Sunday, April 19, 2026

26 years later, IDF restores its south Lebanon security zone — with key changes

 ToI in southern Lebanon   truce took effect 'exactly' as troops reached the deployment line  
While the military avoids calling it a ‘security zone,’ the boundaries are nearly the same; commanders say this time troops won’t face same threats

By Emanuel Fabian 19 April 2026
AYTA ASH-SHAB, Lebanon — The Israeli military is reestablishing a security zone that it left some 26 years ago, although commanders say that this time around, it will not carry with it the same dangers that troops faced during the 18-year occupation of southern Lebanon in 1982-2000.

Rumen Radev wins in Bulgaria, says Europe is 'a victim of its ambition to act as a moral leader.'

Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

By Marina Stoimenova from Sofia
Published on Updated 

'Europe has, in many ways, become a victim of its ambition to act as a moral leader in a world without clear rules, says Rumen Radev after winning the parliamentary vote.

The snap elections in Bulgaria are shaping up to have significant political implications across Europe. Radev, a former fighter pilot who stepped down as president in January, appears to be the clear frontrunner.

World weighs fate of Mideast ceasefire after US seizes Iranian cargo ship


By Daphne Psaledakis and Hatem Maher
April 19, 2026 7:06 PM PDT
Updated 1 hour ago

Summary
  • US military says it intercepted Iranian ship trying to run blockade
  • Iran says will respond to 'armed piracy.'
  • IRNA says Iran rejects talks, citing US blockade
  • Islamabad prepares for second round of negotiations

WASHINGTON/CAIRO, April 20 (Reuters) -
Concerns grew on Monday that the ceasefire between the United States and Iran might not hold after the U.S. said ​it had seized an Iranian cargo ship that tried to run its blockade and Iran vowed to retaliate.

Canada’s prime minister says economic ties with US are a weakness that must be corrected


By JIM MORRIS
April 19, 2026
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a video address released Sunday that Canada’s strong economic ties to the United States were once a strength but are now a weakness that must be corrected.

White House Leak Reveals Trump Booted From Briefing After Hours-Long Freakout

Donald Trump

 Politics 


WHINER-IN-CHIEF

Even the president may have doubts about his war.

Photo Illustration by Eric Faison/The Daily Beast/Getty Images

Donald Trump, 79, reportedly threw such a tantrum during a fraught rescue operation in Iran that his aides banished him from the room as they were briefed.

Trump’s approval rating hits new low amid war and high gas prices


Energy Secretary Chris Wright didn’t help matters Sunday when he said gas prices won’t fall below 
$3 per gallon anytime soon

April 19, 2026 

By Erum Salam

A new poll shows President Donald Trump’s approval rating has sunk to a new low, driven by Americans’ concerns over rising costs, particularly at the pump. Trump’s energy secretary, Chris Wright, may not have helped win over any new fans for his boss after he said Sunday that gas prices likely won’t fall below $3 per gallon until next year.

Honor's "Tin Man" wins Beijing half-marathon, breaking the human world record!

Edited by Yiannis Damellos

Apr 19, 2026

BEIJING (AP) — In a stunning sports event that left all spectators flabbergasted, a skinny robot looking like a post-modern Tin Man from The Wizard of OZ won a half-marathon in Beijing running the track faster than an entire pack of caffeinated cheetahs! 

The speedy little humanoid tin can, engineered by the Chinese smartphone whiz kids at Honor, zipped through the 21-kilometer (13-mile) course in a dazzling 50 minutes and 26 seconds. For reference, the human world record holder, Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo, was still waiting for his coffee to cool, finishing in a leisurely 57 minutes during a road race in Lisbon. 

8 children killed in Louisiana mass shooting

The alleged gunman, who is related to some of the children, was killed after a vehicle chase, according to police.

April 19, 2026
By Mirna Alsharif and Cristian Santana

Eight children ranging from 1 to 14 years old were killed in a mass shooting in Shreveport, Louisiana, on Sunday morning, according to police.

JD Vance is "On the Road again"


April 19, 2026

EDITED BY YIANNIS DAMELLOS

The President's right-hand man has been summoned once again to lead the second round of negotiations with Tehran on Monday in an effort to make a deal that will facilitate the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and possibly, if Israel SITS TIGHT, bring an end to the war. 

