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Trump confirmed later on social media that Machado had left the medal for him to keep, and he said it was an honour to meet her.Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado on Thursday said she presented her Nobel Peace Prize medal to US President Donald Trump at the White House and discussed her country’s future with the US leader, even as he has questioned her credibility to lead her country. Machado's extraordinary gesture to Trump, which the Nobel Institute has said can not be done, followed a rapidly evolving series of developments in Venezuela after an audacious US military raid...

OAKLAND, Calif. - A proposal to create "ICE-free zones" within Alameda County in response to the Trump administration's immigration enforcement actions, is heading for a vote before the full Board of Supervisors. The Alameda County Together For All ad hoc committee heard several hours of testimony and public comment on Thursday, before the two committee members Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas and Supervisor Elisa Marquez voted to forward the proposal to the board. At the meeting What they're saying: At the meeting, the committee chair Fortunato Bas, Alameda County Sheriff Yesenia Sanchez, District Attorney Ursula Jones Dickson, and Public Defender Brendon...

Senate Republicans voted to dismiss a war powers resolution Wednesday that would have limited President Donald Trump’s ability to conduct further attacks on Venezuela after two GOP senators reversed course on supporting the legislation. Trump put intense pressure on five Republican senators who joined with Democrats to advance the resolution last week and ultimately prevailed in heading off passage of the legislation. Two of the Republicans — Sens. Josh Hawley of Missouri and Todd Young of Indiana — flipped under the pressure.Vice President JD Vance had to break the 50-50 deadlock in the Senate on a Republican motion to dismiss...

Polling got underway Thursday in Uganda’s presidential election, but logistical delays hampered voting in some areas while restrictions on internet access drew criticism for potentially compromising electoral transparency. Millions of Ugandans are signed up to vote in a crucial presidential rematch between a former pop star and their long-time authoritarian leader, who aims to prolong his nearly 40-year rule. In their previous encounter at the polls in 2021, President Yoweri Museveni, now 81, won by a landslide. Bobi Wine, a singer-turned-politician, finished a distant second.

Iran is once again on fire. For the better part of the last month, Iranians have been taking to the streets in large numbers to demand change. The proximate cause for the protests was spiraling inflation, but as the crowds grew, Iranians clamored for the end of the Islamic regime. Despite the avalanche of speculation, no one knows what will happen in Iran. That is the nature of popular uprisings, they are unpredictable. To many analysts, journalists, pundits, and academics, this round of protests feels different from previous ones in 2009, 2017, 2019, and 2022—and maybe they are. Or maybe...

The ruthless slaughter of anti-government protesters in Iran appears to have stopped — but only because residents are being held hostage in their homes by machine gun-wielding security forces that have flooded the streets, sources told The Post Thursday. After weeks of anti-regime protests across Iran left thousands dead, the mass mobilization of security forces has suppressed the demonstrations, with many too afraid to step foot outside now. “There were tanks out — there’s tanks everywhere,” the source told The Post after speaking to family in Tehran about the current situation

On Jan. 1, Bulgaria became the eurozone’s 21st member when it gave up its 145-year-old currency, the lev, for the euro. In Sofia and Brussels, this development was roundly celebrated as another step in the European Union’s economic and political integration. What went largely unnoticed, however, is the extent to which Bulgaria’s adoption of the euro represents a strategic blow for the Kremlin. After years of sustained effort to block Sofia from joining the eurozone, Moscow failed to prevent a decision that anchors Bulgaria more deeply and irreversibly within the European project. The currency switch not only exposed the limits...

The failed ‘ceasefire’ (in which the fire never actually ceased) was premised on Hamas disarming. As anyone with any common sense warned, Hamas would not disarm. And no one would force it to disarm. That hasn’t stopped Steven Witkoff from pushing on with imaginary plans based on fantasies about how Hamas really wants peace despite decades of evidence otherwise.Unmoved by those concerns, US special envoy Steve Witkoff announced on Wednesday the “launch of phase two,” where the goal will be “moving from ceasefire to demilitarization, technocratic governance and reconstruction.“We’ve talked to a number of Hamas people, and we’re hearing throughout...

Ten British "far-right activists" have been banned from France after engaging in actions to stop migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats, the French interior ministry said on Wednesday. It said the activists, who belonged to a group called Raise the Colours, had been searching for and destroying small boats along France's northern coast, and were involved in "propaganda activity". Authorities have not released their identities. In a statement, Raise the Colours said it had always maintained that its activities must remain peaceful and within the law and it "does not support violence or any unlawful activity". The ministry...

When Renee Good was shot by an ICE officer last week in Minnesota, it brought attention to the robust effort to combat US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the Twin Cities. Residents of Minneapolis and the surrounding areas are joining decentralized networks of activists who are committed to alerting their neighbors to ICE presence on their blocks.Madison McVan, a reporter for the Minnesota Reformer, rode along with some of those activists to observe their tactics. The activists patrol their neighborhoods looking for ICE officers. When they find them, they alert their networks and tail the officers so their neighbors know...

