Top World News
Six-year-old Chinese girl ‘sets new women’s Rubik’s Cube world record’
Lian Yunzhi solves 3x3 puzzle on several occasions in average time of under 4.5 seconds, according to state mediaA six-year-old Chinese girl has set a new women’s world record for solving a Rubik’s Cube in just over four seconds, state media reported.“Speedcuber” Lian Yunzhi broke the women’s 3x3 average world record twice this month at two World Cube Association certified competitions in Wuhan and Guangzhou, according to state broadcaster CCTV on Monday. Continue reading...
Putin found his 'useful idiot' in Don Jr: national security analyst
MS NOW’s David Rohde didn’t pull any punches when discussing the stalemate in negotiations the US is engaging in with Russia and Ukraine, and pinned the Trump administration’s softness on Putin, in part, on Donald Trump Jr.After former diplomat Richard Stengel claimed that Trump administration negotiators Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff believe they can “offer business deals” to Putin to get him to acquiesce, he added, “Putin isn't a rational actor. He's not going to stop invading Ukraine because he has a Starbucks in Moscow or because there's some business deal. He already is wealthy beyond the dreams of Croesus and has made everyone around him wealthy.”“So the part of the problem is that we haven't used the stick enough,” he complained. “We've been treating him with honey from the very beginning.”“Makes you wonder why,” host Stephanie Ruhle interjected.“We’ve always wondered why,” Stengel shrugged. “And we don't know the answer. But speaking of this kind of post-Trump world and post-American world, the Europeans are figuring out we have to help Ukrainians more because the Americans are not there for them.”Rohde jumped in to add, “I just want to say on Trump and Witkoff and that mentality, I just think it's a useful idiot model. That's the Cold War term where there's an American that the Russians feel they can manipulate through propaganda. And it's that they sort of they get them.”“This is part of the wedding thing with Don Jr. “ he pointed out. “You know, we talked about that on a previous show. ‘The Russians aren't so bad. There are all these great business opportunities. The lefties are, you know, attacking Putin too much.’ And that's just ridiculous. Again, this is an authoritarian regime; he poisoned and killed his primary opponent and he's, you know, sacrificing thousands of lives for an invasion that never should have happened in Ukraine.” - YouTube youtu.be
UN walkout triggered as Trump predicts demise of 'failed' neighbor: 'It will fall'
President Donald Trump sparked a walkout at the United Nations General Assembly in New York Tuesday after openly predicting the demise of a neighboring country.“My administration is also seeking a fundamental change in the situation in Cuba, where the communist regime is under great pressure, the biggest pressure they’ve ever been under,” Trump said. “It’s an absolutely failed state — it’s failing like never before and it will fall. Marco Rubio is handling a negotiation; he’s deep into negotiations with Cuba. Let’s see what happens.”As Trump delivered his ominous prediction for Cuba, the nation’s United Nations delegation could be seen standing up and leaving the General Assembly Hall.The Trump administration has aggressively starved Cuba of resources with crippling sanctions that have shuttered hospitals and made food scarce. Reports have also revealed that Trump had actively considered launching a military operation against Cuba and abducting its leaders, much like he had authorized with the kidnapping of Venezuela’s president Nicolás Maduro in January. The United States has maintained a 66-year embargo against Cuba, which has been internationally condemned since 1992. The embargo was imposed shortly after the overthrow of the U.S.-backed Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1959, who permitted Cuba to become what’s been described as a “virtual slave state,” allowing its resources and infrastructure to be largely “owned by American companies.”“Will not allow a haven for foreign adversaries to threaten America on our own doorstep,” Trump continued. “It’s right at our doorstep.”The Cuban delegation walks out of the speech while Trump calls their country a failed state. pic.twitter.com/wDlrldpZpN— Acyn (@Acyn) September 22, 2026
Trump stared down as he threatens to 'drive Iran into hell with no chance of survival’
An Iranian United Nations representative stared down President Donald Trump Tuesday as he threatened to “annihilate the Islamic Republic” and “drive them into hell with no chance of survival.”Delivering his remarks to the United Nations General Assembly, Trump told members that, regarding his deeply unpopular war against Iran, he had a “big decision to make.”“Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before? Maybe one of the greatest in the Middle East, or even the world?” Trump said. “Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic, and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again? Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness or generations?”Fox News’ coverage of Trump’s speech showed an Iranian United Nations representative sitting stone-faced as Trump made his remarks, which echoed his previous threats to wipe out Iran’s entire civilization in a single night.An Iranian UN rep stares Trump down as he threatens to “annihilate the Islamic Republic” and “drive them into hell with no chance of survival.” pic.twitter.com/ivND1lavvi— Alexander Willis (@ReporterWillis) September 22, 2026
