VENEZUELA
Opposition reports raid
A leading opposition party said that a group of armed men with their faces covered on Friday raided its headquarters, taking cellphones, computers and ID cards from staffers and raising tensions the night before a nationwide protest against President Nicolas Maduro. Popular Will members said that Juan Guaido, who belongs to the party, was not inside at the time. They said they believe the armed men were some kind of government or security officers, although they did not identify themselves or show a court order. Guaido arrived at the 18th-floor office in Caracas minutes later and called for an end to Maduro’s “dictatorship,” saying the men who broke into the office were “cowards” for covering their faces and not identifying themselves. “What they were looking for was to intimidate us,” Guaido said. “They didn’t succeed.”
UNITED STATES
Robocall bill makes progress
House and Senate leaders on Friday said that they had reached an agreement in principle on merging bills to clamp down on robocalls and sent it to President Donald Trump this year. The final bill would require phone companies to verify that phone numbers are real and to block calls for free. It would also give government agencies more ability to go after scammers. Phone companies have been rolling out verification tools after prompting from regulators. They are also offering call-blocking apps for smartphones and many home phones, although not always for free.
UNITED STATES
Epstein guards refuse deal
Federal prosecutors offered a plea deal to two correctional officers responsible for guarding Jeffrey Epstein on the night of his death, but the officers have declined the offer, people familiar with the matter said. The existence of the plea offer signals that the Department of Justice is considering criminal charges in connection with the wealthy financier’s death at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York in August. The city’s medical examiner ruled Epstein’s death a suicide. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not permitted to publicly discuss the investigation.
UNITED STATES
Kanye West follows Cash
Kanye West has followed the Johnny Cash route and performed for inmates at a Houston jail. In secret from the public, the star rapper-turned-gospel singer performed songs on Friday from his new gospel album Jesus is King. He and his choir performed for more than 200 male inmates at one jail facility before crossing the street to another facility and performing for a smaller crowd of female inmates. Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said West’s representatives asked jail officials about doing secret shows. The concerts were performed two days before West is to speak at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Houston. The events were reminiscent of prison concerts given by country singer Cash in California.
UNITED STATES
Boy catches big catfish
A nine-year-old New Mexico boy landed a 19kg blue catfish on Sunday last week while fishing in the Elephant Butte Reservoir. Kris Flores said that his son, Alex, made the big catch by himself and shattered dad’s record of reeling in a 16kg fish. Flores said the fourth grader named the fish Wailord after a Pokemon character. The father said his son released the fish back into the reservoir after taking some photos and videos. The biggest fish reportedly caught in Elephant Butte was 35kg.
The Philippines yesterday said its coast guard would acquire 40 fast patrol craft from France, with plans to deploy some of them in disputed areas of the South China Sea. The deal is the “largest so far single purchase” in Manila’s ongoing effort to modernize its coast guard, with deliveries set to start in four years, Philippine Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan told a news conference. He declined to provide specifications for the vessels, which Manila said would cost 25.8 billion pesos (US$440 million), to be funded by development aid from the French government. He said some of the vessels would
BEYOND WASHINGTON: Although historically the US has been the partner of choice for military exercises, Jakarta has been trying to diversify its partners, an analyst said Indonesia’s first joint military drills with Russia this week signal that new Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto would seek a bigger role for Jakarta on the world stage as part of a significant foreign policy shift, analysts said. Indonesia has long maintained a neutral foreign policy and refuses to take sides in the Russia-Ukraine conflict or US-China rivalry, but Prabowo has called for stronger ties with Moscow despite Western pressure on Jakarta. “It is part of a broader agenda to elevate ties with whomever it may be, regardless of their geopolitical bloc, as long as there is a benefit for Indonesia,” said Pieter
US ELECTION: Polls show that the result is likely to be historically tight. However, a recent Iowa poll showed Harris winning the state that Trump won in 2016 and 2020 US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris courted voters angered by the Gaza war while former US President and Republican candidate Donald Trump doubled down on violent rhetoric with a comment about journalists being shot as the tense US election campaign entered its final hours. The Democratic vice president and the Republican former president frantically blitzed several swing states as they tried to win over the last holdouts with less than 36 hours left until polls open on election day today. Trump predicted a “landslide,” while Harris told a raucous rally in must-win Michigan that “we have momentum — it’s
CARGO PLANE VECTOR: Officials said they believe that attacks involving incendiary devices on planes was the work of Russia’s military intelligence agency the GRU Western security officials suspect Russian intelligence was behind a plot to put incendiary devices in packages on cargo planes headed to North America, including one that caught fire at a courier hub in Germany and another that ignited in a warehouse in England. Poland last month said that it had arrested four people suspected to be linked to a foreign intelligence operation that carried out sabotage and was searching for two others. Lithuania’s prosecutor general Nida Grunskiene on Tuesday said that there were an unspecified number of people detained in several countries, offering no elaboration. The events come as Western officials say
RSS