Your second place to come to for international news
Curated by Peter Hulm
Breaking news
AP: Trump administration defies dozens of court orders in second term: at least 31 lawsuits, with more than 250 additional violations flagged in individual immigration petitions — 3s May 2026 (LINK)
— Examples of noncompliance include deporting alleged gang members to a dangerous El Salvador prison despite court orders, withholding billions in foreign aid, and limiting mental health grant funding to schools despite an injunction
Trump says new strikes possible if Iran "misbehaves" — 2 May 2026 (LINK)
Ukraine: At least 2 killed, 8 injured after Russian drones strike buses in 'brutal safari' in Kherson — 2 May 2026 (LINK)
Trump signs bill to end 76-day record shutdown over immigration enforcement — 1 May 2026 (LINK)
Trump to raise tariffs on cars, trucks from EU to 25%: accused the bloc of not complying with the terms of a trade agreement with the US, without citing specifics — 1 May 2026 (LINK)
Trump "not satisfied" with new peace deal offered by Iran as standoff's costs multiply — 1 May 2026 (LINK)
Trump's latest purge — of the entire National Science Foundation Board — could bring major risks, experts say — 1 May 2026 (LINK)
UN Human Rights Chief: Cambodia should quash sentences against Kem Sokha and other arbitrary detainees — 1 May 2026 (LINK)
— "Volker Türk is deeply concerned by the upholding of the conviction of Cambodian former opposition leader Kem Sokha and the convictions of 33 other opposition activists, human rights defenders and social media users. The Phnom Penh appeals court yesterday upheld the conviction and 27-year sentence against Kem Sokha, the former leader of the now-dissolved opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, for treason, espionage and conspiracy — in connection with a speech he gave over a decade ago in Australia, in 2013, and four years before his arrest on these charges. In a separate case, on Wednesday the Phnom Penh first instance court imposed on 33 others sentences ranging from 18 months suspended to two years in prison. They faced charges of 'incitement to cause social chaos' over public comments they made in 2024 about the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Development Triangle Area project, an issue of major public interest."
UK: Essa Suleiman, 45, born in Somalia, who arrived in the UK legally as a child in the 1990s, charged with attempted murder in connection with Golders Green stabbing attack on 2 Jewish men. On Thursday, the UK's terrorism threat level was raised to "severe" by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, indicating an attack is considered highly likely — 1 May 2026 (LINK)
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China bans drone sales in Beijing citing security concerns — 2 May 2026 (LINK)
Germany says U.S. troop withdrawal 'anticipated', Spain and Italy could be next — 2 May 2026 (LINK)
— The withdrawal would leave more than 30,000 U.S. troops in Germany — reversing a buildup that began under President Biden following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
US to cut troop levels in Germany by 5,000 amid Trump spat with Merz — 2 May 2026 (LINK)
Cuba condemns new US sanctions as 'illegal' and 'abusive' — 1 May 2026 (LINK)
WHO Member States agree to extend negotiations on pathogen access and benefit sharing annex, a key part of the WHO Pandemic Agreement — 1 May 2026 (LINK)
Le News: Too many livestock keep Switzerland from feeding itself — 1 May 2026 (LINK)
US: President of Bard College since 1975, Leon Botstein to retire after investigation finds he 'minimized' ties to Epstein — 1 May 2026 (LINK)
— "Nothing that President Botstein did in connection with his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein was illegal, but President Botstein made decisions in the course of that relationship that reflect on his leadership of Bard," lawyers with the firm WilmerHale wrote in an April 30 brief to the Bard Board of Trustees. When pursuing Epstein as a potential donor to Bard in 2012, Botstein "was presented with information regarding Epstein's crimes" and "did not try to further understand what Epstein had done or learn what it meant that Epstein was found in 2011 to be a New York State Level 3 Sex Offender," the lawyers wrote.
