Top World News

Feb 19, 2026 - World

Officers devise unusual plan to arrest man suspected of stealing about $64,000 worth of Buddhist artefactsThai police donned a lion costume during this week’s lunar new year festivities to arrest a man accused of stealing about $64,000 worth of Buddhist artefacts.Dressed as a red-and-yellow lion, officers made the arrest on Wednesday evening after responding to a report this month of a home burglary in the suburbs of Bangkok. Continue reading...

Feb 19, 2026 - World

Exclusive: approximately 350-acre compound planned as base for multinational force, according to records reviewed by the GuardianThe Trump administration is planning to build a 5,000-person military base in Gaza, sprawling more than 350 acres, according to Board of Peace contracting records reviewed by the Guardian.The site is envisioned as a military operating base for a future International Stabilization Force (ISF), planned as a multinational military force composed of pledged troops. The ISF is part of the newly created Board of Peace which is meant to govern Gaza. The Board of Peace is chaired by Donald Trump and led in part by his son-in-law Jared Kushner. Continue reading...

Feb 19, 2026 - World

Deal agreed to acquire British secondhand fashion resale app from Etsy as eBay attempts to fend off AmazonThe online retailer eBay has agreed to buy the British secondhand fashion resale app Depop from Etsy for about $1.2bn (£890m) in cash, as eBay targets younger fashion-loving consumers.The deal comes at a time when secondhand marketplaces continue to soar in popularity, especially among gen Z shoppers – born between 1997 and 2012 – amid a squeeze on household incomes and concerns about sustainability in fashion. Continue reading...

Feb 19, 2026 - World

Ex-leader sentenced to life imprisonment with hard labour over failed martial law declaration in 2024A South Korean court has sentenced the former president Yoon Suk Yeol to life imprisonment with labour over his failed martial law declaration in December 2024, finding him guilty of leading an insurrection and making him the first elected head of state in the country’s democratic era to receive the maximum custodial sentence.The Seoul central district court found that Yoon’s declaration of martial law on 3 December 2024 constituted insurrection, carried out with the intent to disrupt the constitutional order. Continue reading...

Feb 19, 2026 - World

Dfat says it is aware Australians are among 5,704 detainees transferred out of Syrian prisons and into Iraqi custodyGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA group of Australian men suspected of being former Islamic State fighters are among more than 5,000 detainees transferred from Syria to Iraq, where they potentially face charges which could carry the death penalty.Iraq’s national centre for international judicial cooperation confirmed last Friday it had taken custody of the 5,704 alleged former fighters from 61 countries, including citizens of Australia, New Zealand, the UK and the US. Continue reading...