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Sep 11, 2026 - World

An attempt to shield President Donald Trump from protests in Ireland has likely failed after a Co. Clare family painted a profane message across the field behind their house, directly under the flight path he will use on Saturday.The woman behind the sign, who was not named, described the project on Today FM's Ray Foley Show, saying the field sits beneath the approach to the main runway at Shannon Airport.Trump is due to land at Dublin Airport on Saturday morning before flying west to Shannon and traveling on to his golf resort at Doonbeg, which is hosting the Irish Open this weekend.The woman's original plan was to protest outside the resort itself, she told Today FM, but she abandoned it once she understood how tightly the area would be sealed."I was going to go down and try and protest down there, but I'd say we wouldn't even get near it. So we just said we'll do this instead," she said.Ray Foley asked her during the interview whether the house was actually in the flight path, and she said that it was.It took weeks of persuading her husband, Paul, to help, she said."I've been troubling him for a long time to do this, because we knew he was going to be coming," she said, adding that she kept needling him until he gave in.The finished letters spell out "F— TRUMP" and dwarf the house beside them, according to the Daily Beast, which reported that the sign stretches across the entire field.A second message appeared on Thursday on a beach in Dublin Bay, under the approach to Dublin Airport, RTÉ reported.The campaigning organization Uplift carved the words "NO KINGS — GAZA IRAN ICE" into the sand, the broadcaster reported.Waterford environmental artist Seán Corcoran designed the piece using rakes, according to RTÉ, and Uplift said it chose sand so the work would vanish with the tide."We want to send a message to Trump that he is not welcome here in Ireland," Uplift executive director Siobhán O'Donoghue said in a statement."We chose sand to drive home the message that Trump's administration will one day be history," O'Donoghue said.Both messages were finished ahead of a shutdown that An Garda Síochána has described as "one of the biggest policing and security operations" it has ever mounted.The force has declared an extraordinary event, and officers will work more than 10,000 12-hour tours of duty between Friday and Sunday, the Press Association said.The Phoenix Park in Dublin was sealed off at 11 p.m. on Thursday and is expected to stay closed until 6 p.m. Saturday, RTÉ reported, closing Dublin Zoo and the Magazine Fort to visitors.In Clare, access to Doonbeg village and stretches of the N67 road is restricted, the broadcaster reported, and drone flights are barred near Dublin Airport. The Irish Aviation Authority has placed temporary restricted areas over Shannon Airport and the Doonbeg course, and a maritime exclusion zone is in force off Co. Wicklow."We have robust policing plans in place and will arrest and prosecute those committing offenses," Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly told reporters on Friday.Justin Kelly also said there would be "no tolerance" for public disorder, and that the force's water cannon would be on standby, according to the Press Association, though he said he hoped it would not be needed.Gardaí have said they will facilitate peaceful protest, and several demonstrations are going ahead, RTÉ reported.The Irish Neutrality League plans to assemble at the Garden of Remembrance in Dublin and march to the GPO at 1 p.m. Saturday, the broadcaster reported, with further protests at the entrance to Shannon Airport, at an agreed location in Doonbeg village, and in Galway city center."We hope to give Trump a great big unwelcome when he arrives in Shannon on Saturday morning," Futureproof Clare member Sinead Sheehan told the Clare Champion.The Trump Organization's Boeing 757 touched down at Shannon shortly after 6:30 a.m. Friday with Eric Trump aboard, Clare FM reported, and a cavalcade of Garda and U.S. Secret Service vehicles reached Doonbeg about an hour later.The flight path message can be seen here.

Sep 11, 2026 - World

President Donald Trump’s recent refusal to provide military support to a major U.S. ally marked a turning point for the post-World War II era, geopolitical analyst Brandon Weichert argued on Friday, one in which the United States no longer leads as the world’s top superpower.As the United States continues to wage war against Iran, Yemen’s Houthis made significant gains in their efforts to control the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a major chokepoint for global shipping alongside the Strait of Hormuz. Amid the Houthis’ advances, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia repeatedly called Trump on Thursday with pleas for military assistance.Trump declined those requests, according to a U.S. official who spoke with Axios on the condition of anonymity.With the U.S. military already stretched thin amid the deeply unpopular war against Iran, and with U.S. stockpiles of long-range missiles critically low, Weichert, the senior national security editor for The National Interest, declared that U.S. global dominance had officially reached its end.“It's over. The US-led order is done,” Weichert wrote Friday in a social media post on X to his more than 74,000 followers. “Saudis need to start cutting deals with Houthis and the rest of the region needs to do the same (unless Washington comes to its senses and negotiates a reasonable off-ramp now).”Middle East geopolitical analyst Firas Modad called Trump’s refusal to provide support to MBS a “total abandonment of the Saudis” and “incredible,” and Marc Polymeropoulos, a former CIA intelligence officer and national security analyst, was taken aback by Trump’s refusal, particularly given Saudi Arabia’s extensive investments in Trump-linked businesses, his family's ventures and figures within his administration.“So the US fails to assist Riyadh in their time of need? The Saudi investment in the Trump relationship gets them, what?” Polymeropoulos asked aloud.Polymeropoulos also questioned how the Trump administration failed to foresee such a scenario developing.“We [are] so overstretched [on] Iran, I presume that this front is a problem for us, but did we not plan for this possible [Houthi] scenario when launching the Iran campaign?” Polymeropoulos continued. “Ultimately, I find it hard to believe we will let the [Houthis] keep rolling. That’s a disaster for us strategically. Iran has huge leverage now. Like it or not, we in this. And the Saudis likely will see this as a huge betrayal, if we do not actively participate. Yes, with air strikes. Lots to ponder as a huge wrinkle now emerges in Trump’s war of choice.”It's over. The US-led order is done. Saudis need to start cutting deals with Houthis and the rest of the region needs to do the same (unless Washington comes to its senses and negotiates a reasonable off-ramp now). https://t.co/YqEHeKkF89— Brandon Weichert (@WeTheBrandon) September 11, 2026

