Top World News

Sep 17, 2026 - World

Mohammad Sharifullah, 28, was convicted of aiding the terrorist group that took credit for the suicide bombing An Islamic State group member was sentenced on Wednesday to 20 years in prison for aiding the terrorist organization that took credit for a suicide bombing that killed 13 US service members and about 160 Afghans at the Kabul airport five years ago during the US military’s chaotic withdrawal from the country.A federal jury in Virginia had convicted Mohammad Sharifullah in April of providing material support to the IS affiliate known as Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP). But jurors could not agree whether he bore some responsibility for the airport bombing on 26 August 2021. Continue reading...

Sep 17, 2026 - World

World leaders are not impressed with President Donald Trump's claim that welcoming Canada into partnership constitutes a "hostile act," the Washington Post reported Thursday.Trump made this claim in North Carolina Wednesday in response to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's proposal to make Canada the European Union's first-ever "associate member." "If it's a good intention, that's fine," Trump said. "If it's a bad intention, we'll put very heavy tariffs on Europe."Now leaders from up north and across the pond are saying they don't intend to be influenced by Trump or the United States. Benjamin Haddad, France’s European affairs minister, said on French television Thursday that the U.S. has no veto over decisions made by the 27-nation bloc, according to the Post.“It is not up to a foreign power, not the United States or anyone else, to choose the geopolitical direction of the Europeans,” he said on Public Sénat. “Once again, we have a relationship ⁠with Canada, and we are fully entitled to seek to deepen it.”European Union Commission spokesman Olof Gill said the E.U. leader made clear that “the proposed strengthening of our partnership with Canada is not against anyone else, but for our common strength.”Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, set to address European lawmakers on Thursday, described a partnership between his country and the European Union as "natural."According to the Post, he said both wanted “a deeper partnership that reinforces our mutual sovereignty to create more opportunities and prosperity for our peoples.”

Sep 17, 2026 - World

Palestinian-American human rights lawyer and Rutgers University professor Noura Erakat was arrested and charged with trespassing Tuesday night after speaking out against Palm Beach County's billion-dollar investment in Israel Bonds during a public budget hearing.According to The Guardian, Erakat, who teaches Africana studies at Rutgers and sits on the editorial committee of the Journal for Palestine Studies, was detained by deputies in an elevator at the county government building in West Palm Beach. She remained in custody overnight and was released the following morning after paying bond.Dozens of other attendees who'd shown up to oppose the investment were also removed from the meeting, with some carrying signs reading messages like "Fund Housing, Not Genocide."Palm Beach County's stake in Israel Bonds climbed to roughly $1 billion earlier this year, a jump largely attributed to a purchase exceeding $350 million approved by Mike Caruso, the county clerk who has since been suspended from office and is separately facing unrelated sexual abuse allegations. A similar fight just unfolded in Miami-Dade, where county commissioners recently loosened investment rules to allow Israel Bonds to make up as much as 5 percent of the portfolio, up from a prior 3 percent cap, though the change stops short of forcing officials to actually purchase additional bonds.Opponents at that earlier meeting also had their microphones cut off or were escorted out.Erakat, born in California to Palestinian immigrant parents and a Berkeley law graduate, has spent years as a prominent critic of Israel's policies toward Palestinians, including addressing the United Nations directly on the issue. Tensions ran high enough during Tuesday's Palm Beach hearing that one commissioner told a protesting retired Air Force member he was "embarrassing the uniform."Palm Beach County deputies have not yet released an arrest report detailing the specific circumstances of Erakat's detention.

Sep 16, 2026 - World

Scientists say global heating was a destabilising factor in collapse of 200,000 sq metre glacier in AugustClimate breakdown probably weakened the glacier that collapsed causing catastrophic floods and killing over a thousand people in Nepal and Tibet last month, the first scientific study of the disaster has found.Researchers identified unusually warm conditions before the glacier’s collapse, which sent an avalanche of 110m cubic metres (3.885bn cu ft) of snow and ice into the valley below. This triggered flash floods on an almost unprecedented scale, hitting communities downstream without warning. Continue reading...

Sep 16, 2026 - World

A collection of leaked photos showing “major damage” to U.S. assets in the Middle East sparked renewed calls for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s removal, just as the House narrowly avoided having to consider articles of impeachment against the Trump Cabinet member.“This is major damage to our bases that hasn't been communicated to the American public,” a deployed U.S. service member told CBS News on the condition of anonymity. “We're standing there with our eyes closed getting punched in the face.”On Tuesday, a CBS News report revealed new photos it had exclusively received from “active service members” showing significant damage to U.S. military assets in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, including a Boeing E-3 Sentry aircraft with its entire back half destroyed. The revelations come as Hegseth continues to downplay the damage Iran has managed to inflict on U.S. military assets.“This is why SecDef Hegseth should be impeached and removed from office. What a disaster,” wrote Tom Ryan, an Arizona-based attorney and trial lawyer, in a social media post on X.Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) informed the House Tuesday that he intended to introduce eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth, largely centered around his overseeing of the deeply unpopular — and allegedly, unlawful — U.S. war against Iran. Massie also said he intended to invoke House rules that would force his articles of impeachment to be brought up for consideration within two legislative days.Those plans were foiled, however, after House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) abruptly canceled all House votes for Thursday, which would have been the last legislative day before the midterms.Democratic congressional nominee Fred Wellman, a U.S. Army veteran, said the leaked photos were “shocking” given that he had “served at some” of the locations pictured. Ali Abunimah, a prominent author and activist, appeared to mock Hegseth by sarcastically noting, reacting to the photo of the heavily damaged Boeing E-3 Sentry, “That plane looks like it just needs a lick of paint and it will be up and flying in no time.”U.S. Air Force veteran and podcaster Ryan Shead demanded that Congress “Impeach Pete Hegseth immediately,” and Jeremy Johnson, a trucker activist with a substantial online following for his political commentary, warned that the revelations revealing the extent of the damage Iran had inflicted were “just the beginning,” telling his more than 670,000 followers on X to “Buckle up.”That plane looks like it just needs a lick of paint and it will be up and flying in no time https://t.co/daviOPWXMC pic.twitter.com/H3QOwGitVJ— Ali Abunimah (@AliAbunimah) September 15, 2026