Top World News
U.N.'s peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara ends after 35 years following U.S.-Russia standoff
Nov 1, 2026 - World 
The U.N.'s long-running peacekeeping mission for the disputed Western Sahara ceased operations Sunday after 35 years, as a result of a U.S.-Russia standoff at U.N. headquarters over the territory's future.
Exit polls suggest that Yotova wins runoff to become Bulgaria's first elected female president
Nov 1, 2026 - World 
Exit polls in Bulgaria suggest that incumbent President Iliana Yotova is the apparent winner in the country's presidential runoff. Partial official results are expected later Sunday.
Panic spreads as insider warns of 'embarrassed' Trump's plan if GOP loses midterms
Nov 1, 2026 - World 
A U.S. official warned that President Donald Trump may authorize a major military operation against Iran if he “feels embarrassed or disenfranchised” after the midterms, sparking panic among countless onlookers.“The mad King theory just might be the right theory. But so sad for our country,” wrote Yale University professor Howard Forman, referencing a political theory that suggests a political figure being perceived as mad can help boost credibility.The initial warning was reported by Axios’ Barak Ravid, who claimed that the unnamed U.S. official warned that Trump “might be more inclined to order a major military operation if Republicans lose badly in the midterms.”“If he feels embarrassed or disenfranchised he will do something bold,” the U.S. official said, according to Ravid. “That’s what everyone are telling the Iranians. Their best shot to get a deal is right now.”Iran was sent a draft peace plan on Sunday by Qatari mediators, Reuters reported, as talks between Washington and Tehran continue. A senior Iranian official, however, has already “dismissed the proposals as unacceptable,” according to Reuters.With the midterms fast approaching on Tuesday, and with Republicans facing an increasingly dire midterm outlook, critics feared a deadly escalation could be imminent.“A slightly different/more accurate way to phrase this is Trump requires a kind of executive self-soothing,” wrote journalist Josh Marshall, editor-in-chief of Talking Points Memo. “His loss of power/popularity at home requires him to focus on areas of presidency where his power is essentially unlimited to try to reassert a sense of dominance.”Others, like Tommy Vietor, a former Obama administration official and Democratic political commentator, argued that the U.S. official’s warning was nothing more than an attempt to manipulate Tehran into accepting the Trump administration’s terms for ending the deeply unpopular conflict.“Give me a f------ break with this spin. You don’t need to regurgitate this bull----,” Vietor wrote in a social media post on X.Trump official says Trump might bomb Iran because his feelings are hurt.— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) October 31, 2026
Most suspects released after Israeli court says no evidence for accusation of bribery in election
Nov 1, 2026 - World 
Israeli police on Sunday released two of three suspects in a case of alleged voter bribery, weakening efforts by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party to discredit last week's parliamentary election.
The US-China trade war seems to have subsided – but the sense of calm is misleading
Nov 1, 2026 - World 
A truce has cooled the trade conflict, but neither country has done anything to limit the outbreak of new hostilitiesDonald Trump’s trade wars have largely fallen off the headlines. Fears of new tariffs flare up from time to time when the US president goes off the rails – for instance, threatening to end US trade with countries with which it has a deficit unless the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates. But the sense that the world’s two largest economies are plowing ahead into an overt economic conflagration has taken a back seat to other, more salient fears, about Trump ending American democracy, AI killing us all and stuff like that.The sense of calm is misleading. Under the radar, the world is marching toward an economic war of potentially epic proportions, one that, history suggests, could well spill over into the real thing. Continue reading...
