Top World News

Apr 21, 2026 - World

Lai Ching-te abandons visit after Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar revoke overflight permission Taiwan’s president, Lai Ching-te, has cancelled his trip to Eswatini, the democratic island’s only diplomatic ally in Africa, after his government said several countries had revoked overflight permits because of “intense pressure” from China.Lai was to leave on Wednesday for the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s accession. Continue reading...

Apr 21, 2026 - World

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) was forced to explain what “sarcasm” was Tuesday following a barrage of attacks from right-wing figures over a remark he’d made about the U.S. naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.On Monday, multiple reports revealed that more than two dozen Iranian vessels bypassed the U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping waterway through which a fifth of the world’s oil trade flows. In response to the reports, Murphy published a single-word post on social media: “awesome.”The reaction from right-wing figures was swift.“You should be removed from the Senate,” wrote right-wing figure and self-proclaimed “proud Islamophobe” Laura Loomer. “You are a national security threat.”“This piece of s--- is rooting for the Muslim terror Mullahs to win,” wrote Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL), another right-wing figure who’s also been scrutinized for making what critics have called Islamophobic remarks. “Treason.”The right-wing backlash saw a number of other notable figures condemn Murphy, including political commentator Benny Johnson, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) and conservative commentator Batya Ungar-Sargon, among several others.As the backlash stretched into Tuesday morning, Murphy apparently felt compelled to clarify the meaning of his remark.“I can’t believe I need to clarify this but obviously [President Donald] Trump’s bungled mismanagement of this war is not ‘awesome,’” Murphy wrote in a social media post on X. “As I have said a million times here, it’s a disaster and he should end the war immediately. My tweet was something called ‘sarcasm.’”Ok Twitter, I can’t believe I need to clarify this but obviously Trump’s bungled mismanagement of this war is not “awesome”. As I have said a million times here, it’s a disaster and he should end the war immediately. My tweet was something called “sarcasm”. https://t.co/aL9vSEzZC1— Chris Murphy ???? (@ChrisMurphyCT) April 21, 2026

Apr 21, 2026 - World

President Donald Trump praised himself for "doing a great job" after 13 service members were killed in the Iran war.During a Tuesday interview on CNBC, Trump noted that many other wars lasted years instead of months."I would have won Vietnam very quickly," he reflected. "I would have, if I were president, I would have won Iraq in the same amount of time that we won [Iran] because essentially we've won here.""The Democrats can say, well, we should have done better," the president continued. "But we can't let traitors, like [Chuck] Schumer, put pressure on you where they say, we want out. Think how bad that is. I'm negotiating with these people."Trump insisted he wasn't going to rush into ending the war in Iran."And, you know, we have, I mean, if you look at this, what we've suffered in terms of losses, we lost 13 men, and that's terrible," he remarked. "But if somebody would have said, we've done this and obliterated that country, obliterated it, and we lost 13 men, people would have said, that's not possible to have done that. It's not possible.""So we've done a great job," he added, "and I don't want to be rushed by people that are really treasonous as far as I'm concerned."

Apr 21, 2026 - World

President Donald Trump begged Iran's leadership to release eight women he believes will be executed as his administration attempts to negotiate a peace agreement.The 79-year-old president expressed hopes that a delegation, likely led by Vice President JD Vance, will strike a "great deal" with Iran during talks in Pakistan, but he shared a post from a pro-Israel influencer to set a new condition to open negotiations."To the Iranian leaders, who will soon be in negotiations with my representatives: I would greatly appreciate the release of these women," Trump posted Tuesday morning on Truth Social. "I am sure that they will respect the fact that you did so. Please do them no harm! Would be a great start to our negotiations!!! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP."Iran has executed at least 600 people so far this year, on pace to exceed the record 1,639 people executed last year, but the nation's government has not confirmed that eight women pictured in an X post by right-wing influencer Eyad Yakoby have been sentenced to death."BREAKING: The Islamic Republic is preparing to hang eight women," Yakoby posted Monday night. "Not a word from the international community or so-called human rights organizations."Yakoby's post shows photos of eight young women with their hair uncovered, which is legally required in Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution, and the post does not contain any identifying details about them or links to any other supporting evidence.

Apr 20, 2026 - World

The U.S. Navy has sounded the alarm in an urgent warning for sailors and their families to secure their social media as the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran has prompted an increase in online threats, according to reports on Monday.In an unclassified memo, Secretary John Phelan told Navy personnel that “adversary cyber actors” were looking to “psychologically influence” service members, potentially using their family members to coerce them into opening potentially malicious links and files, The Hill reported.“In response to Operation EPIC FURY, adversary cyber actors are conducting a social engineering campaign actively targeting Department of the Navy (DON) personnel and their families via spear phishing and social media contacts,” according to the memo from April 17. Sailors were urged to scrub their personal information on Google and other search engines, and turn off location tracking, microphone and camera on their cellphones. Service members were also warned to "beware of dating or other apps that encourage or require the use/sharing of personal information" and be careful of any potential strangers who contact them. Officials also recommended sailors change their account settings on social media to the "highest level" of privacy.