Thailand Halts New Gun Permits After Mass Shooting at a School
It remains to be seen how far the government will go to tighten gun control in the country, which has experienced a string of high-profile shootings in recent years.
Trump says secret flight change at directives of Secret Service, plane ultimately used faced 'greater risk'
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he secretly switched planes in Turkiye last month at the direction of the Secret Service, but that the plane he ultimately flew on was still more vulnerable than Air Force One.
Following a Nato summit in Ankara, Trump was transferred from Air Force One to a military plane via a catering truck in an extraordinary deception prompted by an Iranian assassination threat, US media reported.
The White House did not disclose the change and it remained a secret until the Washington Post first reported it on Monday.
Some media commentators questioned whether the operation left Trump’s aides and journalists travelling with him at risk aboard the plane presumed to be carrying the president.
“I think actually the plane that I flew on was at greater risk,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday.
“I think it was at greater risk because that would be the plane I think that they would be more likely to go for.”
After a day of social media memes portraying Trump as hiding out in the catering truck, the image-conscious president, who often promotes memes of himself as a bold and courageous leader, said he was following the direction of the Secret Service, the agency that protects the president.
“Well, it’s only up to Secret Service. I just follow what they’d like to do, so I go by Secret Service and the military,” Trump said.
“I guess there was a threat out there. I didn’t really ask too much about it. I get a lot of threats,” Trump said.
The White House said at the time that the president was flying aboard Air Force One from Turkiye to Britain. But moments after Trump boarded the plane, he left it in secret via the catering truck and boarded another aircraft for the flight to Britain, the Post said on Monday, quoting unnamed sources.
Trump had taken a newly renovated Qatari-donated jet to Ankara for the Nato summit but unexpectedly announced he would use an older Air Force One when departing the country, a move that prompted questions about the newer plane’s security.
The trip to Nato was the first international travel for the new plane, whose speedy upgrades triggered questions over its cost and security, and took place as hostilities escalated with Iran, which borders Turkiye.
Pakistan condemns Houthi attack in Red Sea that claimed lives of 3 nationals
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday condemned the attack by Yemen’s Houthis on a commercial vessel in the Red Sea that claimed the lives of three Pakistanis and said Islamabad was in contact with the relevant authorities to ascertain further details.
The attack targeted a Tanzania-flagged vessel Tihamah, causing deaths and injuries among its crew. Apart from three Pakistanis, an Indonesian was also killed in the attack.
Dar said in a post on X that he had also received reports of a Pakistani being injured in the attack.
“We extend our heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families,” he said, adding: “Pakistan strongly condemns the Houthi attack on a non-combatant commercial vessel.”
“Such attacks endanger innocent lives, constitute a violation of international law, and pose a serious threat to freedom of navigation, maritime security, and the safety of commercial shipping in the Red Sea,” he said.
“We are in contact with the relevant Saudi authorities, as well as the internationally recognised government of Yemen, to ascertain further details of the incident and the circumstances surrounding it,” he added.
Dar said he had directed the embassy in Riyadh to coordinate with the authorities concerned and “strongly pursue all necessary measures” for the retrieval and repatriation of the dead and for the provision of all possible assistance to the injured Pakistani national.
“We are closely following the situation and will continue to remain in close contact with the concerned authorities,” he added.
Three different ships came under attack in the Red Sea and Gulf of Oman on Tuesday, taking simmering tensions in the world’s most key energy trading corridor up another notch.
Yemen’s coastguard said the initial strike on the Tihamah caused a fire and extensive damage to the vessel, killing four sailors, including three Pakistanis and an Indonesian. A second strike targeted the vessel as rescue workers carried out a mission to evacuate the ship.
Separately, a Houthi-linked media outlet later reported that the group’s armed forces targeted a ship in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait that it said was carrying Saudi military equipment.
Meanwhile, the Panama-flagged container ship Vela Nova was struck by a missile in an attack off Pakistan while sailing into the Gulf of Oman, maritime security sources told Reuters.
Tuesday’s strikes were the latest in a number of deadly attacks against ships in and around the entrance to the Red Sea since the Houthis announced a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia last month.
