Skip to content
REALNEWS HUB

WorldPage 21 of 33

The World section brings together news from across the globe, covering conflicts, politics, diplomacy and daily life in countries far and near. Expect reporting on wars and ceasefires, elections and government decisions, migration and humanitarian crises, natural disasters and accidents, plus the diplomatic exchanges that shape international relations.

Coverage spans every region, from long-running crises to sudden breaking events, offering context on how global developments affect communities, governments and ordinary people trying to navigate them.

World· Verified

Iran slips fuel shipments past American naval blockade, tracking shows

By Feras Dalatey and Jonathan Saul DAMASCUS/LONDON, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Iran has managed to export some liquefied petroleum gas and jet fuel since July, despite a USnaval blockade, shipping intelligence showed and people involved in security said. Tehran has in recent weeks been concealing such cargoes among a growing volume of ship-to-ship transfers by other Gulf producers off Oman, four people in maritime security who track Gulf oil movements told Reuters.

World· Verified

Singapore moves against seven firms over Indonesian blazes as smog spreads

Singapore has identified seven companies it says were involved in wildfires in Indonesia that are choking the city state with haze, and plans to issue notices requiring them to take preventive measures, the Business Times reported. The companies will receive notices under the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act requiring them to stop or refrain from burning and submit plans to prevent a recurrence, the newspaper reported, citing Sustainability and the Environment Minister Grace Fu at a Friday press...

World· Verified

Tigray caretaker administration sets out six-month plan for stability and polls

Ethiopia’s newly appointed federal caretaker administration in Tigray has outlined a six-month agenda focused on restoring peace, rebuilding infrastructure, resuming public services, and preparing the region for democratic elections. Over its six-month mandate, the temporary administration will oversee Tigray’s political transition, guide security restructuring, coordinate regional reconstruction, and facilitate the return of internally displaced persons […]

World· Verified

Ukraine receives renewed European support as relations with Washington deteriorate

European leaders on Friday rallied around Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky as Kyiv’s ties with US President Donald Trump have nosedived and worries grow that US leader is increasingly siding with Russia. Relations between Kyiv and Washington have soured since last week, when Trump eased sanctions on Russia in exchange for Moscow releasing large amounts of diesel onto global markets. Zelensky infuriated Trump further by ordering Ukraine’s forces to restart strikes on Russian oil refineries in...

World· Developing

Afghanistan faces record hunger levels as UN warns of worsening winter crisis

Acute malnutrition and hunger in Afghanistan have reached the highest levels ever recorded, with 15.9 million people facing acute food insecurity and conditions set to worsen in the coming months, according to a global hunger monitor report released on Thursday. UN agency heads have called for emergency support to stem the crisis, as a separate report details serious human rights violations from public floggings to a new ban on demonstrations. Record acute malnutrition levels for the Aug-Oct period have seen hunger levels grow for millions of Afghans according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a global initiative aimed at informing decisions based on five phases of food security. Economic pressures are straining households nationwide, contributing to more than 32 per cent of the population facing crisis-level acute food insecurity phase three or above, including 3.4m people experiencing emergency phase four conditions. The current deterioration is driven by disease outbreaks and inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene conditions, compounded by sharply reduced access to nutrition services, the report found. The situation is expected to worsen from November to April during the winter lean season, when nearly 19.2m people are projected to face phase three or above, including 5m people in emergency food insecurity conditions. Acute malnutrition is also set to grow significantly, with 4.04m children under the age of five projected to need treatment between January and December 2027. Although improved rainfall and better agricultural production have supported food availability, declining humanitarian assistance is reducing households ability to cope, the report warned. The World Food Programme (WFP) and Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) issued a stark message on Thursday, calling for urgent funding to scale up food assistance, emergency agricultural support and malnutrition prevention and treatment. We still have a window to act, but it is closing fast, WFP country director John Aylieff said. With urgent support, families can get through the winter with dignity. Without it, many will face impossible choices no parent should have to make. FAO representative Richard Trenchard said families need opportunities to earn a dependable living that helps them withstand the next shock and support to get through this winter. Erosion of human rights The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) on Thursday reported the continued erosion of basic human rights across the country between July and September, with women and girls bearing the brunt of restrictions imposed by Taliban authorities. Girls remain barred from formal education beyond grade six. Asked about the ban, a Taliban spokesperson said that problems and considerations had to be taken into account from the perspective of Sharia law. UNAMA documented more than 50 cases related to the hijab, mostly in Herat and Kabul. In one case, a 13-year-old girl was held overnight. Women were also blocked from entering health clinics and markets without a mehram. The mission recorded at least 443 cases and 97 incidents of ill-treatment by virtue and vice inspectors over offences including hijab violations, trimmed beards, skipped prayers and listening to music. While the de facto Supreme Court stopped publicly announcing such cases on its social media account and website in April, UNAMA documented public lashings of 22 men and six women on charges including theft and adultery, and the arrest of 14 former security force members, with at least four others killed. Several outlets were suspended without clear reasons or appeal procedures. A journalist arrested in July 2025 remains in custody without conviction. A new police law, published in August, bans all demonstrations.

