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National power outage is making life extremely difficult and may force Havana into biggest economic changes in 67 yearsJust a few hours after a nationwide electricity blackout struck Cuba, Donald Trump hinted at an even darker future for the island’s rulers.The country’s entire electricity system had collapsed on Monday afternoon, leaving about 10 million people without power. Emergency teams were still struggling to restore it when the US leader made his latest threat. Continue reading...

Relations deteriorate as Gustavo Petro claims government of Trump ally Daniel Noboa bombing targets in ColombiaPresident Gustavo Petro has accused Ecuador of bombing targets inside Colombian territory, saying later that the burned remains of nearly 30 people had been found near the border, in a sharp deterioration in relations between the two neighbouring countries.The Colombian leader said on Tuesday that an attack which had left “27 charred bodies” did not appear to have been carried out by Colombia’s own forces or any illegal armed groups which he said do not have armed planes. Continue reading...

Family of then PM, Patrice Lumumba, welcome decision to charge Étienne Davignon as ‘beginning of a reckoning’ A former Belgian diplomat, 93, should stand trial over alleged complicity in the 1961 murder of Patrice Lumumba, the first prime minister of what was then the newly independent Congolese state, a Brussels court has ruled.Étienne Davignon, the only person still alive among 10 Belgians the Lumumba family accuses of involvement in the killing, is charged with participation in war crimes.The illegal transfer of Lumumba and his associates from Léopoldville (now Kinshasa) to Katanga.The “humiliating and degrading treatment” of the men.Depriving them of a fair trial. Continue reading...

Republicans who will be out of power and, in some cases, out of a job will look back on how they let President Donald Trump use his bully pulpit to pursue his own interests while leaving them “holding the bag” with furious voters.That was the lesson delivered by Politico’s Jonathan Martin on MS NOW Tuesday, where he vociferously asserted that GOP lawmakers are headed for a disaster in November.Speaking with “Morning Joe” co-host Jonathan Lemire, Martin said, “It goes to the heart of priorities. What are your priorities? Because, you know, trying to get a legacy is clearly the president's top priority, along with, you know, the physical plant of the White House and the rehab of the Kennedy Center. “So he goes for these big, you know, big moves and places like Venezuela and Iran because he wants to have a big legacy of his own; he wants to be a consequential figure,” he elaborated. “Well, that's for him. That's not for his party — his party is the one holding the bag, now, when gas is going to be five bucks a gallon.”“And it's the same with the retribution campaigns,” he lectured. “That's about his own grievances and vanity. It's not about his party's fate in the midterms. Why is he targeting a sitting senator, [Republican] Bill Cassidy, in Louisiana? That's not for the good of the party, that's for his vengeance. Why is he going after nine Indiana state senators? Not exactly top of the priority list for [Republican House Speaker] Mike Johnson and [Senate Majority Leader] John Thune, the fate of the Indiana state senate because they defied him on redrawing their congressional lines.”“The through-line on all of this is a president more focused on himself, his impulses, than the good of the party,” he accused. “And at some point, the Republicans are going to wake up and realize that ... probably the day after the midterms.” - YouTube youtu.be

MAGA followers were enraged Tuesday after Joe Kent, head of the National Counterterrorism Center, resigned in protest over the U.S. war in Iran. Kent, a longtime MAGA ally of President Donald Trump who was appointed by him, shared his public statement and rejection of the conflict in the Middle East. This was the first time an administration official had rebuked the military action and spoken out against it. MAGA loyalists had seething responses to Kent's announcement: "Gold Star wife here. My husband didn’t die for Israel. He died because this war has been targeting Americans for decades. Long before most people ever started paying attention. We didn’t suddenly stumble into this because of Israel. Our service members have been in the crosshairs of Iranian-backed terror networks for years. That’s the reality families like mine have lived with. So spare me the talking point that this is 'Israel’s war.' Some of us have already paid for it in American blood," Sharrell Anne, who self-describes as "America First" wrote in a post on X. "Very disappointing from you. It's an insult to Trump to imply he has no agency and no ability to resist pressure from anyone, including Israel," Jon Murray, who shares pro-MAGA content and commentary, wrote on X. "'Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation' ok good you left because seems like you're an ignorant ...," Samuel Cardillo, who frequently shares MAGA talking points, wrote on X. “'Without getting us drawn into never-ending wars.' It’s been 3 weeks lol," conservative commentator and attorney Matt Bilinsky wrote on X."Joe Kent is a crazed egomaniac who was often at the center of national security leaks, while rarely (never?) producing any actual work. He spent all of his time working to subvert the chain of command and undermine the President of the United States. This isn’t some principled resignation—he just wanted to make a splash before getting canned. What a loser," Taylor Budowich, former deputy White House chief of staff and cabinet secretary to Trump, wrote on X.

