Venezuela’s chief prosecutor has asked the country’s supreme court to open an investigation into opposition leader Juan Guaidó for alleged involvement in the “sabotage” of the country’s power grid.
Related: US pulls all staff from Venezuela as Maduro blames blackout on 'demonic' Trump plot
Continue reading...Exclusive: account exposes failures of US intelligence, which put $10m bounty on Mullah Omar
The Taliban’s elusive one-eyed leader Mullah Omar lived within walking distance of US bases in Afghanistan for years, and American troops once even searched the house where he was hiding but failed to find a secret room built for him, a new biography claims.
The account exposes an embarrassing failure of US intelligence, which put a $10m bounty on Omar’s head after the 9/11 attacks in the US. Officials repeatedly suggested that, like the al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, he was hiding in Pakistan and died there.
Continue reading...US position hardens after Hanoi summit collapse, warning that any launches at missile sites would violate Kim Jong-un’s promise
The US is demanding North Korea destroys all its nuclear, chemical and biological weapons before receiving any sanctions relief, as positions harden on both sides in the aftermath of last week’s failed Hanoi summit.
The US clarified its demands after satellite images showed the North Koreans had completely rebuilt a space launch site they had partially dismantled after the first summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un in June last year.
Continue reading...Reach of extremist groups could spread to Ghana, Togo and Benin, says US military chief
A rapid and alarming deterioration of the security situation in Burkina Faso is threatening to spread to its three southern neighbours, a senior US military figure has warned, heralding the potential destabilisation of a vast area of west Africa.
Related: Kidnapped Canadian found dead, Burkina Faso officials say
Continue reading...Documentary about last week’s Hanoi meeting offers benign portrayal of US president
It fell short of Donald Trump’s claim that he and Kim Jong-un had “fallen in love”, but a new North Korean documentary suggests the leaders’ relationship is strong enough to survive last week’s doomed summit in Vietnam.
In keeping with the rest of the regime’s post-talks coverage, the film makes no mention of the summit’s premature end, the countries’ irreconcilable differences over sanctions or their conflicting accounts of why the US president and the North Korean leader parted without an agreement.
Continue reading...US president to host billionaire prime minister with whom he has much in common
The billionaire businessman-cum-politician at the White House on Thursday has become the most powerful man in his country by riding a wave of populist sentiment. Under investigation for alleged misdeeds involving his business empire, he has responded by painting himself as the victim of a political witch-hunt. He has attacked the leading investigator in his case in personal terms while, according to critics, stealthily seeking to hamper the inquiry. The role of his children has also come under scrutiny.
That description applies not just to Donald Trump, but also to Andrej Babiš, the Czech prime minister, who this week becomes the first Czech Republic leader in years to be hosted by a US president.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Policy adviser claims couple tried to gain grant for Chelsea’s boyfriend
A veteran Democratic foreign policy adviser has accused Bill and Hillary Clinton of nepotism, dishonesty and vindictiveness in an assault on a previously untouched part of the Clinton political legacy – Ireland.
Trina Vargo, who was a behind-the-scenes Washington player in Northern Ireland’s peace process, claims the couple tried to obtain a scholarship to Ireland for a boyfriend of their daughter, Chelsea, and later cut funding for the scholarship to punish Vargo for backing Barack Obama in the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination race.
Continue reading...US embassy looks into reports incident violated military sale agreements with Islamabad
The US has said it is trying to find out whether Pakistan used US-built F-16 jets to down an Indian warplane, potentially in violation of trade agreements, as the standoff between the nuclear-armed Asian neighbours showed signs of easing.
Pakistan and India both carried out aerial bombing missions last week, and on Wednesday an Indian pilot was shot down over the disputed region of Kashmir in an incident that sparked fears of a full-blown war.
Continue reading...North Korean despot and US president’s wildly different perceptions exposed in Hanoi
As with many disastrous second dates, the collapse of Donald Trump’s summit with Kim Jong-un was made inevitable by the misreading of each other’s intentions at their first encounter.
Since their initial meeting in Singapore last June, the US president had become fixated on what he saw as a close personal bond with the North Korean dictator half his age. He told his supporters: “We fell in love ... He wrote me beautiful letters.”
Continue reading...President says he believes North Korean leader knew nothing about treatment of US student
Donald Trump has said he took Kim Jong-un “at his word” when he denied any responsibility in the imprisonment and torture of Otto Warmbier that led to the US student’s death in 2017.
“Some really bad things happened to Otto,” Trump said. “But Kim tells me that he didn’t know about it and I will take him at his word.”
Continue reading...Like most theatrical reboots, the strain in keeping things the same in Vietnam highlighted the small way things changed
Donald Trump vowed that his second meeting with Kim Jong-un would be at least the equal of the first and his Vietnamese hosts tried their utmost to make that happen.
In Hanoi on Wednesday evening, every effort was made in recreating the circumstances and ambience of Singapore, scene last June of the historic first meeting between an incumbent US president and a North Korea leader.
