegal doubled the maximum prison sentence for gay sex to 10 years and criminalised the “promotion” of homosexuality. Niger criminalised “sexual relations with a person of the same sex” in February, the first time same-sex intimacy had been outlawed in the country. Continue reading...

Aug 2, 2026 - World

Community members concerned about loss of community green space and areas of cultural importance. This blog is now closedGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastYolngu leaders in north-east Arnhem Land have announced a powerful new Dilak Land Council, declaring land rights are “coming home” to traditional owners, AAP reports.On a national stage at the Garma festival, revered elder Djawa Yunupingu told leaders, politicians and visitors from across the country on Saturday real power must sit “fully into the hands of landowners”.There will be a new land council in Arnhem Land and it will be called the Dilak Land Council, and it will be the power for our future.Icac should be allowed to go through its processes free of political interference, free of commentary from politicians, and be allowed to run its course.Writing the review into the 2022 election, we specifically said that each division needs to make sure that its constitution is fit for purpose and that that its membership is match-fit to fight elections. Continue reading...

Aug 2, 2026 - World

President Donald Trump hyped up a planned U.S. attack on Iran Saturday night – one with “power not seen since World War II” – before revealing he’d called off the attack citing a new agreement with the Middle East nation.“The U.S.A. is locked and loaded and ready to go against the Islamic Republic of Iran, at levels of Military Terror, Strength, and Power not seen since World War II. Despite this, we have just been asked by Iran, and other Middle Eastern Countries, to hold off any attack in that the perimeters [sic] of a deal has been agreed to,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. “This would include the Immediate, Complete, and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT, and an end to Iran’s nuclear threat. Based on this request, I have agreed, for the future benefit of the WORLD and, likewise, the survival of a successful and prosperous Iran, to cancel the attack, subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL.”The Trump administration and Israeli officials were reportedly considering launching what would be “one of the harshest bombing campaigns to date” targeting Iranian energy infrastructure, multiple inside sources told CBS News. Trump’s claim of being asked by “other Middle Eastern countries” aligns with Axios’ reporting Saturday that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had privately pleaded with Trump Saturday to hold off on the attack.Trump has insisted countless times that the Strait of Hormuz – the crucial shipping waterway through which 20% of the world’s oil trade historically flowed – was “open,” despite evidence to the contrary. His announcement Saturday marks the latest instance of Trump claiming as such.“The Country of Israel joins me in this commitment. Get to work, everybody, and get it DONE. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”