Donald Trump has claimed that Jeffrey Epstein, the late convicted sex offender with whom he socialised for over a decade, “stole” Virginia Giuffre and other young female staff members from his Mar-a-Lago resort in the early 2000s. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Tuesday, as he returned to Washington from Scotland, Trump was pressed to elaborate on remarks he made earlier in the week about falling out with…

The United States of America (USA) has been placed on a global civic space watchlist by a coalition of international civil society organisations, joining countries such as Turkey, Serbia, El Salvador, Indonesia, and Kenya as areas of urgent concern.

Tensions flared once again along the Thai-Cambodian border as Thailand accused Cambodia of launching an overnight assault in breach of a newly agreed ceasefire aimed at ending days of deadly cross-border fighting. According to Thailand’s foreign ministry, troops stationed in Sisaket province came under sustained fire from Cambodian forces on Tuesday night, with reports of small arms and grenade attacks continuing into Wednesday morning. “This represents a flagrant violation of…

A group of prominent Israeli public figures, including artists, academics, and intellectuals, has issued an extraordinary plea for the international community to impose “crippling sanctions” on Israel, in response to what they describe as the state’s brutal campaign of starvation against Palestinians in Gaza. In a letter published by The Guardian, the 31 signatories, among them an Academy Award winner and a former attorney general, accuse Israel of deliberately starving…

Some women who were exploited by grooming gangs in Rotherham during their childhood say they were also abused by police officers in the town at that time, According to reports, one says she was raped from the age of 12 by a serving South Yorkshire Police (SYP) officer in a marked police car. He would threaten to hand her back to the gang if she did not comply, she says.…

The US deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche, has held a second in-person meeting with convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, as calls mount for full transparency over the federal investigation into the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. Blanche met Maxwell behind closed doors on Thursday and again on Friday at the federal prosecutor’s office inside the courthouse in Tallahassee, Florida, where Maxwell is currently serving a 20 year prison sentence for her…

Children under the age of 16 will be banned from having YouTube accounts from December, following a major policy reversal by the Albanese government. The Google-owned platform had previously been exempt from Australia’s national under-16s social media ban, but will now be included alongside other major services such as Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat. The change will be formally announced on Wednesday by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Communications Minister…

More than 30 people have died and tens of thousands have been displaced following days of relentless rainfall and severe flooding in Beijing and its neighbouring regions, according to Chinese state media. State broadcaster CCTV reported that 28 people were confirmed dead in the Miyun district on the city’s northern outskirts, with an additional two fatalities in Yanqing district as of midnight on Monday. Both districts lie far from central…

A gunman opened fire inside a Manhattan skyscraper on Monday evening, killing four people, including an off-duty New York police officer, before turning the gun on himself. Authorities confirmed the attack occurred at 345 Park Avenue, a highrise that houses the headquarters of the National Football League (NFL) and several prominent financial firms. The shooter, identified as 27 year old Shane Tamura of Las Vegas, reportedly drove cross-country before arriving…

The United States government has reiterated that using a tourist visa with the primary intention of giving birth in the country is not permitted, warning that such actions may result in visa denial and long-term immigration consequences. This cautionary message was delivered via an official statement posted on the X (formerly Twitter) page of the country’s Mission in Nigeria on Monday. It forms part of a broader effort by the government…

Thailand and Cambodia have reached an “immediate and unconditional” ceasefire agreement following high-level peace talks hosted by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

Direct flights between Moscow and Pyongyang have officially commenced this week, marking a symbolic deepening of diplomatic and military relations between Russia and North Korea, as well as offering Russian travellers a rare new international route. The inaugural flight, operated by Russia’s Nordwind Airlines, departed from Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow on Sunday and arrived in the North Korean capital approximately eight hours later, according to the airport’s official website. Russia’s…