Aworo Abayomi

Heavy rainfall in Mexico has left at least 27 people dead and more missing, authorities said on Friday, as downpours triggered several landslides, cut off power in some municipalities and caused rivers to burst their banks.

President Emmanuel Macron reappoints Sébastien Lecornu as French prime minister - four days after his resignation.

Some very strange things are happening in China! They are becoming very hostile, and sending letters to Countries throughout the World, that they want to impose Export Controls on each and every element of production having to do with Rare Earths, and virtually anything else they can think of, even if it’s not manufactured in China. Nobody has ever seen anything like this but, essentially, it would “clog” the Markets, and make life difficult for virtually every Country in the World, especially for China. We have been contacted by other Countries who are extremely angry at this great Trade hostility, which came out of nowhere. Our relationship with China over the past six months has been a very good one, thereby making this move on Trade an even more surprising one. I have always felt that they’ve been lying in wait, and now, as usual, I have been proven right! There is no way that China should be allowed to hold the World “captive,” but that seems to have been their plan for quite some time, starting with the “Magnets” and, other Elements that they have quietly amassed into somewhat of a Monopoly position, a rather sinister and hostile move, to say the least. But the U.S. has Monopoly positions also, much stronger and more far reaching than China’s. I have just not chosen to use them, there was never a reason for me to do so — UNTIL NOW! The letter they sent is many pages long, and details, with great specificity, each and every Element that they want to withhold from other Nations. Things that were routine are no longer routine at all. I have not spoken to President Xi because there was no reason to do so. This was a real surprise, not only to me, but to all the Leaders of the Free World. I was to meet President Xi in two weeks, at APEC, in South Korea, but now there seems to be no reason to do so. The Chinese letters were especially inappropriate in that this was the Day that, after three thousand years of bedlam and fighting, there is PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST.

I wonder if that timing was coincidental? Dependent on what China says about the hostile “order” that they have just put out, I will be forced, as President of the United States of America, to financially counter their move. For every Element that they have been able to monopolize, we have two. I never thought it would come to this but perhaps, as with all things, the time has come. Ultimately, though potentially painful, it will be a very good thing, in the end, for the U.S.A. One of the Policies that we are calculating at this moment is a massive increase of Tariffs on Chinese products coming into the United States of America. There are many other countermeasures that are, likewise, under serious consideration. Thank you for your attention to this matter! DONALD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Trump posts a bizarre, whiny screed signaling an escalation of tensions with China

Trump says China is becoming very hostile, threatening export controls on rare earths & more—trying to hold the world captive. The U.S. will respond strongly, including tariffs on Chinese products. We will never let China dominate global trade

President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that Russia was developing new strategic weapons and it would not be critical for Moscow if the United States declined to extend the warhead limits set out in a nuclear arms treaty that expires next year.

Letitia James, New York’s attorney general, is said to have been indicted after President Trump pushed the Justice Department to seek charges against her.

The bodies of at least 19 Palestinians were recovered in Gaza City after the Israeli military appeared to withdraw from some areas of the city — CNN, citing Dr. Mohammed Abu Salmiya, the director of Al-Shifa hospital.

The Israeli military said a ceasefire is now in effect in Gaza, as its forces pull back in accordance with the deal approved by the government overnight.

Russia carried out a “massive attack” on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, top Ukrainian officials said early Friday, leaving parts of the capital Kyiv without power.

US President Donald Trump had led a public campaign to win the award, but nominations closed in January - at the start of his second term in office

Machado is "one of the most extraordinary examples of civilian courage in Latin America in recent times," the Nobel Committee's chairman says

She's recognised "for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela" and "her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy"

The winner of this year's Nobel Peace Prize is Venezuelan democracy campaigner María Corina Machado

Machado, the opposition leader in Venezuela, has largely been in hiding since last year's presidential elections

Al Arabiya reports that Hamas says it will not surrender its weapons.

Pakistan has launched airstrikes inside Kabul. Multiple reports say TTP chief Noor Wali Mehsud is dead

Trump suggests Spain be expelled from NATO over low defense spending

Trump says he's 'stepping up the pressure' to end Ukraine war

Russia accuses Ukraine of blowing up ammonia pipeline

Trump says 'there will be disarming' in next phase of Gaza deal

Trump says he will award Dr. Ben Carson the Presidential Medal of Freedom

French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that increasing Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank were an “existential threat” to a Palestinian state.

Nigeria: President Bola Tinubu has appointed Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan (SAN) as the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Tinubu’s reforms have not reduced poverty – World Bank

WhatsApp wants to replace phone numbers with usernames, like Telegram.

Update: bsky.app/profile/engi...

Trump has authorized four such strikes in the Caribbean Sea in recent weeks.

The vote failed 48-51 and fell mostly along party lines, although several members cast votes across the aisle. A simple majority was required.

Democrats forced a vote in the GOP-controlled chamber under the War Powers Act on a resolution to require congressional authorization for future strikes, something the president says could expand to alleged foreign drug cartels on land.

The US Senate rejected a Democratic-led effort Wednesday to block President Donald Trump from unilaterally ordering additional U.S. airstrikes on boats off the Venezuelan coast allegedly carrying drugs.

Living Israeli hostages will be released in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners — AFP

The US Senate is now taking procedural vote to allow US to block strikes on alleged drug smuggling boats in the Caribbean without an authorization by Congress.