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Politics· Developing

Pete Hegseth removes top Joint Chiefs planner Brett Sylvia from Pentagon role

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has fired the Pentagon’s top military planner, a defence official said Wednesday, the latest in a series of generals to be ousted and one that comes even as President Donald Trump is weighing renewed strikes on Iran in the eight-month-long war. US Army Lieutentant General Brett Sylvia was removed as head of strategy, plans and policy on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He is the second general to be ousted from the post, known in military circles as the “J5”, under...

World· Developing

Aden airport attacked by Houthi forces following evacuation alert

ADEN/DUBAI, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Yemen's Houthis attacked Aden airport on Wednesday, government officials said, after the Iran-aligned group warned people to evacuate the facility as fighting escalated in the impoverished country caught in the wider Middle East conflict. Residents in the southern port city, where the internationally recognised, Saudi-backed government is based, said they heard an explosion near the airport, a humanitarian lifeline and the main gateway to southern Yemen.

World· Verified

UN General Assembly rebukes US blockade on Cuba as several allies abstain

The UN General Assembly condemned the US economic embargo of Cuba for the 34th year on Wednesday, even as Washington’s campaign to influence the outcome led to a number of countries voting against the resolution or sitting out the decision for the first time. The vote was 130-17, with 25 abstentions – a notable decrease in support from last year, when more than 160 nations supported the measure and only 12 abstained. While such resolutions at the UN General Assembly are not legally binding, they...

Technology· Developing

Homeland Security staff records exposed after non-profit posts data on 40,000 workers

Information released by Distributed Denial of Secrets is the third such government data disclosure in the last month The leak website Distributed Denial of Secrets said on Wednesday it has released data on more than 40,000 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) employees, including details about officials working in sensitive fields such as surveillance and human intelligence. DHS did not immediately return a message seeking comment. Continue reading...

World· Verified

Pete Hegseth proposes new US security pact with Southeast Asian bloc

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday proposed a new US-Asean defence framework to guide cooperation over what he called “critically important years” ahead, but offered few details on what it would entail. The proposal faces questions over whether members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will embrace a bloc-wide initiative, with analysts suggesting they would prefer bilateral arrangements that preserve their flexibility as they navigate ties with Washington and...

Finance· Verified

Federal Reserve keeps interest rates unchanged ahead of midterm elections

The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday held interest rates steady, in line with market expectations, days ahead of crucial midterm elections where surging inflation has been a key issue. The 12-member Federal Open Market Committee voted 10-2 to hold rates at a target range between 3.75 to 4.00 per cent, citing the need for more data in the fight against inflation, after having hiked for the first time in three years at its previous meeting in September. “The accumulation of more information will...

World· Verified

Israel's President Herzog faces crucial decision on new government after split vote

