- The DOJ arrested a US special forces commando who helped capture Nicolás Maduro back in January. Federal investigators say he put about $33,000 on Polymarket just hours before Trump announced “Operation Absolute Resolve,” and walked away with over $409,000 in profit. It’s reportedly the first time the US has prosecuted insider trading on a prediction market. https://abcnews.com/US/doj-arrests-soldier-made-400000-betting-maduros-removal/story?id=132325426
- A leaked internal Pentagon email floats ways to punish NATO allies the US feels didn’t pull their weight in the Iran war. Options include suspending Spain from NATO positions and rethinking US support for Britain’s claim to the Falklands. Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez brushed it off, saying Spain “does not work off of emails.” https://www.jpost.com/international/article-894058
- Trump announced that the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire will be extended by three weeks after Israeli and Lebanese reps met at the White House. The truce is still shaky though. Hezbollah and Israel kept trading strikes during the talks, and Israel’s UN ambassador said the deal is “not 100%.” https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/24/world/live-news/iran-war-trump-israel-lebanon
- French police are investigating possible tampering with a Météo-France weather sensor at Charles de Gaulle Airport. An anonymous Polymarket trader turned a $119 bet on a Paris temperature spike into about $21,400, and meteorologists say the spike wasn’t natural. The trader deleted their account shortly after. Online theories blame a lighter or a cordless hair dryer. https://www.npr.org/2026/04/23/nx-s1-5797876/polymarket-paris-weather-bet
- South Korean police are investigating a data breach at Duo, one of the country’s biggest matchmaking firms. A hacked employee computer exposed personal info for about 427,000 members, including names, resident registration numbers, addresses, and family details. Regulators have already hit the company with around $810,000 in fines. https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10725131
- After the DOJ’s 11-count indictment of the SPLC earlier in the week over allegedly paying informants inside the KKK and other far-right groups, Trump posted on Truth Social saying that if the allegations are true, the 2020 election should be “permanently wiped from the books.” https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/116457972455781406
- An AP investigation finds that Trump’s unpredictable Iran rhetoric has been great for business over at Polymarket and Kalshi. 413 million bets worth over $100 million got placed in a single four-day span. Both platforms also happen to be tied to Donald Trump Jr., who has a stake in Polymarket and advises Kalshi. https://apnews.com/article/prediction-markets-trump-iran-war-ceasefire-polymarket-kalshi-15946a9ab492e679437d58a2f9ceb35c
- With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed, shipping companies are paying up to $4 million in auction fees for a single slot through the Panama Canal, according to the Panama Canal Authority. Separately, Panama accused Iran of “forcibly” seizing the Panama-flagged MSC Francesca in the Strait, and Brent crude briefly passed $107 a barrel. https://apnews.com/article/panama-canal-trade-strait-of-hormuz-iran-war-middle-east-shipment-d6a2aa2a21f29bfdf313182e753e1c41
- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met Thai PM Anutin Charnvirakul in Bangkok, and the two agreed to work together more closely on fighting transnational crime and cyberscams. That’s a real priority given the scam compounds along the Thai-Myanmar border, which have been trapping large numbers of Chinese nationals. https://apnews.com/article/thailand-china-wang-yi-visit-anutin-81df5186d031e8f6e3d83178647d9496
- South Korean special prosecutors are seeking a 30-year prison term for ousted former president Yoon Suk Yeol. They allege he ordered military drones to fly over Pyongyang in October 2024 to provoke North Korea and manufacture a pretext for his December 2024 martial law bid. Prosecutors are also asking for 25 years for former defense minister Kim Yong-hyun. https://apnews.com/article/south-korea-yoon-trial-drones-pyongyang-ea057245a4295243128470c621555fdf
- China is sending two giant pandas to Zoo Atlanta: male Ping Ping and female Fu Shuang, both born at the Chengdu Research Base. They’re headed over under a new 10-year conservation agreement, and they arrive just weeks before Trump’s planned Beijing visit. It’s Atlanta’s first pandas since Lun Lun, Yang Yang and their cubs went back to China in October 2024. https://apnews.com/article/china-us-pandas-zoo-atlanta-743549119313ddeea6b1d838f76fe8b3
- Jakarta is going after the invasive “janitor fish” (sapu-sapu, or suckermouth catfish) that have taken over the city’s rivers. Governor Pramono Anung ordered a citywide cleanup targeting at least 10 tons of the fish across the Ciliwung River and other waterways, where officials say they now make up 80 to 90 percent of aquatic life in some areas. The catch is being buried rather than eaten because of heavy metal contamination. https://apnews.com/article/indonesia-jakarta-janitor-fish-mass-removal-cb470ebad29007812382032736ce4487
- Wrapping up his first Africa tour, Pope Leo XIV reaffirmed that the Catholic Church will not give formal blessings to same-sex couples, drawing a line between pastoral blessings of individuals and formal blessings of the union itself. The remarks seemed aimed at Cardinal Reinhard Marx, who recently authorized such blessings in the Munich-Freising archdiocese. https://alertas24.com/el-papa-leon-xiv-ratifica-la-prohibicion-de-bendecir-formalmente-a-parejas-del-mismo-sexo/
- Regional climate experts from the Caribbean Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology and the UWI Climate Studies Group Mona are warning that a developing El Niño could bring hotter and drier conditions across the Caribbean for the next two years. They’re flagging compounding risks including drought, heat stress, wildfires, marine heatwaves and coral bleaching. https://stluciatimes.com/180019/2026/04/climate-experts-say-hotter-drier-days-ahead/
- The Sudanese army says it launched coordinated air and ground strikes on RSF positions across six states over the course of 72 hours. It claims to have destroyed weapons depots, drone launch sites, tanks and armored vehicles across Kordofan, Darfur and Blue Nile, and to have fully captured the Muqaja area. RSF-aligned groups accused the army of hitting densely populated civilian areas. https://sudantribune.com/article/313097
- Sweden, Salmon exposed to cocaine swim twice as long https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/cocaine-pollution-seems-to-make-salmon-swim-faster-and-farther-than-usual-scientists-dont-know-the-long-term-consequences-180988600/
Morning World News Summary
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