World news

World news

Though official results have yet to be released, the NDP's likely victory is slated to end the Unity Labour Party's 24 years in power. The party addressed its constituents in St Vincent and the Grenadines, sometimes known by the acronym SVG, in a social media post after Thursday's election. We love you, SVG, and we will keep working and advocating for you, the Unity Labour Party said. This is not the end, it is the beginning.

The number of deaths caused by flooding in Southeast Asia has risen to more than 250, with more deaths reported in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. Days of torrential rain led to flooding in nine Thai provinces and eight states in neighboring Malaysia, displacing tens of thousands of people. Similar scenes are playing out in Indonesia's Sumatra island, where rescue teams are battling to reach affected areas in 12 cities and districts. The annual monsoon season has been exacerbated by a tropical storm in the region

International Criminal Court (ICC) appeals judges are set to rule on a request to release from detention former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who has ongoing proceedings against him on charges of crimes against humanity. The judges are scheduled to issue their ruling on Friday, paving the way for a possible provisional freedom of the ageing politician a move strongly opposed by human rights groups and families of victims of his brutal drug war.

Javokhir Sindarov, 19, became the youngest ever winner of the Fide knockout World Cup on Wednesday when the Uzbek teenager defeated China's Wei Yi 2.5-1.5 in the final at Goa. Ukraine's Ruslan Ponomariov had been a year younger in 2002, but that World Cup had also doubled as the Fide world championship in a period when the global title was disputed.

The United States has designated Venezuela's so-called Cartel de los Soles a foreign terrorist organization, marking the latest escalation in US-Venezuela tensions. Washington alleges Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro heads the organisation, which, the US says, is involved in widespread corruption and drug trafficking. Maduro denies the accusations amid growing fears of potential US military action in the region, and his government has called the cartel an invention.

The US President recognising the Ukrainian territory as Russia will mean victory for Vladimir Putin and could escalate the war into a dangerous position, as the Russian dictator lowered the nuclear threshold for any attack on the Russian Federation. Putin set the current nuclear doctrine which means if his red line of a conventional attack on Russia n territory, a threat against the state or in the event of a nuclear attack Moscow will respond with nuclear weapons, this also includes the occupied Ukrainian regions that Trump will recognise as being Russian.

Well, Ukraine would have had to limit the size of its army, but not Russia. Ukraine would have to give up territory with cities full of Ukrainians in the east that it's been fighting and defending these last four years while Russia has been unable to take them. Ukraine would be banned from ever joining NATO, whereas Russia would have sanctions lifted and joined the G8.

In a message on Truth Social, Trump endorsed the conservative candidate Nasry Tito Asfura of the National Party, claiming they could work together to combat drug trafficking. Trump also attacked the other candidates, accusing them of being communists. Torres, however, welcomed the Republican's comments, saying it affects the conservative candidates seeking the presidency of Honduras, which goes to the polls on Sunday.

Israeli security forces killed two Palestinian men in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, reportedly after they had surrendered. The Palestinian Authority said the two men aged 26 and 37 were killed in "the brutal field execution carried out by the Israeli occupation army" and condemned the incident as a "war crime." Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said he "fully supports" the Israeli troops who shot two "wanted terrorists."

A record number of people are set to take China's notoriously gruelling national civil service exam this weekend, reflecting the increasing desire of Chinese workers to find employment in the public rather than private sector. Around 3.7 million people have registered for the tests on Saturday and Sunday, which will be the first since the government increased the age limit for certain positions.

But this is not the first time Rocha has been the subject of the authorities' interest. The businessman, with a lavish track record in the corporate world and in the import and export of hydrocarbons in Mexico, is wanted for his involvement in a fuel, weapons, and drug smuggling ring originating in Guatemala that connects him to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and the Mexico City-based cartel La Union Tepito.

IZNIK, Turkey -- Pope Leo XIV joined Eastern and Western patriarchs and priests Friday in commemorating an important anniversary in Christian history, gathering at the site in Turkey of an unprecedented A.D. 325 meeting of bishops to pray that Christians might once again be united. Leo, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I and other Christian leaders met on the shores of Lake Iznik, the site of the Council of Nicaea that produced a creed, or statement of faith, that is still recited by millions of Christians today.

The Guardian reported on the case of Lati-Yana Stephanie Brown after the hurricane. Her mother, Kerrian Bigby, a carer, moved from Jamaica to be with Lati-Yana's British father, Jerome Hardy, a telecommunications worker, in April 2023, leaving their daughter to be cared for by her grandmother. The couple married this year and after saving up for the 4,000 visa application fee for Lati-Yana to join them, applied in June.

On the second day of his inaugural foreign trip, Pope Leo XIV visited the site where early Christian leaders met 1,700 years ago for the First Council of Nicaea the gathering that produced the creed still spoken in churches today. The first American pope prayed alongside Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of the world's Eastern Orthodox Christians, amid the archaeological ruins of the lakeside church where bishops met in 325 to resolve divisions threatening to tear the early Church apart.

Interestingly, Bortnikov and Naryshkin did not travel at the same time, indicating to me that there was no love lost between the two. The SVR delegation arrived first, spent one day meeting with the leadership teams of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), then departed the next day before Bortnikov and his delegation arrived.

USDJPY at one point moved toward 157.9 last week, reflecting the sharp divergence in monetary policy between the United States and Japan. However, the pair has retreated this week as the market is adjusting its expectations regarding both the Fed and the BoJ. The short-term trend of USDJPY is beginning to show signs of slowing. The key factors impacting the exchange rate are not only U.S. Treasury yields or policy differentials, but also Japan's expected policy adjustments and the clearly rising risk of foreign-exchange intervention.

Senegal's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday night that Embalo had arrived in Senegal after authorities engaged with actors in Guinea-Bissau to try to secure his release. The government of the Republic of Senegal reaffirms its readiness to work alongside ECOWAS, the African Union and all relevant partners, with a view to supporting dialogue, stability and the rapid restoration of constitutional order and democratic legitimacy in this brotherly nation, the statement said.