Top World News
Iran fires on its Gulf neighbors, retaliating for U.S. military strikes after a monthlong lull
Iran fired on U.S. allies in the Gulf early Wednesday following a night of American bombardment that Iranian officials say included a deadly strike on a wedding party.
Symbolic funerals held in Nepal for those feared lost as some missing tourists make contact
Tourists previously reported missing in Nepal have made contact with authorities, officials said Wednesday, as families of locals still unaccounted for after last week's catastrophic floods held symbolic funerals for their loved ones.
U.S. oil giant Chevron confirms it will expand operations in Venezuela
Oil giant Chevron is confirming that it will expand its operations in Venezuela, just days after President Trump announced an ambitious deal to develop the nation's oil reserves and give the Pentagon a stake in the profits.
German companies under pressure to adapt as China challenges them at their own game
The heart of the German economy is making and exporting the big-ticket, complex goods that make global business run: everything from cars and locomotives to factory machinery, aircraft and construction equipment.
Air raid alert shatters first day of school in Kyiv after Russian missile strikes
Ukrainian schools are adapting to wartime conditions as the conflict with Russia continues
EU struggles for effective answer after Germany blames Russia for foiled drone attack
The European Union is grappling with how to respond to an attempted drone attack at a German airport blamed on Russia
USS Abraham Lincoln arrives at Thai port after gruelling 270 days at sea
Ship has been plagued by reports of deteriorating living conditions and poor mental health because of lengthy deploymentThe USS Abraham Lincoln, a US aircraft carrier at the centre of a row over conditions on board after months at sea as part of Donald Trump’s war against Iran, has arrived off a Thai port.Reports of deteriorating living conditions and poor mental health on the vessel, including attempted suicides, have made headlines around the world, provoking criticism of the president’s actions in the Middle East. Continue reading...
Relief as five Australians missing in Nepal-Tibet flood disaster found alive
Several missing Australians have been found since Tuesday morning, bringing the total citizens unaccounted for to 38Australians missing in the Nepal floods: what we know so farA total of five Australians missing after devastating floods ravaged the Nepal-Tibet border last week have been found.Of the five Australians confirmed safe, one was found in Nepal, one in Tibet, and three outside the crisis-hit area. The total number still missing is 38. Continue reading...
Trump uncorks a startling admission about 'worthless' peace agreement
President Donald Trump admitted that he's not trying to bring Iran to the bargaining table in a Truth Social post.On Tuesday night, Trump let the admission slip during an attack on "ABC Fake News." In the post, he wrote, "I'm not trying to force Iran to the bargaining table," and "I couldn't care less if they sign a worthless, to them, agreement." He also signed off with, "When are the Iranian people going to rise up and fight?"
Trump's 'especially unfortunate' mistake has left allies 'justifiably angry': WSJ
Inviting a top Russian official onto American soil has drawn fierce criticism and left Western allies fuming, according to The Wall Street Journal.In a Tuesday editorial, The Journal's editorial board slammed the Trump administration's decision to bring Russia's finance minister to this week's G-20 gathering in North Carolina, calling the move "especially unfortunate.""The German finance minister was justifiably angry to see Russia welcomed to such a forum for the first time since the Ukraine invasion in February 2022," the board wrote. The Journal warned that Russian leader Vladimir Putin "will pocket the international legitimacy from the visit and continue his terror bombing of civilians in Kyiv."The Journal's criticism landed the same day Germany blamed Moscow for a drone attack at Leipzig airport last month. The Journal noted that the airport serves as a supply route for Ukraine. German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt cast the incident as part of a wider campaign and said his country does not consider itself "at war" but has become "the daily target of hybrid warfare," according to The Journal.Putin's "hybrid" playbook, which includes cyberattacks and dragging anchors across undersea cables, is a way to deny responsibility while forcing the West to absorb the cost of escalation, according to The Journal. The aim is to splinter NATO without firing a shot, The Journal warned."Mr. Putin is behaving like he thinks he can get away with flagrant provocations," The Journal wrote. "Europe for too long hasn't wanted to risk speaking plainly about the threat, which makes Germany's blunt comments this week all the more welcome."Russia is pegged as the main culprit for 144 drone incidents across 13 countries in less than two years, according to an International Institute for Strategic Studies count cited by The Journal.The Journal suggested that Trump's "time would be better spent trying to move the late Sen. Lindsey Graham's Russian sanctions bill through the House, where its fate this week is uncertain."
US and Iran exchange more airstrikes, fuelling fears of wider return to hostilities
Attacks on Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and reprisals against US bases in Middle East quash hopes that flare-up last weekend was limited in natureThe US has launched new airstrikes on Iranian targets, prompting counter strikes by Tehran targeting American interests in Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and Iraq, and fuelling concerns about a wider renewal of hostilities.The US Marine Corps base Camp Titin in Jordan was targeted for an “intense ballistic missile attack”, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) said early on Wednesday, according to Iranian news outlet Tasnim. Continue reading...
Bond vigilantes call Scott Bessent's bluff after failed fix turns into 'five-alarm fire'
Two news anchors reacted with alarm to the global bond selloff and mocked the Trump administration's failed response.On Tuesday, CNN anchor Erin Burnett and Richard Quest, the host of Quest Means Business, explained what's happening in the global bond market and why it spells trouble for major economies.Burnett described how "turmoil" like the war in Iran has led to "meaningful economic impacts, and people experience them every single day." Referring to a global bond selloff, Burnett explained, "something happened today in the market that was sort of a five-alarm fire when it comes to where things are going.""It's very concerning because it's the markets telling governments, not just in the United States but also in Europe and in Japan, that their fiscal path is unsustainable," Quest said.Quest explained that investors known as "bond vigilantes" are behind the global selloff, adding that they only "come out of the woodwork when they see government debt or even corporate debt" that they think is unsustainable."They basically ratchet the price down and the yield up," Quest explained. "That's not fine for a company, but that's only a company. In this case, we're talking about the U.S. government debt."Quest noted that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent tried to quell the turbulent bond markets a couple of weeks ago, but that "seems to have failed because rates are back where they were. The market is basically saying they don't believe what this administration is planning to do."Burnett flagged that as "a hugely significant thing to say" because the Treasury Secretary, along with the Federal Reserve chairman, are people who "the markets have taken very seriously."She also played a clip of Bessent saying, "The U.S. bond market has been the best-performing market since the president came in," which was met with laughter by Quest."He was trying to move the price rather than the fundamentals," Quest said, explaining Bessent's failure. "The best analogy that I can give you for that quote from Bessent is that famous line, 'the cleanest dirty white shirt in the laundry,' and that's what the U.S. is."




