World News

North Korea slams US-South Korea drills, threatens self-defence action

North Korea warned it could exercise its right to self-defence as the US and South Korea prepare for annual military drills

Trump admin to roll out 'economic isolation' plan for Iran next week

Iran's economy has already taken a significant hit from the war, with much of its industrial capacity destroyed and crude exports severely curtailed by the US blockade

2026 likely the hottest year on record driven by El-Nino, say experts

El Nino brings powerful consequences for the globe, drying out some regions, like Western and Southern Africa, Australia and India, while potentially raising rainfall in others, such as southern US

US court dismisses Trump admin lawsuit alleging antisemitism at Harvard

The decision from US District Judge Richard G Stearns said President Donald Trump's administration failed to prove an ongoing violation of federal civil rights laws

US says Iran naval blockade can continue indefinitely as talks stall

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said that the US military has the capability to maintain a naval presence in the region to enforce its blockade of Iran

Trump gives green light to US companies to aim hacks at cybercriminals

The practice would align the United States more closely with countries like China and Russia, where spy agencies have long relied on private-sector hackers to help with national security missions

Trump orders Navy to return to older jet-launch system on aircraft carriers

The new mandate would likely cost billions of dollars and revert the Navy's most advanced ships to a system that takes more sailors to operate and is more difficult to maintain

'Too reliant' on foreign sources: Trump to impose tariffs on drone imports

A proclamation signed by Trump imposes a 100 per cent ad valorem tariff ​on drones of a certain size or with certain capabilities that are particularly sensitive for national security purposes

Bangladesh says PM Rahman's India visit hinges on schedule, bilateral talks

Bangladesh's junior minister said said PM Tarique Rahman's proposed visit to India has yet to be finalised, with the timing depending on his "schedule" and the "progress" in bilateral discussions

World stares at food supply chaos as Russia attacks grain ships

Russian attacks on cargo vessels have sharply disrupted shipping from Odesa, threatening to trap millions of tonnes of grain during Ukraine's harvest season.

Gulf oil giants are spending billions to build alternative shipping routes

Gulf countries that have for decades produced much of the world's oil are now intent on breaking their dependence on the narrow waterway.

Maersk raises 2026 outlook again as Q2 profit surges to $3 billion

Maersk's second-quarter profit before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation stood at $3.0 ‌billion, well above a median forecast of $2.12 billion in a company-provided poll

S&P 500 CEO pay jumps to record as Musk-inspired compensation plans spread

Even excluding the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX , average compensation for chief executives in the S&P 500 soared 21% to $22.8 million in 2025

Meta says it has shut down 750,000 under-16 accounts in Australia

The figure includes more than 500,000 accounts Meta removed before the law came into effect in December, along with those it has shut down since, the company said

China's Lenovo Q1 results: Revenue jumps 43% to $26.94 billion on AI boom

Lenovo's revenue rose to $26.94 billion in the three months ended June 30, beating analyst expectations of $22.3 billion, as the consumer electronics hardware giant benefited from AI demand

Iran and US make competing claims over control of Strait of Hormuz

"Today ​you see that the Strait of Hormuz is under the management and control of the Islamic ​Republic," Iran's Basij paramilitary unit head Hossein Taeb said

Turkey lays out plans for defence pact with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia

The three Sunni Muslim US allies, ​alarmed by a regional conflagration that ​has brought Iranian missile fire onto Gulf oil exporters, signed the "Mecca Joint Defence ​Agreement" on August 7.

Trump admin deploys AI to crack down on China-linked tariff dodging

White House report accuses dozens of countries of helping China evade US tariffs through third-country transshipments, with the new AI set to track such illicit trade flows

Oracle to cut jobs again as AI boom drives a costly infrastructure race

Oracle is cutting costs even as its cloud business grows rapidly, as debt-funded AI infrastructure spending puts pressure

Americans struggle to make ends meet as inflation stays high: Fed official

A senior Federal Reserve official has warned that lower- and middle-income Americans are struggling to make ends meet, while the central bank may need to raise interest rates if inflation stays high