Sep 11, 2026 - World

President Donald Trump declined a request for military support from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia on Thursday, a U.S. official told Axios on the condition of anonymity, as analysts warn that the U.S. war against Iran is starting to spiral out of control.On Wednesday, Yemen’s Houthis captured a critical town near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea, which, like the Strait of Hormuz, is a critical chokepoint for global shipping. The Houthis are also inching closer toward capturing the entirety of Yemen’s west coast, sparking fears that a “second front” in the U.S. war against Iran may soon open.As the Houthis made additional advances on Thursday, MBS called Trump to brief him on the developments, Axios reported, and “several hours later,” called the president again and “urged” him to “order U.S. strikes against the Houthis.”“Trump declined, but a U.S. official said the administration will provide Saudi Arabia with intelligence on the Houthis and targeting data,” Axios’ report reads. “A senior Trump administration official signaled that Washington's priority is keeping the Red Sea open while leaving the broader fight to its regional partners.”Also on Thursday, reports circulated that the Houthis may have inflicted damage on Saudi Arabia’s “strategically important” East-West oil pipeline, a development that could have major ramifications for global oil prices.Diesel prices in the United States reached their highest levels in history last week, and the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline reached $4.15. On Thursday, gas prices jumped by 13 cents over the course of the previous week.The development also comes after the U.S. had used up “virtually all” of its long-range precision missiles amid its bombardment of Iran, which raised major “concerns about the military’s readiness for future conflicts,” Reuters previously reported.“With Iran already disrupting traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, Houthi control of Bab al-Mandab [Strait] could give Tehran a powerful new point of leverage over the U.S. and its Gulf allies,” Axios’ report reads. “The U.S. is concerned about the rapidly escalating fight in Yemen and is stepping up support for Saudi Arabia while trying to avoid direct military involvement.”

Sep 11, 2026 - World

Secretary of State Marco Rubio's three-country tour through Latin America this week backfired despite visiting nations led by Trump-friendly presidents, Politico reported.According to a Thursday report, Rubio visited Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru over three days. All three countries are governed by right-wing leaders who campaigned on combating crime and partnering closely with Washington, Politico noted. In Colombia, he spoke of a "golden era" between the two countries.Politico reported that the visit exposed sharp tensions inside the countries, where critics and commentators accused Rubio of pressuring governments to work against their own interests. The friction was clearest over China, a dominant economic force across the region, and the Trump administration's Shield of the Americas military alliance, according to Politico.In Peru, which Rubio announced would join the alliance, he used the moment to attack Beijing, charging that Chinese-backed projects "circumvent Peru's legal frameworks," according to Politico. Peru's government welcomed the step as part of its push against organized crime, Politico reported.Others were far less enthusiastic. Mirtha Vasquez, a left-wing Peruvian senator and former prime minister, said her country "needs to have a relationship with the U.S. but also with other powers," Politico reported.A survey released this week by the Kellogg Institute and Vanderbilt University found that citizens across the three nations place more trust in the Chinese government than in the U.S. administration, according to Politico. Benjamin Gedan, a former State and Treasury Department official, said the election of pro-Trump leaders was "clearly not enough to move the needle" in the U.S.-China contest.The timing sharpened the backlash, as Rubio arrived soon after a Venezuelan oil deal that drew heavy criticism across the region as gunboat diplomacy. In Colombia, defeated left-wing candidate Ivan Cepeda called the visit "an act of surrender" of regional sovereignty in a social media video, according to Politico.Beijing moved fast to press the advantage. Before Rubio landed in Peru, the Chinese embassy in Lima posted that the Western Hemisphere is "no one's backyard," Politico reported. Rubio was pressed by reporters on whether Washington would act alone against groups it labels as terrorist threats. He said the United States has "the capacity to act unilaterally."

Sep 11, 2026 - World

Vice President JD Vance quietly went around the Pentagon to call military commanders directly for blunt assessments of the Iran War.The New York Times reported Thursday that Vance wanted the commanders' individual judgments as they saw them before those views were merged into an official Pentagon position. The Times described Vance as opposed to the war from the outset, and he was tasked by President Donald Trump with helping to end it.The vice president reached commanders in the Middle East, Europe, and Asia, pressing them on the war's objectives, casualty estimates, how much punishment Tehran's government could absorb, and what was left in their weapons stockpiles, according to the report. The answers were sobering as officers were most alarmed by their shrinking supply of Patriot interceptors, which are the mainstay of U.S. air defenses. One theater of the conflict dropped below 100 of them by late spring, The Times reported.Those private assessments clashed sharply with what the administration has said in public. Trump has continued to falsely claim the United States has already won, that Iran's military has been demolished, and that there are no problems with American weapons supplies, The Times noted. Vance himself recently played down the notion that the country was even at war.Behind closed doors, the president has raged at coverage of the depleted stockpiles and branded the reporting treasonous, according to The Times. Investigators later subjected dozens of senior Pentagon officers to polygraph tests.The administration pushed back on the reporting. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the defense secretary had "facilitated direct access to combatant commanders" for the vice president and other senior White House officials.Joseph Holstead, a spokesman for General Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, insisted "there is no gap in the military advice" provided to the president, vice president, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.