Top World News

Feb 19, 2026 - World

Thomas P gives evidence on first day of trial in case that could shape standards for mountain sportsAn Austrian mountaineer has said he is “endlessly sorry” his girlfriend froze to death on a joint climb to the country’s highest peak, but denied criminal wrongdoing as his trial began in Innsbruck.The 37-year-old defendant, identified only as Thomas P, gave evidence on the first day of the high-profile proceedings over the tragedy on Großglockner, in a case that could shape international standards for liability in mountain sports. Continue reading...

Feb 19, 2026 - World

A new DHS memo details plan to allow federal immigration officers to detain legal refugees in the US indefinitely The Trump administration is moving to arrest thousands of people already legally admitted to the US as refugees and detain them indefinitely for aggressive “rescreening”, a report published on Thursday said.Under the new policy, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said that federal immigration officers can and should arrest anyone who has not yet obtained the right to permanent residence, a so-called green card, and subject them to interviews to assess their refugee claims while they are in custody, as first reported by the Washington Post. Continue reading...

Feb 19, 2026 - World

José María Balcázar, who argued for marriage at 14 and above, replaces José Jerí who was voted out after a scandalPeru’s congress has elected José María Balcázar, an octogenarian leftist lawmaker who has defended child marriage, as the country’s interim president ahead of general elections in April.Balcázar is Peru’s ninth president since 2016. The surprise election, in which Balcázar beat the favourite, María del Carmen Alva, a conservative, came after lawmakers voted to remove José Jerí as president on Tuesday after just four months in office, due to a scandal over secretive meetings with Chinese businessmen. Continue reading...

Feb 19, 2026 - World

Intelligence findings read to parliament say ‘rogue’ agencies and individuals recruiting Kenyan nationals to frontlineMore than 1,000 Kenyans have been lured to fight for Russia in its war with Ukraine, according to an intelligence report to the Kenyan parliament that highlights the scale of a Russian operation taking African men to the frontline.The majority leader of Kenya’s national assembly, Kimani Ichung’wah, said “rogue recruitment agencies and individuals in Kenya” were continuing to send Kenyan nationals to fight in the conflict, as he read MPs the summary of an investigation by Kenya’s National Intelligence Service. Continue reading...

Feb 19, 2026 - World

Eight skiers were found dead, six were rescued and one is still missing after avalanche in Sierra Nevada mountains The many weeks of a worrying snow drought in the western US is driven by the climate crisis and helped set the stage for the deadly avalanche this week in the Sierra Nevada mountains of northern California, according to experts.Perilous avalanches are not uncommon in the region, according to the National Avalanche Center, which maintains a map of locations where avalanche danger is highest, and the risk is now particularly high in the Lake Tahoe area. Continue reading...