On 1 February 2021, Myanmar's democratically elected government was overthrown in a military coup. There were mass protests against the military seizing power and many people were arrested for criticizing the new leadership. Frequent military airstrikes killed civilians and destroyed schools, hospitals and places of worship. According to the UK government, nearly 20 million people in Myanmar now need humanitarian aid.
More than 5,000 ISIL-linked (ISIS) detainees have been transferred from Syrian jails to a prison in neighbouring Iraq so far, according to Iraq's Ministry of Justice. In comments to the Iraqi News Agency on Friday, ministry spokesperson Ahmed Laibi said the transfers and ongoing detention of the prisoners had been carried out at the request of an international coalition led by the United States to combat ISIL, of which Iraq is a key member.
Zimbabwe beat a depleted Australia by 23 runs in Colombo to pull off the biggest shock of the T20 World Cup so far. After posting 169-2 in their 20 overs on Friday, thanks mainly to Brian Bennett's classy 64 not out, Zimbabwe had Australia 29-4 before dismissing them for 146 in 19.3 overs. list of 4 itemsend of list The Zimbabweans, ranked 11th, were always in control against their second-ranked opponents in the Group B game at R Premadasa Stadium after opening bowlers Blessing Muzarabani and Brad Evans ripped out Australia's top order. There were sensational scenes at the venue as a group of Zimbabwe fans dressed in their team jerseys celebrated the win with a traditional dance. Muzarabani was the pick of the bowlers, finishing with 4-17.
Trainee lawyer Simone and childhood friend Bethany Clarke had met up in Laos and spent a night at the hostel, where about 100 guests were given free shots. It is thought those drinks were tainted with methanol, a toxic substance normally found in paint thinner but that is sometimes mixed with alcohol illegally to cut costs. The friends felt unwell the next day and were eventually taken to hospital, where Simone, from Orpington in south-east London, was put on life support before she died.
While at the festive market, Xi picked up a 45 yuan (4.79) bundle of delicacies from Daoxiangcun, a historic bakery known for its traditional snacks. According to the shopkeeper interviewed by Chinese media, Xi plumped for three items: honey-glazed dough twists, cream-filled dough twists and jujube flower pastries, a flakey, flower-shaped cookie with a filling made from red dates. Dough twists are made from fried pastry and are a popular local snack in Beijing.
Australia's Twenty20 World Cup campaign is threatening to implode after suffering a shock 23-run loss to Zimbabwe in Colombo. Set 170 runs for victory after winning the toss, Australia slumped to a dismal 4-29 inside the powerplay and gave Zimbabwe, 11th on the ICC rankings, reason to dream. Glenn Maxwell (31 off 32 balls) and top-scorer Matthew Renshaw (65 off 43 balls) spearheaded the rescue mission with a 77-run stand for the fifth wicket in pursuit of Zimbabwe's 2-169.
A man in a white button-up shirt and suit trousers puts his hands in the air as a police officer grabs him. He appears to steady himself on the officer's shoulders. He's then punched multiple times by multiple officers. People watching on scream. It's one of the first violent acts that take place as New South Wales police attempt to disperse protesters demonstrating in central Sydney on Monday against the visit of the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog.
The Cipher Brief spoke with former National Intelligence Manager for Iran at ODNI Norm Roule about what is likely to come next. Roule, who is also a Cipher Brief Expert, travels regularly to the region for meetings with senior leaders. We spoke with him in this exclusive interview about the risks and opportunities facing the U.S. with regard to Iran and what he believes Iran is likely to do first if the U.S. does launch a military attack.
At the entrance to La Clementina, a housing development in the municipality of Concordia, in the Mexican state of Sinaloa, there are five funeral wreaths and 12 votive candles. It is a floral offering in memory of the miners who were kidnapped at the end of January. The bodies of Jose Angel Hernandez Velez, Ignacio Aurelio Salazar Flores, Jose Manuel Castaneda Hernandez, Jose Antonio Jimenez, and Jesus Antonio de la O, all employees of the Canadian mining company Vizsla Silver, have been identified, while the whereabouts of five others remain unknown.
Donald Day, 58, was arrested in the US after a year-long investigation into his contact with Gareth, Nathaniel and Stacey Train before the trio killed two police officers and a neighbour at their rural Queensland property. Day was sentenced in the US federal court in Arizona on Thursday, after making a deal with prosecutors in October 2025 to plead guilty to a charge of possessing firearms as a convicted felon.