Trump has UN officials on edge before speech after flurry of social media rants
Diplomats filing into the UN General Assembly hall Tuesday have no idea which version of Trump they're about to get, according to a report from The Guardian.President Donald Trump has spent the days before his address flooding Truth Social with a "bizarre' mix of grievances and boasts, leaving attendees on edge, the Guardian's Robert Tait wrote. Topics have ranged from his planned triumphal arch in Washington — which he announced in an early Sunday post would "double as a military complex" stocked with snipers and drones, claiming without evidence the Pentagon requested it — to a bid to rebrand artificial intelligence entirely. On Friday, he posted a list of his "Top 25 Trump Achievements" since returning to office."His previous addresses to the assembly suggest that the chances of a non-divisive and uplifting message are low,' Tait reported, adding, "Last year, Trump shocked the august gathering in his first appearance since returning to the White House the previous January by declaring to those present that their countries were 'going to hell' while launching a full-frontal assault on the UN and the concept of open borders."This will be Trump's first UN appearance since he launched a war against Iran alongside Israel in February, one he predicted would last days and topple Tehran's regime. Seven months later, "the regime still stands," Iran has choked off the Strait of Hormuz — disrupting a fifth of global oil exports — and gas prices and inflation have climbed at home. Polling shows just 36% of Americans think the U.S. is winning, and only 29% approve of Trump's foreign policy overall.Trump arrives at the podium, in other words, trailing "abysmal" numbers and an unpopular war with no end in sight, the Guardian is reporting, noting that's hardly the backdrop for the triumphant remarks he's signaled are coming.
Healthcare in Africa ‘under growing strain’ after US withdrawal from aid programs, report warns
Accra Reset’s report states countries in the region and global south should take greater control of their health development after USAID debacleThe United States’ withdrawal from key aid programs has put healthcare in Africa and the global south “under growing strain” a new report warns.The report says the Trump administration’s cuts to programs such as US Agency for International Development (USAID), as well as the Covid-19 pandemic and rising costs of living globally have brought “new urgency” for the need to reform healthcare in the region. Continue reading...
Trump warned of ‘painful attacks’ should he follow through on violent threat: report
Tehran issued President Donald Trump a fierce warning Sunday against launching an attack on Iran, threatening to carry out “painful attacks” in retaliation at a moment’s notice — and “without any limitations or considerations,” Al Jazeera reported.Speculation swirled Saturday night that a U.S. attack in the Middle East may be “imminent” after Trump abruptly cut his weekend getaway in Maryland short — without explanation — and returned to the White House, his 35-year-old female aide Natalie Harp in tow. Sunday morning, Trump told Fox News that he was in a “deciding mode” as to whether to authorize strikes in the Middle East, telling Fox News’ Trey Yingst that whatever he decided, “very big things” would take place in the “not-so-distant future.” He also told Yingst that “wiping Iran out” was actively being considered, insisting that “if and when” he decides to “blow the entire nation up,” Iranians had “better behave.”Iranian officials, who are reportedly already preparing for the United States to resume hostilities, cautioned Trump to think carefully about his next move.“Any mistake will result in painful attacks,” reads a statement published by Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya military headquarters, according to Al Jazeera.“According to information received, the United States — seeking to cover up its failures and achieve fabricated gains in a war that was launched based on Israeli lies and stage-managing and has been sustained through deception and trickery — has once again decided, with the green light from some regional countries, to resume actions against the Islamic Republic of Iran at a joint meeting in a European country.”The Khatam al-Anbiya military headquarters also warned U.S. allies in the region that they would be “considered complicit” in any attack on Iran should Middle East U.S. bases be utilized.“We warn that if the countries of the region — by continuing their dual policy toward the Islamic Republic of Iran — align with the Great Satan’s aggression against a powerful and sovereign Iran they will all be considered complicit in this evil and can no longer expect restraint or decency from Iran’s powerful armed forces,” the statement reads.
