World

IOM: 53 dead or missing after migrant boat capsizes off Libya; two women survive Fifty-three migrants, including two babies, are dead or missing after a rubber boat carrying 55 people capsized off Libya’s northwest coast, the International Organization for Migration said. The boat departed from Zawiya on Thursday and overturned off nearby Zuwara on Friday, according to the IOM, citing accounts from the two survivors. Both are Nigerian women rescued by Libyan authorities during a search-and-rescue operation, the agency said.…

Irish man detained by ICE in Texas pleads for help, says he fears for his life An Irish man who has lived in the United States for nearly 20 years says he fears for his life after being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and transferred to a facility in El Paso, Texas, almost 4,000 kilometers from his home in Boston. Seamus Culleton, originally from Glenmore, Co Kilkenny, was arrested by ICE agents last September and taken into immigration detention, as first reported by the Irish Times. Speaking from the…

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing calls to step down as his team reels from the fallout of appointing Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the U.S., a move that has boomeranged amid disclosures about Mandelson’s ties to convicted U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Here is how a resignation or a Labour leadership challenge would unfold — and what it would take to replace a sitting prime minister. What happens if Starmer resigns? If Starmer quits, the Labour Party would immediately begin a leadership contest to choose his…

HONG KONG — A Hong Kong court sentenced pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai to 20 years in prison after convicting him under the city’s national security law, drawing swift condemnation from the United Nations, the European Union and Western governments concerned over the future of press freedom in the territory. Lai, 78, the founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, was found guilty in December on two counts of foreign collusion under the sweeping security legislation imposed by Beijing in 2020, as well as one count…

Starmer’s 18-month slide: From landslide to crisis as Mandelson fallout empties No. 10 Keir Starmer marched Labour back into Downing Street in July 2024 with a commanding majority and a promise of sober, competent government. Eighteen months later, the prime minister is fighting for authority after his chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, and communications chief, Tim Allan, resigned in the wake of a deepening Peter Mandelson scandal. Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar urged him to quit, saying the “distraction needs to end and…

Keir Starmer’s authority is under acute scrutiny after top aides quit, an exodus that narrows the circle of trust around the prime minister and invites a cascade of political risk. In Westminster, personnel is policy; who sits at the No. 10 table often determines what reaches the floor of the House, how a message lands with voters and whether a leadership’s grip tightens or slips. When senior advisers walk out together, it rarely happens by accident—and it rarely ends at the door. The immediate consequence is practical. A…

Sydney police deployed pepper spray and made multiple arrests as a rally against Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s visit to Australia turned violent, marring a tightly secured four-day trip meant to console the country’s Jewish community after December’s Bondi Beach shooting that killed 15 people at a Hanukkah festival. Officers scuffled with demonstrators in central Sydney and used pepper spray that struck protesters and members of the media, including AFP. An AFP journalist said they saw at least 15 protesters arrested amid…

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s ruling camp swept to a historic election win, securing 316 of 465 seats for her Liberal Democratic Party and, with coalition partner Japan Innovation Party (Ishin), a commanding 352-seat supermajority in the lower house. The result paves the way for her promised tax cuts and a defense buildup aimed at countering China, even as those plans unsettle financial markets and strain regional ties. “This election involved major policy shifts — particularly a major shift in economic and fiscal…

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The Seattle Seahawks throttled the New England Patriots 29-13 to win their second Super Bowl, riding a suffocating defense, Jason Myers’ record-breaking fifth field goal and a game-changing takeaway returned by Uchenna Nwosu. New England quarterback Drake Maye was sacked six times and intercepted twice as Seattle kept the Patriots scoreless until the fourth quarter at Levi’s Stadium. Under relentless pressure, Maye also fumbled on a record-setting takedown — the 20th time he was sacked this postseason —…

LONDON — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will face his MPs this week as he fights for his political survival after his chief of staff resigned over the fallout from the Peter Mandelson appointment and its links to Jeffrey Epstein. Starmer is expected to address a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party amid anger over his decision to name Mandelson ambassador to the United States, despite knowing Mandelson’s association with Epstein continued after the financier’s conviction for child sex offenses. The government is…