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Irish President Catherine Connolly revealed the stern message she issued to President Donald Trump during their recent private meeting, sparking a chorus of cheers Sunday from critics.Connolly met with Trump in Dublin on Saturday at her official residence, and, according to the Irish Examiner, made clear that the Trump administration’s foreign policy was at odds with the wishes of the Irish people.“I conveyed the strong view of the Irish people that the normalisation of war and genocide can never be accepted,” Connolly said, referencing her meeting with Trump.“As a country which has suffered famine, colonisation and the violence of the Troubles, but also the importance of the long and challenging road to peace, I emphasised the unique insight which Irish people can bring to the resolution of conflict.”In perhaps a more subtle message to Trump, Connolly also gifted the U.S. president a collection of poems, which notably included the poem “Ceasefire” by the famous Irish poet Michael Longley.“Bravo,” wrote Australian journalist and author Peter FitzSimons in a social media post on X, responding to reports of Connolly’s message to Trump.A photograph of Trump walking in front of Connolly with a serious expression on his face also drew considerable attention from Trump’s critics.“She read him out!” wrote American historian and author Max Dashu in a social media post on X. “He has the same expression as after his secret meeting with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin in Helsinki, the one that no US translators were allowed to witness.”And Sara Salyers, a prominent Scottish independence activist and former journalist, quipped: “When a picture paints a thousand words!”

An “unprecedented” summit is scheduled to discuss a deal designed to “break-up the United Kingdom,” The Telegraph exclusively reported Sunday, a major development that comes just one day after President Donald Trump landed in Ireland.Leaders of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are expected to meet Monday in Wales’ capital to discuss launching referendums to declare their independence from the United Kingdom, according to the report.Just two days before The Telegraph’s report, Trump made the controversial remark that it would be “fantastic” if Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland unified, The New York Times reported, breaking with “decades of U.S. neutrality on an issue rooted in a long history of violence.”Centuries of British rule brought land seizures, famine and violent suppression of Irish independence movements, culminating in the island's partition in 1921. Decades of sectarian violence known as the “Troubles" followed, ending with the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which established that any change to Northern Ireland's status would require a referendum.“Under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, there is a potential pathway for an Irish reunification poll to be held,” The Telegraph’s report reads.“It states that a referendum should be staged if it 'appears likely' that a majority of people in Northern Ireland would vote to leave the UK... All three parties will agree that their nations should be in the EU, Scotland and Wales as new members and Northern Ireland as part of the Republic of Ireland.”

President Donald Trump — days after appearing to nap during a Sept. 11 memorial ceremony at the Pentagon — hurled accusations at the New York Times of insensitivity over its coverage on the historic day.Trump on Sunday shared a post from the Department of the Interior press office apparently condemning the New York Times for publishing reports on its botched renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool."On the 25th anniversary of 9/11, the New York Times spent time and resources analyzing the Reflecting Pool," the comment stated. "They continue to avoid doing any real reporting on all the vandalism."The Times report revealed the contractor that renovated the Reflecting Pool told the Trump administration that internal errors, not vandalism, caused problems with its lining.It's worth noting that in 2002 the New York Times won a record-breaking seven Pulitzer prizes for its coverage of the tragic terrorist attack on Sept. 11, 2001.Its journalists raced toward Ground Zero to document the explosive flames, the bloodied victims, and the first responders who sacrificed their lives to save others. Trump, meanwhile, skipped the 25th anniversary ceremony at Ground Zero — where former presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden were in attendance — and opted instead to give a speech at the Pentagon. The president has also come under fire this week for increasingly bold claims about his own efforts following the attacks on the twin towers. "Trump has long talked about his 9/11 response, saying he spent a lot of time at Ground Zero and brought hundreds of workers to aid in the recovery effort," a Politifact report states. "PolitiFact previously found no evidence that Trump brought hundreds of workers to the site, and other fact-checkers have similarly found the evidence lacking. Trump World Tower was under development in 2001 in Midtown Manhattan, about 5 miles from the World Trade Center."

