Top World News

Mar 30, 2026 - World

President Donald Trump's latest threat against the Iranian regime is "extremely hard to justify" under international law, according to one expert. Admiral James G. Stavridis told CNN's Abby Phillip on "The Arena" on Monday that Trump's threat to bomb Iran's water and energy infrastructure if the country does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz would be a difficult move to defend. Certain parts of the threat seem to align with international law, but attacking civilian infrastructure could extend the war in Iran for years to come, he added. "So striking oil. No, I don't see that as illegal under international law," Stavridis said. "The electric grid is kind of in a gray area. It depends on whether you are striking portions of it that supported military activity, or going after the water supplies, which would be extremely hard to justify under international law."Trump has tried for several weeks to get the Iranian regime to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and so far those efforts have come up short. The waterway is responsible for roughly 20% of global energy trade, and its closure is one reason why gas prices in the U.S. have skyrocketed since the war in Iran began. Stavridis added that striking Iran's water infrastructure could cause a ripple effect in the region. "Leaving aside the legalities ... the practical effect would be batteries released against the Gulf Arabs' desalination plant. So if this thing turns into a water war, it's going to take years for the region to come back," he said.

Mar 30, 2026 - World

Nearly 6,000 people forced to flee, human rights group says, as it criticises ‘abandonment’ from authoritiesAt least 70 people have been killed and 30 injured during an attack in Haiti’s breadbasket Artibonite region, significantly more than official estimates, a human rights group has said.Police initially reported 16 dead and 10 injured, while a preliminary report from civil protection authorities suggested 17 had died and 19 were wounded. Continue reading...

Mar 30, 2026 - World

Conservative viewers unhappy about the war in Iran overwhelmed the pro-MAGA Real America's Voice network with emails opposing President Donald Trump.During the Human Events show on Monday, host Jack Posobiec spent nearly 10 minutes reading mail from people who had voted for Trump.While a minority supported the war in Iran, the vast majority of viewers expressed concerns about Operation Epic Fury."Cannot dispute the fact that the U.S. and Israel have clearly won this operation," a viewer named Chuck said. "However, if there is a regime change that excludes the Ayatollahs and basically returns Iran to pre-1979, it will have been a loss. We can't continue bombing campaigns every two years, wasting tax dollars."Ted, 78, called the war "a necessary step for the gospel to be presented before the rapture."Many commenters noted that Republicans were in danger of losing midterm elections because of the war. Others pointed out that prices were rising.Read some of the remarks from viewers below."Wasting tax dollars.""Diesel prices are sky high.""Halting our likelihood of success in the midterms.""This war is the stupidest thing ever.""A complete betrayal and flip-flop of the no new wars policy.""A trap that will last months, if not years.""Hate this war.""It is destroying MAGA.""The Dems will win the House.""The worst thing Trump has done.""Hurting the very people that Trump has fought for.""Gas is $4 a gallon.""This economy will tank.""Don't feel this was America first.""Very disappointing.""Not what he promised.""Fearful for our nation's future.""Not happy at all.""Trump has not been true to his word.""We're going to lose the House and Senate.""I voted for Trump, and I want my vote back.""The most infuriating one to two months.""Completely at my wits' end.""The opposite of what I voted for""Unnecessary side quest.""The potential to wreck the trump presidency.""Disgusted by this war.""I'm going independent, but will likely never vote again.""Feel like it's useless.""I'm done voting, period.""A straight con job.""War should be a last resort."

Mar 30, 2026 - World

Donald Trump's Iran war is testing the limits of corporate America's tolerance — and the only thing keeping CEOs from publicly attacking the president is fear of retribution, according to Fortune's Diane Brady reporting from CERAWeek in Houston.But that restraint may be ending. As the economic damage mounts, business leaders are signaling they may finally be willing to risk Trump's wrath and speak out against policies they view as catastrophic for their bottom lines.The stakes are becoming impossible to ignore. Economists warn recession odds are now high. Oil prices have surged more than 50 percent. The war is costing U.S. taxpayers approximately $1 billion a day while destroying 10,000 jobs from the economic shockwave alone.Energy sector CEOs are particularly alarmed. At CERAWeek, leaders from Dow and Chevron warned of dire consequences if the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked to shipping. The blockade has forced Asia to scramble for alternative energy sources, while Russia gains little thanks to its own war with Ukraine.Signs of CEO defection are mounting. Chubb CEO Evan Greenberg told Brady that "democracy is so fragile." Citadel's Ken Griffin revealed that he and his CEO peers find the Trump administration's favoritism "extremely distasteful."More than 60 corporate leaders — including CEOs from 3M, Best Buy, Cargill, General Mills, Land O'Lakes, Target, Xcel Energy, and UnitedHealth Group — have already signed a letter of protest against the administration's ICE enforcement actions in Minnesota.One CEO admitted to Brady that they are "shell-shocked" by administration policies but feel constrained by fiduciary duty to avoid putting their companies in Trump's crosshairs by speaking publicly.That calculus could shift dramatically. If the war begins to seriously impact stock prices and corporate profits, business leaders may conclude that the financial damage outweighs the political danger of breaking ranks with the president.

Mar 30, 2026 - World

Economist and Nobel laureate Paul Krugman criticized Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the Pentagon over their lack of direction and obsession with violence amid the Iran war. In his Substack post, Krugman tore into Hegseth's beliefs of applying further damage to Iran as the war now enters its 30th day and talks swirl of a ground war, which President Donald Trump has not yet ruled out. Krugman was doubtful that 10,000 troops could secure the Persian Gulf or prompt oil tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz again. "A month into the war, and now they’re talking about pointless ground action and/or war crimes," Krugman wrote. He pointed to Hegseth's troubling focus on lethality. "In this case, our Secretary of Defense, which is his legal title, although he calls himself the Secretary of War, continually argues that if only we get even more violent, if only we do even more damage, that this will somehow translate into success in Iran," Krugman wrote. "He clearly relishes the thought of violence himself. He’s now holding prayer breakfasts, and in his prayer breakfast, he called upon the Lord to support us in 'overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy.'""I think this is deeply un-American, but anyway, aside from the evilness — I don’t think there’s any other way to put it — of the world view, how is this supposed to work?" Krugman asked. "If you look at the plans or ideas that are being bruited for using ground forces now, and that’s clearly very much sort the next step here, for using ground forces against Iran, well, yeah, you can seize Kharg Island, although hanging onto it could be very expensive, but then what?"It's unclear at this point whether negotiations were actually underway — and what the administration's objectives were. "Other presidents have been accused of negotiating with themselves," Krugman wrote. "Trump is negotiating with his imaginary friends. There’s no reason at all to believe that these talks are actually happening. But he then pivots midway through the post, to saying, and if we don’t get this, then we’re going to start bombing civilian power plants and water supplies."Trump's thought process could lead to further harm, the economist argued. "So give us what we want or we’ll commit a massive, massive war crime, which I hope is not going to happen," Krugman wrote. "But even if it did, why would you think this would open up the Strait of Hormuz? So it’s this lust for violence with no actual coherent story about how that violence is going to produce results. It’s horrifying.""I really don’t know how this ends, except that it does feel as if this is a quagmire largely in the minds of top Trump officials, Trump himself and Hegseth, who having this utterly unshakable belief that hurting people will produce great results, respond to each failure of violence to produce results by getting even more destructive with no end game in sight," Krugman added. Pete Hegseth Believes in the Lethality Fairy by Paul Krugman"Overwhelming violence of action" as the solution to all problemsRead on Substack