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Jan 14, 2025 - World

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) used Pete Hegseth's own words against him during a tense exchange at Hegseth's confirmation hearing Tuesday. President-elect Donald Trump nominated the controversial Hegseth to be his secretary of defense, opening up questions about his attitudes toward women and their role in the military. Warren claimed that Hegseth changed his tune on women in combat in order to get confirmed. "Just 32 days after your last public comment saying that women absolutely should not be in combat, you declared that, quote, 'Some of our greatest warriors are women,' and you support having them serve in combat," Warren said. "Now that is a very, very big about face in a very, very short period of time. So, help me understand, Mr. Hegseth, what extraordinary event happened in that 32-day period that made you change the core values you had expressed for the preceding 12 years?"ALSO READ: Fox News has blood on its hands as Trump twists the knifeHegseth answered, "Senator, again, I very much appreciate you bringing up my comments from 2013, because for me, this issue has always been about standards, and unfortunately, because of some of the people that have been in political power for the last four years —"Warren interrupted, "Excuse me, Mr. Hegseth! Let's just stop, let's just stop, let's just stop right there! Mr. Hegseth, I'm quoting you from a podcast: 'Women shouldn't be in combat at all!' Where is the reference to standards that they should be there if they can carry, if they can run? I don't see that at all, Mr. Hegseth. What I see is, that there's a 32-day period in which you suddenly have another description about your views of women in the military, and I just want to know, what changed in the 32 days that the song you sang is not the song you come in here today to sing?"As Hegseth reiterated his concern that that the military has changed its standards in pursuit of "quotas," Warren interjected, "No, let me make a suggestion about what happened in that 32 days. You got a nomination for President Trump! Now, I've heard of deathbed conversions, but this is the first time I've heard of a nomination conversion!"Watch the video below or at this link.

Jan 14, 2025 - World

The Panama Canal will remain Panamanian, the secretary general of the United Nation's maritime body told AFP on Tuesday, after Donald Trump refused to rule out using military force to seize the key waterway."For me it is very clear and it is not a subject of great discussion, because the treaties were signed in 1977. The canal passed into the hands of Panama, which continues to manage this vital waterway, and will continue to do so," said Arsenio Dominguez, head of the International Maritime Organization (IMO).US president-elect Trump, who will return to the White House on January 20, caused shockwaves when asked about the canal last week.He said he was "not going to commit to that (no military action). It might be that you have to do something."The United States built, owned and operated the Central American canal until the late US president Jimmy Carter struck a deal in the 1970s to gradually hand over control of the vital transport route to the Panamanian authorities. Panama responded to Trump's comments by saying the sovereignty of its interoceanic canal was non-negotiable."The sovereignty of our canal is not negotiable and is part of our history of struggle," Foreign Minister Javier Martinez-Acha said.President Jose Raul Mulino has refused to entertain negotiations over its control.Trump has also ruffled European feathers with similar comments about Greenland.Denmark -- which Greenland is an autonomous territory of -- is a US ally and a fellow member of NATO, another target of Trump's ire as he demanded that nations in the western alliance boost their defence spending.In addition to its strategic location, Greenland, which is seeking independence from Denmark, holds massive untapped mineral and oil reserves, although oil and uranium exploration are banned.Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen later said she had reached out to Trump following his remarks, which Denmark said were being taken seriously.Trump first claimed that he wanted to buy Greenland in 2019 during his first term as president -- an offer swiftly rebuffed by Greenland and Denmark.

Jan 14, 2025 - World

Venezuela said Tuesday it would limit the number of accredited diplomats at the French, Italian and Dutch embassies, citing their governments' "hostile" response to Nicolas Maduro's inauguration for a third presidential term.The Venezuelan foreign ministry said the diplomats -- maximum three per country -- would also need "written authorization... to travel more than 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Plaza Bolivar" in the capital Caracas.Maduro, 62, is embroiled in a standoff with the West and several Latin American countries over his disputed claim to have won another six year-term in July 28 elections he is widely accused of stealing.The United States, European Union, G7 and several democratic neighbors have refused to recognize his reelection, and France, Italy and the Netherlands last week loudly condemned Maduro's administration.On Tuesday, Venezuela's Foreign Minister Yvan Gil took to Telegram to accuse the three governments of "support for extremist groups" and "interference in the country's internal affairs."Within 48 hours, he said, the embassies must each reduce to three their number of accredited diplomats.Due to the new travel restrictions, any trip outside the capital will now require a government permit. The international airport, Simon Bolivar, which serves Caracas, is 23 kilometers from the Plaza Bolivar."Venezuela demands respect for sovereignty and self-determination... especially from those subordinated to the directives of Washington," wrote Gil.- Isolated -The opposition says its tally of results from the July vote showed a clear victory for its candidate, 75-year-old Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who went into exile in Spain in September after first taking refuge at the Dutch embassy. Venezuela's CNE electoral council, loyal to the regime, had announced victory for Maduro within hours of polls closing. It never provided a detailed vote breakdown.In a sign of Maduro's isolation, only two prominent regional leaders -- Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel and Nicaraguan ex-guerrilla Daniel Ortega -- attended his inauguration. Russian President Vladimir Putin sent his congratulations and China's Xi Jinping sent a special envoy.Washington and London promptly issued a bevy of sanctions on Maduro's regime for staging what the opposition called a coup.Critics denounced a fresh crackdown on opponents and critics in the lead-up to Friday's swearing-in ceremony, with several activists and opposition figures detained.More than 2,400 people were arrested, 28 killed and about 200 injured in protests that erupted after Maduro disputed claim to election victory.He has since maintained a fragile peace with the help of the security forces and paramilitary "colectivos" -- armed civilian volunteers accused of quelling protest through a reign of neighborhood terror.- 'Violent rhetoric' -French President Emmanuel Macron last week insisted "the will of the Venezuelan people must be respected" in a call with Gonzalez Urrutia, recognized by several countries as the legitimate president-elect.Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni denounced "another unacceptable act of repression by the Maduro regime" after opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was briefly detained at an anti-Maduro rally on the eve of his inauguration.Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp, writing on X, expressed deep "respect" for Machado and voiced concern about the "increased violent rhetoric of the Maduro regime and reports of recent arrests."In office since 2013, the former bus driver and trade unionist has clung to power through a mix of populism and repression, even as the United States imposed punishing sanctions on the key oil sector and the economy imploded.© Agence France-Presse

Jan 14, 2025 - World

Parliament unanimously agrees on three-month extension of security measures after gang warfare kills six last weekEscalating violence in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) has caused the country’s government to extend emergency security measures declared in December, after a week of bloody gang warfare that left at least six dead.Late on Monday evening, the T&T parliament unanimously agreed on a three-month extension of a state of emergency announced on 30 December after police said they received intelligence about an imminent gang war. Continue reading...

Jan 14, 2025 - World

Exclusive: records show evacuees with pending applications to enter US ‘forced to remain in limbo’ in at least 36 countries, some in ‘untenable conditions’Afghan citizens who fled the country with American assistance after the US’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan remain stranded in third countries, new documents shared exclusively with the Guardian suggest, some at prison-like facilities and many with no clarity about their prospects for resettlement.US officials won’t say exactly how many Afghans remain at such sites, where they were taken after the withdrawal that involved hundreds of thousands fleeing for their lives during the Taliban’s lightning takeover in 2021. Some advocates estimate that “hundreds” remain stranded in temporary facilities in up to three dozen countries. Continue reading...