Top World News

Mar 11, 2026 - World

Former spy chief resigned just a fortnight after royal commission’s opening hearing. Follow updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastDennis Richardson says his decision to resign from the royal commission into antisemitism had nothing to do with the government, but says he came to the decision that he was “surplus” to the needs of the body.He spoke to RN Breakfast this morning, saying:I think probably there wasn’t enough discussion right at the beginning about the precise way things would work, and ultimately I came to the [decision] that I was surplus to requirements. Continue reading...

Mar 11, 2026 - World

California’s billionaires are stepping up their involvement in state politics with multimillion-dollar donationsSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxTech billionaires are adding to their already huge spending spree on California politics as campaigns for governor and a proposed wealth tax heat up. According to recently released campaign finance disclosures, big names pouring millions into state politics include current and former chief executives from Google, DoorDash, Reddit, LinkedIn and Facebook – evidence of Silicon Valley’s increasing involvement in politics.Google’s former CEO Eric Schmidt has become a major donor, contributing $1.04m to an independent committee, the California Business Roundtable, that is campaigning against the proposed Billionaire Tax Act, according to new filings released by the state government. The union-backed tax proposal, opposed by almost all of the state’s mega-rich, aims to help cover education, food assistance and healthcare programs. Continue reading...

Mar 11, 2026 - World

Strait of Hormuz, key transit passage for global oil trade, has been effectively shut down by Islamic Revolutionary GuardSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxUS intelligence reporting sees direct attacks by Iran as the greatest threat to oil tankers going through the strait of Hormuz, the key transit passage for the global oil trade that has been effectively shut down by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard since the start of the US-Israeli war against Iran.The Trump administration, spooked by possible preparations by Iran to mine the strait, carried out strikes against 16 mine-laying vessels near the strait on Tuesday. US Central Command posted a video showing munitions hitting nine vessels, most of which were moored as they were struck. Continue reading...

Mar 11, 2026 - World

President tells John Thune to force through Save America Act, which requires proof of citizenship while registering to vote and curbs mail-in votingDonald Trump said that the US-Israel war in Iran will end “soon” because there is “practically nothing left to target” in a phone interview with Axios.“Any time I want it to end, it will end,” the president told the outlet. “The war is going great. We are way ahead of the timetable. We have done more damage than we thought possible, even in the original six-week period.” Continue reading...

Mar 11, 2026 - World

There might be only one way to put an end to President Donald Trump's war in Iran — something Supreme Court Justice John Roberts pointed out years earlier, according to a report Wednesday. Roberts has been questioned over his views on the unitary executive theory, the idea that the president should have broad control over the government, and Roberts has even helped grant this administration multiple Supreme Court wins. But Roberts previously took a firm stance on how presidents can control the government and who can ultimately stop wars, The Lever reported. As the United States has entered the 12th day of joint strikes with Israel against Iran, questions have surfaced over who can end the conflict and Roberts had offered a legal basis for war and congressional war powers. "But in this era of judicial deference to executive authority, Congress’ power to limit spending remains largely unchallenged, even by some of the most hardline proponents of presidential authority, such as U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts," according to The Lever. "As a Reagan administration lawyer, Roberts told his bosses in 1985, 'Our institutional vigilance with respect to the constitutional prerogatives of the presidency requires appropriate deference to the constitutional prerogatives of the other branches, and no area seems more clearly the province of Congress than the power of the purse,'" The Lever reported.Congress could throttle Trump's power to continue the conflict. "This contrast — between the weakness of Congress’s non-budgetary legislation and the supremacy of its spending power — explains why modern presidents’ ill-advised wars tend to only conclude when lawmakers threaten to use the latter," according to The Lever.