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President also blames Brazil and Mexico and says online critics ‘do not want the ideas of freedom to succeed’More than a week has passed since Ferran Torres scored the extra-time goal that gave Spain its second World Cup, but – at least for Argentina’s president – the tournament is not over.Javier Milei has claimed that a coordinated “anti-Argentina campaign” was behind criticism of the country’s team, accusations of racism among its fans and conspiracy theories alleging that Lionel Messi’s side was secretly being favoured by Fifa. Continue reading...

Cockroach Janta party says government has broken promise, with detentions in Delhi, Assam, West Bengal and BiharIndia’s youth-led “Cockroach” movement, whose nationwide protests forced the resignation of the education minister, has accused the government of backtracking on its promise not to act against student protesters and has threatened to restart demonstrations.The Cockroach Janta party (CJP), which organised mass protests over exam paper leaks and other irregularities, said it had received reports of hundreds of students being detained or “harassed” by police. Continue reading...

From Afghanistan to Taiwan, unprecedented deluge highlights devastating impact of climate breakdown“It rained for 10 days and 10 nights, non-stop – I’d never seen anything like it,” says Anar Gul, a construction worker who lives in the remote district of Dur Baba in eastern Afghanistan.The houses in his village are built from stone and mud, which makes them extremely vulnerable to heavy rains. After days of rain, Gul’s kitchen collapsed and his neighbour, Sayed Afsar Sadat, saw a large part of his house completely destroyed. “Rains like this are coming heavier and earlier each year,” says Sadat. “They are destroying the roads and washing away our crops. It’s impacting us directly.” Continue reading...

President Donald Trump's relationship with multiple world leaders has soured, and even some of his longtime allies have snubbed him, according to an analyst.James Ball, political editor at The New World, described in an analysis for The i Paper on Monday just how much Trump's standing has faded among global powers. He pointed to Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of Brazil's former president Jair Bolsonaro, who was nominated for president in what "should have been a proud moment for Trump.""For years, the Bolsonaros have courted the Trump family – and yet, just as you’d have thought they would want the political support of the U.S. President in their corner, they seem to have dropped him entirely," Ball wrote."There is, of course, one obvious solution to the mystery: Trump is simply so politically toxic across the world these days that even his closest international allies are having to distance themselves from him," Ball explained.In his address, Bolsonaro shared a video message from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Argentinian President Javier Milei. But it was clear — Trump was missing."Bolsonaro made no mention whatsoever of Trump – a snub the famously thin-skinned US President will surely be furious about," Ball wrote.The move was unusual, and might have been on purpose, considering the Bolsonaro family has been involved in Trump's administration and appeared at public events, Ball explained. Trump's tariffs could have something to do with it."Trump’s White House has spent most of the last 18 months alienating America’s oldest and closest allies, in a bid to court a new international coalition of its own making. Now it’s finding even they don’t want to pick up the phone. Trump’s remaining days in the Oval Office could become very lonely indeed," Ball added.

Wind and record-breaking heat are fuelling the continent’s explosive fire season, with Spain and France among worst hitExplainer: what is a ‘fire cloud’, and how have they worsened wildfires in Europe?Europe wildfires live – latest updatesA combination of an unusually wet winter, very low rainfall since spring and repeated record-breaking summer heatwaves is likely to explain why wildfires have ignited, spread and resisted control so readily across France and Spain in recent days.About 90% of wildfires are started by human activity, typically igniting “fine fuels” such as vegetation grass, pine needles, litter and twigs. And recent weather has almost certainly made ignition far easier. Drought in western Europe has turned this vegetation – which normally dries after only a few hours of heat and low rainfall – into tinder. Continue reading...

