Top World News

Mar 30, 2026 - World

The factories, which buy cheap crude and turn it into fuel, are struggling as higher oil prices threaten their razor-sharp margins The towns that are the bulwark of China’s energy security can, at a moment of global crisis, appear deceptively quiet. Trucks carrying oil trundle along wide-open highways that have little traffic, while a few boarded-up shops in crumbling low-rise buildings hint at a long-forgotten local buzz.A ramshackle noodle shop serving hand-pulled ribbons of dough was empty at lunchtime, save for a few construction workers and a teacher watching videos on Douyin, the social media platform, with his meal. Continue reading...

Mar 29, 2026 - World

Levi Vargas, 30, was competing in Baker to Vegas race through Mojave desert as US south-west faces extreme heatLos Angeles county sheriff’s deputy Levi Vargas died on Saturday after a medical emergency while participating in an annual relay race through the Mojave desert. He was 30 years old.Vargas had been competing at the Baker to Vegas Challenge Cup relay race, which follows a 120-mile (193km) course from Baker, California, to Las Vegas, Nevada, through the Mojave desert. Several law enforcement agencies send 20-runner teams annually to compete in the race. Continue reading...

Mar 29, 2026 - World

Donald Trump says he has ‘no problem’ with Russia sending some oil into Cuba, as tanker Anatoly Kolodkin heads for Cuba with 730,000 barrels of crudeDonald Trump has signalled a new flexibility in allowing oil into Cuba, hours before a Russian oil tanker under US sanctions was due to arrive in the Caribbean island amid a de facto oil blockade imposed by Washington.Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One the president said: “If a country wants to send some oil into Cuba, right now, I have no problem whether it’s Russia or not.” Continue reading...

Mar 29, 2026 - World

Pontiff’s unusually pointed comments come after Pete Hegseth’s prayer for violence against enemies ‘who deserve no mercy’Pope Leo has said God ignores the prayers of leaders who wage war and have “hands full of blood”, in an apparent rebuke to the Trump administration.The pontiff made the comments on Sunday as thousands of US troops arrived in the Middle East and days after the US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, prayed for violence against enemies who deserved “no mercy”. Continue reading...

Mar 29, 2026 - World

The speaker of Iran's parliament accused the United States on Sunday of plotting a ground attack despite publicly pushing for a negotiated deal, after a US warship with around 3,500 military personnel arrived in the Middle East.