Trump warns 'very big things' imminent: 'When do I blow the entire nation up?'
President Donald Trump told Fox News’ Trey Yingst Sunday morning that, regarding speculation of an imminent U.S. escalation in the Middle East, “very big things” would take place in the “not-so-distant future,” things that include ‘wiping Iran out” entirely.Fears mounted Saturday night after Trump abruptly cut his weekend getaway in Maryland short and returned to the White House without explanation, a schedule change that came amid other signals that hinted at imminent U.S. military action. Yingst spoke to Trump by phone Sunday morning and was asked by Fox News’ “Fox & Friends Weekend” to provide viewers with the latest on the president’s thinking.“[Trump] tells Fox News he's in a 'deciding mode' and that 'very big things' are going to be happening in the 'not-so-distant future,’” Yingst said.“The president described the current choices on the table as 'wiping Iran out, letting them rot economically, or making a deal.’ He added, 'my question is, if and when do I blow the entire nation up, they better behave.'”Fox News’ Charles Hurt pressed Yingst for more details.“Can you give us any idea about what 'not-so-distant future' means?” Hurt asked. “Are we thinking hours, or we thinking days?”Yingst said it was “not clear at this moment,” with Iranian officials reportedly preparing for the United States to resume hostilities. Trump tells Fox he's in a "deciding mode" and that "very big things" to come in the "not-so-distant future.""If and when do I blow the entire nation up, they better behave" pic.twitter.com/URLKDgLhzX— Alexander Willis (@ReporterWillis) September 20, 2026
Trump bludgeoned for ‘another lie’ as Ukraine claim goes up in smoke
President Donald Trump claimed last week that Ukraine and Russia had agreed to avoid striking energy infrastructure targets, but on Sunday morning, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy proudly boasted about striking “one of Russia’s key oil industry facilities,” leading critics to condemn Trump for “just another lie to manipulate markets.”BBC reported that Ukraine launched its “largest” drone attack on the Moscow region since Russia's 2022 invasion, killing at least two people and injuring 20 others. Moscow’s "main oil refinery" was among the targets struck.“It appears that Trump’s claim last week that he negotiated a deal between Putin and Zelenskyy to stop bombing energy infrastructure was just another lie to manipulate markets,” wrote MeidasTouch Editor-in-Chief Ron Filipkowski Sunday morning in a social media post on X. “Every hour of every day, Trump lies about everything.”As global oil prices skyrocket amid the U.S. war against Iran, Trump has attempted to dispel claims that the war he launched in February was to blame for the spike in energy costs.“The World’s Diesel price rise is mostly caused by the Russia/Ukraine War, not Iran,” Trump wrote last week.Trump reiterated his request to Zelenskyy last week in Ireland, telling reporters that the Ukrainian president “has to stop knocking out diesel fuel in Russia… because he’s causing a shortage.”With Zelenskyy boasting about an attack on a Russian oil refinery just days later, Trump was swiftly mocked by critics.“Yeesh,” wrote military historian Phillips O’Brien, head of the School of International Relations at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, in a social media post on X. “Trump promised us there was an agreement that this would not happen!”It appears that Trump’s claim last week that he negotiated a deal between Putin and Zelenskyy to stop bombing energy infrastructure was just another lie to manipulate markets. Every hour of every day, Trump lies about everything. pic.twitter.com/laEAhpK8hi— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) September 20, 2026
Scholar flags Trump insecurity that just ended decades of US military dominance: analysis
The Trump administration warned U.S. allies that shipments of key weapons could be delayed by as much as five years as the United States faces a “shortfall in ammunition” amid its war against Iran, Bloomberg reported on Saturday, leading international law scholar Alonso Gurmendi to float a jarring theory.According to Bloomberg, “multiple European nations” have been informed that deliveries of key weapons, including “missile and air defense capabilities,” will face severe delays. Japan was also told by the United States that a shipment of Tomahawk missiles would be “delayed by as much as two years.”Gurmendi, a London School of Economics Fellow in Human Rights, argued that the development represented the end to US “military superiority” on the world stage, and blamed two key figures for the fallout: Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who’s been increasingly accused of having “dragged” Trump into the deeply unpopular U.S. war against Iran.