Top World News
The return of the caspian tiger: how a species feared extinct has come back to Kazakhstan
The wild capture and release of a female big cat into a nature reserve is the first step towards reintroducing a population that hasn’t been seen for 70 yearsOn 31 July, “Umit” – which means hope in Kazakh – was released into a nature reserve on the edge of Lake Balkhash after more than a decade of careful planning to return the caspian tiger to the region. With this release, Kazakhstan became the first country to restore its tiger range after they had been thought extinct, with the last reliable sighting in the country recorded more than 70 years ago.Umit – a wild-caught female tiger transported from the Russian far east – will be joined by more big cats in the coming years, with plans to establish a self-sustaining population of about 50. A wild-caught male flown from Russia is still being monitored by authorities and will be released when he is judged fit to survive alone. Two wild tiger cubs are also being reared on the reserve in special enclosures, with as little human contact as possible, and are likely to be released into the marshlands next year, to feast on boar, deer and kulans, a type of wild donkey. Continue reading...
Key Amazon cases reach Brazil’s Supreme Court following Lula's defeats in Congress
Brazil's Supreme Court is set to decide cases that could reshape protections for the Amazon rainforest and Indigenous communities
Authorities say 10 Nigerian police officers were killed in gunbattle with rebels in the north
A gunbattle between rebels and Nigerian security forces has left 10 police officers dead
Authorities say 10 Nigerian police officers were killed in a gunbattle with rebels in the north
Authorities say 10 Nigerian police officers were killed in a gunbattle with rebels in the north
As conflict in the Middle East intensifies, India’s relationship with Israel deepens
An Amnesty International report reveals that the country is now a key part of Israel’s weapons supply chain. Plus, Assam floods, student anger spreads and a song to put in rotation• Don’t get This is India delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereHello, and welcome back to This Is India.For this week’s newsletter, I’m looking at India’s evolving relationship with Israel, and how it has deepened as conflict swept across the Middle East. Why is it that India has formed an even closer bond with a country that has faced mounting international isolation and backlash over a military campaign in Gaza that has left the territory in ruins and killed more than 70,000 Palestinians, – many of whom were children? Continue reading...
Trump reportedly hid in catering container to board secret flight in Turkey amid Iran threat
Elaborate ruse was used to transport president to military flight from Air Force One in JulyDonald Trump departed on a secret military flight from Turkey to Britain last month when the White House said he was flying aboard Air Force One, in an extraordinary ruse – prompted by an Iranian assassination threat – that involved hiding the president in an airport catering container, according to reporting from the Washington Post and the New York Times.The operation took place when Trump was in Ankara for a Nato summit with world leaders, according to the Post. The president reportedly boarded the old Air Force One jumbo jet in view of television cameras, and then was secretly shuttled minutes later to a smaller plane via an airport catering truck typically used to load meals and other supplies preflight, a US official told the Post. Continue reading...
British national shot dead in Kashmir by Pakistani security forces
Mohammad Akhtar, 50, from Peterborough killed during clashes between authorities and protestersA British national was shot dead in Pakistan-administered Kashmir during clashes between security forces and protesters, the Guardian can reveal.Another Briton has been held in a regional prison for more than two months despite his family’s efforts to secure his release through the Foreign Office. Continue reading...
'Especially weird' twist uncovered in White House's leak denial: report
President Donald Trump has been raging against possible leakers over information he gave away months ago.Trump has spent the week vowing to hunt down "treasonous" leakers over a missile shortage he was warned about and that he publicly acknowledged months before he launched his war with Iran, points out a Saturday piece by the legal blog emptywheel."Donald Trump told us on February 23, before he started this war, that he was reading the stories describing that he was warned, including about the missile shortage," emptywheel wrote. "And his response was to say that the decision was his, that if we went in spite of the warnings, the decision was his."The depletion of long-range missiles and interceptors was never a surprise, but despite that, Trump's recriminations have been building as he even turns on people within his own administration.Emptywheel noted a recent report by The Washington Post that revealed Trump laid into Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during a Camp David meeting because of the shortages, but White House and Pentagon spokespeople have denied the report. Trump took to Truth Social to deny the missile shortage as well, writing, "The U.S. has massive amounts of 'munitions,'" but also went after "the 'leakers' of those treasonous statements" about a shortage. He said they were "being hunted down."According to emptywheel, "the especially weird part" of the White House and Pentagon denials is that they insist Trump isn't angry at Hegseth at all. "Shouldn't the President be angry with a Secretary of Defense who conducted the war in such a dumba— way, losing the war while blowing the missile reserves?" the blog asked.The blog also mentioned reporting that suggests that missile supplies are indeed dangerously low. A CNN report estimated about 80 percent of U.S. THAAD interceptors are gone, and Reuters reported, citing sources, that "virtually all" of the Army's surface-to-surface weapons have been used up.
