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Some Cubans got power back on Sunday after another nationwide blackout on Saturday—the second in less than a week and the third time the grid has collapsed this month after the Trump administration intensified the United States’ decades-long economic blockade, cutting off the island nation from Venezuelan oil.“The Cuban Electric Union, which reports to the Ministry of Energy and Mines, reported that the total disconnection of the national energy system was caused by an unexpected shutdown of a generation unit at the Nuevitas thermoelectric plant in Camaguey province, without providing details on the specific cause of the failure,” according to The Associated Press.Critics from around the world have condemned the US siege as “economic warfare,” which is notably occurring as President Donald Trump and his allies in Washington, D.C., repeatedly float a potential takeover of the country located just 90 miles south of Florida.Saturday’s blackout came a day after The Washington Post reported that “the Cuban government this week refused a request by the US Embassy in Havana to import diesel fuel for its generators, calling the ask ‘shameless,’ given the Trump administration’s fuel blockade on the island, according to diplomatic cables” reviewed by the newspaper.It also followed the arrival of some members of Nuestra América Convoy, which is bringing humanitarian aid to the island. The effort involves hundreds of people from over 30 countries and 120 organizations.Highlighting the convoy on social media early Saturday afternoon, US Rep. Delia C. Ramirez (D-Ill.) declared that “Trump’s oil blockade in Cuba has caused a worsening humanitarian crisis—cutting Cubans off from power, food, healthcare, and clean water.”“I am heartened by the solidarity and bravery of the courageous people on the Nuestra América Convoy, arriving in Cuba to bring critical aid directly to the people,” she said. “I stand with the global community demanding that the Department of State and Department of Defense ensure their safety and security.”Another progressive in Congress, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), similarly said later Saturday that “we must lift the US oil blockade on Cuba. This is economic warfare designed to suffocate an island. Food is spoiling. Water supply is compromised. Healthcare services are disrupted. End the blockade now. Grateful to all those helping deliver humanitarian aid!”Current Affairs editor-in-chief Nathan Robinson is reporting on the convoy from Havana. On Sunday, he wrote that “when the power went, I was watching a concert held at the Pabellon Cuba, a delightfully strange Brutalist outdoor event space... People can live without music if they have to, I suppose. (The Cubans refuse to, though, and as I walked through the streets tonight I saw plenty of dancing in the dark.) What they cannot live without is healthcare, and the blackout is of course hitting hospitals hard. People aren’t able to get crucial surgeries, or even get to the hospital, which means Trump is simply killing the sickest Cubans. Late last night, a report came in that patients on ventilators at the Hermanos Ameijeiras Hospital have died.”“It has been tragic and depressing watching the effects of the blockade. This is already a poor country. People didn’t have much to start with. But now they can’t take buses, they can’t afford to run their cars (I have been told gas costs anywhere between 10 dollars a gallon and 40 dollars a gallon, if you can find it—this in a country where a nice meal will cost you about $20),” Robinson explained. “Food in restaurants is starting to run out. Garbage is accumulating in the streets. I had to sprint to get through a city block where the flies were so thick it was a struggle to breathe without ingesting one. The entire supply chain appears to be breaking down. Tourism is drying up—few want to come and experience shortages and sanitation crises. Taxi drivers can’t drive their taxis.”“With the evaporation of tourists comes greater despair, since so many depend on this influx of foreign money. Everyone in Cuba is warm and friendly, but you can tell they’re desperate. At the large San Jose art market, sellers had booths overflowing with souvenirs, and hardly anyone was there to buy. The merchants were outcompeting each other on pushiness—it was obvious many of them would not make a single sale all day,” the American journalist added. “I cannot believe how cruel what my country is doing is.”

Political analysts were floored on Sunday after Vice President JD Vance seemed to struggle selling President Donald Trump's war in Iran during a recent public appearance. Tommy Vietor and Ben Rhodes, co-hosts of "Pod Save the World," said during a new episode that Vance's recent appearance showed he is trying to "distance himself" from Trump's war, but not enough to anger the president. This stance seems to comport with Vance's rhetoric on the campaign trail, where he made it clear that he would rather take a restrained approach to foreign policy, including backing away from supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression. But Vance's hesitancy to criticize Trump publicly suggests that the war in Iran has put the Vice President in a bit of a pinch. "He's trying so hard to signal that he wasn't all in on this war. But also, as people have briefed, he told Trump to go big, and he owns everything they're doing," Vietor said. "It's not working, buddy."Rhodes, a former national security advisor in the Obama White House, added that Vance's shifting stance on the war in Iran shows he's "full of s---." "He owns this, and he's never going to be able to come out and fully-throated say he was wrong because he depends on Donald Trump for his political survival," Rhodes said. "So, you're watching JD Vance's diminution as a political figure in real time because his identity doesn't work without opposition to forever wars. It's central to him in a way ... And so, the air of the JD Vance balloon is rapidly running out."

