TOP NEWS

Tensions in the Caribbean
US politicians accuse Hegseth of war crimes

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth may have committed war crimes in connection with the first boat attack in the Caribbean Sea on September 2. This is what two Democratic senators and a Republican congressman say, reports the Financial Times.

Sources with insight into the attack have stated that Hegseth's order was to kill everyone on board the alleged drug boat. A missile hit the boat and set it on fire, but when the smoke cleared, two survivors were seen clinging to it. Hegseth is said to have then ordered a second missile to blow them to pieces.

- If the reports are true, it is a clear violation of (the Defense Department's) own laws of war, as well as international rules on how to treat people in that situation, Democratic Senator Tim Kaine tells CBS.

Hegseth has said that the express purpose of the attacks has always been to “kill the narco-terrorists who are poisoning the American people.”

The shooting in Washington DC
The DC shooter is believed to have been radicalized in the United States

The motive for the shooting in Washington DC is still unclear, but US authorities suspect that the shooter – 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal – was radicalized in the United States. This is what Kristi Noem, Secretary of Homeland Security, said, according to Politico.

“We believe it happened through contacts in his area and state, and we will continue to question his family and those he had contact with,” she said.

Lakanwal shot two National Guardsmen, 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom and 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe, in the city earlier this week. Beckstrom later died in hospital and Wolfe is still being treated for life-threatening injuries.

Lakanwal is an Afghan citizen and was part of a CIA-backed military unit before coming to the United States in 2021. He was granted asylum in April. After the attack, Donald Trump has paused all asylum processes.

Corruption charges against Netanyahu
Expert: He is putting a mine in the president's lap

It is no coincidence that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is now asking President Isaac Herzog to be pardoned from the corruption charges. Isabell Schierenbeck, a political science professor at the University of Gothenburg, tells TT.

Netanyahu and his lawyers have managed to delay the process for years, but after the ceasefire in Gaza it is more difficult to cite the war as a reason - and the election is approaching, she continues and adds:

- If this goes through, it would be extraordinary and something that has never happened before in Israel.

Middle East expert Anders Persson at Linnaeus University describes it as Netanyahu putting a mine in Herzog's lap - if the president agrees to a pardon, there will likely be violent demonstrations, but if he does not, Netanyahu's camp will mobilize on the streets.

Floods in Southeast Asia
Death toll nears 1,000 after floods

More and more bodies are being found after devastating floods and landslides in Southeast Asia. On Sunday, the death toll on the Indonesian island of Sumatra was sharply increased to 442. 170 have died in Thailand, and two in northern Malaysia.

At the same time, Sri Lanka's disaster agency announced that the death toll had been increased to 334, AFP reports. Around 400 people are still missing. The rain has subsided, but low-lying areas in the capital Colombo remain flooded.

Many are also missing in Thailand and Malaysia. Millions of people have been affected by the storm, which is described as the worst in the region in many years.