Donald Trump deputizes US private companies to conduct cyber-attacks

• Prof. Michel Chossudovsky and Drago Bosnic allege in a report dated August 13, 2026, that President Trump and the Pentagon are routinely targeting civilians worldwide. • The authors claim this military practice is a continuation of a pattern dating back to World War II and constitutes a crime against humanity.

• A top adviser to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed in a rare interview that the U.S. military is weaker than previously perceived. • The adviser stated this assessment follows observations of U.S. and Israeli military actions since attacks began in February of this year.

• The UN Security Council held an open debate on Thursday to address escalating military clashes and deadly attacks in Yemen. • Recent Houthi missile strikes targeting Saudi Arabia and commercial shipping vessels have intensified regional tensions linked to the US-Iran conflict.

• South Africa has been confirmed as the host country for the 2025 G20 Summit. • This event marks a historic milestone as it will be the first time the summit is held on the African continent.

Donald Tusk says it is first time ‘someone on the order of Russia’ has sought to attack US citizen in Nato countryA Russian plan to kill a Ukrainian American citizen in Warsaw was thwarted by Poland before it could be carried out, the Polish prime minister has said.Donald Tusk said it was the first time that “someone on the order of Russia” had sought to attack a US citizen on the territory of another Nato country. Continue reading...

Parliamentary committee continues investigation into KPMG audit leaks. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGood morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it will be Nick Visser with the main action.KPMG has reached out to apologise to the man who exposed its audit leaks scandal before an inquiry into its failures today, while Labor MPs want the government to do more to protect whistleblowers. More coming up. Continue reading...

CEO announces measures after reports that system is used to target immigrants or people seeking out-of-state abortionsFor nearly a decade, the company Flock Safety has gradually built out a network of cameras across the US that allows law enforcement to conduct about 20bn license plate scans every month.In that time, the company had largely left the decision to turn on safety measures up to its customers. Many of those organizations did not turn them on. Continue reading...

Karoline Leavitt’s abrupt departure has sparked a tough race inside Trump’s circle for the prominent positionKaroline Leavitt’s surprise resignation as the White House press secretary is set to trigger a sharp-elbowed race inside Donald Trump’s world for one of the most prominent positions in the Trump administration.Several names have circulated since the US president announced that Leavitt would step down at the end of the month to spend more time with her family. Continue reading...

The center has until next week to present plan to judge who had blocked earlier rehab and name changeUS politics live – latest updatesThe board of the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington is said to have voted once again to move forward with Donald Trump’s controversial plan to temporarily shutter the building for substantial renovations, as well as to inscribe the US president’s name on the facade of its building, despite a federal order for his name to be removed from the signage.The board – mostly handpicked, staunch allies of the president – voted “to close the Kennedy Center’s main building, while keeping a newer addition to the campus, known as the Reach, open for limited programming and to operate as an active memorial to John F Kennedy”, according to the New York Times, which was first to report the results. Continue reading...

Former PM of Israel calls events ‘concerted and meticulous attempt at ethnic cleansing’ against PalestiniansIsraeli troops forced two Palestinian families to leave their besieged West Bank homes on Thursday, the day after a top Israeli commander personally promised he would end a violent settler campaign to drive them out.Israeli soldiers also took over eight other homes in Qusra early on Thursday, telling the village’s mayor, Abdul Azim, that the buildings were needed for a days-long operation to remove the settlers. They later relinquished six. Settlers still roam the village. Continue reading...

About 60 crew responding to blaze covering about 40 acres near Stourbridge golf courseSeveral homes are ablaze and two people are receiving treatment as firefighters attempt to contain a grassfire in the West Midlands.The region’s fire service was alerted to an extensive grassfire near Stourbridge golf course just before 1.30pm on Thursday. Continue reading...