World· Developing

Donald Trump forecasts quick conclusion to Iran conflict and lower oil costs

• Pezeshkian decries US blockade, insists ‘military force’ will not compel Tehran into submission • Washington weighs using ‘Mother Of All Bombs’ against Iranian energy sites, CNN reports WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump once again predicted a swift end to the war with Iran, and a sharp drop in oil prices once the conflict concludes, even as Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian warned that military action cannot force them into submission. “The Iran war will end very soon … Soon, as they want it to end,” Trump told reporters in Montana. “They’ll never have a nuclear weapon, and oil prices will drop like a rock.” According to Anadolu Agency, Trump also expressed uncertainty over which Iranian officials the US was negotiating with. “They don’t have a navy. They don’t have an air force. Their army is decimated. Their leaders are gone,” Trump said. “I should have probably left their leaders because I don’t know who the hell we’re negotiating with.” “Iran was the bully of the Middle East,” he said, adding that the country was no longer as powerful as it had been. Trump also claimed that US strikes had destroyed Iran’s naval fleet and rendered its military aircraft unusable. He said Iran had 159 ships and asserted that none remained operational, while also claiming that its fighter jets had been destroyed on the country’s runways. ‘Iran won’t submit to force’ Meanwhile in Tehran, President Pezeshkian warned that military action cannot force a country into submission, adding that his country “must find a way to strengthen national cohesion and unity”, Al Jazeera reported. He said that the country was facing its most intense blockade since the 1979 Revolution, accusing the United States of seeking to provoke public protests. “Over the 48 years since the Revolution, we have never faced such intense blockade, war and difficulties as we are facing now,” Pezeshkian said in a speech broadcast by state television. He accused Washington of seeking to make life difficult for Iranians to fuel public anger and trigger unrest. Pezeshkian said the US was focusing its efforts on making “the people become upset and face difficulties, and then for social protests to emerge so that they can achieve their sinister objectives”. ‘Mother Of All Bombs’ Meanwhile, the US is considering using the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) bomb — better known by its nickname, the “Mother Of All Bombs” — against Iran if Trump decides to renew combat in the deadlocked war, CNN reported on Thursday. The military is planning for the potential use of the weapon to target Iranian energy infrastructure and nuclear sites, according to the news outlet, which quoted officials familiar with the matter. “The MOAB is a massive information operation type weapon that is great for huge area clearance but not much else,” a source familiar with the plans told CNN. “It is definitely not designed as a deep penetration warhead.” Trump is trying to boost his low approval ratings ahead of November’s midterm elections, with polls showing the unpopular war in Iran and the fuel and other price rises it has caused are hurting his Republican Party. Diplomatic efforts to end the conflict have been at an impasse since the summer, and Washington has in recent weeks dialled back military operations in favour of economic pressure. However, officials have raised doubts over the efficacy of the bomb if deployed, particularly its ability to destroy suspected underground nuclear sites in Iran, as well as concerns over possible civilian casualties from such a huge weapon. Published in Dawn, October 16th, 2026

Load more

Get the biggest World stories first

Verified stories in your inbox, every one linked to its sources. All newsletters →

Newsletters

Free. Unsubscribe any time. See our privacy policy.