Myanmar cuts Aung San Suu Kyi sentence again under blanket amnesty, leaving the Nobel Peace Prize laureate with just over 18 years left to serve — (LINK) ground.news: 6 media reports — 29 April 2026 (LINK)
Italy suspends defence cooperation with Israel, announced on 28 April, amid rising political tensions — 1 May 2026 (LINK)
Crypto card spending jumps 500 percent to $606 million — 3 May 2026 (LINK)
Bitcoin above $78,000 as Senate clears Clarity Act yield hurdle, S&P 500 sets new record — 2 May 2026 (LINK)
US: Film Academy Board bans AI content at 99th Oscars, forcing human-only wins — 1 May 2026 (LINK)
— Some industry analysts speculate the stance may also be a reaction to the completion of a performance by Val Kilmer, who died in 2025, using AI technology.
Switzerland: Ikea slammed for pricing practices by consumer rights groups and forced to change how it displays prices — 1 May 2026 (LINK)
— The store was criticized for prominently showing the 'family price' - which is only available to those who have a membership, while the regular price was more discrete. Many customers complained after the check-out price was far more than they were expecting, sometimes by several hundred francs. Ikea says it's working with authorities to find a solution which complies with the law.
Switzerland: shock neck and neck opinion poll result on immigration — 30 April 2026 (LINK)
— A new Tamedia poll shows 52% currently back the proposal to cap the population at ten million by 2050, with 46 percent opposed - crucially, only 2% say they're undecided. The vote will be on June 14th.
False murder confessor James Broadnax executed in Texas after being sentenced to death based on rap lyrics — 30 April 2026 (LINK)
President Donald Trump's Son Eric Trump reportedly disappears from leadership of fintech company Alt5, tied to the Trump family's cryptocurrency firm, World Liberty Financial Inc — 30 April 2026 (LINK)
Samsung profit surges over eight-fold to beat estimates as AI boom fuels memory chip crunch — (LINK) ground.news: media reports — 30 April 2026 (LINK)
4,000-year-old Linear Elamite writing system has finally been decoded — 29 April 2026 (LINK)
— Linear Elamite comprises 77 individual characters, including geometric patterns and various other shapes, making it distinct among ancient writing systems. Traveling to London, François Desset, a 43-year-old archaeological researcher based at the University of Liege in Belgium, visited what is known as the Mahboubian collection, which borrows its title from the exiled Iranian family of the same name. The assortment, described as "one of the most impressive private collections of ancient Iranian art" in the world and spanning an extensive period of the country's history, also contains several examples of Linear Elamite, ten of which Desset was able to access for study.
Maryland becomes first state to ban surveillance pricing in grocery stores: bans grocers and third-party delivery services from using a person's personal data to set higher price — 29 April 2026 (LINK)
Arts at CERN and Nobel Prize Museum announce the Collide Stockholm international residency award recipient Emilija Škarnulytė of Lithuania and two Honorary Mentions — 28 April 2026 (LINK)
— In autumn 2026, Škarnulytė will spend one month at CERN followed by one month at the Nobel Prize Museum to develop a new artwork with the support of the curatorial teams of both institutions.
At CERN, she will begin her project Memory of the Unseen. Her practice is rooted in the exploration of infrastructures that mediate between the visible and the invisible, the human and the post-human, the present and deep time. In dialogue with scientists at CERN, she will engage with event reconstruction, decay signatures, detector sensitivity and the temporal behaviour of experimental data, focusing on what she describes as “thresholds”.
25 to 27 October 2026: UNCTAD World Investment Forum 9: in Doha — 22 January 2026 (LINK)
Road to the First International Conference of the Global Framework on Chemicals being held in Geneva on 16 to 20 November 2026 — 11 February 2026 (LINKS)
11 to 15 July 2027: International AIDS Society announces Geneva as host city for IAS 2027:: Around 5,000 people from more than 130 countries are expected to attend. Registration for IAS 2027 will open in November 2026 — 22 January 2026 (LINK)