Top World News

Feb 9, 2026 - World

Storm Marta sweeps Iberian peninsula just days after Storms Kristin and Leonardo brought deadly flooding and major damageSpain and Portugal have endured another storm over the weekend, just days after the deadly flooding and major damage caused by Storm Kristin and Storm Leonardo last week. Storm Marta passed over the Iberian peninsula on Saturday, bringing fresh torrential rain and killing two people. Storm Kristin killed at least five people after it made landfall on 28 January with Storm Leonardo claiming another victim last Wednesday.The outlook for this week is for more rain across Spain, Portugal and France, especially across north-west Portugal, where more than 100mm is possible during the first half of the week. Some of the heaviest of the rain will transfer to southern Italy and western parts of Greece and Turkey later in the week. Continue reading...

Feb 9, 2026 - World

Family of media tycoon say he will ‘die a martyr behind bars’ amid widespread criticism from press freedom groupsJimmy Lai, the media mogul and prominent pro-democracy activist, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison in Hong Kong for national security offences, a punishment his daughter said could mean “he will die a martyr behind bars”.Claire Lai said the sentence was “heartbreakingly cruel” given her 78-year-old father’s declining health, while her brother Sebastien Lai called the sentence “draconian” and “devastating”. Continue reading...

Feb 9, 2026 - World

Vice President J.D. Vance landed Monday in Armenia, making him the first sitting president or vice president to visit the landlocked country in the Caucasus region of western Asia.

Feb 9, 2026 - World

The leader of the Labour Party in Scotland, Anas Sarwar, called on Prime Minister Keir Starmer to resign Monday after revelations about the relationship between former British ambassador to Washington Peter Mandelson and the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Feb 9, 2026 - World

Monday's sentencing of Hong Kong democracy advocate and onetime media magnate Jimmy Lai brought an outcry from governments and rights groups. Chinese and Hong Kong authorities defended it, saying it reflected the spirit of the rule of law.