Brazilian authorities have suspended one of the most significant agreements safeguarding the Amazon rainforest, the soy moratorium, raising fears of renewed destruction on a vast scale. The move, which conservation groups described as a devastating setback, comes less than three months before Brazil hosts the Cop30 climate summit in Belém. The decision could open an area the size of Portugal to clearance for farming, prompting warnings that the country risks…

The World Health Organisation has warned that corporal punishment poses a serious global public health threat, harming children’s physical and mental wellbeing and increasing the risk of later criminal behaviour. A new WHO report found that children exposed to corporal punishment were 24% less likely to be developmentally on track compared with those who were not. The study examined data from 49 low and middle income countries. Corporal punishment, defined…

Frank Caprio, the retired Rhode Island municipal judge who became an online sensation for his compassionate approach on the television series Caught in Providence, has died aged 88. His family confirmed on his official social media accounts that he “passed away peacefully” following “a long and courageous battle with pancreatic cancer.” Caprio presided over Providence municipal court for nearly four decades, retiring in 2023. His courtroom became the setting for…

North Korea has constructed a secret military base close to its frontier with China that may house its latest long-range ballistic missiles, according to new research by a US thinktank.

France has launched an investigation into the death of a man whose violent mistreatment was regularly streamed live on the video platform Kick.

The world’s oldest living person, British great-grandmother Ethel Caterham, celebrated her 116th birthday on Thursday, 21 August 2025, marking yet another extraordinary milestone in a life that spans more than a century of global change. Caterham, who resides in a care home in Surrey, England, became the world’s oldest person earlier this year following the death of Brazilian nun Inah Canabarro Lucas in April, who also reached the age of…

Online forums debated whether criticising recent US military actions abroad, or sharing satirical posts about politicians, could fall within the new criteria.

Dozens of Microsoft employees staged an occupation at the company’s east campus in Redmond, Washington, protesting against what they claim is the use of its technology by the Israeli military in Gaza and the surveillance of Palestinians.

Moscow has insisted it must be part of any international discussions on Ukraine’s security, as the Kremlin continues to stall on Donald Trump’s effort to arrange a meeting between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, speaking in Jordan on Wednesday, dismissed European diplomacy as “aggressive escalation” and “a clumsy effort to sway Trump”. He argued that talks on security guarantees without Russia were “a road to…

European leaders joined President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Washington after Donald Trump’s Alaska summit with Vladimir Putin failed to deliver a ceasefire. While Trump struck an upbeat tone, his European counterparts were more cautious. By Monday evening, the talks had produced no concrete commitments on security guarantees or progress towards a peace agreement. Here are some key points worthy of being acknowledged and noticed. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s latest trip to Washington highlighted…

A Peruvian woman has been arrested in Bali after allegedly attempting to smuggle cocaine and ecstasy into the Indonesian resort island by concealing the drugs in a sex toy and her underwear. The 42-year-old, identified by police only as NS, arrived at Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport from Qatar on 12 August when her behaviour aroused the suspicions of customs officers. Following consultation with police, officers conducted a further search…

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…