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One in three Americans approve of the US military strike on Venezuela that toppled the country’s president and 72% worry the US will become too involved in the South American country, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll that concluded yesterday. The two-day poll showed 65% of Republicans back the military operation ordered by Republican President Donald Trump, compared to 11% of Democrats and 23% of independents. US forces swooped into Caracas before dawn on Saturday in a deadly raid that yielded the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who the US military turned over to federal authorities for prosecution on charges involving alleged drug trafficking. The Reuters/Ipsos poll, conducted on Sunday and yesterday, showed significant support among Republicans for a foreign policy that includes exerting influence over nearby countries.Some 43% of Republicans said that they agreed with the statement: “The United States should have a policy of dominating affairs in the Western Hemisphere,” compared with 19% who disagreed. The rest said they were unsure or did not answer the question. The poll, which surveyed 1,248 US adults nationwide, showed Trump’s approval rating at 42%, the highest rating since October and up from 39% in a December poll. The poll, which was conducted online, had a margin of error of about three percentage points. Source link
President Donald Trump’s Pentagon chief has announced plans to demote US Senator Mark Kelly from his rank as a retired Navy captain for alleged “reckless misconduct” after he and other Democratic lawmakers urged troops to refuse any illegal orders. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Pentagon has begun proceedings that would ultimately slash Kelly’s retirement pay and attach a letter of censure to his military record. Kelly, who represents Arizona in the Senate, is a decorated military veteran and former National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) astronaut. Kelly said that he would “fight this with everything I’ve got”. “Pete Hegseth wants to send the message to every single retired service member that if they say something he or Donald Trump doesn’t like, they will come after them the same way,” Kelly said in a statement on X. “It’s outrageous and it is wrong. There is nothing more un-American than that.” Kelly could face additional measures in the future depending on his actions, Hegseth said in a statement on X.The steps announced by Hegseth represent the latest actions taken by the Trump administration targeting critics of the Republican president. Democrats and other critics have accused Trump of seeking to stifle dissent. Although extraordinary, the censure of Kelly stops short of the threat previously made by the administration to recall Kelly to active military duty status in order to prosecute him after what it described as seditious behaviour. Hegseth noted that Kelly has 30 days to respond and that the administrative process would conclude 15 days later.“Captain Kelly’s status as a sitting United States Senator does not exempt him from accountability, and further violations could result in further action,” Hegseth wrote in his social media post. Kelly and the other lawmakers have defended their remarks made in a November 18 video message, saying that they were merely stating what US law requires of troops if they are given an unlawful order. The video message was released at a time of heightened concern among Democrats, echoed privately by some current US military officials, that the administration is violating the law by ordering the US military to kill suspected drug traffickers in strikes on their vessels in Latin American waters. The Pentagon has called those strikes justified because the alleged drug smugglers are considered terrorists.However, Hegseth said Kelly’s actions were “seditious in nature”. Trump also has accused Kelly and the other Democrats of sedition, saying in a social media post that the crime was punishable by death. Under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, sedition and mutiny are among the most serious offences and can be punishable by death.“As a retired Navy Captain who is still receiving a military pension, Captain Kelly knows he is still accountable to military justice. And the Department of War – and the American people – expect justice,” Hegseth said, referring to the name that the administration informally has given the Department of Defence. A formal change of the department’s name requires an act of Congress. The censure of Kelly follows a purge at the Pentagon during Trump’s second term in office of senior members of the US military, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the head of the Navy and the director of the National Security Agency. Since returning to the presidency in January 2025, Trump has sometimes called for imprisoning political adversaries. His Justice Department has brought criminal charges against three prominent critics of the president – former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) chief James Comey and former White House national security adviser John Bolton as well as New York state Attorney-General Letitia James. The charges against Comey and James subsequently were thrown out by a judge. Bolton has pleaded not guilty. Source link
India has reported 11 outbreaks of the highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu on farms in the southern Kerala state last month, the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) said. The spread of avian influenza, commonly called bird flu, has raised concerns among governments and the poultry industry after it ravaged flocks around the world in recent years, disrupting supply, fuelling higher food prices and raising the risk of human transmission. The H5N1 virus caused the death of a total of 54,100 birds, mostly ducks, the Paris-based WOAH said, citing a report from the Indian authorities. Another 30,289 birds were subsequently culled as a precaution.The outbreaks were detected from December 9 and were confirmed on December 22, the report says. They were the first ones reported among poultry since May, the report says. Source link
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has informed several of its staff members outside the Gaza Strip that their contracts have been terminated and others placed on exceptional leave for up to 12 months. The agency indicated that this step comes as a result of its worsening financial crisis and its inability to meet its obligations. In an official letter sent to staff, UNRWA stated that it had made every possible effort to provide and secure the necessary funds to support current programs and meet staff salary obligations, but the financial situation “continued to deteriorate,” noting that this is what prompted it to take these “difficult decisions.” This decision comes in the context of an unprecedented financial crisis that UNRWA has been suffering for months, which it says has worsened sharply since the outbreak of the Israeli offensive on Gaza on October 7, 2013, and the subsequent political and financial pressures on the agency, including the suspension or reduction of funding from several donor countries. Source link
