Top World News

Mar 31, 2026 - World

Exclusive: Environmental impact assessments are ‘incomplete’, say leaders, and private beach club could harm fragile ecosystemsIndigenous community leaders in Vanuatu have raised concerns over plans by the cruise operator Royal Caribbean to build a private beach club on the island of Lelepa, arguing environmental impact assessments by the company are “incomplete” and “misleading”.The community leaders outlined the issues in a letter sent to Royal Caribbean on 26 February, which has been seen by the Guardian. The leaders also said the development could harm fragile ecosystems and a nearby Unesco world heritage site. Continue reading...

Mar 30, 2026 - World

U.S. lawmakers visiting Taiwan say the United States supports efforts by Taiwan's government to pass a $40 billion special defense budget that is being stalled in the opposition-controlled parliament

Mar 30, 2026 - World

Central African Republic President Faustin-Archange Touadéra has been sworn in for a third term three months after a disputed election

Mar 30, 2026 - World

CNN anchor Jake Tapper questioned President Donald Trump's ultimate game plan in Iran, calling out the president and his administration for mixed messaging. Tapper was responding to Secretary of State Marco Rubio's claims about objectives in the war and what the United States had aimed to achieve in its military strikes that first launched on Feb. 28. Now weeks into the war, Americans were unsure what the actual objectives were following confusing communications over what prompted the military action in the Middle East."If the mission is just as Secretary Rubio noted, the destruction of the air force and the navy and missiles and missile-making capability, it would seem that the U.S. would be close to accomplishing that," Tapper said. "But according to reports in The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal, the Trump administration is preparing for more. The Pentagon is preparing for weeks of ground operations in Iran, troops on the ground. President Trump is weighing deploying another 10,000 more ground troops to the Middle East region in general. And they are also considering a complex operation to extract with boots on the ground."Trump hasn't made clear what his next decision will be — and that has left Americans confused, Tapper explained. "Again, one can want a denuclearized and democratic Iran and still wonder if President Trump is kind of making some of this up as he goes along," Tapper said. "One can support President Trump and wonder if he's fully aware of how often wars spiral out of control little by little, with unanticipated responses by the enemy requiring increasing commitment." "President Trump said he would end the Iran war when he, 'feels it in his bones,' when so many lives are on the line. That is a remarkably vague and impulsive metric... Some people believe Trump's constant back and forth is street strategic, four-dimensional chess," Tapper added.

Mar 30, 2026 - World

President Donald Trump's latest threat against the Iranian regime is "extremely hard to justify" under international law, according to one expert. Admiral James G. Stavridis told CNN's Abby Phillip on "The Arena" on Monday that Trump's threat to bomb Iran's water and energy infrastructure if the country does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz would be a difficult move to defend. Certain parts of the threat seem to align with international law, but attacking civilian infrastructure could extend the war in Iran for years to come, he added. "So striking oil. No, I don't see that as illegal under international law," Stavridis said. "The electric grid is kind of in a gray area. It depends on whether you are striking portions of it that supported military activity, or going after the water supplies, which would be extremely hard to justify under international law."Trump has tried for several weeks to get the Iranian regime to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and so far those efforts have come up short. The waterway is responsible for roughly 20% of global energy trade, and its closure is one reason why gas prices in the U.S. have skyrocketed since the war in Iran began. Stavridis added that striking Iran's water infrastructure could cause a ripple effect in the region. "Leaving aside the legalities ... the practical effect would be batteries released against the Gulf Arabs' desalination plant. So if this thing turns into a water war, it's going to take years for the region to come back," he said.