SUPPORTING AMERICA’S SEMICONDUCTOR INDUSTRY: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed a Proclamation invoking Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (Act) to address national security concerns with respect to imports of semiconductors, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and their derivative products.The President directed the U.S. Secretary of Commerce and U.S. Trade Representative to jointly negotiate agreements, or continue any current negotiations of agreements, to address the threatened impairment of the national security with respect to imports of semiconductors, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and their derivative products from any country.The President also imposed a 25% tariff on certain advanced computing chips, such...

Spain has signed off on a contract to produce and supply Ukraine with a Lanza LTR-25 long-range tactical radar, along with logistics support, the Spanish government press service said Wednesday, January 14. The agreement covers manufacturing and delivery of the Lanza LTR-25. The move is aimed at strengthening Ukraine’s air defenses and will remain in effect through the end of 2026.... Spain previously announced €615 million in aid to Ukraine for weapons procurement and air-defense systems financing. Spain will also provide Ukraine with 40 IRIS-T air-defense missiles.

excerpt- Revenue from the oil sales is currently being held in bank accounts controlled by the US government, as indicated in Friday’s order, according to the administration official. The main account, according to a second senior administration official, is located in Qatar. The second official described Qatar as a neutral location where money can flow freely with US approval and without risk of seizure. Trump’s order noted that at least some of the revenue would be held in US Treasury accounts.

U.S. President Donald Trump told Reuters that Ukraine - not Russia - is holding up a potential peace deal, rhetoric that stands in marked contrast to that of European allies, who have consistently argued Moscow has little interest in ending its war in Ukraine. In an exclusive interview in the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to wrap up his nearly four-year-old invasion of Ukraine. Zelenskiy, the U.S. president said, was more reticent. "I think he's ready to make a deal," Trump said of the Russian president. "I think Ukraine is less ready to...

Iranian leaders are moving tens of millions of dollars out of the country as they begin “abandoning ship” amid the deadly protests in Iran, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Newsmax on Wednesday. “We are now seeing the rats fleeing the ship, because we can see millions, tens of millions of dollars being wired out of the country, snuck out of the country by the Iranian leadership,” Bessent said. “So they are abandoning ship, and we are seeing it come into banks and financial institutions all over the world. The ongoing protests in Iran began in response to the country’s...

The US and the UK issued warnings on Thursday against travel to Israel, as tensions spiraled over the Iranian regime’s lethal crackdown on protests in the country and amid indications an American strike on the Islamic Republic could be imminent. US President Donald Trump repeatedly warned, as demonstrations grew, that the regime’s use of deadly force against protesters would lead to American intervention. With thousands now reported dead, US military action has for several days been seen as imminent. Iran has threatened that if the US attacks, it will target Israel as well as US bases in the region. The...

Democrats and Republicans are united in opposing U.S. military strikes against Iran to retaliate for the killing of protesters amid a wave of massive demonstrations against the Iranian government in recent weeks, according to a new national poll.Seventy percent of voters questioned in a new Quinnipiac University survey said they think the U.S. should not get involved militarily in Iran, with 18% saying the U.S. should take military action.The vast majority of Independents (80%-11%) and Democrats (79%-7%), as well as a majority of Republicans (53%-35%) said the U.S. should not get involved if protesters in Iran are killed while demonstrating...

As Minnesota’s Democratic officials hold news conferences, attend vigils and publicly lash out against the Trump administration over the shooting death of Renee Good, a Fox News Digital review found a much different response from those politicians when Minnesotans were killed or seriously harmed by illegal immigrants. […] In August 2024, Minnesota mom Victoria Eileen Harwell was killed in a car accident after being struck by an intoxicated Ecuadoran national in north Minneapolis without a press conference or public statement from the mayor or governor. ICE arrested the man, German Llangari Inga, in May 2024 after they say Hennepin County...

Greenland’s economy may be small, but its real value is tied to Arctic security and vast mineral reserves. Trump’s interest in it reflects US efforts to counter China’s dominance in sourcing critical raw materials. When Donald Trump once again raised the idea of acquiring Greenland in early 2025, it sounded, at first, like a familiar holdover from his first presidency. Yet the renewed interest, this time accompanied by reports that Trump’s team had discussed issuing direct payments to Greenlanders, seems to point to a deeper commitment than mere political theatre. On Wednesday, US vice president JD Vance met with Denmark’s...

Several NATO countries are deploying small numbers of military personnel to Greenland to participate in joint exercises with Denmark as US President Donald Trump ramps up his threats to forcibly annex the Arctic island. Denmark, which is responsible for Greenland’s defense, has warned an attack on Greenland would all but end NATO, and announced on Wednesday that it was expanding its military presence “in close cooperation with NATO allies.” Germany, Sweden, France and Norway have all since confirmed they are sending military personnel to Greenland this week for a joint exercise with Danish troops. Canada and France have also said...