Top World News

May 14, 2026 - World

Evika Siliņa stands down after coalition collapses following sacking of defence ministerLatvia’s centre-right prime minister has resigned over her government’s handling of Ukrainian drones that strayed into Latvian territory from Russia, bringing down her coalition government months before elections due in October.Evika Siliņa announced her resignation on Thursday, a day after the Progressives party, her left-leaning coalition partner, withdrew its support over her decision to fire the defence minister, Andris Sprūds, a Progressives member. Continue reading...

May 14, 2026 - World

Docked ship reportedly seized outside UAE port by “unauthorised personnel”The Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, has said ships entering the strait of Hormuz must cooperate with the Iranian navy as reports emerged of a ship being seized outside a United Arab Emirate port and taken towards Iranian waters.The UK Maritime Trading Organisation said the docked ship was seized by “unauthorised personnel” while it was anchored off the coast of the United Arab Emirates port of Fujairah near the southern entry to the strait of Hormuz. Continue reading...

May 14, 2026 - World

A tanker docked off the coast of the United Arab Emirates was seized by "unauthorised personnel" and was spotted heading toward Iranian waters on Thursday while another vessel was attacked and sunk near Oman, further inflaming tension in the Strait of Hormuz.

May 14, 2026 - World

Chinese President Xi Jinping warned President Trump on Thursday that any mishandling of Taiwan could lead to "clashes and even conflicts," adding friction to the two-day summit and complicating Mr. Trump's efforts to secure trade deals with the world's second-largest economy.

May 14, 2026 - World

Donald Trump's chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is facing mounting scrutiny over his evasive testimony before Congress regarding the Iran war strategy — raising questions about whether his silence reflects genuine military uncertainty, or fear of contradicting an unpredictable president.According to the New York Times, in nearly 14 hours of recent congressional testimony, Gen. Dan Caine was repeatedly asked the same fundamental questions: How had the world's most powerful military allowed Iran to cut off oil flow through the Strait of Hormuz, and what was the plan to reopen it and end the war?As the Times' Greg Jaffe wrote, the general's answers revealed a man walking an increasingly precarious tightrope. As chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Caine is obliged to remain apolitical. Yet he works for Trump, who demands absolute loyalty — a tension that appears to be paralyzing Caine's willingness to articulate a coherent strategy, according to the report.In public testimony, Caine has narrowly defined the military's mission. On Tuesday, when frustrated Democratic and Republican lawmakers pressed him and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for concrete plans, Caine offered only tactical descriptions."Our military objectives have been clear the whole time," Caine said, citing "targeting Iran's ballistic missile systems," destroying its Navy and defense industrial base, and stopping Iranian forces from threatening U.S. troops and regional allies. He repeatedly praised American troops' dedication.The report noted that he continually and cautiously avoided any discussion of broader U.S. military strategy or an endgame scenario.Caine has been similarly evasive on damage assessments of Iran's missile and drone capabilities — a critical indicator of bombing campaign effectiveness and overall war progress. The reticence, analysts suggest, stems from working under Trump's "mercurial" leadership, Jaffe reported.Trump has sought to preserve negotiating flexibility by avoiding binding war aims beyond preventing Iranian nuclear weapons development. His unpredictable nature — his willingness to reverse course almost daily — puts military leaders in an impossible position. Speaking publicly about war strategy risks immediate contradiction from the commander in chief.The cost of Caine's silence extends beyond politics, according to one military expert. "When military leaders only talk about tactics, it reinforces this fallacy within the ranks that they don't need to worry about strategy, that other people will take care of that stuff," said Heidi Urben, a retired Army colonel and associate director of Georgetown University's security studies program.