Far-right politicians across Europe who enthusiastically embraced Donald Trump following his re-election are now rapidly retreating from the relationship, with the Iran conflict and his demands for NATO intervention serving as the breaking point.According to reporting from the Wall Street Journal's Bertrand Benoit and Max Colchester, tensions have been building over Trump's tariff policies—which were struck down by the Supreme Court in a landmark ruling—but the invasion of Iran and subsequent demands that European nations share the military burden have pushed nationalist-minded European lawmakers to openly reconsider their alignment with the American president.The State Department has actively courted European right-wing parties, channeling grants to think tanks and nongovernmental organizations promoting Trump's "America First" agenda, including policies on free speech and immigration crackdowns. Initially, these parties welcomed the support and association.But as Europe absorbs the consequences of U.S. policy decisions, the political calculus has shifted dramatically. European politicians are finding it increasingly difficult to maintain their public gratitude while advancing their own nationalist agendas.Even longtime Trump confidant Nigel Farage has begun hedging his bets. "Look, he's a friend of mine. I agree with many things that he does. I don't agree with other things that he does," Farage recently admitted—a stark contrast to his previous unqualified support.Public opinion in Europe has turned decisively against Trump. In the U.K., the vast majority of voters identify as "anti-Trump," according to YouGov polling. Only a quarter of British and German voters support Trump's attack on Iran. In France, even right-wing voters hold unfavorable views of the president.This presents a mounting dilemma for MAGA-aligned parties. As Tim Bale, a politics professor at Queen Mary University of London, explained, politicians like Farage who harbor ambitions for higher office must appeal to a much broader electorate—one that largely abhors Trump.Criticism from Trump's European allies intensified around the Greenland episode. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who previously served as a diplomatic bridge between Europe and the U.S., has noticeably cooled her public praise. Her deputy, Matteo Salvini—one of Trump's most vocal Italian supporters—flatly rejected the president's requests for European nations to help police the Strait of Hormuz. "Italy isn't at war with anyone," Salvini declared.French far-right leader Marine Le Pen and her protégé Jordan Bardella have escalated their criticism, condemning Trump's military strikes in Venezuela, though they have remained more cautious regarding the Iran attack, reflecting the party's strong support for Israel.Germany presents the starkest rebuke. Senior Alternative for Germany (AfD) lawmaker Peter Felser stated bluntly: "We cannot be the lap dog of an 'America First' policy if it destroys German jobs. We must remain a sovereign German party, not just the German branch of the MAGA movement."Gerold Otten, an AfD lawmaker and defense expert, characterized Trump's military actions and contempt for international norms as deeply troubling. "You enter very dangerous territory when you say, 'I am above the law,'" Otten warned. "On the global stage, saying 'I'm doing it because I can, because I am powerful'—that leads to the breakdown of civilization, a state where only the law of the jungle remains."

According to Donald Trump’s UN ambassador, the president should not be constrained from ordering the Pentagon to bomb Iran’s sole nuclear power plant located southeast of the city of Bushehr, situated on the waterfront of the Persian Gulf.During an appearance on “Face the Nation,” Ambassador Mike Waltz, who was shuffled over to the UN after he was caught up in the “Signalgate” scandal, was asked about Trump’s 48-hour threat to begin bombing Iran’s power plants unless the Strait of Hormuz is opened to shipping.In a post on Truth Social, the president wrote, “If Iran doesn’t FULLY OPEN, WITHOUT THREAT, the Strait of Hormuz, within 48 HOURS from this exact point in time, the United States of America will hit and obliterate their various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP”That led CBS host Margaret Brennan to ask Waltz, “The reason I'm asking you is when the President says he's going to bomb energy infrastructure, civilian energy infrastructure. Is he going to bomb a nuclear power plant or is that off the table?”“Well, I would never take anything off the table for the president, certainly not on national television,” Waltz replied. “However, there are larger plants. There's one outside of Tehran, there are others outside of other cities that are gas-fired, thermal, thermal-powered.”“I think the important point here is to understand,” he attempted. “The IRGC, a declared terrorist organization not only by us, but in a number of European countries, controls a huge swath of Iran's critical infrastructure, their economy and certainly many of their governing institutions, and so to the extent we're degrading their military capability and their defense industrial base, all options should be on the table, and the President's made that very clear.”

