Top World News
Hundreds of thousands line Amsterdam canals for the annual Pride boat parade
Aug 2, 2026 - World 
Hundreds of thousands of people lined Amsterdam's canals on Saturday to watch the city's canal boat parade, the highlight of an annual Pride festival that this year comes just a week after a deadly attack on a Pride event in Berlin.
Anti-LGBTQ+ laws are on the rise across west Africa, campaigners warn
Aug 2, 2026 - World 
Activists in the region say politicians regard LGBTQ+ people as ‘the easiest scapegoats to maintain their power’A growing number of west African countries are implementing or strengthening anti-LGBTQ+ laws, amid local political pressures and a global pushback against LGBTQ+ rights.In March, Senegal doubled the maximum prison sentence for gay sex to 10 years and criminalised the “promotion” of homosexuality. Niger criminalised “sexual relations with a person of the same sex” in February, the first time same-sex intimacy had been outlawed in the country. Continue reading...
Trump hypes up planned Iran attack — then cancels it citing last-minute deal
Aug 2, 2026 - World 
President Donald Trump hyped up a planned U.S. attack on Iran Saturday night – one with “power not seen since World War II” – before revealing he’d called off the attack citing a new agreement with the Middle East nation.“The U.S.A. is locked and loaded and ready to go against the Islamic Republic of Iran, at levels of Military Terror, Strength, and Power not seen since World War II. Despite this, we have just been asked by Iran, and other Middle Eastern Countries, to hold off any attack in that the perimeters [sic] of a deal has been agreed to,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. “This would include the Immediate, Complete, and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT, and an end to Iran’s nuclear threat. Based on this request, I have agreed, for the future benefit of the WORLD and, likewise, the survival of a successful and prosperous Iran, to cancel the attack, subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL.”The Trump administration and Israeli officials were reportedly considering launching what would be “one of the harshest bombing campaigns to date” targeting Iranian energy infrastructure, multiple inside sources told CBS News. Trump’s claim of being asked by “other Middle Eastern countries” aligns with Axios’ reporting Saturday that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had privately pleaded with Trump Saturday to hold off on the attack.Trump has insisted countless times that the Strait of Hormuz – the crucial shipping waterway through which 20% of the world’s oil trade historically flowed – was “open,” despite evidence to the contrary. His announcement Saturday marks the latest instance of Trump claiming as such.“The Country of Israel joins me in this commitment. Get to work, everybody, and get it DONE. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Iran's leaders show a united front over the war but are divided over what the goal is
Aug 2, 2026 - World 
Iran's leadership is showing unity in its war strategy against the U.S., but there are sharp differences over the endgame
Trump says he will order halt to Iran strikes after parameters reached for deal to end war
Aug 2, 2026 - World 
U.S. President Donald Trump says he will order American forces to hold off on strikes he had threatened against Iran, claiming Mideast allies had reached the parameters of a deal to end the war
