International

04-06-2026 MINGENEW/ SYDNEY: A mouse plague is terrorizing farmers across large swathes of Australia, with the rodents running rampant around homes and ravaging fields of grain. It comes as farmers are already under pressure from unpredictable fuel and fertilizer supplies due to the ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran. This new …

04-06-2026 CHICAGO: A daily pill can double survival time in patients with the world’s deadliest cancer, according to the results of a clinical trial that experts are saying is a “game-changer” and one of the biggest breakthroughs in decades. Currently, there are few treatments for pancreatic cancer, and most do …

04-06-2026 JERUSALEM/ BEIRUT/ TEHRAN: Israel’s expanding invasion of Lebanon draws global condemnation, with France requesting an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council. US President Donald Trump says he is close to a “very good deal” with Iran, with US media reporting that he is pushing for tougher terms. Iran’s …

04-06-2026 PRETORIA: South Africa’s sports minister has said his nation was “being made to look like fools” after its football team was delayed travelling to Mexico ahead of the World Cup due to visa issues. Gayton McKenzie demanded an explanation from South Africa’s football association (Safa) as to why this …

04-06-2026 NAYPYIDAW: A devastating explosion has killed at least 55 people and wounded dozens more in a village in a region of Myanmar under insurgent control, the BBC has been told. A source familiar with the situation on the ground in Kaung Tat, a village in Namkham Township in Shan …

04-06-2026 WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump has requested that edits be made to the US-Iran deal aimed at bringing an end to fighting that began earlier this year, US media reported. The changes are related to the Strait of Hormuz and the removal of highly enriched uranium, media reported. The White …

03-06-2026 TEHRAN/ KUWAIT CITY/ MANAMA/ WASHINGTON: The United States military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces conducted “self-defence” strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island and “defeated multiple” Iranian missiles and drones, as civilian vessels and regional allies Kuwait and Bahrain came under attack. Kuwait’s military said air defence systems intercepted incoming …

03-06-2026 KINSHASA/ BUNIA: The head of the United Nations health agency is visiting the epicentre of a deadly Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), urging local communities to lead the fight against a disease whose confirmed cases have nearly doubled in two days. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, …

03-06-2026 COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s Buddhist hierarchy has suspended a prominent senior monk accused of sexually abusing a child, in the religiously conservative nation’s highest-profile case involving a local clergyman. In rare disciplinary action, 71-year-old Pallegama Hemarathana was stripped of his responsibilities on Saturday as the chief custodian of a highly …

03-06-2026 BUCHAREST: In some parts of Europe, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine can feel like a distant threat but in Romania, that war is right next door and increasingly dangerous. In Galati, there is an apartment block with a hole in the roof that proves it. Residents have just begun …