Search and rescue agency says 107 people brought to safety from vessel hit by bad weather in Java SeaRescue workers in Indonesia said at least six people had died and 130 others were missing on Sunday after a ferry sailing between the islands of Java and Borneo capsized in bad weather.Basarnas, Indonesia’s national search and rescue agency, said 107 people had been rescued from the Virgo ⁠Transport 8 vessel, which set sail on Saturday with 243 ​people onboard, including 30 crew members, ​from ‌the East Java ‌city of Surabaya. Continue reading...

The presidential briefing documents were declassified on the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacksSeveral dozen presidential briefing documents declassified on Friday, the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, detail intelligence that government officials had gathered about Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida leading up to the hijackings that killed nearly 3,000 people and upended American national security.The documents illustrate security analysts’ tracking of Bin Laden’s movements and support system, as well as concerns about possible threats to US targets. They also detail officials’ understanding of his network in the United States and other countries, including how his operations were financed. Continue reading...

Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA), the Republican nominee for Iowa's open Senate seat, downplayed the war with Iran as "out of sight, out of mind for so many Americans."Hinson made the remark on The Iowa Podcast with Justin Brady, in an episode published Aug. 26, when the host asked what her message would be heading into her Senate campaign.The episode drew little notice, logging 137 views on YouTube. Journalist Aaron Rupar resurfaced the Iran exchange Friday on X, where his post had drawn more than 21,000 views."It seems like Americans are kind of like, 'Ah, gosh. I don't know. I signed up for this America First stuff. I don't know what this stuff is,'" Brady said, describing the mood among voters after the United States went to war with Iran."So what is the message going into your Senate election?" Brady asked. "Are we still America First, or are we focused elsewhere?""And when it comes to Iran, you know, I don't want an endless war in Iran," Hinson answered. "I think it is important to make sure Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, and it is thousands of miles away. It's out of sight, out of mind for so many Americans.""Why I'm running for the U.S. Senate [is] we need to protect taxpayers," Hinson continued. "We need to make sure rural America has a seat at the table, and we have to have a safe and secure country. And that starts by eliminating threats not only at our southern border, but abroad as well.""And Iran has been massively increasing its stockpiles, not just of nuclear materials, but of missiles, of drones, that could have been not only a threat to our allies in the Middle East, but us here in the homeland as well," she said."And so I want to make sure we get this done quickly," Hinson added, "but the end goal for me in any deal or any negotiated deal end to this war is we need to make sure Iran doesn't get a nuclear weapon, and we need to make sure our allies in the region are protected."The war Hinson described as distant has been running for more than six months. The United States and Israel began military operations against Iran in late February, according to the Congressional Research Service, and the fighting has continued since.Iran's Revolutionary Guard said Thursday that it targeted two U.S. Navy vessels, eight oil tankers and 10 other ships near the Strait of Hormuz, The Washington Times reported. The announcement came a day before Rupar posted the clip.Gasoline averaged $4.15 a gallon nationally this week, up from $4.08 a week earlier, Al Jazeera reported, with the increase tied to the fighting around the strait.Rupar noted in his post that Hinson has defended the war and voted against war powers resolutions, the measures that would force the president to seek congressional approval to keep fighting.Hinson and Iowa's three other House Republicans voted in March against a resolution that would have limited the military campaign against Iran, Radio Iowa reported. It failed 219-212.The House passed a similar measure 215-208 in June with four Republicans crossing over, CBS News reported. Hinson was not among them."Even though the Iran war is thousands of miles away, it is important that we finish the job there, because Iran can never get a nuclear weapon," Hinson told The Gazette in June, using nearly the same phrasing she would repeat on the podcast."If it drags on beyond that, it's a political liability for us too, because we've lost Iowa soldiers," Hinson told voters at a meet-and-greet in Webster County in late May, according to audio obtained by Politico and reported by The New Republic. "I've been to four funerals since December, it's awful."Six Army Reserve soldiers assigned to a Des Moines-based command were killed in an Iranian strike on a facility in Kuwait on March 1, The Gazette reported. Two were from Iowa.Hinson faces state Rep. Josh Turek, an Iowa Democrat, in November for the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), in a race Democrats are targeting as a long-shot pickup, 19th News reported.

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.

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