Top World News
New Susie Wiles imposter reaches world leader and reignites White House hacking fears
President Donald Trump's White House is keeping mum after being alerted to a possible inner-circle phone hacking and security breach.According to a report from Politico, newly installed British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has been engaging with messages from somebody impersonating one of Donald Trump's closest advisers, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.Downing Street declined to comment on the matter. One person briefed on the communications told Politico that a "few messages" were exchanged after Burnham entered No. 10 but insisted they were "of no significance."The British embassy in Washington was concerned enough about the incident to raise it with the White House, according to two of the officials who were granted anonymity to discuss a national security issue.With the U.K. government raising concerns that Wiles' phone had been hacked, the White House reportedly has clammed up and has refused to comment.According to the report, "Last year, the White House and the FBI launched an investigation after senators, governors and U.S. business executives received texts and phone calls from someone claiming to be Trump’s chief of staff. The Wall Street Journal reported that Wiles told associates her cellphone contacts had been hacked."What was discussed in the exchange with Burnham and when the messages were sent remains unclear, with the erroneous contact kept as a closely guarded secret," Politico is reporting.
British leader reportedly exchanged messages with impostor of top White House official
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham exchanged messages with an impostor posing as U.S. President Donald Trump's chief of staff, according to reports published Monday.
Ukraine energy company says its facilities seriously damaged after 13 Russian strikes
Ukraine’s state energy company says Russia has attacked its facilities 13 times over the past week, with nearly 300 attacks this year
Raytheon awarded $22.9 billion contract to ramp up production of Tomahawk cruise missiles
The U.S. has awarded a $22.9 billion contract to defense contractor Raytheon to increase production of Tomahawk cruise missiles, Pentagon officials announced Monday.
Trump threatens to bomb Oman if it 'gets in the way' of Iran negotiations
President Trump unleashed an expletive-laced threat toward Oman Monday, saying he would bomb the Middle East nation if it disrupts negotiations with Iran over the Strait of Hormuz.
A temple stampede and a hotel fire in eastern India kill 14 and injure several
Seven devotees were killed and more than a dozen injured in a stampede at a Hindu temple in eastern India's Bihar state
Brazil’s Lula launches historic fourth term bid – but son of jailed Bolsonaro stands in his way
President, 80, vows to keep far-right from power as Flávio Bolsonaro tells supporters he will ‘fight this system’Brazil’s leftwing president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has launched his campaign for a historic fourth term and vowed that as long as he lived he would not allow the “shameless” right to return to power.Addressing a sea of supporters in São Bernardo do Campo, the industrial city where his political career began nearly half a century ago, the 80-year-old politician reminded voters of the chaos and violence that unfolded during the 2018-22 presidency of his far-right predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, whose son Flávio Bolsonaro will face Lula in October’s presidential election. Continue reading...
Trump caught quietly weaponizing secret power in 'open attack on freedom': report
President Donald Trump's administration has quietly "weaponized" a power cloaked in secrecy to punish his critics and prop up corrupt power brokers, according to a new report. Trump's government has been revoking the visas of foreign leaders, judges and journalists while quietly reinstating those of like-minded allies, the New York Times reported Sunday.“No recent American administration ever did this kind of open attack on freedom of expression” said John Feeley, a career diplomat. “A congressman or a prosecutor without a U.S. visa...is somebody who is flying with a broken wing.”Past State departments have also revoked visas but mostly to keep security threats out of the country or fight corruption, the Times reported.It is difficult to quantify the tactic as visa records are confidential, but the State Department said in a statement to the Times that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other U.S. officials have “broad discretionary authority” to cancel visas “whenever and wherever."Johana Obando, a Costa Rican lawmaker whose personal and diplomatic visas were canceled, said she felt like the Trump administration was sending her a message. “It is a way of intimidating decision makers to benefit the United States,” she said. The Trump administration also rewards others whom critics say it should not.“Corruption, human rights violations or judicial interference no longer matter,” Ana María Méndez Dardón, of the rights group Washington Office on Latin America, told the Times. At least three senior Salvadoran officials whom former President Joe Biden considered too corrupt or anti-democratic to earn visas have benefited, according to the report."Visa revocations have also been used to suppress criticism of the Trump administration, or even of U.S.-aligned foreign leaders," the report stated. "In Panama, for example, after two politicians criticized a sweeping security pact between their country and the United States, they were notified that their U.S. visas had been revoked."
Taliban threaten former Afghan police worker after MoD leak reveals identity
UK has refused resettlement application despite ‘years of loyal service’ that have resulted in ‘constant fear’ of reprisalsA man has received threats from the Taliban after his work for the Afghan police was revealed by a Ministry of Defence leak and the UK refused his application for resettlement.Hamid* worked for the Afghan national police special unit and received certificates for his work signed by senior British figures praising his “dedication, unparalleled service and leadership”. His details were also included in an accidental 2022 leak by an MoD official that identified 18,700 Afghans who had worked with or for the British government. Continue reading...
Zimbabwe boat accident death toll hits 68 as 22 more bodies recovered
Eighteen children among the people killed after ferry capsized on Lake KaribaTwenty-two more bodies have been recovered after a boat accident in Zimbabwe, taking the death toll to 68, police said on Saturday.The ferry capsized on Tuesday on Lake Kariba, on the border with Zambia. An investigation has suggested it was overloaded when it turned over during heavy winds. Continue reading...
Moroccan police arrest more than 100 people attempting to enter Ceuta
Border security tightened after social media posts call for another mass crossing into Spain’s north African territoryMoroccan police have arrested 111 people as they tried to enter Spain’s north African territory of Ceuta, amid tightened security on both sides after social media posts called for another mass crossing.The attempted crossing on Saturday came two weeks after more than 72,000 migrants surged into Ceuta, causing tensions within the EU and prompting anti-immigration rhetoric among far-right parties worldwide. At least 96 people died trying to reach European soil. Continue reading...
Trump touts 'GREAT!' relationship with brutal dictator — 'despite the unfriendly look'
President Donald Trump boasted Saturday morning about how well he gets along with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un — even if he does appear "unfriendly." In a Saturday morning post, Trump shared a picture of himself gazing into Kim's eyes in which they almost appear to be holding hands."Despite the unfriendly look on this particular picture, there are many where we're smiling," Trump wrote. "Kim Jong un and I get along GREAT! President DONALD J. Trump."Kim presides over one of the world's most repressive states, and human rights groups and the United Nations have documented a long record of atrocities under his rule. Since he took power in 2011, he's deepened his country's nuclear posture and blamed the U.S. for worsening global instability.The post was accompanied by a slew of Truth Social posts, including one that pushed the story of vandalism at the World War II memorial. Another featured a screenshot from a Fox News segment that called Trump the "influencer-in-chief."One of the posts that immediately followed his Kim photo was a Fox News segment with Lara Trump attacking Democrats as communists, ironic considering he was touting his friendship with the leader of a communist country.Branding Democrats as communists has become a central Trump midterm attack line as progressives backed by New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani have won a string of House primaries. Reporters have repeatedly noted that Trump conflates democratic socialism with communism, and his recent posting spree made his position on communism more unclear.A couple of other posts shared reports by Trump ally John Solomon from Just the News that went after another communist country, China, and that defended Trump's tariffs.Trump and Kim met three times during Trump's first term, including a 2019 Hanoi summit that collapsed and a DMZ handshake that made him the first sitting U.S. president to step into North Korea. No denuclearization deal ever came of it, though.
