"Today, I'm announcing Operation SOUTHERN SPEAR," Hegseth posted on X. "This mission defends our Homeland, removes narco-terrorists from our Hemisphere, and secures our Homeland from the drugs that are killing our people."

With the rise of Trump's Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement, a group of well-connected and well-off Republican women have come into the spotlight sporting what the US media have dubbed the "MAGA look."

Trump has claimed Afrikaners face persecution based on their race in the Black-majority country, allegations the South African government has denied.

Bolsonaro has been under house arrest for three months for violating precautionary measures related to his alleged attempts to persuade United States President Donald Trump to interfere in his criminal case.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the United States had lost "sovereignty" after New Yorkers elected leftist Zohran Mamdani as their next mayor.

Dozens of country leaders will gather on Thursday in Brazil’s Amazon city of Belem ahead of the annual UN summit on climate change, hoping to advance progress despite growing concerns that multilateral cooperation is on the brink.

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on Wednesday that he would order a 10 percent cut in flights at 40 major US airports, citing air traffic control safety concerns as a government shutdown hit a record 36th day.

Flames from the crash, which occurred shortly before sundown, ignited a string of fires on the ground in an industrial corridor adjacent to the airport, forcing authorities to halt airport operations through the night, according to officials.

In New York City, Zohran Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist, won the mayoral race, capping a meteoric and unlikely rise from an anonymous state lawmaker to one of the country's most visible Democratic figures. And in Virginia and New Jersey, moderate Democrats Abigail Spanberger, 46, and Mikie Sherill, 53, won their elections for governor with commanding leads, respectively.

While Mamdani's rise is dominating headlines, off-year elections for governor in Virginia and New Jersey will be seen as even more critical gauges of the US political mood nearly 10 months into Trump's bruising right-wing reign.

Trump was interviewed Friday by CBS's "60 Minutes" program, his first sit-down with the broadcaster since it agreed to a $16 million settlement with him.

The announcement on social media was issued just before Trump -- who boasts frequently about being a peace president --  went into a summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea.

The broadcaster had already laid off or furloughed more than 90 percent of staff and drastically scaled back production since President Donald Trump's administration in March axed most money to US government-funded media.

Trump and his supporters have repeatedly raised the question of a 2028 presidential run for the 79-year-old, drawing concern from his foes and cheers from backers. 

"It’s a catastrophic situation expected in Jamaica," WMO tropical cyclone specialist Anne-Claire Fontan said at a Geneva press briefing. "For Jamaica, it will be the storm of the century for sure."

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the Federal Aviation Administration experienced air traffic control staffing issues at 22 locations on Saturday, and added additional shortages were expected to lead to more flight delays and cancellations in the days ahead.

Harris, who replaced Joe Biden as the 2024 Democratic presidential candidate but lost to Donald Trump, told the BBC that she had not yet decided whether to make another White House bid.

The completion of the wrecking work came as the White House released a list of donors to the ballroom including Apple, Google and Meta.

"I'm about to turn 80 years old, but you can be sure I have the same energy I had when I was 30. And I will run for a fourth term in Brazil," Lula said at a joint press conference with his Indonesian counterpart Prabowo Subianto in Jakarta.

The two presidents acknowledged that Indonesia and Brazil, which share a commitment to championing developing nations, must step up cooperation across all sectors to reinforce each others’ positions in the global arena, highlighting the increasing trend toward protectionism and unilateralism.

Peruvian politics is not for the faint of heart. 

Trump has launched a series of legal cases against media firms and other organizations he accuses of bias against him, in some cases winning huge sums.

Work crews began tearing down part of the East Wing on Monday as the former property mogul said work had formally commenced on a huge new $250-million ballroom.

The protests reflected growing unease among many Americans, mainly on the ideological left, with developments such as the criminal prosecution of Trump's perceived political enemies, his militarized immigration crackdown and the sending of National Guard troops into US cities.

Trump unveiled additional levies of 100 percent on imports of Chinese goods a week ago, along with new export controls on "any and all critical software" by Nov/ 1, nine days before existing tariff relief was set to expire.

In the ruling, the judge  said the court "concluded that defendants' conduct causes irreparable harm, and there being no dispute that the conduct is ongoing" the judge granted WhatsApp owner Meta an injunction to stop NSO Group's snooping tactics at the messaging service.

Trump's comments triggered outrage from leftist Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, who decried "coups d'etat orchestrated by the CIA" and ordered military exercises following a fresh US strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean.