Top World News

Sep 30, 2026 - World

Blast during search operation near border fuels political tensions amid attempts to revive diplomatic channelsSouth Korea has demanded an apology from North Korea over a landmine blast that injured three soldiers, saying they were hurt by North Korean mines on the southern side of the border.Kang Hyun-woo, the director of operations at South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff, demanded an apology and “responsible measures” from Pyongyang over the blast, which occurred on 21 September during a search operation south of the border. Continue reading...

Sep 30, 2026 - World

President Donald Trump accidentally admitted his own war is fueling inflation during a rambling Oval Office appearance, a progressive analyst pointed out.In a Tuesday episode of "The David Pakman Show," the host broke down clips of the president fielding reporters' questions after what he described as "multiple sleeping" moments during the event.At one point, Trump promised prices would fall the moment the fighting stopped."What happens as soon as that war ends? Inflation is going to be eradicated. Totally," Trump said.Pakman said that answer gave away more than Trump intended."There is an unintentionally revealing element to that answer, because Trump is arguing inflation is because of the war," Pakman said. "Well, the war is one that Trump singularly decided to pursue, an optional war, an ill-advised war, a misguided war."He added that the president was effectively pleading guilty to making the problem worse."He's acknowledging something his administration is doing is contributing to that problem," Pakman said. "And so it's a problem he will solve after he created it."Pakman also noted that "zero inflation isn't even the target," pointing out that the Federal Reserve aims for roughly 2 percent over the long run.The same appearance saw Trump call Canada "one of the worst countries in the entire world" moments after praising China, and predict that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney would soon come begging."They're going to come in, and they're going to say, sir, we are sorry, sir," Trump said. "They've treated the United States very, very badly."Trump also touted his executive order renaming Lake Ontario "Lake America," which Pakman said "doesn't mean we own it."The president then renewed his pledge of $5,000 checks funded by tariffs, but only "if Republicans win the House and the Senate." Pakman said the math doesn't add up, citing an estimated $1.3 trillion price tag that tariff collections come nowhere close to covering. He also stressed that tariffs are paid by American importers, who pass most of the cost on to consumers."He could do it now, if the money is from profits," Pakman said.Asked for his midterm message, Trump said Republicans are "running against communist lunatic socialists.""That's completely demented," Pakman said. "This is pathetic and insane, and it should just be made into a campaign ad."

Sep 30, 2026 - World

The top U.S. general in Latin America and the Caribbean says land strikes against drug cartels are on the table.Gen. Francis Donovan, the Marine four-star who leads U.S. Southern Command, made the remarks in an interview with The Wall Street Journal that was featured in a Tuesday article. His comments come as the Pentagon broadens its campaign against trafficking networks across Central America, South America and the Caribbean. That campaign began with strikes on suspected smuggling boats one year ago."Do I see land strikes as options? Yes," Donovan said. "We want all options at the table."He described a wide range of possible actions."Those actions might be strikes, arrests, or the takedown of a safe house," Donovan explained. "It could even be something as routine as increasing the use of cargo scanners at border checkpoints."His stated aim is to create "total systemic friction" for the cartels.U.S. forces are already moving past the boat strikes. Last week, roughly 50 American troops and law enforcement personnel accompanied Ecuadorean police on early morning raids targeting an alleged cocaine ring tied to a Mexican cartel. Ecuadorean officials said it was the first time U.S. troops had taken a direct part in police raids there. This year the U.S. military has also helped Ecuador bomb a suspected trafficking camp. It also worked with Venezuela on a strike that killed the leader of the Tren de Aragua gang.Moving from sea to land could invite more legal scrutiny, The Journal noted. The Trump administration has argued the U.S. is in an armed conflict with cartels. Legal experts and lawmakers dispute that, and they note that Congress has not authorized such a war, according to The Journal.The State Department told Congress earlier this month that it plans to redirect $52 million in foreign military financing to Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Panama, according to The Journal. The money would let those Latin American countries purchase more American weapons and military services.