Matthew Tkachuk collected two assists in the United States electrifying 5-1 win over Latvia at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy. Tkachuk's sweet saucer pass set up little brother Brady for the game-opneing goal 5:29 into the action. He also drew the secondary helper on Brock Nelson's second goal of the game with 12 seconds left in the middle frame. The older Tkachuk logged 17:55 of ice time and finished the game with four shots on goal and a plus-two rating.
We [the family] feel happy because we will see my mother again, Mohammad al-Najjar, Mariam's son, told Al Jazeera's Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Khan Younis. The family has suffered heavy losses, like all in Gaza. But we are sad because the situation has changed so much, said Mohammad, adding: We lost my brother, and our homes we lost two houses, and there's nothing left for us.
The meeting, held from 19 to 23 January under the theme "A Spirit of Dialogue," took place at a time when the global situation still feels uncomfortable. Inflation has eased in some places, but not enough to make central banks relaxed. Growth is holding in parts of the world and slowing in others. Debt remains high, and trade has become more political.
Under the deal, Taiwan will eliminate or reduce 99 percent of tariff barriers and provide preferential market access to numerous US goods, including auto parts, chemicals, machinery, health products, dairy products and pork, the office of the US trade envoy said in a statement. The US will, in turn, exempt a large range of Taiwanese goods from tariffs, including chalk, castor oil, pineapples and ginseng.
Magnus Carlsen, the world No 1, visited Central London last weekend and won the chess.com speed championship for the fourth time in a row. The Norwegian, 35, defeated France's Alireza Firouzja, 22, by 15-12 after a three-hour struggle. Last year in Paris the same two players met, but Carlsen's winning margin was a much wider 23.5-7.5. The format for speed chess is 90 minutes of five minutes blitz, 60 minutes of three minutes blitz, and 30 minutes of one minute bullet. All the segments had additional increments of one second per move.
The CIA's latest YouTube video offers instructions on how to contact the agency on the encrypted Tor Browser. The CIA has released a new Chinese-language recruitment video on its YouTube channel, encouraging members of China's military to spy for the United States. Released on Thursday, the video is the latest addition to a YouTube series targeting Chinese and Russian citizens with information about how to securely contact the US spy agency using the encrypted Tor Browser.
In a statement on Friday, the council cited legislation that allows council bus drivers to refuse entry where a passenger's clothing is likely to dirty or damage the vehicle, or cause inconvenience or damage to other passengers or the driver. This can include circumstances where a passenger is wearing wet or sandy clothing that could impact the cleanliness and comfort of the shared transport environment, a spokesperson said.
Adult crime, adult punishment. That's the logic behind the bill championed by Argentine President Javier Milei to lower the age of criminal responsibility from 16 to 14, which was approved this Thursday in the Chamber of Deputies. The new Juvenile Criminal Code, which received 149 votes in favor and 100 against, was debated for more than eight hours and now goes to the Senate for final approval.
I could have worse tags than Air Miles Andy', the then Prince Andrew once reflected. Although I don't know what they are! I think it's safe to say he does now. Almost all senior members of the royal family are biologically capable of sweating, and what really brought them out in a cold one four years ago was the thought of this honking liability testifying in a New York courtroom. So they paid millions upon millions to make sure it didn't happen.
Now Donald Trump is dismantling the order that Putin had so long abhorred, and a new multipolar world is emerging in its place. Putin had thought he could rise to the top of such a system, in which raw economic and military might outweigh diplomacy and alliances. But he was mistaken: The norms and institutions of the postwar order actually masked Russia's vulnerabilities.
"where are you? Are you ok , I loved the torture video," reads one email, allegedly sent by Jeffrey Epstein in 2009. The reply, from a redacted address, states: "I am in china I will be in the US 2nd week of may." Her face hovering over a screenshot of the exchange, a TikTok creator claims the timing aligns with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's schedule, before speculating that the word "torture" could refer to documented abuses of Palestinian detainees. The video has drawn close to 700,000 views.
The 39th African Union (AU) summit is set to be dominated by pressing security concerns across Africa, as the continent continues to face escalating conflicts. However, there are mounting questions on whether the pan-African body can actually deliver on peace and security strategies: A study conducted by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) in 2023 revealed that a staggering 90% of the decisions made by the AU's Peace and Security Council (PSC) have not been implemented since the inception of the PSC in 2004.
