Men in the Malaysian state of Terengganu face up to two years in prison if they fail to attend Friday prayers without a valid reason, under new rules introduced this week. The legislation, announced on Monday by the ruling Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), allows first-time offenders to be jailed for up to two years, fined 3,000 ringgit (£527), or both. Previously, men who missed three consecutive Friday prayers risked a…

Donald Trump has ruled out deploying American troops to Ukraine as part of any future peace agreement with Vladimir Putin, tempering earlier pledges of security guarantees for Kyiv that European leaders had described as a breakthrough in efforts to end the war. Trump gives assurance In a telephone interview with Fox News, the US president was asked whether he could assure listeners that American soldiers would not be sent to…

Federal authorities have charged 50-year-old Nathalie Rose Jones of Lafayette, Indiana, after she allegedly travelled to Washington, D.C., with the intent to “kidnap and assassinate” President Donald Trump. In a statement released on August 18, 2025, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia said Jones used Facebook and Instagram to post disturbing threats. One of the posts read: “I am willing to sacrificially kill this POTUS by disembowelling…

Israel has said it will deliver its response to international mediators by Friday regarding a new Gaza ceasefire proposal accepted by Hamas.

Air Canada flight attendants have reached a tentative agreement with the airline to end a strike that disrupted travel for an estimated half a million passengers worldwide. Around 10,000 attendants walked off the job shortly after midnight on Saturday, demanding higher wages and compensation for unpaid ground duties, including time spent boarding passengers. The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents the attendants, defied two tribunal orders to return…

A speechwriter for the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has come under scrutiny after being linked to a series of online posts promoting hate speech and extremist views. Eric Lendrum, who joined the DHS in March under Secretary Kristi Noem, previously served at the Department of the Interior during Donald Trump’s first administration. In the intervening years, he was active online, hosting a podcast, posting on X and…

The administration of President Donald Trump has revoked more than 6,000 student visas, citing overstays and breaches of US law, with a small minority withdrawn over alleged links to terrorism, a State Department official confirmed yesterday. The decision, first reported by Fox Digital, forms part of the administration’s broader crackdown on immigration, which has seen tighter vetting of social media accounts and expanded screening measures. Directives issued this year instructed…

DThe US Department of Justice has agreed to provide Congress with documents from the Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation, a senior lawmaker confirmed on Monday, in a move that appears to ease, for now, a potential constitutional clash. The material will begin to be handed over on Friday to the House oversight committee, which earlier this month issued a wide-ranging subpoena to the department concerning a case that has long drawn…

Two American tourists in their seventies have died in separate drowning incidents at a newly opened resort in the Bahamas, officials have confirmed. The deaths occurred on Friday at Celebration Key, a $600m private destination built for Carnival Cruise Line passengers, which opened in July around 100 miles (160km) off the coast of Florida. Carnival Cruise Line said its lifeguards and medical staff responded to two emergencies on the same…

Benjamin Netanyahu has launched a direct attack on Anthony Albanese, describing Australia’s prime minister as “weak” in a social media post, hours after Jewish groups in Australia called for restraint in relations between the two countries. “History will remember Albanese for what he is: A weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia’s Jews,” read the post on X from the Israeli prime minister’s account on Tuesday evening, Australian time.…

For months, Israeli officials have spoken of Palestinians leaving Gaza in large numbers. Now, discussions have emerged over a potential destination: South Sudan, one of Africa’s poorest and most conflict-stricken states. According to officials and individuals briefed on the matter, Israel has held talks with South Sudan about receiving refugees from Gaza. The move forms part of a wider Israeli strategy of promoting large-scale emigration from the enclave, devastated by…

SwatchSwiss watchmaker Swatch has apologised and withdrawn an advertisement featuring a model making a gesture widely condemned as racist, following a backlash on Chinese social media. The campaign showed an Asian male model pulling at the corners of his eyes, a gesture that internet users described as a racist caricature. The image quickly drew criticism on Weibo, with many calling for a boycott of Swatch and its associated brands, including…