Joe Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, announced his resignation on X Tuesday by saying he “cannot in good conscience” back Donald Trump’s war in Iran. It delivered a jolt to the administration that is already reeling from a war that is going badly.According to Kent, Iran “posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.”In less than an hour, his X post had over 4.7 million views.Kent, known as a card-carrying member of the MAGA movement, was both lauded and accused of treason, with all agreeing his resignation is a game-changer for Turmp. One follower observed, “The dominoes are starting to fall. Those who want to save face should do the right thing and resign immediately. The overwhelming majority of the American people reject this war.”Podcast producer Benjamin Rubinstein added, “This is a man who actually loves his country. Bravo.”Asked for comment, retired Brigadier General Steve Anderson told CNN that the resignation is a “terrific blow to Trump'” and the “timing couldn't be worse.”“This is incredibly honorable but now there is gonna be a coordinated attack against you by the same people that got us into this war...thank you Joe for your service brother,” wrote Real America’s Voice personality Alex Stein.“This is the definition of America First. Thank you, Joe,” claimed The Maine Wonk. Highbee Nation asserted, “A Green Beret who buried his wife to terrorism just told the most powerful man on earth no more forever wars for someone else's lobby. That's not disloyalty. That's the definition of America First.”“The Director of the National Counterterrorism Center just resigned and publicly said Iran posed no imminent threat and the war was started due to Israeli lobby pressure. This isn’t a podcaster. This isn’t a pundit. This is the person literally in charge of tracking threats to America saying there WASN’T ONE. Read that again. The highest-ranking insider just confirmed everything the ‘traitors’ were saying from day one,” noted influencer tosino007.

Falling costs and government incentives make solar an attractive option for many, reducing need for gasAfter prices of liquefied natural gas surged to record highs after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, millions of people in Pakistan were repeatedly left without electricity. An intense heatwave and gas shortages amid record-breaking prices resulted in power cuts across the country.But people soon started to realise there was an alternative. The falling costs of solar panels and generous government incentives to feed excess power back to the grid made rooftop solar an attractive option. Continue reading...

Donald Trump's most loyal Iran war hawks are experiencing buyer's remorse as what they envisioned as a quick military victory threatens to metastasize into a prolonged, unpopular quagmire requiring American boots on the ground, according to a report.More than two weeks into the campaign, insiders close to the White House are sounding the alarm — the president has lost control of the conflict's trajectory, Politico reported. Iran now holds the upper hand, they warn, and Trump may have boxed himself into a corner where escalation — potentially including a full ground invasion — becomes the only face-saving option."They decide how long we're involved — and they decide if we put boots on the ground. And it doesn't seem to me that there's a way around that, if we want to save face," one White House insider told Politico.The core problem: securing oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz against Iranian attacks almost certainly requires seizing Iranian territory — a step that would inevitably mean deploying American troops on Iranian soil."The terms have changed," said a second person familiar with U.S. operations in Iran. "The off-ramps don't work anymore because Iran is driving the asymmetric action."The deteriorating situation is rattling Trump's "America First" coalition, which fears the president is stumbling into exactly the kind of open-ended Middle East morass he spent a decade condemning. With Iran weaponizing oil market disruption to drive up gas prices, Republicans worry the conflict has become a political time bomb — especially heading into midterms when voters are already furious about inflation and affordability."For the White House, now the only easy day was yesterday," the insider added bluntly. "They need to worry about an unraveling."Some Trump allies are still urging restraint, arguing the administration retains non-military tools to pressure Tehran. But they acknowledge each U.S. escalation narrows the exit ramps further.The severity of the initial strikes compounds the problem. By killing Ayatollah Ali Khamenei along with dozens of senior commanders and family members, Trump may have made Iranian capitulation impossible. The new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei — the late leader's son — has far less incentive to back down than his predecessor."You've killed one guy, the next guy up is even more radical. You killed his dad and his wife," one White House source said. "Do you think he's gonna be more — or less — reasonable?"You can read more here.