Political Guyentist

1world

Trump orders Pentagon to scale back joint military exercises with South Korea

President cites Seoul's refusal to help denuclearize Iran and his 'very good relationship' with Kim Jong Un.

President Donald Trump said Sunday that he ordered Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to substantially reduce the annual U.S.-South Korea military exercises. He cited their cost, Seoul’s refusal to help denuclearize Iran, and his relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

ContextThe 11-day Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise was expected to involve 18,000 South Korean troops. U.S. and South Korean forces planned joint operations, including live-fire training, to test their readiness against North Korean threats. Trump also halted major drills after his 2018 summit with Kim. North Korea resumed ballistic missile testing days before this year's exercise. The administration disclosed no figure for how many drills or troops would be cut.

NBC NEWS15 sources

2world

NATO jet downs unidentified drone over Romania

A Spanish F-18 intercepted the aircraft inside Romanian airspace; officials did not specify its origin.

A Spanish F-18 flying a NATO air-policing mission shot down a drone after it entered Romanian airspace early Sunday. Romanian officials did not identify the drone's origin; Moldova said it had tracked a Geran-type Shahed drone entering from Ukraine and flying toward Romania.

ContextSunday's was the fourth drone shot down over Romania this year. The previous three were downed over three days in July as Russia intensified attacks near the border; this interception was carried out by a Spanish jet on a NATO air-policing mission.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL4 sources

3us

Hurricane Lala leaves 200,000 without power at peak, at least one dead

Storm avoided direct landfall but damaged 16 transmission lines and at least 100 homes; now a tropical storm moving away from the island chain.

Lala weakened from a hurricane to a tropical storm after grazing Hawaii's Big Island over the weekend without making landfall. The storm damaged at least 100 homes, 16 transmission lines and many utility towers, leaving more than 200,000 customers without power at the peak. At least one person died in a storm-related vehicle crash.

ContextBy 9:30 a.m. Sunday, fewer than 60,000 homes and businesses remained without power, down from more than 200,000 a few hours earlier. At least three hospitals were running on generators.

REUTERS13 sources