A US federal appeals court has refused to reinstate the Trump administration's $100,000 H-1B visa fee, upholding a lower-court block. The Boston-based First Circuit on Friday declined to stay Judge Leo Sorokin's June 8 ruling, which called the charge an unlawful tax not authorised by Congress. Twenty Democrat-led states had sued. The visa is heavily used to hire skilled workers from India.
A Saudi-led coalition struck Houthi military sites in Yemen's Hodeida province on Friday, calling it a response to attacks on Red Sea shipping. Spokesman Turki al-Maliki said the 'decisive' operation had ended. Al Arabiya said Hodeida port was spared; Houthi media reported explosions and hit telecom sites. The strikes followed a Houthi blockade and an attack on the Saudi vessel NCC MASA.
Pakistan has created a National Strategic Command that takes operational control of its nuclear arsenal and strategic assets, News18 reported, centralising authority and sidelining the civilian-led National Command Authority. The overhaul is driven by Field Marshal Asim Munir, who holds dual roles as army and defence chief. Lieutenant General Syed Aamer Raza, promoted to four-star general, will command the new body.
Bahrain and Kuwait secretly carried out airstrikes inside Iran earlier this month, their first known direct action against Tehran, The Wall Street Journal reported. Citing people familiar with the matter, it said the strikes hit drone and missile storage and military sites, with the UAE providing intelligence and air cover. The two acted after repeated Iranian attacks amid the escalating US-Iran conflict.
More than 166,000 people have been evacuated in France and Spain as intense wildfires spread near Madrid and Bordeaux. French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday ordered the army to help fight what officials called France's worst-ever wildfire, after appealing for European Union assistance, with a blaze advancing towards Bordeaux. Spain declared a national emergency over fires near Madrid and in Avila province.
US President Donald Trump said Friday that Washington will not proceed with a civilian nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia unless Riyadh joins the Abraham Accords and normalises ties with Israel. He said the condition was always understood. Energy Secretary Chris Wright signed a nuclear cooperation pact with Saudi Arabia this week, backing its first commercial reactors, though the deal needs Congressional approval.
The International Criminal Court has removed chief prosecutor Karim Khan after 82 of its 125 member states voted for his dismissal at a closed-door UN meeting in New York on Friday, citing 'serious misconduct and breach of duty.' The vote followed sexual misconduct allegations by a former staffer, which Khan denies. He plans a legal challenge, having led prosecutions since 2021.
US President Donald Trump said Friday he has not decided whether to launch major strikes on Iran, telling reporters that Tehran was becoming 'more serious' in talks. His remarks followed reports he was weighing a large-scale operation. Trump said Iran must choose a deal or a 'much higher level' of attacks, adding the US was 'locked and loaded' but still negotiating.
Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin resigned on Friday, citing health problems that left him unable to perform his duties, in a letter to National Assembly Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed. A long-time ally of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, he became its 22nd President in April 2023. He defended his role in forming the interim government after Hasina's government collapsed on August 5, 2024.
US President Donald Trump threatened tariffs on the European Union and a Section 301 trade investigation after Brussels fined Google 890 million euros ($1 billion) under the Digital Markets Act. Posting on Truth Social on Friday, he said the EU would pay 'a very big price' and called the US no 'piggybank.' The fine covered self-preferencing in search and Google Play restrictions.
A Mozambique-flagged LPG tanker, the DISHA, carrying 28 Indian crew members was attacked in Iranian territorial waters on Friday amid escalating Iran-US tensions. The Indian Embassy in Tehran confirmed the incident and said all 28 crew are safe, adding it is monitoring the situation with Iranian authorities. The extent of damage and those responsible have not been disclosed.
The death toll from a landslide in southwestern China's Pengshui County, Chongqing, rose to 14 on Friday after rescuers recovered three more bodies, with officials warning dozens more likely died. The slide, which struck about a week ago, buried homes at a mountain's base and along a riverbank. Rescuers searching for around 50 missing people reported finding no signs of life.
A son of jailed former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan has appealed to the international community to intervene, saying his father urgently needs medical care. Khan, 73, the cricketer-turned-politician, has spent about 1,100 days in custody and is held in solitary confinement at Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail. He was first jailed in August 2023 in the Toshakhana case, then convicted in others.
The US-led coalition shot down five explosive-laden drones over Erbil, capital of Iraq's Kurdistan region, on Friday morning, Kurdish counterterrorism forces said. The drones were intercepted between 9:32 and 9:45 am near the city's airport, which hosts coalition troops. An AFP reporter saw them overhead before air defences fired. Erbil has faced repeated strikes amid renewed West Asia hostilities.
Five adults — two women and three men — drowned in Ohio's Scioto River at the O'Shaughnessy Reservoir, about 10 miles northwest of Columbus, on Sunday night, the Delaware County Sheriff's Office said. Two people entered the water to rescue a struggling swimmer, and two more adults died attempting their own rescue. A child alerted authorities after flagging down a passing motorist.
F-1 international students, including many visiting India, are being advised to return to the US before September 15, when a new Department of Homeland Security rule takes effect, a Times of India report said. The rule replaces the open-ended 'Duration of Status' system with fixed admission periods capped at four years. Only students physically present on September 15 keep the older protections.
US President Donald Trump has not backed a 10-day ceasefire proposal brokered by Qatar, Oman, Egypt and Pakistan to pause the Iran war, Axios reported. The truce would open talks on reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The White House believes continued strikes strengthen its leverage, especially after an Iranian missile attack in Jordan killed two US troops. Iran is reviewing it.
New British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has appointed Jonathan Reynolds as Business Minister and Angela Rayner as Housing Minister, his office announced on Monday. Reynolds returns as Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade in an expanded brief, having earlier lost the business portfolio to Peter Kyle during a reshuffle under former Prime Minister Keir Starmer, whom Burnham has succeeded.
The Pentagon said nearly 100 US service members have been injured in Iranian strikes on West Asian bases since July 7, though 96% returned to duty and most suffered minor concussions. Spokesperson Sean Parnell's statement followed a New York Times report alleging undisclosed attacks in Jordan. Three troops died over the weekend, raising US fatalities since the February 28 war to 17.
Donald Trump signed orders on Monday for new 50% tariffs on Canadian products including wine, dairy, hockey sticks, furniture and cement, taking effect August 19. The White House accused Ottawa of discriminating against US alcohol, autos and dairy, invoking Section 338 of the 1930 Tariff Act. Energy, potash, fish and critical minerals are exempt. PM Mark Carney's office has not responded.