President Donald Trump said that Japan was declining to help open the Strait of Hormuz, a day after he made a joke about Pearl Harbor.Following his Thursday meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, Trump told Fox News host Martha MacCallum on Friday that the country would not assist with the fallout from the war in Iran because of "constitutional constraints.""Japan is better ally than NATO," Trump reportedly said to MacCallum.Japan's constitution bans the use of force except in defense of its territory. It's unclear whether the Japanese Self-Defense Force could be used to escort ships through the Middle Eastern waterway.During his meeting with Takaichi, Trump compared his strikes on Iran to the bombing of Pearl Harbor."We didn't tell anybody about it because we wanted surprise. Who knows better about surprise than Japan? Why didn't you tell me about Pearl Harbor, OK?" the U.S. president joked.

Former modeling agent and longtime ally to President Donald Trump, Paolo Zampolli asked a top ICE official for help "to settle a personal score" and have the mother of his child deported during a custody battle, according to The New York Times. Zampolli, a now presidential special envoy, introduced Trump to the president's now wife Melania. He found out that his Brazilian ex-girlfriend, Amanda Ungaro, had arrested on charges of fraud at her work and in custody at a Miami jail — and last year talked to a top official at ICE, David Venturella, to see if she could be placed in ICE detention, citing that she was in the country illegally, The Times reported. The two had been going through a custody battle over their teenage son and "now he saw an opportunity" to try and get him back, Friday's report stated.A source familiar with Zampolli's communications and records acquired by The Times revealed that Ungaro was picked up from a Miami jail by ICE agents before she could make bail and later deported. Although this could have happened without her ex-boyfriend's involvement, it raises questions about how members of the Trump administration have used the federal government during Trump's second term to pursue personal vendettas. Zampolli denied to The Times that he sought special favors or that he had requested federal officials take Ungaro into custody. The Department of Homeland Security told The Times that Ungaro was detained and deported over an expired visa after being charged with fraud. “Any suggestion that she was arrested and removed for political reasons or favors is FALSE,” the DHS statement said.Zampolli has often bragged about his loyalty to the Trumps, and has known the president for more than 30 years. He even recruited Melania, a former model, from Slovenia. Zampolli also had ties to the late financier and convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. "In the city’s modeling scene, Mr. Zampolli also intersected with Jeffrey Epstein, the financier who would later be accused of sexually abusing hundreds of girls and young women," according to The Times. "The men once discussed buying a modeling agency together, and Mr. Zampolli’s name appears several times in the millions of Epstein documents recently released by the Justice Department. "In one 2011 email, Mr. Epstein warned an Emirati businessman: 'Be careful, zampoli is trouble. Lots.' He added, 'He sells stories to the press.'"Zampolli has denied having a close friendship with Epstein. He added that his name was not included as frequently as other people, such as professors, celebrities or monarchs. “At least I was included, because if you’re not on the list, you’re a loser, right?” Zampolli told The Times.

The Justice Department has launched an investigation into Colombian President Gustavo Petro, purportedly over his alleged ties to drug traffickers, The New York Times reported on Friday. The U.S. attorney's offices in Manhattan and Brooklyn are investigating Petro, an adversary of President Donald Trump, and have included agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration and Homeland Security Investigations, three sources told The Times. The prosecutors leading the investigation have previously worked on international narcotics trafficking cases. Investigators were in the early stages of examining whether Petro had met with drug traffickers and if he had received campaign donations from them, according to the anonymous sources who said they could not disclose the information surrounding the active investigations.It's unclear if the separate investigations will result in criminal charges. "There was nothing to indicate that the White House had a role in initiating either investigation," The Times reported.Trump could attempt to influence Colombia's presidential elections this May, although Petro, who is the country's first left-wing leader, is limited to serving one term. "But Mr. Trump, who has frequently wielded criminal inquiries as a cudgel against his rivals and enemies, has harshly criticized Mr. Petro, calling him a 'sick man,'" according to The Times. "And he could use the investigations as leverage in seeking more cooperation from Colombia, which is both the world’s top producer of cocaine and one of America’s most crucial allies in cracking down on narco-terrorism in the region."

Karachi particularly badly affected with 18 people killed, more than 50mm of rain and winds gusting up to 60mphUnseasonally wet weather struck southern Pakistan and north-west India on Wednesday, as heavy rain rolled in from the west, accompanied by thunderstorms, hail, and strong winds.Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, was particularly badly affected, locally recording more than 50mm of rain with winds gusting up to 60mph. Walls, buildings, and a pedestrian bridge collapsed, with flooding and power outages across the city. At least 18 people were killed and several more injured, many by structural collapses, with other deaths attributed to a fallen tree and a lightning strike. Continue reading...