UPDATE: Tehran Confirms No Talks Scheduled with US, as Hormuz Strait Remains Blocked


The Greek Courier
News source: Al Jazeera News
April 19, 2026

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh announced that there are currently no dates set for renewed discussions with the United States, criticizing Washington's unwavering stance and "maximalist" demands.

Exiled ultra-conservative Venezuelan conspirator is looking for European fascists to support her vile cause

There is nothing more treacherous than a she-wolf wearing a sheep's fur pretending to be a fairy godmother

By Yiannis Damellos

April 18, 2026

MADRID — While Spain’s progressive Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, an outspoken critic of U.S. President Donald Trump, was hosting a summit of like-minded progressive leaders from around the world on Saturday, Venezuela’s exiled opposition leader María Corina Machado was addressing several thousand of her MAGA supporters at a rally in Madrid during her multicountry European tour.

Putin finally admits Russia’s economy is in trouble and grasps for answers, after warnings about a financial crisis have been piling up

 
Economy  Russia 
By Jason Ma, Weekend Editor
April 18, 2026

Russian President Vladimir Putin made his concerns about the economy public as he vented frustration at aides and demanded they come up with solutions.

During a televised meeting on the economy Wednesday, he revealed that GDP shrank by combined 1.8% in January and February, adding that manufacturing, industrial production and construction were negative.

Saturday, April 18, 2026

More than 38,000 women and girls were killed in Gaza between October 2023 and December 2025 – UN Women

17 April 2026
 PRESS RELEASE 

Six months after the ceasefire, and as regional developments shift global attention, UN Women warns that women and girls in Gaza remain at critical risk, calling for adherence to the ceasefire, international law, and the protection of women and girls, alongside unimpeded humanitarian assistance at scale

Cairo/Geneva/New York, 17 April 2026 – Six months after the ceasefire in Gaza, women and girls continue to face severe and persistent risks, as humanitarian needs remain critical and recovery conditions remain fragile. A new analysis published by UN Women shows that more than 38,000 women and girls—including over 22,000 women and 16,000 girls—were killed in Gaza between October 2023 and December 2025, representing an average of at least 47 women and girls killed per day.

Spain, Brazil, Mexico vow to boost Cuba aid amid US threats



POLITICS SPAIN

Karl Sexton with AP, AFP, Reuters

6 hours ago

The pledge comes amid a US oil embargo and Donald Trump's threats to invade the island. Leftist leaders meeting in Barcelona also spoke against the global far-right threat.

Activists Tear-Gassed at Failed Raid of Beagle Research Facility

Some 1,000 protesters tried to storm a private breeding and lab facility in Wisconsin in an effort to steal thousands of beagles that are bred for medical experimentation.

By Katie Benner and Taylor Glascock
April 18, 2026

Hundreds of animal rights activists in Wisconsin were thwarted by the police and private security guards as they tried to steal thousands of beagles from a facility that breeds them for sale to research labs and for experiments done on site.

Ohio’s nursing homes are dumping patients at homeless shelters


By JAKE ZUCKERMAN/Signal Ohio
April 17, 2026
The scene was concerning enough to prompt the homeless shelter staff to call the fire department.

A woman using a walker had shown up, incontinent and carrying “a large bag of medications.” She was diabetic, managing a tibia fracture and alcohol-related dementia, and she was “dumped” at the shelter, according to federal inspectors.

What is Mythos, Anthropic’s unreleased AI model, and how worried should we be?


The company says Mythos is too dangerous to release publicly. Cybersecurity experts agree the model's capabilities matter, but not all of them are buying the most alarming claims

Edited by Eric Sullivan

In the wake of Anthropic’s announcement of its latest artificial intelligence model, Mythos, on April 7, the company has stood by an unusual decision: refusing to release it to the public. Not since OpenAI temporarily withheld its GPT-2 model in 2019 has a major developer deemed a system too dangerous for the public. More than a week later, that choice is still reverberating through finance and regulatory circles.

Scientist claims the universe has SEVEN dimensions

Published: 05:12 EDT, 17 April 2026 | Updated: 11:11 EDT, 17 April 2026

It might sound like something from The Matrix, but scientists now say that our universe has seven dimensions. In addition to the four dimensions we normally experience – height, length, depth, and time – physicists argue that there are three extra 'folded' layers of reality.