Top World News

Feb 4, 2026 - World

Miran, set to continue as Federal Reserve governor until Jerome Powell successor is confirmed, to leave CEA post Federal Reserve governor Stephen Miran has resigned from his position as chair of the White House’s council of economic advisers, fulfilling a pledge he made to the Senate as his assignment at the central bank becomes longer-lasting.Miran had been on unpaid leave from his CEA post since Donald Trump appointed him last year to fill an unexpected vacancy on the Fed’s board of governors to a term that expired on 31 January. The arrangement drew the ire of Democratic senators, who said it would make a presidential puppet of the Fed’s newest policymaker. Continue reading...

Feb 4, 2026 - World

Statement says Republican senator, 83, checked himself into local hospital and prognosis is ‘positive’The Republican senator Mitch McConnell was admitted to a hospital on Monday night due to “flu-like symptoms”, his office said in a statement.“In an abundance of caution, after experiencing flu-like symptoms over the weekend, Senator McConnell checked himself into a local hospital for evaluation last night,” the statement reads. “His prognosis is positive and he is grateful for the excellent care he is receiving.” Continue reading...

Feb 4, 2026 - World

Pedro Sánchez says urgent action needed to protect children from ‘digital wild west’, drawing anger from owner of XSpain has proposed a ban on social media use by teenagers as attitudes hardened in Europe against the technology, drawing personal insults against the prime minister from Elon Musk.The government is preparing a series of measures including a social media ban for under-16s, the prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, said, promising to protect children from the “digital wild west” and hold tech companies responsible for hateful and harmful content. Continue reading...

Feb 4, 2026 - World

Shahed-139 said to have approached USS Abraham Lincoln ‘with unclear intent’ in lead-up to expected US-Iran talks on Tehran’s nuclear programmeThe US military says it shot down an Iranian drone that “aggressively” approached the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea.The Iranian Shahed-139 drone was flying toward the carrier “with unclear intent” when an F-35 fighter jet shot it down, US Central Command said on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Feb 4, 2026 - World

Rights group says growing authoritarianism and abuses in US, Russia and China threaten global rules-based orderThe world is in a “democratic recession” with almost three-quarters of the global population now living under autocratic rulers – levels not seen since the 1980s, according to a new report.The system underpinning human rights was “in peril”, said Philippe Bolopion, executive director of Human Rights Watch (HRW), with a growing authoritarian wave becoming “the challenge of a generation”, he said. Continue reading...