Trump administration says the U.S. seized an oil tanker off the Venezuelan coast
The Trump administration says it seized an oil tanker off the Venezuelan coast, as Congress presses for answers about U.S. strikes on alleged drug boats and the admiral overseeing the strikes retires.
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Veteran diplomat weighs the meaning of the U.S. seizure of a Venezuelan oil tanker
NPR's Michel Martin talks to Richard Haass {hahs}, president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations, about the U.S. seizing an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela.
Trump says he ‘discussed Ukraine in pretty strong words’ with European leaders – Europe live
US president says Europeans pushing for meeting as ‘Coalition of Willing’ due to hold call about warMachado movingly talks about the experience of seeing her family for the first time in 16 months last night.She says:“I couldn’t sleep last night going over and over again that first instant when I saw my children, and for many weeks I had been thinking of that possibility, and which one of them I would hug first. And, to tell you something, I hugged them, the three, at the same time, and it’s been one of the most extraordinary spiritual moments of my life. Continue reading...
Canada Closes Highways to Vancouver After Flooding and Landslides
The atmospheric river over the Pacific Northwest brought a deluge to British Columbia, forcing road closures and evacuations in Canada.
US lawmakers voice concerns about Venezuelan tanker seizure: ‘sounds a lot like the beginning of a war’ – US politics live
Republican senator Rand Paul said it was ‘not the job of the American government to go looking for monsters around the world’Senators for the first time are poised to question military leaders over President Donald Trump’s use of the national guard in US cities, an extraordinary move that has prompted legal challenges as well as questions about states’ rights and the use of the military on US soil, reports the Associated Press (AP). The hearing on Thursday before the Senate armed services committee is expected to feature tough questioning for Pentagon leaders over the legality of the deployments, which in some places were done over the objections of mayors and governors. The hearing will bring the highest level of scrutiny to Trump’s use of the national guard outside of a courtroom since the deployments began and comes a day after the president faced another legal setback over his muscular use of troops in larger federal operations. Trump has justified the use of the military in US cities by saying the national guard is needed to support federal law enforcement, protect federal facilities and combat crime. Democratic senator Tammy Duckworth said she had threatened to hold up the annual defense bill if Republican leadership continued to block the hearing, which she said is long overdue. Duckworth told the AP:Donald Trump is illegally deploying our nation’s service members under misleading if not false pretexts.I’m deeply concerned that our nation’s military is being put in jeopardy by these policies. Continue reading...
Video: Celebrations in Syria as US advances bill to lift sanctions
Crowds celebrated in Latakia after the US House of Representatives approved a bill that will lift sanctions on Syria.
Gaza storms mean Palestinians brace for “very tragic situation”
Chris McIntosh at OXFAM on severe storms sweeping across Gaza making an already desperate situation even worse.
Disappointing Oracle results knock $70bn off value amid AI bubble fears
Weaker-than-forecast quarterly data for Larry Ellison’s tech company shows slowdown in revenue growth but big rise in spending Business live – latest updatesOracle’s disappointing results have knocked more than $70bn off the value of software and data company co-founded by Trump ally Larry Ellison, adding to fears of a bubble in AI-related stocks.Shares in the company fell by 11.5% overnight after it reported a lower-than-expected 14% rise in revenues to $16bn (£12bn) in the latest quarter while revealing it was boosting its AI spending by about $15bn. Continue reading...
MP calls for ban on ‘biobeads’ at sewage works after devastating Camber Sands spillage
Exclusive: Use of toxic plastic beads in treatment works is unnecessary and outdated say conservationists after hundreds of millions wash up on beachThe use of tiny, toxic plastic beads at sewage works should be banned nationwide, an MP and wildlife experts have said after a devastating spill at an internationally important nature reserve.Hundreds of millions of “biobeads” washed up on Camber Sands beach in East Sussex last month, after a failure at a Southern Water sewage treatment works caused a catastrophic spill. This caused distress and alarm for local residents and conservationists, as not only are the beads unsightly, but they pose a deadly threat to wildlife. Continue reading...
Venezuelan opposition leader Machado reappears in Oslo as a Nobel laureate
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado appeared in public for the first time in 11 months after a daring escape from her homeland when she emerged from a hotel balcony in Norway's capital.