The White House said Tuesday that President Donald Trump is “discussing a range of options” to acquire Greenland, making clear that using the US military is not off the table. “President Trump has made it well known that acquiring Greenland is a national security priority of the United States, and it’s vital to deter our adversaries in the Arctic region,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a Tuesday statement to CNN. “The President and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal, and of course, utilizing the US Military is always an option at the Commander in Chief’s disposal,” the statement added. Greenland’s Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt announced that she had requested a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio following the recent statements issued by the US government. Motzfeldt said in in a Facebook post that Greenland had made the request along with Danish Foreign Minister Lars Rasmussen. Source link
Venezuela’s Minister of Interior Diosdado Cabello attends a women’s rally in support of ousted Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores in Caracas Tuesday.…
This photograph shows a train amid the snow in Hollandsche Rading, the Netherlands yesterday as train traffic is affected by the wintry weather. – AFP France’s civil aviation authority has asked airlines to cancel 15% of flights until later in the evening at Orly and Charles de Gaulle airports following heavy snowfalls in the French capital Paris.The airlines are free to choose which flights they cancel so long as they reduce takeoffs and landings, a spokesperson told Reuters. Airlines were asked to reduce flights until 2000 CET (1900 GMT) at Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport, and until 2330 CET (2230 GMT) at Paris-Orly. The French transport ministry urged travellers to check if their flight was taking off before leaving home, and to go to the airport by public transportation rather than by car. Meanwhile, Amsterdam Schiphol airport, one of Europe’s busiest hubs, cancelled almost 500 flights yesterday morning and was closed to incoming traffic until 1200 GMT also because of snowfalls, news agency ANP reported. Planes headed for Amsterdam were diverted to other airports, ANP said.Schiphol could not immediately be reached for further comment. The airport had already been forced to scrap hundreds of flights a day since Friday due to snow and icy temperatures. The snow, which covered large parts of the Netherlands yesterday morning, also crippled traffic. The Dutch railway company NS said no trains were operating in the region around Amsterdam and public transport was severely affected in many places across the country. Ice and snow also caused many delays and accidents on the roads, even as authorities advised people to stay at home whenever possible.Snowfall is expected to continue in the Netherlands throughout the week. …
FILE PHOTO: Shipping containers are parked at Thar Dry Port in Sanand in the western part of Gujarat, India, August 27, 2025. REUTERS/Amit Dave/File Photo The United States could raise tariffs on India if New Delhi does not meet Washington’s demand to curb purchases of Russian oil, President Donald Trump said on Sunday, escalating pressure on the South Asian country as trade talks remain inconclusive. “(Prime Minister Narendra) Modi is a good guy. He knew I was not happy, and it was important to make me happy,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.“They do trade, and we can raise tariffs on them very quickly,” Trump said in response to a question on India’s Russian oil purchases. India’s commerce ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Trump’s comments follow months of trade negotiations after the US doubled import tariffs on Indian goods to 50% last year as punishment for its heavy buying of Russian oil. Indian markets reacted yesterday, with the information technology stock index falling about 2.5% to its lowest in more than a month, as investors worried that strained trade relations could further delay a US-India trade deal. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a close Trump ally travelling with him, said US sanctions on Russian oil companies and higher tariffs on India had helped curb Indian oil imports. Graham is backing legislation to impose tariffs of up to 500% on countries such as India that continue to buy Russian oil. “If you are buying cheap Russian oil, (you) keep Putin’s war machine going,” he said, adding that “we are trying to give the President ability to make that a hard choice by tariffs.” Trump’s actions were the main reasons India was now buying “substantially less Russian oil,” Graham said.Trade experts warn, however, that New Delhi’s cautious approach risks weakening its position. Ajay Srivastava, founder of trade think-tank Global Trade Research Initiative, said Indian exports already face a 50% US tariff, with 25% linked to purchases of Russian crude. While Indian refiners have cut imports after sanctions, he said, buying has not stopped entirely, leaving India in a “strategic grey zone”. “Ambiguity no longer works,” Srivastava said, urging India to clearly state its stance on Russian oil. He warned that even a complete halt may not end US pressure, which could shift to other trade demands, and that higher tariffs risk deeper export losses. Separately, India struck a cautious diplomatic stance after the United States captured Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday, urging dialogue without explicitly naming Washington.Despite steep tariffs, India’s exports to the US leapt in November, though shipments fell more than 20% between May and November 2025. As New Delhi seeks to clinch a trade deal with Washington, the government has asked refiners for weekly disclosures of Russian and US oil purchases to address US concerns. …
Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin and his delegations arrive at the Great Hall of the People to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, in Beijing, China.…
People use a rope to cross a river in the aftermath of flash floods that destroyed adjacent villages in Ketol, Indonesia’s Aceh highland province, Tuesday. Torrential rains battered Indonesia’s Siau island, causing a flash flood that killed at least 16 people, with another three missing, authorities said Tuesday. An overflowing river flooded four towns on the small island north of Sulawesi on Monday, the national disaster mitigation agency said in a statement. “Sixteen people have been reported dead due to the flash flood,” agency spokesman Abdul Muhari said, adding that teams were searching for the three missing. He said 22 people were injured and nearly 700 villagers displaced. “The flash flood was triggered by heavy-intensity rain that had drenched the area since the early hours, causing the river’s water flow to surge suddenly,” Abdul said. Images shared by the search and rescue agency showed big rocks and uprooted trees that were swept away. The flood cut off access to some roads and damaged dozens of homes as well as public buildings and infrastructure, the spokesman said. Floods are common in Indonesia during the rainy season, which typically lasts between October and March. Tropical storms and intense monsoon rains have pummelled parts of South and Southeast Asia late last year, triggering deadly landslides and floods from the rainforests of Indonesia’s Sumatra to highland plantations in Sri Lanka. Indonesian authorities say at least 1,178 people were killed in Sumatra, and more than 240,000 displaced. While the annual monsoon season often brings heavy rain to Indonesia, the Sumatra deluge in November was among the worst disasters to strike the island since a magnitude-9.1 earthquake triggered a massive tsunami in 2004. …