Top World News

Jul 8, 2026 - World

A new analysis estimated that President Donald Trump racked up a $103 billion bill for the Iran war in 120 days.According to an analysis by Popular Information, the Trump administration has no plan to pay for the Iran war, and neither do congressional Republicans.The analysis found that over four months, the U.S. spent more than $103 billion on the war in Iran, based on budgetary costs such as operations, personnel, and matériel. It also noted that Russell Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, told the House Appropriations Committee last week that the U.S. has spent $30 billion on the war.According to Popular Information, expenses for weapons such as missiles, interceptors, and bombs total about $46.7 billion, making it the highest cost. The other major expenses included operations such as mobilization, administration, and combat, which cost $28.5 billion, and losses such as damage or destruction of military assets, which cost $20.3 billion, per the analysis."The Trump administration has offered Congress lowball war cost estimates," Popular Information noted. In May, Pentagon comptroller Jay Hurst and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth testified that the war cost only $29 billion. In April, the estimate was $25 billion.The Trump administration and congressional Republicans are declining to pay for the war costs through tax increases or spending cuts, according to Popular Information, which included a quote from House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-OK) saying, "War is never paid for when you fight it."However, taxes were levied to pay for the costs of World Wars I and II, Popular Information noted.

Jul 8, 2026 - World

World is witnessing a turning point, says ministry spokesperson, as Iran seeks to assert independence amid rising tensionsBefore a foreign ministry press briefing at the Grand Hotel Tehran, the assembled reporters were asked to stand for the national anthem that duly blared from fuzzy speakers.At the podium, the ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, claimed the world was witnessing a turning point in the history of Shia Islam. A century from now, he claimed, the assassinated Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would be revered as a second Imam Hussain, the martyred grandson of the prophet Muhammad. Donald Trump, meanwhile, would be seen as a latterday Yazid, the tyrannical 7th century caliph. Continue reading...

Jul 8, 2026 - World

Alliance leaders, who had feared the worst, will hail US president’s renewed support for article 5 as key victoryAn erratic and at times irascible Donald Trump has said he felt a “tremendous love” from western leaders at the Nato summit, only hours after lambasting them over their defence spending and not helping the US in attacking Iran.The US president’s mixed messaging dominated the final hours of the two-day gathering in Ankara, Turkey, beginning with him publicly calling Iran’s leadership scum and renewing his demand for control of Greenland. Continue reading...

Jul 8, 2026 - World

The French far-right leader’s presidential campaign is clouded in uncertainty under the shadow of an embezzlement convictionMarine Le Pen’s decision to run for French president in 2027, despite her legal woes, has drawn comparisons from her opponents to Donald Trump.Just as the US president felt his voter base cared little about legal investigations against him, the French far-right leader shrugged off the leftwing protesters who shouted “criminal!” as she launched her presidential campaign at a market walkabout in western France on Wednesday. The previous day, an appeal court had upheld her conviction for the embezzlement of European parliament funds. Continue reading...

Jul 8, 2026 - World

Facebook and Instagram parent Meta said Wednesday it will invest more than 13 billion Canadian dollars ($9.1 billion) to build its first artificial intelligence data center in Canada and its largest outside the United States