Top World News

Aug 3, 2026 - World

Meeting follows years of questions over wellbeing of detained former leader, who was ousted by coup in 2021Myanmar’s detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi has met a representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the aid organisation has confirmed.The meeting on Monday ⁠followed years of questions over the wellbeing of the 81-year-old, whose whereabouts and health condition have been largely unknown since the elected civilian government she led was ousted by a military coup in February 2021. Continue reading...

Aug 2, 2026 - World

President Donald Trump's erratic eruptions as Congress lay "prostrate" before him have led the United States to the "brink of catastrophe" — and it's up to voters to stop it, a furious opinion writer argued Sunday.New York Times columnist David French issued this dire warning to American voters ahead of the midterm elections, when Democrats could feasibly reclaim the House and begin checking Trump's power."Our future may depend in part on American voters deciding to give Congress a spinal transplant," wrote French. "But that requires us to do something that democracies have rarely, if ever, done successfully — see the catastrophe coming and act decisively."The catastrophe, as French sees it, is the looming threat of World War as Trump struggles to control the situation in Iran — and himself."Trump 'erupted' at members of his national security team over the Iran War," wrote French. "He thought he could topple a vicious, deeply embedded authoritarian regime with a few targeted airstrikes and a fantasied popular uprising."French raised alarms about Iran's continued strikes on American bases and its partners across the region, noting they may be receiving assistance from Russia and China to improve the effectiveness of their drone attacks. Iranians proved American planes and bases are more vulnerable than we realized, costs are beginning to mount and resources to dwindle, French argued. "The Trump administration has put forward two contradictory messages — that there’s no shortage of missiles in the American inventory and that the shortage is Joe Biden’s fault (because he helped to arm Ukraine and launched airstrikes against the Houthis)," French wrote. "And Trump is raging." French urged voters to sit up and pay attention rather than accept Trump assurances they can "sit back and relax." He warned the U.S. has not been so close to world war since the end of the Cold War, and argued its leaders in the White House were unfit to navigate the nation on a course to peace. "The American government is led by the worst rulers in the modern history of the United States," he wrote. "Congress, the only branch of government that possesses the power to intervene, has been prostrate before the president."French concluded that if the next Congress is not prepared to challenge Trump, there is a chance " a terrible war swallows the world."

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!”

Aug 2, 2026 - World

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman pleaded with President Donald Trump Saturday to hold off on authorizing an “unprecedented” attack on Iran that is reportedly being actively considered by U.S. and Israeli officials, Axios reported.The Trump administration and Israeli officials are considering launching what would be “one of the harshest bombing campaigns to date” targeting Iranian energy infrastructure, multiple inside sources told CBS News, and as a response to the Iranian attacks on a U.S. military base in Jordan earlier this week.However, “such an attack could lead to an unprecedented escalation in the five-month war,” Axios’ Barak Ravid wrote, and could put U.S. allies in the Middle East at great risk of Iranian retaliatory strikes.“The Saudis expressed concern and asked for clarity about the plan of action,” a U.S. official told Axios. A second source, described by Axios as a person “with knowledge of the call” said that bin Salman “urged Trump to de-escalate and refrain from launching the strikes,” Ravid wrote.Trump has repeatedly downplayed concerns about the conflict's trajectory, insisting in recent public remarks that the war is "going extremely well" and that Iran's military capabilities have been severely degraded, while also floating the possibility of a negotiated settlement. Meanwhile, Iranian officials have signaled no willingness to back down, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi telling NBC News that Iran is ready for a ground invasion by American troops and would refuse any negotiations with Washington.

Aug 1, 2026 - World

Foreign policy expert Trita Parsi issued a bleak warning Saturday over what he called a major “strategic mistake” of the Trump administration that could very well “bring the [Iran] war to the U.S.,” and soon.Earlier on Saturday, CBS News reported that the United States and Israel were actively planning “one of the harshest bombing campaigns to date” targeting Iran’s energy infrastructure, citing multiple inside sources. Also on Saturday, federal authorities were investigating whether Iran was responsible for a string of cyber attacks on U.S. water systems across several states.The cyber attacks, per The New York Times, “increasingly appeared to be the work of Iran.” As such, Parsi, a foreign policy analyst and president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, feared that the Trump administration’s plans and the cyber attacks could be connected.“If Iran is behind these cyberattacks on US water systems, the message is clear,” Parsi wrote in a social media post Saturday on Substack.“It's a warning: If the US strikes critical infrastructure in Iran, including desalination plants and power grids, Iran will respond in kind through cyberattacks against critical infrastructure in the US. Essentially, Iran will bring the war to the US itself using cyber.”President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to destroy Iranian power plants and other critical infrastructure, threats that, if carried out, would likely be considered war crimes. Should the United States and Israel carry out its supposed plan to launch a massive attack on Iranian energy infrastructure, Parsi warned that the consequences could be astronomical for Americans.“The strategic mistake of starting – and restarting – this war is only becoming more enormous,” Parsi wrote.If Iran is behind these cyberattacks on US water systems, the message is clear.It's a warning: If the US strikes critical infrastructure in Iran, including desalination plants and power grids, Iran will respond in kind through cyberattacks against critical infrastructure in the US.Essentially, Iran will bring the war to the US itself using cyber.The strategic mistake of starting - and restarting - this war is only becoming more enormous. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/01/us/politics/iran-cyberattack-water-systems.html?campaign_id=60&emc=edit_na_20260801&instance_id=179699&nl=breaking-news®i_id=75080685&segment_id=224053&user_id=a45a9b52edcc21d2f15a650c5a769bd9 - Trita ParsiRead on Substack