President Donald Trump's foray into nuclear politics has created a "giant firestorm" that makes a nightmare scenario increasingly likely, according to one political scientist. Robert Pape, a political scientist at the University of Chicago, argued during a recent episode of "The Court of History" podcast on the Legal AF Network that Trump's demand that Saudi Arabia sign the Abraham Accords, and thereby normalize relations with Israel, is likely to backfire. Pape noted that the agreement provides no way to prevent Saudi Arabia from enriching uranium because there is no oversight or enforcement. "President Trump seems to realize this has touched off the giant firestorm," Pape said, noting that the deal increased Saudi Arabia's chances of getting a nuclear weapon from 98% to 99.999%. Once Saudi Arabia has a nuclear weapon, it's only a matter of time before other nations start knocking, Pape said. All of a sudden, nuclear weapons would proliferate across the globe. "What does it mean for [countries] besides Iran? It means the [United Arab Emirates] knocking on the door, 'Hey, what do you mean Saudi Arabia doesn't have to abide by these gold standards? We want to slip them as well here.' And then, of course, it doesn't take much to start looking at why Ukraine is not going down this road ... And why isn't Poland talking about doing this?"Pape said the situation could result in another forever war "quagmire" that Trump is unable to pull the U.S. out of. "If you thought you couldn't have made the situation worse, there was already a fire, and we're already pouring gasoline on the fire," Pape said.

There's something ominous in the air after one of President Donald Trump's confidants apparently switched sides in Ukraine's war against Russia. Recently, MAGA influencer and Trump whisperer Laura Loomer traveled to Ukraine to interview President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a move that even Loomer admitted was odd given her past denunciations of the country. But the event signaled something even more dire may be afoot for one global leader who seemed to have Trump's ear, according to William Taylor, a distinguished fellow at The Atlantic Council and a former ambassador to Ukraine. "I think what we're seeing is a change on the battlefield, and that's allowing the Ukrainians to demonstrate that they are actually winning on the battlefield," Taylor told CNN's Erica Hill on "CNN Newsroom." "They're taking the war to the Russians, deep into Russia. [Vladimir] Putin is on his back foot."The situation on the battlefield has become so dire that Putin is calling for a new draft to restock his military capacity, according to reports. That happened at a time when at least eight Russian soldiers are dying on the battlefield for every Ukrainian soldier lost, Taylor said. "This could be Putin's undoing, [his] political undoing. He's got big problems. He's not sure where to go," Taylor said.

A MAGA Senator took to the airwaves to call out President Donald Trump for hypocrisy. Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) admitted on "Face the Nation" Sunday that he was not "comfortable" with Trump's newly announced and already problem-laden nuclear deal."We're bombing a country to keep'm from getting a nuclear weapon," said Kennedy. "But we're signing a deal with another country...that the world perceives as possibly, someday leading to a nuclear weapon."The countries, of course, are Iran — which Trump ostensibly started to dismantle their nuclear program — and Saudia Arabia, the nation Trump wants to allow to enrich uranium.The U.S. struck the deal Wednesday but hit a snag over the Saudi government's relationship with Israel. Less than 24 hours after announcing the deal, Trump added a condition that the Saudis normalize those relations. Experts warn the deal could trigger a cascade of nuclear ambitions across the Middle East, The Wall Street Journal has reported, and critics note the Saudis gave Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner's private equity firm $2 billion."Face the Nation" host Margaret Brennan noted Sunday that any deal would have to be approved by Congress, which prompted Kennedy to list off his concerns. "The world's on a hair trigger," Kennedy said. "The world looks at what's going on in Ukraine, the Middle East, the world looks at America's relationship now with Europe."He added, "People are scared." The Louisiana lawmaker is hardly the first U.S. senator to vent frustration with Trump this week. White House demands that Majority Leader Sen. John Thune (R-SD) do more to pass the SAVE America Act — a non-citizen voting ban critics describe as redundant and dystopian — have infuriated GOP members of the Senate. "Instead of pointing the finger at Republicans," Thune said, "they might think about going after the people who are stopping it on the floor, which is the Democrats."Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) added, "I have 1000 percent confidence in Thune, and anybody in the White House who thinks he's not a good leader isn't qualified for their job.""This idea that he can just command members of the Republican conference to get in line is just a fantasy," responded Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX). “It’s creating a circular firing squad for Republicans.”Kennedy himself added, “John can’t put a gun to people’s heads."