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Sep 18, 2026 - World

Congressional investigators are scrambling to explain how F-35 jet parts loaded with classified stealth tech vanished into Hong Kong on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's watch.The parts have been missing since June, Politico reported on Friday. A shipment of F-35 components headed from Australia to the U.S. for repairs was mysteriously "rerouted mid-Pacific" and turned up in Hong Kong instead, three people familiar with the matter said. It's reportedly still not clear "who has possession of it now.""The shipment included one of the jet’s canopies, which covers the cockpit and contains stealth technology that only the U.S. and its allies have access to," sources told Politico. "An adversary could study the parts and potentially reverse-engineer the prized technology if it had one of the canopies."The mess triggered closed-door briefings for congressional staff starting in June, with more expected. The Pentagon's F-35 Joint Program Office would only confirm it is "aware of a shipment issue of unserviceable F-35 Lightning II components" and said it's working "to retrieve these components, investigate the incident, and place safeguards to avoid a future occurrence."Hong Kong is a Chinese special administrative region, and Beijing has a long, documented history of hacking its way to F-35 secrets, Politico reported. J.J. Gertler, a former House Armed Services Committee staffer, told Politico's Audrey Decker and Mark Satter, "It's no secret that China has been aggressively trying to get F-35 data through electronic espionage, among other means. But even if they already had specifications or other data about the part, possessing a real one can give them even more to go on and can verify or refine whatever they already had learned."Lockheed insisted it "handles every shipment with the utmost diligence," while the State Department declined comment and China's embassy claims "ignorance." The blunder lands amid mounting turmoil inside Hegseth's Pentagon, where whistleblowers describe chaos.

Sep 18, 2026 - World

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has returned from Europe and cast Canada as moving quickly beyond its historic reliance on the United States

Sep 18, 2026 - World

Party has unveiled a steady stream of contenders for state election, including a former councillor who lost his licence for drink-drivingGet our new political email, free app or daily news podcastCandidates contesting the Victorian state election for One Nation include a former Liberal who has won support from alleged underworld figures, a naturopath who has endorsed Donald Trump’s unfounded claim that paracetamol is linked to autism and a former shire councillor who lost his licence for drink-driving.Pauline Hanson announced who would be her party’s upper house candidates and Victorian leader, Warren Pickering, at a press conference last month. Since then One Nation has used social media to unveil a steady stream of candidates, with 51 of the 88 lower house spots now filled. Continue reading...

Sep 18, 2026 - World

Eighteen-year-old known as Chai was active in networks notorious for their sadistic exploitation of young peopleA Swedish teenager known as Chai has been sentenced to more than 10 years in jail for attempted murder, rape and aggravated assault – crimes committed via the internet, including against a teenage girl in Australia.The district court found that Chai, 18, was active in online networks notorious for their sadistic extortion of young and vulnerable people, coercing them to create sexually explicit material or engage in acts of violence – and for the youth of those involved.In Australia, support is available at Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, Lifeline on 13 11 14, and at MensLine on 1300 789 978. In the UK, the charity Mind is available on 0300 123 3393 and Childline on 0800 1111. In the US, call or text Mental Health America at 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. Continue reading...

Sep 18, 2026 - World

Two men deported by the United States to Equatorial Guinea have been arbitrarily arrested, their lawyers and rights groups said on Friday, after the police covered their heads with a bag, beat them and held them at gunpoint in a hotel-turned detention ...