Sep 29, 2026 - World

A startling claim from President Donald Trump's ambassador to China reveals "something profoundly amiss" in how the administration handles one of America's most consequential rivalries, according to a new analysis by MS NOW's Zeeshan Aleem.Ambassador David Perdue told Fox News on Sunday that Trump, while discussing U.S. weapons sales to Taiwan during Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit last week, told Xi, "Hey, we sell arms to other people around the world," and then "actually asked President Xi, would he like to buy some at one point?"Trump has denied the account, but statements from the White House and State Department to The New York Times did not dispute that the remarks were made, saying only that no offer or plan to sell arms to China currently exists."This scenario, if true, is mind-boggling," Aleem wrote. If Perdue was wrong, it "would not just be a major lie, but a foolish one."China is the lone nation capable of challenging U.S. military supremacy, the columnist noted, and Washington works hard to protect its technological advantage, which is why reports that sensitive F-35 components were diverted to Hong Kong are alarming. Arming Beijing would also contradict Trump's request that Xi limit support for Iran.Such a sale would upend the One China framework in place since 1979, under which the U.S. formally acknowledges Beijing's position while supplying Taiwan with billions of dollars in defensive weapons.Selling arms to China "would be akin to scoring an own goal," Aleem wrote.The episode fits a familiar pattern, according to the analysis, of Trump alienating democratic allies while cozying up to authoritarian leaders. The columnist suggested Trump, facing a cost-of-living crisis and a faltering trade war with China, may have been searching for any deal Xi might accept. Trump previously paused a $14 billion arms sale to Taiwan in May after meeting with Xi.The columnist also faulted Perdue for revealing what a capable diplomat would have kept quiet."The capitals of the world are always watching Washington closely," Aleem concluded. "This episode shows a president who seems to have fewer and fewer wits about him — and a staff that lacks the competence or willpower to make up for it."

Sep 29, 2026 - World

The White House boasted about 1,750 jobs that would be created from a new $15 billion steel plant announced by President Donald Trump, but several right-wing figures expressed outrage Tuesday as details about the project began to emerge.The steel mill will be constructed by Mesabi Metallics, a Minnesota-based company that carries years of baggage, including project delays, bankruptcy, unpaid contractors and disputes with Minnesota state officials. However, what frustrated right-wing figures was not the company’s financial struggles, but rather its use of the H-1B visa program.“Mesabi Metallics is owned by an India-based company and is already an H1B sponsor,” wrote Grace Chong, the chief operating officer for “War Room,” the program run by Trump’s former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon. “So how many of the 1,750 jobs at its new Iowa steel plant will actually go to American workers?”Mesabi Metallics is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Essar Group, an India-based conglomerate whose portfolio companies had aggregate annual revenues of around $15 billion as of January 2025. Mesabi Metallics has already sponsored workers through the U.S. H-1B visa program, a federal program allowing employers “who cannot otherwise obtain needed business skills and abilities from the U.S. workforce” to sponsor foreign workers for employment.Critics have scrutinized employers’ use of the program, accusing companies of relying on it for “cheap labor” and using it as a tool to “prevent union organizing.”“Trump brags about bringing in a steel company and come to find out it’s from India and already uses H1B visas to import workers,” wrote former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) in a social media post on X Tuesday.“MAGA is so America Last it’s almost comical at this point. Oh but we have to stop the communists Democrats!! Meanwhile Trump [loves New York City Mayor Zohran] Mamdani and [Chinese President] Xi [Jinping]!”Trump brags about bringing in a steel company and come to find out it’s from India and already uses H1B visas to import workers.MAGA is so America Last it’s almost comical at this point.Oh but we have to stop the communists Democrats!!Meanwhile Trump ❤️’s Mamdani and Xi!!???? https://t.co/OXyKVG9p9h— Former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene???????? (@FmrRepMTG) September 29, 2026