Top World News

Aug 19, 2026 - World

Beto Coral held up banners in Florida warning fellow Colombians to not vote for Abelardo de la EspriellaIn the week before Colombia’s presidential election, Beto Coral, a well-known activist living in the United States, travelled to Florida to persuade fellow Colombians not to vote for the far-right candidate Abelardo de la Espriella.Coral held banners outside polling stations in Miami warning that the millionaire lawyer, whose candidacy was endorsed by Donald Trump, would “help deport all of you”. Continue reading...

Aug 19, 2026 - World

US president delays 50% tariffs by three days, and says contentious oil project ‘may be awoken from the grave’Canada has temporarily avoided a bruising 50% US tariff, reaching a Tuesday-evening agreement with Trump administration officials hours before a hike that would have affected $20bn worth of goods was set to take effect.Donald Trump posted late on Tuesday on social media that he had paused the tariffs for three days “based on the fact that Canada and the USA, subject to the finalization of documents, have a DEAL!” Continue reading...

Aug 19, 2026 - World

President Donald Trump is pushing to revive meetings with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, which analysts worry will backfire.According to reporting by The Wall Street Journal, Trump has been urging his aides to set up a meeting with Kim as soon as this fall. The Journal described the "dramatic diplomatic quest" that analysts and U.S. officials worry could prove harmful if it leads to a bad deal."It appeases yet another despotic dictator based on a misperception that a personal relationship will actually achieve U.S. foreign policy objectives," Bruce Klingner, a former senior CIA officer in the Koreas, told The Journal.Anonymous officials told The Journal that Trump has privately discussed setting up an in-person discussion with Kim. Trump has suggested they meet during his next trip to Asia, which could be in November, when world leaders gather at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in Shenzhen, China, officials told The Journal.Trump sees a one-on-one meeting with Kim as a chance to reopen dialogue with North Korea, but U.S. officials told The Journal they don't expect much progress. The Journal noted that North Korea's nuclear arsenal has grown and become more capable of striking the U.S. since Trump and Kim's previous three summits.On Saturday, Trump posted on Truth Social a picture of himself with Kim from the first administration, writing, "Despite the unfriendly look on this particular picture, there are many where we're smiling." He added, "Kim Jong Un and I get along GREAT!"Trump has also scaled back drills between the U.S. and South Korean militaries, partly citing his "very good relationship" with Kim. Victor Cha, an expert on North Korea at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told The Journal that the move gives him a chance to gesture toward Kim."He's made clear that he wants to meet Kim again," Cha said. "These exercises presented him an opportunity to do something concrete to show Kim he is serious about meeting."The U.S. doesn't formally recognize North Korea as a nuclear power. According to The Journal, as victory in Iran remains elusive, analysts worry North Korea will have a stronger hand to get Washington to change its mind."Ideationally, that's very important for North Korea," Cha said. "They've always wanted the U.S. to give up on denuclearization and just accept them as a nuclear weapons state."

Aug 19, 2026 - World

The Department of Defense is weighing a retreat and not rebuilding bases after President Donald Trump exposed Middle East vulnerabilities.According to a Tuesday article, the Pentagon's policy office is evaluating whether to retreat long-term from the Persian Gulf after Iranian strikes battered military bases. The Washington Post reported that damage to the bases presents a "once-in-a-generation" chance for the Pentagon to reevaluate its footprint in the Middle East."The war really did highlight the vulnerability...of U.S. forces in the region," Michael Ratney told The Post. Ratney is a former diplomat who served as the U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia and deputy chief of mission in Qatar.The shift would leave battered bases unrepaired and move U.S. forces back, according to The Post. A person familiar with the change told The Post that U.S. Central Command is considering keeping in place shifts away from bases that were evacuated because they were too vulnerable to Iranian missile and drone attacks."Iran thinks we are in the traditional places," the person told The Washington Post. "And we are not."The Post noted that the Pentagon's retreat could impact U.S. allies in the Gulf because they rely on the presence of U.S. forces in the region for defense. The move could leave them "unable to defend themselves against Iranian attacks," according to The Post. The largest and most permanent bases in the Middle East are in the Persian Gulf, according to The Post. The headquarters of the U.S. Fifth Fleet is in Bahrain, and countries like Kuwait host Army and Air Force assets, The Post added.Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has not yet ordered a formal review of U.S. posture in the region, The Post noted. An anonymous senior official who spoke to The Post called it "prudent planning" and said, "Decisions are going to have to be made on some of this stuff."

Aug 18, 2026 - World

President Donald Trump told his administration's envoys to stop talks with Iran on Tuesday, CNN reported.CNN anchor Jake Tapper reported that Trump officials have told allies that they have shifted their strategy from "hammer Iran ASAP" to "strangle them over time," according to sources.Lawmakers have shared their concerns amid reports of dwindling weapon supplies and low morale among troops as the military operations have continued for nearly six months. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, reacted to the administration's reported change in an interview with Tapper."I think it's another indication that he has reached a strategic dead-end," Blumenthal said. "He has involved this nation in a seemingly endless, costly war. Just as the [USS] Abraham Lincoln is on an endless, seemingly indefinite deployment with no exit. The idea that he would 'strangle Iran' seems pretty magical thinking."He called out Trump for lack of strategy and cost of the war — from gas, groceries and worldwide economic backlash."He's playing a dangerous game of chicken," Blumenthal added.