The Latest: US strikes 2 more alleged drug-carrying boats, this time in the Pacific Ocean
The U S military on Wednesday launched its ninth strike against an alleged drug-carrying vessel killing three people in the eastern Pacific Ocean Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth disclosed expanding the Trump administration s campaign against drug trafficking in South America It followed another strike Tuesday night also in the eastern Pacific that killed two people Hegseth posted on social media hours earlier The attacks were departures from the seven previous U S strikes that had targeted vessels in the Caribbean Sea They bring the death toll to at least from attacks that began last month The strikes represent an expansion of the military s targeting area as well as a shift to the waters off South America where much of the cocaine from the world s largest producers is smuggled Hegseth s social media posts also drew a direct comparison between the war on terrorism that the U S declared after the Sept attacks and the Trump administration s crackdown Here s the latest European Union agrees on new sanctions against Russia targeting its shadow oil fleet and LNG imports The European Union has agreed on a new raft of sanctions against Russia targeting its shadow fleet of oil tankers and banning its imports of liquefied natural gas the Danish EU presidency broadcasted Thursday This day is a good day for Europe and Ukraine Danish Foreign Minister Lars L kke Rasmussen revealed in a report as EU leaders were gathering for a summit in Brussels He mentioned the new sanctions will introduce new and comprehensive measures on oil and gas the shadow fleet and Russia s financial sector A new system for limiting the movement of Russian diplomats within the -nation EU will also be introduced The move comes a day after U S President Donald Trump s administration broadcasted new sanctions against Russia s oil industry that are aimed at moving Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table and ending Moscow s war on Ukraine Read more about the European Union summit China confirms contract talks with the US in Malaysia China s Commerce Ministry released Thursday that Vice Premier He Lifeng would lead a delegation to Malaysia from Friday to Monday to hold business talks with the United States The talks are expected to lay the groundwork for a meeting next week between U S President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation APEC summit in South Korea U S Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has explained that delegations led by him and the Chinese vice premier would meet in Malaysia presumably on Saturday Vance says Gaza reconstruction in areas free of Hamas could begin soon We could start reconstruction of the areas that are free of Hamas very promptly We think that we could potentially get hundreds of thousands of Gazans living in that area very swiftly Vance revealed before winding down his visit to Israel on Thursday But again this is all still pretty early But that s the basic idea Vance added that it will take to two to three years to rebuild the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah Rafah s population surged early in the war as various Palestinians were displaced by Israeli operations elsewhere in the territory By this past spring Rafah was also largely decimated by the fighting Vance rips MSNBC host Jen Psaki for comments about his wife The vice president made clear he wasn t happy with comments from Psaki who on a podcast earlier this week jokingly suggested Usha Vance was being held captive and that she stood ready to save her I think it s disgraceful Vice President JD Vance communicated reporters before departing Israel on Thursday But of discipline the second lady can speak for herself and I m very lucky to have a wonderful wife And I know at least I hope that my wife feels the same about me Psaki who served as White House press secretary early in Democrat Joe Biden s administration speaking on the I Had It podcast also referred to Vance as the little Manchurian candidate who wants to be president more than anything else I reliably wonder what s going on in the mind of his wife Like are you OK Please blink four times We ll come over here We ll save you Psaki reported Vance slams Knesset vote on West Bank annexation during his Israel visit Vice President JD Vance criticized Israel s parliament vote on West Bank annexation saying the move was an insult Speaking on the tarmac of Tel Aviv s international airport before departing at the end of his visit to Israel this week Vance noted that if the vote was a political stunt then it is a very stupid political stunt I personally take a few insult to it Vance stated about the Knesset vote The strategy of the Trump administration is that the West Bank will not be annexed by Israel The Israeli parliament on Wednesday took the symbolic step of giving preliminary approval to a bill that would give Israel authority to annex the occupied West Bank a move the U S opposes Source
