Trump threatens Iran’s trade partners, as military strikes make way for economic pressure 20. August 2026 (06:53) US president pivots towards ‘crushing’ economic operation against Iran and its trading partners as military strikes fail to bring Tehran to the tableDonald Trump has announced a new campaign to isolate Iran’s economy, threatening “tremendous economic consequences” on any country that helps or does business with Tehran, a move that could set up a fresh confrontation with China if implemented.“Today, I am announcing the most crushing economic operation ever taken against any country!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Any country that allows its financial institutions, businesses, airports, or government entities to provide any type of lifeline to Iran will itself face tremendous economic consequences.” Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Larry David says former friend Alan Dershowitz ‘made a deal with the devil’ as Trump’s lawyer 20. August 2026 (06:06) The Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm creator says Dershowitz, who also defended Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein, ‘only has himself to blame’ for being ostracisedLarry David has opened up about the collapse of his friendship with Alan Dershowitz, saying that Dershowitz “made a deal with the devil” when he became Donald Trump’s lawyer.Dershowitz, a former Harvard University law professor, has been a member of legal teams for Trump, Jeffrey Epstein, OJ Simpson and Harvey Weinstein at various points in his career, and served on Trump’s defense team during the president’s first impeachment trial in 2020. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Kyiv comes under Russian missile attack, killing at least six 20. August 2026 (05:38) Death reported after residential areas and warehouses hit in heavy bombardment in capital and surrounding regionA heavy Russian bombardment killed at least six people and wounded dozens in Ukraine’s capital and its surrounding region overnight, authorities said on Thursday.A missile attack on Kyiv struck residential areas and warehouses, said the Kyiv mayor, Vitali Klitschko. The attack damaged residential buildings, a medical facility and an educational institution and left five people dead and 23 wounded, city military authorities said. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Missing teen hiker Lily Hooper found dead after disappearing in NSW national park a week ago 20. August 2026 (05:19) Premier Chris Minns tells parliament ‘this is obviously devastating’ after earlier announcing 18-year-old had been ‘found alive’ with half a bottle of waterFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe body of missing 18-year-old bushwalker Lily Hooper has been found in a remote New South Wales national park more than a week after she set out on her hike.“I’ve got some terrible news,” the NSW premier, Chris Minns, told a parliamentary hearing on Thursday. Just minutes earlier, Minns had said Lily had been “found alive”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Impassioned Jacqui Lambie reveals health struggle as she condemns Labor’s ‘callous disregard for veterans’ 20. August 2026 (05:14) Independent senator urges prime minister to reconsider, arguing $5,000 cap for allied health services did not go far enoughFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastJacqui Lambie has slammed Labor over its controversial $5,000 cap for allied health services for veterans, and accused it of a “callous disregard for veterans’ health and wellbeing”.The independent Tasmanian senator told the Senate in a fiery speech on Wednesday of her own medical battles, and said the department of veterans affairs had shown “no duty of care”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump shows off White House renovations and ornate new helipad 20. August 2026 (03:51) Former real estate developer leads press corps on tour of grounds and says ‘one thing I know how to do is build’As the US national debt climbed past $40tn for the first time on Wednesday, and the war with Iran he started nearly six months ago dragged on, forcing Americans already struggling to pay the bills to spend more on fuel, Donald Trump led the press corps on a tour of the extensive remodeling of the White House grounds he is personally overseeing in his role as the self-styled “builder-in-chief”.The tour, during which Trump showed off upgrades such as a new granite driveway and refurbished columns, and expounded at length on newly laid grass, culminated in Trump autographing the back of a stone, inscribed with his name, to go in the center of the ornate new helipad he insists he needs. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘Like a miracle’: 84-year-old woman pulled alive from rubble three days after Indonesian quake 20. August 2026 (02:57) A landslide triggered by the quake had blocked access to the village where Paulina Pobi had lived, leaving her buried under the collapsed remainsAn 84-year-old woman has been discovered alive in the flattened remains of her home three days after a powerful earthquake hit eastern Indonesia, authorities have confirmed.The 7.7-magnitude quake struck off Indonesia’s Flores island on Saturday morning, killing at least 73 people, injuring more than 900 people and displacing nearly 60,000 others. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
