World

Moldova’s Clear Vote for Europe Tests Resilience of a Fragile Democracy A decisive mandate in the shadow of geopolitical pressure Chisinau’s streets saw an unusual calm on the morning after parliamentary elections that delivered a striking — if narrow — validation of President Maia Sandu’s pro‑European platform. With nearly all ballots counted, the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) crossed the symbolic 50% threshold, taking 50.1% of the vote to the Patriotic Bloc’s 24.2%. For many inside a country of 2.4 million, the…

Mass shooting and arson at Michigan Mormon church leaves at least four dead; suspect killed A gunman who drove his vehicle through the front doors of a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints building in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan, fired an assault-style rifle at worshippers, set the sanctuary on fire and was later killed in a confrontation with responding officers, authorities said Sunday. Local officials said at least four people were confirmed dead and eight were hospitalised, though investigators warned the…

Flotilla departs Greek waters, heads for Gaza in tense standoff with Israel An international flotilla of roughly 50 civilian vessels set out from Greek waters this week, aiming to challenge Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza and deliver aid — even as governments and navies warned that the mission risks a confrontation on the high seas. Organisers said the Global Sumud Flotilla planned to transit international waters in the eastern Mediterranean and hoped to reach the besieged coastal strip early next week. Among those aboard…

Humanitarian access collapses in Gaza City as MSF suspends operations Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said it has been forced to suspend all operations in Gaza City after its clinics were surrounded by Israeli forces — a blunt sign of how rapidly humanitarian space is narrowing as the Israeli military presses a major offensive into the densely populated urban centre. "We have been left with no choice but to stop our activities as our clinics are encircled by Israeli forces," Jacob Granger, MSF's emergency coordinator in…

Empty chairs, loud message: What the UN walkouts during Netanyahu’s speech reveal about a shifting world order Scores of diplomats rising and filing out of the General Assembly hall as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the podium was not simply a moment of theatrical protest. It was a diplomatic thermometer reading for a world growing colder toward the Israeli government’s conduct in Gaza. “Ireland was not present in the General Assembly for the speech by PM Netanyahu,” a spokesperson for Ireland’s Department…

EU ministers push for a “drone wall” after airspace incursions rattle eastern members Brussels — European Union defence ministers have moved rapidly from talk to planning after a wave of drone incursions and airspace violations raised alarm among eastern member states, agreeing on the urgent need to create a so‑called "drone wall" to protect the bloc's borders. The call for action was sharpened this week after a series of incidents that included Denmark temporarily closing some airports following unidentified drone…

Netanyahu’s UN rebuke exposes a deeper diplomatic rupture over Gaza When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the podium at the United Nations General Assembly this week, it was not just another speech. It was a coda to a seismic shift in Western policy — and a defensive, at times embittered, attempt to push back. "Over time, many world leaders buckled," Mr. Netanyahu told delegates, accusing governments of caving "under the pressure of a biased media, radical Islamist constituencies and antisemitic mobs." Scores…

Guilty verdict in Auckland filicide forces hard questions about mental illness, accountability and community care The Auckland High Court delivered a short, stark verdict last week: Hakyung Lee, a New Zealand citizen born in South Korea, was found guilty of murdering her two young children and hiding their bodies in suitcases. The image of the remains — Yuna Jo, 8, and Minu Jo, 6 — discovered in a storage unit in south Auckland after years missing, jolted a country and prompted painful public debate about how societies…

Hong Kong hunkers down as Super Typhoon Ragasa, 2025’s most powerful storm, barrels toward China coast Hong Kong shut schools, emptied offices and saw frantic supermarket runs on Wednesday as authorities sounded a high-end typhoon alert for Ragasa, the strongest tropical cyclone recorded so far this year. The observatory raised the signal to No. 8 — a warning that typically closes shops and halts much public transport — warning of hurricane-force winds offshore, heavy rain and potentially dangerous storm surge as the storm…

Trump’s abrupt pivot: backs full Ukrainian recovery, urges NATO to shoot down Russian aircraft NEW YORK — In a striking reversal that could reshape Western diplomacy toward Moscow, former U.S. president Donald Trump said Wednesday that Ukraine could “fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form,” and he urged NATO members to shoot down Russian aircraft that violate their airspace. The comments came after a private meeting on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.…