Explainer – World Top News Now

7Mar

By AdminsNo Comments

Country by country, here’s how the unfolding war is affecting the Middle East and beyond

The broadening Iran war has ricocheted across the region and beyond, with nearly every country in the Middle East sustaining damage from missile hits, drone strikes or shrapnel. Many are reporting casualties, and key embassies, economic engines and passageways have closed down. On Thursday, with the conflict's footprint growing, Azerbaijan accused Iran of carrying out a drone attack against it. Iran denied that, as its retaliatory attacks on Israel, other countries and American military bases continued. Exposing himself to the danger of unexploded ordnance, a boy touches an unexploded Iranian projectile that landed in an open field in the outskirts of Qamishli, eastern Syria, Wednesday, March 4, 2026.(AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad) (AP) Since the war started with a joint...

23Feb

By AdminsNo Comments

Gunman shot dead at Trump’s Florida home of Mar-a-Lago identified as missing 21-year-old

A shotgun-wielding man shot dead at US President Donald Trump's residence at Mar-a-Lago in Florida has been identified as a 21-year-old from a family of Trump supporters. The US Secret Service said earlier an armed man has been shot and killed after entering the secure perimeter of Mar-a-Lago, President Donald Trump's resort in Palm Beach, Florida. Although Trump often spends weekends at his resort, he was at the White House during the incident about 1.30am (5.30pm AEDT) on Sunday. First lady Melania Trump was also with the president. Although Trump often spends weekends at his resort, he was at the White House during the incident on Sunday. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert) According to the Secret Service, he was "observed by the north gate of the Mar-a-Lago propert...

13Nov

By AdminsNo Comments

The US government has reopened after a historic shutdown. What does that mean, exactly?

The US government has reopened after a historic 43-day shutdown that started during a federal funding dispute on October 1. Thousands of federal workers went without pay, travellers were stranded at airports, and people lined up at food banks for almost eight weeks. US Donald Trump has signed off on legislation that resumed funding after a group of moderate Democrats caved and began the process to end the shutdown. In case you need a refresher, this is what that means. The US government was shut down for the first time in more than six years in early October. (AP) What is a government shutdown? Federal agencies across the country were shuttered, with non-essential workers, like park rangers, put on leave without pay. Essential federal workers,...

16Aug

By AdminsNo Comments

Trump and Putin will come face-to-face tomorrow. What can we expect from their meeting?

The eyes of the world will be on Alaska tomorrow as US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin come face-to-face for a highly anticipated meeting. The visit will mark the first time Putin has travelled to the US since his appearance at the United Nations General Assembly in New York in 2015. Ahead of the historic meeting, Trump holds hopes Putin will "make a deal" on the conflict in Ukraine but White House officials are managing expectations by downplaying the meeting as a "listening exercise". Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will come face to face for an historic meeting. (File photo) When is the Trump and Putin meeting? Putin's foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov has told reporters the world leaders would meet at the Joint Base Elmendorf-...

5May

By AdminsNo Comments

What time is the conclave? How the Catholic Church will elect the next pope explained

In just days, Catholic cardinals from around the world will gather in conclave to choose a new spiritual leader for the 1.4 billion-strong global church. The new pope will be the successor to Francis I, who died on April 21 at age 88 after a 12-year papacy. Here's everything you need to know about one of the world's longest-running electoral processes. The cardinals will soon elect a new pope. (AP) When is the conclave? The cardinals have selected May 7 as the date to enter conclave, the Vatican announced last week. On that day, the cardinal electors will participate in a Eucharistic celebration known as the Mass Pro Eligendo Papa, at about 10am local time (6pm AEST May 7). Later in the day, they will then take an oath of secrecy before the Master o...

3Feb

By AdminsNo Comments

Trump’s tariffs are a $2.25 trillion gamble with the economy and prices

US President Donald Trump is on the verge of hitting America's three biggest trading partners with sweeping tariffs, a far more aggressive use of his favourite economic weapon than anything he did during his first term. The looming import taxes on Mexico, Canada and China will be a major test of Trump's unorthodox use of tariffs, which he's described as "the greatest thing ever invented". It's an enormous gamble, arguably a bigger one than any economic policy Trump enacted during his four-plus years in the White House. And this strategy has the potential to upend the thing many voters care about the most: the economy and the cost of living. President Donald Trump arrives at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Friday. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) ...