Last month, Pakistan had condemned the Houthis’ threats to Saudi Arabia and to trading with the kingdom via the Red Sea, warning that it had the right to self-defence if its “maritime interests” were targeted in “any hostile act”.
It had later doubled down on its warning, describing any attack on its maritime interests as a “red line” and declaring that such a strike would be treated as an attack on the country.
On July 30, Saudi Arabia also unveiled plans for a multinational maritime defence coalition to protect shipping and energy supply routes in the Red Sea region following a meeting of representatives from 43 countries. Fourteen participating countries, including Pakistan, issued a joint statement supporting the coalition and welcoming the consensus reached on its foundational arrangements.
Images From Colombia, Battered by Quakes
The strongest temblor in years struck in a Pacific Coast region, killing over 100 people.
Taylor Swift earns historic Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame honor
Taylor Swift is making history once again, becoming the youngest-ever musician to be inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Swift, 36, was announced as part of the 2026 Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame class on Tuesday, August 11, in Nashville. She will be inducted in the 20-Year Contemporary Songwriter/Artist category.
The announcement was made by Mark Ford, executive director of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Foundation, at Belmont University’s Johnson Theater.
Swift was selected alongside Lyle Lovett, Bruce Channel, Shawn Camp and Lee Thomas Miller. Her induction will recognize her influential songwriting career and her longstanding connection to Nashville, where she began pursuing music as a young songwriter.
In a statement, Swift said she had dreamed of being part of Nashville’s songwriting community since childhood.
“From the time I started writing songs as a child, I fixated on Nashville as the perfect place to be,” she said. “I wanted to learn with and from the best and get to immerse myself in a community of storytellers.”
Swift added that Nashville became the place she had imagined, praising the city for valuing “hard work, determination and imagination.”
“To be honored by this city I love so much is a beautiful thing, and I’m very grateful,” she said.
Since its establishment in 1970, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame has inducted 254 songwriters. Swift will become its youngest-ever inductee at the age of 36.
Total Eclipse
If you’re in Europe, get ready to gaze at the sky. But not without the right glasses.
Zambia Election: President Hichilema Faces Backlash Ahead of Vote
President Hakainde Hichilema was elected five years ago, promising to protect civil liberties in his copper-rich African nation. Now, he’s accused of trampling on them.
Federal cabinet approves National Housing Policy 2026
ISLAMABAD – The Federal Cabinet in its last meeting has approved the National Housing Policy 2026, marking a major milestone for Pakistan’s housing and urban development sector. The approval comes after nearly 25 years, as the country’s previous National Housing Policy was approved in 2001. The approval of the National Housing Policy 2026 fulfills a longstanding need for a comprehensive national framework to provide clear strategic direction for the development of the housing and urban planning sectors. The policy has been formulated to address the diverse and evolving challenges of housing and urban development and to provide a coordinated, inclusive and sustainable approach for the future.
The overarching vision of the policy is to promote adequate, affordable and sustainable housing for all, while ensuring improved access to housing opportunities, basic amenities and supporting infrastructure.
The National Housing Policy 2026 sets out nine clear strategic themes, covering the key dimensions of the housing and urban development sector that also include Land for Housing, Housing Finance, Construction Services, Technology and Building Materials, Development of Intermediate and Secondary Towns, Slums/ Katchi Abadis and Squatter Settlements, Affordable Housing, Low-Income, Low-Cost and Rural Housing and Capacity Building and Knowledge Sharing.
The policy provides a comprehensive framework covering land availability, housing finance, construction and technology, balanced urban development, low-income and rural housing, institutional and legal reforms, as well as climate-resilient and environmentally sustainable housing.
See How Trump’s Secret Air Force One Swap Unfolded
The extraordinary subterfuge was aimed at protecting an American president who has been in Iran’s cross hairs for years.
5 Things to Know About Darline Graham, Republican Senate Hopeful in South Carolina
The sister of Senator Lindsey Graham was endorsed by President Trump to serve out the remainder of his term. Now she is running in a special primary election.