Continue reading...The US has usually been the decisive voice of calm, but its influence has waned under Trump
During previous bouts of militarised aggression between India and Pakistan, US presidents used personal diplomacy to convince both sides to pull back from the brink.
Such was the case in 1999 during the Kargil war and then again in 2002. Similarly in December 2008 Condoleezza Rice, then US secretary of state, travelled to India to persuade the government to pull back from a planned severe response after the Mumbai attacks, putting the onus on Pakistan to cooperate transparently.
Continue reading...Hanoi was buzzing as it prepared for the meeting between the US president and the North Korean leader, with a heavy security presence amid fanfare and flags
Continue reading...The leaders of the US and North Korea meet in Hanoi, Vietnam, at the start of the second nuclear summit. The pair, who looked pleased to see each other as they shook hands, were to hold a brief discussion on Wednesday before full meetings on Thursday
The US military blocked internet access to a company underwritten by an oligarch close to Vladimir Putin during the 2018 midterms
Attorneys and political commentators are alerting a sitting US congressman to the US law on “witness tampering” after the representative in question, Matt Gaetz, appeared to threaten Donald Trump’s former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, who testified before Congress today.
Gaetz, who is from Florida, said:
Hey @MichaelCohen212 - Do your wife & father-in-law know about your girlfriends? Maybe tonight would be a good time for that chat. I wonder if she’ll remain faithful when you’re in prison. She’s about to learn a lot...
This should not be legal. Intimidating a witness before Congress should be against the law. https://t.co/uVBZR3NzXf
Who wants to tell @mattgaetz that sitting members of Congress aren’t immune from indictment?
My short text convo with @mattgaetz just now:
Me: Congressman, Any chance you have a few minutes to discuss what you implied with your tweet to Michael Cohen? Perhaps a preview?
Gaetz: Watch tomorrow.
Me: Will do -- anything I should be prepared for?
Gaetz: Fireworks https://t.co/g1bwYcjvrg
UPDATE:
Me: Any response to those who say you’re witness tampering? @mattgaetz: I’m witness testing. We still are allowed to test the veracity and character of witnesses, I think.
Me: So you disagree with those who say you’re witness tampering?
Gaetz: Yes. https://t.co/aBRZAF314A
Top strategists from Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign announced they would not be sticking with the Vermont senator for his 2020 campaign.
The New York Times said the departure of the three men, who produced Sanders’ 2020 announcement video last week, was “abrupt.”
Their departure could be indicative of Sanders’ desire to get serious about making changes to his team of strategists in an effort to make a deep run in a wide open Democratic primary field.
Continue reading...Mike Pence says ‘all options are on the table’ in effort to oust Maduro while key allies warn they would oppose sending troops
US vice-president Mike Pence has repeated a veiled threat of military intervention in Venezuela, but Washington appeared increasingly isolated in its willingness to contemplate using force to oust President Nicolás Maduro.
Both European powers and some of Donald Trump’s key Latin American allies – all of whom have recognised opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s legitimate leader – warned that they would oppose sending troops into the country.
Continue reading...Trump says he would be happy if rogue state continues with nuclear testing ban, handing diplomatic initiative to Kim Jong-un
Donald Trump has said the US will be “happy” if North Korea simply agrees to continue its moratorium on nuclear and missile testing at this week’s summit in Hanoi.
The US president’s remarks on Sunday night represented a lowering of already modest expectations for his second meeting with Kim Jong-un in Hanoi, due to begin on Wednesday.
Continue reading...Concerns had been raised over project increasing German reliance on Russian energy
Donald Tusk, the president of the European council, called it a mistake, while the US president, Donald Trump, has branded it very inappropriate and a “very bad thing for Nato”.
The Nord Stream 2 pipeline to take Russian gas to Germany is arguably Europe’s most controversial energy project, drawing opposition from Ukraine, which it will bypass, and uniting the US, eastern EU states, and the European Commission which fears it will undermine the bloc’s ‘energy union’ plans.
Continue reading...Ahmed Ali Muthana files suit after officials said New Jersey-born daughter was not a US citizen and would not be allowed home
The father of an Alabama woman who joined the Islamic State group in Syria is suing to bring her home after the Trump administration took the extraordinary step of declaring that she was not a US citizen.
Hoda Muthana, 24, told the Guardian this week that she regretted leaving the US to join the terrorist group and wants to return from Syria with her 18-month-old son. She has said she is willing to face prosecution in the United States over her incendiary propaganda on behalf of the ruthless but dwindling group.
Continue reading...Former Fox News host says she is not going ahead with appointment for family reasons
The state department says Donald Trump’s nominee for US ambassador to the United Nations, Heather Nauert, has withdrawn.
The department released a statement on Saturday evening Washington time saying Nauert had withdrawn and another nominee would be announced “soon”.
Continue reading...