Greenland slaps back at invasion-threatening Trump — via Dr. Phil
Greenland clapped back at President Donald Trump amidst his overtures of an invasion — and they used a television talk show host to do it, according to a new report. The Guardian reported on Saturday that Greenland's government issued a "strong warning" to a Trump-linked company after it showed up on the island with oil drilling equipment. The company was preparing to sink wells in remote Greenland even though local authorities haven't given it permission, according to the report. Greenland's warning, written in Danish, reportedly demanded, "All future logistical matters must be advised and approved by the mineral resources authority before they are carried out."Trump this month posted a "menacing" Truth Social message — an image of himself looming over Greenland — and told Americans to "bet" Greenland would be under American control before the decade was out. The Texas-based company — Greenland Energy — has multiple ties to Trump.Trump mega-donor Kenneth Griffin, owns a 9 percent share and one of its appointed directors worked on the president's plan for a Golden Dome missile defense system — a plan for which Trump has said control of Greenland is "vital," the Guardian reported.Greenland Energy's chairman and biggest shareholder, Larry Swets, is also part of Trump's circle, The Guardian reported. Swets reportedly responded to the warning with a semi-apology, stating, "Our enthusiasm for the project led us to communicate in a way that created confusion."The company told shareholders that "high-level meetings" have taken place between the project leaders and Greenland's regulatory and oversight officials, saying the discussions have been "constructive" despite the warning from the government, according to the report."We continue to be encouraged by the progress being made toward the remaining approvals required for drilling," the company said in a message to shareholders. The company is also expected to ship 300 containers of drilling equipment to Greenland from Canada on September 12. Trump's Greenland envoy, hard-right Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R), said that pumping oil could begin next year, according to The Guardian.The company's roster includes another Trump ally, recently brought on to be its public face, according to the report. "Greenland Energy has retained Phil McGraw, better known as Dr Phil,' the report stated, "a prominent rightwing former chatshow host who served on Trump’s religious freedom commission, to make a documentary series that will 'capture the mission of these modern-day wildcatters."
Top Trump general quietly hunting for 'off-ramp' as president's war plan falters: report
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Dan Caine has started to tell multiple top Trump advisers privately that he is "looking for an off-ramp" from the Iran war, CNN reported on Friday.Three sources have said that the existing military options could end up backfiring and the conflict has reached a crossroads where air power alone "is unlikely to achieve President Donald Trump’s stated objectives."Caine has expressed this to several key Cabinet members. Two sources revealed he has spoken directly about those concerns with CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance."I think it is just his way of protecting the military," one source told CNN. Trump has repeatedly been reluctant to send ground troops into Iran, and has favored airstrikes instead, which he believes can pressure Tehran into a deal on his terms. But Caine and other cabinet officials privately doubt that strategy will work, according to multiple sources familiar with recent discussions, and have been quietly exploring alternative options that still fall within the president's stated red lines, according to CNN.
Spain to introduce temporary border checks on visitors from Italy
Move comes in response to Rome imposing similar measures after mass migration rush to CeutaSpain has announced it will introduce temporary border checks on visitors from Italy in response to Rome imposing similar measures after a mass rush of people from Morocco into Ceuta.The checks, which come “amid the persistent irregular migration pressure” facing Italy, will start at midnight on Saturday and last until 7 September, Spain’s interior ministry said in a statement. Continue reading...
Unusual Trump mind game revealed by GOP senator
A Republican lawmaker argued Friday that President Donald Trump was using an unconventional move — and playing mind games — with Iran's leader.Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) told TMZ that when Trump refers to the ayatollah as "the gay ayatollah" it's on purpose."The president wants to put as much pressure on them as he can, so he's trying to keep them off balance," Hoeven said. "So he's doing a lot of things to keep the regime, which is an irrational, oppressive regime [that] oppresses their own people."Trolling Iran has become part of Trump's perceived strategy, and how he wants to pressure its regime, Hoeven explained. "I think he's messing with them in a way to keep them off balance and create division over there," he added. Iran has reportedly taken similar measures against Trump. Reports indicate Tehran has recruited senior psychologists to tailor messages for what they described as Trump's "impaired mental state," specifically targeting the president.Sen. John Hoeven says President Trump is trying to throw Iran's ayatollah off balance by making comments about his sexuality.????: @hicharliecotton pic.twitter.com/RpQ2cVCURq— TMZ (@TMZ) August 7, 2026
