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5+ min ago (377+ words) US lawmakers filed a resolution on 3 December that would block a US military attack on Venezuela unless it can win congressional approval. The move, initiated by a group of Democratic and Republican Senators, came in response to repeated statements by US President Donald Trump in recent days claiming that a land invasion of the Latin American nation to combat drug traffickers would begin "very soon." The president claims, without evidence, that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro heads a criminal cartel trafficking drugs by boat to the US. In recent months, the US military has carried out at least 21 strikes on boats allegedly carrying drugs in the Caribbean, killing some 83 people. At the same time, the US has completed a massive military buildup in the region in preparation for war, including troops, naval ships, and warplanes. Trump's threats prompted Democratic Senators Tim…...

10+ min ago (94+ words) Talks to include trade imbalances and China's support for Russia. France's President Emmanuel Macron visits China for a three-day state visit at a tricky time in their relations. Trade and the Ukraine war are under discussion, with big differences between the two countries. What are the divisions, and what is at stake? Andy Mok " Senior research fellow at the Center for China and Globalization in Beijing Remi Bourgeot " Associate fellow at the French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs in Paris Ben Aris " Founder and editor in chief of bne IntelliNews...

10+ min ago (225+ words) For Rixi Moncada, this gesture constitutes a political message that interferes in the country's internal affairs. "President Donald Trump calls me a communist, that worn-out Cold War label" the Honduran people who know me must be outraged by his interference," she declared. And the intervention did not stop there. On Monday, Trump claimed that authorities were manipulating the results, without presenting any evidence. It is another extraordinary intervention in the Honduran elections, fueling controversy just as electoral officials urge citizens to remain patient and peaceful. In this context of political destabilization, Rixi Moncada sparked an intense national debate by denouncing an "electoral plot" aimed at altering the results of the recent Honduran elections. The accusations focus on the existence of thousands of tally sheets without biometric validation and their use to inflate votes, especially at the presidential level. According to…...

13+ min ago (238+ words) A top Virginia lawmaker uncorked an eyebrow-raising response after the conservative-leaning Supreme Court issued an unsigned order Thursday night allowing Texas to use a Trump-backed redrawn congressional map for the House aimed at flipping several Democratic districts. The order was roundly criticized by court watchers and earned a blistering dissent from liberal justices on the court. It also elicited a sharp threat from Virginia Senate President pro tempore L. Louise Lucas, a Democrat. "I got something waiting for Texas," Lucas wrote in a cryptic X post. In a follow-up post, she clued observers into her plans. "I will give a follow back to every person who I see tweet 10-1 tonight," wrote Lucas. The reference "10-1" is a potential outcome of their proposed mid-decade redistricting plan for the state's congressional districts. This would shift the current 6-5 Democratic majority in Virginia's 11-seat delegation to…...

15+ min ago (287+ words) Opponents say yes, if he steps down Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been dogged for years by criminal corruption charges. Now he is asking President Isaac Herzog to short-circuit the legal process by giving him a pardon before the court hands down a verdict. The request "immediately hijacked the Israeli political conversation," said The New York Times. But some opposition figures suggested they would support a pardon for Netanyahu on one condition. Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said clemency is possible for his rival if it is conditioned upon Netanyahu's "respectful retirement from political life." Herzog's office is weighing an "extraordinary step with significant implications," said The Jerusalem Post. The issue is "shaking many people in the country," the president said, adding that he would move only in the "best interests of the State of Israel and Israeli society....

18+ min ago (436+ words) Ireland, Spain, Netherlands, and Slovenia refuse to participate in next year's event after calling for Israel to be banned. Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Spain have said they will boycott next year's Eurovision Song Contest, following the decision to allow Israel to compete. The response on Thursday came immediately after the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which runs the competition, said there would not be a vote on whether to exclude Israel, despite calls from some countries to do so. Opponents of Israel's participation criticise it over its genocidal war on Palestinians in Gaza " which has so far killed at least 70,125 people " and over allegations that it unfairly intervened in the most recent competition to the benefit of its entrant. In a statement which cleared Israel to take part, the EBU said on Thursday that its members had shown "clear support…...

18+ min ago (1333+ words) The prowling ICE agents turned the morning into a harrowing time for members of the church at 1709 West Lunt on Chicago's North Side, given the track record the federal officers had already racked up for beatings, tear gas, pepper gun bullets, and outright violence during their so-called "Operation Midway Blitz." St. Jerome congregants feared that if they ventured outdoors, they'd be grabbed, hogtied, slammed to the ground, beaten, then handcuffed and hustled off to waiting vans to be transported to god-knows-where. Possible destinations: The ICE detention center in west suburban Broadview, to an ICE prison in rural Louisiana, or to El Salvador, or a country in Africa. It was not unreasonable fear or paranoia that had taken hold. Rev. Primo Racimo, the priest in charge of St. Margaret of Scotland Episcopal Church is the pastor of a church just two…...

22+ min ago (246+ words) Since 2004, as part of the Campaign to Stop Killer Coke, I have attended Coca-Cola's annual meetings of shareholders to confront The Coca-Cola Company's chief executives and board members over the company's involvement in horrific human rights abuses and other criminal behavior. These meetings often became confrontational and tense. I was violently attacked from behind while standing at the microphone raising issues of Coca-Cola's complicity in deadly human rights abuses perpetrated against union leaders in Colombia. The assailants turned out to be Wilmington, Delaware police dressed in plain clothes moonlighting as Coca-Cola security. Jose Antonio had already established markets in Mexico and The Netherlands and won international acclaim from such companies as Google as well as from Mexican and French authorities for bringing this innovative new beverage into the market. Coca-Cola recognized the unique concept and revenue-producing potential of GO GABA…...

26+ min ago (781+ words) C'diz-V'liz, a PhD student at the University of Concepci'n, says the research is purely scientific. "All we are doing is conducting a scientific investigation," he said. "The more we study the Putaendo mountain range, the more evident the need to protect it becomes: we are discovering and describing new species for science, which could disappear if the Vizcachitas mining project were to go ahead. "It seems that doing science can become an obstacle to these projects, because the more we learn about the territories in which the company intends to intervene, the more information becomes available against their initiatives." There are more than 40 Canadian mining companies currently operating in Chile, overseeing more than 100 mines and projects across the country. Canadian firms have been active there since the early 1990s, investing heavily in copper, lithium, and other strategic minerals as part of…...

29+ min ago (100+ words) Nonetheless, Trump escalated his undeclared war, threatening to oust the government of Venezuela's President, Nicol's Maduro, writing on social media that the airspace over the country was "CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY" and warning that land-based strikes could begin "very soon." Tatiana Schlossberg, the daughter of Caroline Kennedy, had just given birth when she was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia. A holiday gift guide: presents to thank your host. The real housewives of Moscow. What did men do to deserve this? The Prime Minister who tried to have a life outside the office. The pain of perfectionism....