Israel’s President Isaac Herzog is known for his unassuming and mild manner, but all eyes will soon be on him as he decides who to task with forming the next coalition government. The decision is a weighty one given that partial results from Tuesday’s elections show neither the camp of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor that of his rival Gadi Eisenkot securing a majority in parliament. After the official announcement of the results, Herzog will consult with party representatives and name a candidate who has the best chance of forming a government — not necessarily the one whose party holds the most seats. Under the law, the president, whose position is otherwise largely ceremonial, is afforded broad discretion, with no guidelines on how to make the choice. As votes were being tallied on Wednesday, Herzog said he would receive the official results the following week, after which consultations would begin. “One thing must be clear, and I said this before the elections too: we must do everything we can, certainly after yesterday, to avoid another round of elections,” he said. “So I expect everyone who comes here to come with an open mind.” Ahead of Tuesday’s pivotal vote, Herzog acknowledged there would be tremendous pressure, but vowed not to let outside influence, notably from US President Donald Trump, sway his decision. “I don’t think the president of the United States or anybody else can intervene in my discretion,” he told US outlet MS Now. “It’s Israel’s democracy and Israel’s constitution, and that’s what counts for me.” Herzog told MS Now he would do everything he could to avoid a fresh election — a possibility if neither camp can cobble together a coalition — including backing a unity government between Netanyahu and Eisenkot. ‘Worthy and wonderful man’ Modest, diplomatic and with a strong political pedigree, 66-year-old Herzog was sworn in as Israel’s president in 2021 after being elected by lawmakers in a landslide. Yair Lapid, now a member of Eisenkot’s broad opposition bloc, praised Herzog at the time as “a worthy and wonderful man who is always focused on the good of the country and the Jewish people”. As president, Herzog has faced pressure from Trump to grant Netanyahu a pardon in his long-running corruption trials, which could land him in prison if he loses power. In April, Herzog invited Netanyahu’s lawyers and prosecutors to his residence for talks on the issue. Before he served as head of state, Herzog was elected to Israel’s parliament in 2003 and held portfolios including housing, tourism and welfare. In 2015, as leader of Israel’s centre-left Labour party, Herzog vied to oust Netanyahu as prime minister, presenting himself as a subdued, even-keeled alternative to the bombastic “Bibi”. Netanyahu, now 77, is Israel’s longest-serving premier, having governed on-and-off for nearly two decades. Tuesday’s election was seen as a referendum on the veteran leader’s tenure after he pushed the country sharply to the right and unleashed a wave of military campaigns in response to Hamas’s Oct 7, 2023 attack. ‘Bring a real change’ In an interview with AFP in March 2026, Herzog said the ongoing US-Israeli war with Iran marked a “historical juncture”. “There comes a moment that after well over a generation of endless wars, bloodshed and terror, the root cause of it, which comes from Tehran, will be blocked and stopped, and the whole direction of the region will change,” he said. “Let’s help us bring a real change so that there will be a different future in the region.” He also stressed the importance of talks with Lebanon, with the two sides sitting down the following month for direct negotiations that are still ongoing. Herzog’s Irish-born father, Chaim Herzog, served as head of Israel’s military intelligence, then went on to become its ambassador to the United Nations and finally its sixth president, from 1983 to 1993. Herzog’s grandfather and namesake — Rabbi Yitzhak (Isaac) HaLevi Herzog — was the first chief rabbi for Israel’s Ashkenazis, the branch of Judaism whose roots are in eastern Europe. At the helm of the Labour party, Herzog worked to steer its focus back to peace with the Palestinians. He answers to the nickname “Bougie” — reportedly given to him by his Egyptian-born mother, who mixed the French word for doll “poupee” with its Hebrew equivalent “buba”.

World· Verified

Flavio Bolsonaro arrives in Florida after defying Brazilian court order

Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro and his family arrived in Miami on Wednesday, where the United States government would grant them entry visas after he refused to comply with a Brazilian Supreme Court order to surrender his passports. Bolsonaro, who lost last Sunday’s presidential election to leftist incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, left Brazil under a shroud of secrecy after the court order, which relates to a money-laundering investigation in which he denies wrongdoing. Images showed Bolsonaro, his wife and two daughters disembarking from a Gulfstream G400 and heading into Miami’s Opa-Locka Executive Airport. Their journey to the United States captured attention across the region. They entered northern Argentina late on Tuesday evening, according to the country’s migration department, and then took a private jet to the Ecuadorean city of Guayaquil. From there, they flew to Miami. Neither Argentina’s presidency, Ecuadorean ministries nor Baires Fly, the operator of the private jet, responded to requests for comment. Fresh Brazil-US rift Bolsonaro’s departure threatens to deepen a rift between the two most populous nations in the Americas. Lula has accused Washington of colluding with the Bolsonaro family to help return them to power. Ahead of Sunday’s election, Reuters reported on a US State Department campaign to restore the Bolsonaros to office. Trump told reporters on Wednesday that he would approve of Bolsonaro coming to the United States, after his State Department said it would give them entry visas. Trump has previously alleged that Flavio’s father, former president Jair Bolsonaro, was a victim of judicial persecution in Brazil. Jair Bolsonaro also travelled to the United States after refusing to concede defeat to Lula in 2022, during Joe Biden’s presidency. He eventually returned to Brazil but was later sentenced to 27 years in prison for plotting a coup after supporters stormed government buildings in Brasilia. Flavio Bolsonaro had been widely expected to win Sunday’s election but suffered a shock defeat. Bolsonaro, who loses his immunity from prosecution when his Senate term ends in February, said on Monday after the order to hand in his passports that he had no plans to flee. “I have never thought about leaving the country,” he said. “I will hand over my passports and defend myself against this travesty, which is a clear attempt to intimidate me.”

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