“Netanyahu and Trump have ended US military superiority,” Gurmendi wrote in a statement published on social media. “It’s frankly a jarring level of incompetence driven by religious/ideological fundamentalism and male fragility, respectively.”Trump has been scrutinized for years regarding what countless critics have described as his “fragile male ego,” with male fragility playing an outsized role in his first bid for the White House, according to social psychologists Eric Knowles and Sarah DiMuccio.“The Pentagon’s decision to prioritize its own stockpiles is also straining Ukraine’s push for the U.S. to send it more Patriot air defense interceptors ahead of what is expected to be a difficult winter for the war-torn nation,” Bloomberg’s report reads. “The issue of Ukraine’s badly needed air defense will be a key topic at next week’s United Nations meetings in New York.”Netanyahu and Trump have ended US military superiority. It’s frankly a jarring level of incompetence driven by religious/ideological fundamentalism and male fragility, respectively. https://t.co/qMCNcJ5HbO— Alonso Gurmendi (@Alonso_GD) September 19, 2026
‘Imminent attack’: Panic as Trump races back to White House amid ‘obvious signaling’
President Donald Trump abruptly cut short his weekend at Camp David and is returning to the White House for reasons that remain “unclear,” multiple journalists reported Saturday evening, sparking fears the sudden change could signal an impending "major escalation" in the Middle East.Trump’s schedule change came shortly after the U.S. Embassy in Israel issued a security alert instructing Americans in the Middle East to “exercise heightened vigilance and be aware of potential flight cancellations, airspace closures, and travel disruptions.” Also on Saturday, Israeli news network i24NEWS reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cut his scheduled U.S. visit short.“There’s a TON of very obvious signaling taking place right now for imminent massive escalation against Iran. President Trump, just after Camp David, is returning early to the White House. Bibi Netanyahu is cutting his U.S. Tour a day early, cancelling the Texas leg, and flying directly back to Tel Aviv from New York,” warned geopolitical expert Brett Erickson on Saturday.“All Middle East US embassies have issued STEP alert warning to Americans in the region. This could certainly be a legitimate escalation… but this is a LOT of very public signaling that is textbook TACO Trump. That said… if it’s not, we’re looking at a MAJOR escalation inbound.”Sophie Mokoena, a veteran South African journalist, came to a similar conclusion, warning of an “imminent attack.”INSIGHTS: There’s a TON of very obvious signaling taking place right now for imminent massive escalation against Iran.President Trump, just after Camp David, is returning early to the White House (and reported on by Barak…).Bibi Netanyahu is cutting his U.S. Tour a day… https://t.co/ntsZHwJj00— Brett Erickson (@BrettErickson28) September 19, 2026
UN rebukes ‘indefensible’ Trump admin move on world stage with near-unanimous vote
The United Nations (U.N.) General Assembly rebuked the Trump administration this week after the U.S. blocked a foreign leader from attending the annual gathering of the international body in New York scheduled for next week.As reported by Reuters, the Trump administration extended visa sanctions last Wednesday against Palestinian officials, whom U.S. State Department officials accused of working to “internationalize the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” The visa sanctions include Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, thereby barring him from visiting the United States for the U.N.’s annual meeting.In a vote of 152-3, however, members of the U.N. voted to allow Abbas to attend the annual meeting virtually, with a number of U.N. members condemning the United States for barring a head of state from attending the event.“The United Nations Headquarters Agreement clearly provides that the issuance of visas to representatives of Member States participating in UN meetings constitutes an international obligation of the host country,” said Chinese U.N. Deputy Permanent Representative Sun Lei in a statement. “At a time when the Palestinian people are suffering oppression and the foundations of the two-State solution are being undermined, depriving Palestine of the right to present its case before the UN, make its appeals, and call for international assistance is without legal basis, unacceptable in conscience, and indefensible in reason.”The three nations that voted against allowing Abbas to virtually attend the annual U.N. meeting were the United States, Israel and Paraguay, the South American nation whose president, Santiago Peña, holds a deep connection with the state of Israel, stating last year that he sees Paraguay “as an extension of the Israeli territory.”“The resolution adopted today provides for special arrangements for Palestine’s participation in the general debate and other activities of the 81st session of the General Assembly,” Sun continued. “These arrangements represent a temporary remedy, adopted out of necessity to address the unjust treatment endured by Palestine.”
