Congo-Brazzaville and Chad among hardest hit as campaigners warn spiralling repayments could trigger disaster   Poorer countries are cutting public spending in response to a “growing debt crisis”, campaigners have warned. Debt in some countries has trebled according to new figures that calculate debt reimbursements, and their impact on government ...

  Whether or not Nancy Pelosi is the “absolute worst Speaker of the House in US history”, as Donald Trump insists, the Democrat said on Sunday her caucus will meet on Tuesday to decide when to transmit two articles of impeachment to the Senate for trial. Preparations continue for a ...

Lebanon’s banks will not go bankrupt and deposits are secure but the country needs foreign support to pull itself from crisis, central bank Governor Riad Salameh said on Thursday, amid deep financial strains that have shaken confidence in banks. The country is facing an acute dollar shortage and the worst ...

Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the resolution would send a clear message that the president shouldn’t take further military action against Iran without Congress’ approval.   The House adopted a war powers resolution Thursday with the aim of limiting President Donald Trump’s military actions against Iran. The adoption of the measure ...

Unless we focus on shared solutions, violent storms and devastating blazes could be the least of the world’s troubles. Civilisation itself will be at risk   Good morning. Here is the shipping forecast for midday, 21 June, 2050. Seas will be rough, with violent storms and visibility ranging from poor ...

Tension over water scarcity is increasing across the globe. A new system flags up where this threatens to erupt into violence   Researchers from six organisations have developed an early warning system to help predict potential water conflicts as violence associated with water surges globally. The Dutch government-funded Water, Peace ...

A Kiev-bound Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 plane crashed after takeoff from Tehran on Wednesday, killing all 176 people on board. The victims include 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians, 11 Ukrainians, 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans and three British nationals, according to Ukraine’s Foreign Minister. The airline also confirmed that ...

Iran launched missiles at U.S.-led forces in Iraq on Wednesday in retaliation for the U.S. drone strike on an Iranian commander whose killing last week stoked fears of a new Middle East war. Iranian state television said Iran had fired 15 missiles at U.S. targets in Iraq early on Wednesday. ...

Among the many apocalyptic scenes from the Australian bush fires has been the presence of explosive, towering clouds appearing in the skies above the fire zones of southeastern Australia. These clouds, the most fearsome of which is known as pyrocumulonimbus, or pyroCb for short, are fire-generated thunderstorms. Their presence is ...

Japan has asked Lebanon for help regarding Carlos Ghosn, a top Japanese official said on Tuesday, calling the former auto executive’s escape to Beirut “regrettable” but stopping short of spelling out what Tokyo was seeking from local authorities. The former Nissan Motor Co Ltd (7201.T) and Renault SA (RENA.PA) chairman ...