The Guardian

Flattery will get you everywhere: Orbán lays it on thick with Trump

The Hungarian PM needed Trump’s help over Russia oil sanctions – so he deployed a tried-and-trusted method
Viktor Orbán must have been feeling the tension – and perhaps a bit left out.
As Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, held court – on the instruction of Donald Trump – at a lunch held in honor of the visiting Hungarian leader on Friday, Orbán, self-anointed avatar of international illiberalism and Maga role model, began cracking his knuckles.
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The Guardian’s view on Gaza’s future: the ceasefire brought relief, but the world must not look away now | Editorial

Palestinians are being born amid the rubble. They need not only immediate relief but long-term justice
What future is there for Palestinians in Gaza? The announcement of the ceasefire brought profound relief, shaded by an equally deep sense of trepidation. Almost a month later, the picture looks bleaker. The Israeli offensive abated, Hamas has returned the surviving hostages and the remains of some of those who have died, and Israel has released some Palestinian detainees and the remains of others.
But more than 200 Palestinians, including children, have reportedly died in strikes that Israel says are in response to Hamas attacks. Thousands of bodies are still believed to be trapped beneath the ruins ­– debris which, it is estimated, would take a fleet of more than a hundred lorries seven years to shift. Aid is flowing again, but remains wholly inadequate, with NGOs warning that Israel’s new registration system is obstructing delivery. Israeli demolitions continue in the half of Gaza t..

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US military buildup off Venezuela coast stirs echoes of 1989 Panama invasion

Some see anti-Noriega operation as model for deposing Maduro but others say war of bluff and intimidation is more likely option
Michael Durant watched through night-vision goggles as two 2,000-pound laser-guided bombs slammed on to the Panamanian airbase while he hovered off the country’s south coast in a Black Hawk helicopter.
“A gigantic flash, followed by a boom … [like]the largest lightning strike you’ve ever seen in your life,” the retired US army pilot recalled of the opening salvo of the Battle of Rio Hato Airfield in December 1989.
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Which of our warnings came true in the first year after Trump’s second election?

From military-level force in cities to tens of thousands of federal workers fired by the Trump administration, effects have been felt at every level
Last year, as Donald Trump’s campaign promises and policy proposals became increasingly clear, the Guardian published a series called The Stakes to outline the impact the administration would likely have on the country. The stories were broken down by subject matter – spanning civil rights, health, immigration and cities.
Much of what was covered in the series has played out on American streets and inside homes since Trump was inaugurated in January. From military-level force used in urban centers, to tens of thousands of federal workers fired by the administration, the effects have been felt at every level.
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Hegseth announces another deadly US strike on alleged drug boat

Pentagon secretary says two people killed in attack on boat in eastern Pacific, bringing total killed to 66 in 16 strikes
Defense secretary Pete Hegseth announced yet another deadly strike on a boat accused of ferrying drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, coming the same day an aircraft carrier began heading to the region in a new expansion of military firepower.
The attack Tuesday killed two people aboard the vessel, Hegseth said, bringing the death toll from the Trump administration’s campaign in South American waters up to at least 66 people in at least 16 strikes.
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Malaysia defends Trump trade deal after critics warn it will compromise country’s sovereignty

Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad said the deal amounted to ‘handing over’ the country’s independence
Malaysia’s government has been forced to defend its new trade deal with the US after opposition politicians, analysts and civil society groups warned that the deal was “one-sided” and could compromise the country’s sovereignty.
Investment, trade and industry minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz has called the trade deal “the best possible outcome for Malaysia.”
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Dick Cheney’s role in ‘war on terror’ may have paved way for Trumpism

Former US vice-president a key figure in expanding White House’s power and ‘corrupting the intelligence-policy relationship’ to sell Iraq war
Dick Cheney, vice-president and giant of Republican politics, dies aged 84
Dick Cheney, who has died aged 84, came to be seen as a moderate in his later years for his staunch opposition to Donald Trump, but he also stands accused of paving the way for Trumpism by undermining the independence of the intelligence agencies and US adherence to international law.
As George W Bush’s second-in-command in the “war on terror” declared after the 9/11 attacks, Cheney made himself one of the most powerful vice-presidents in US history, and was a key protagonist in the push to invade Iraq, as well as the use of torture on suspected al-Qaida members detained without charge in the CIA’s offshore “black sites”.
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The rising resistance to Pine Gap – podcast

Protests on an outback road in the Northern Territory have refocused attention on Pine Gap, the secretive US satellite base near Alice Springs. The protesters have tried to block workers from accessing the facility, which they claim is aiding Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
Nour Haydar speaks with senior reporter Ben Doherty about the rising resistance to Pine Gap, and the questions the spy base raises about Australia’s complicity in alleged crimes abroad
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Trump says Maduro’s days are numbered but ‘doubts’ US will go to war with Venezuela

President’s remarks, made during CBS interview released on Sunday, come as the US amasses military units in Caribbean
Donald Trump has sent mixed signals about potential US intervention in Venezuela, playing down concerns of imminent war against the South American nation but saying its leader Nicolás Maduro’s days were numbered.
The president’s remarks, made during a CBS interview released on Sunday, come as the US amasses military units in the Caribbean and has conducted multiple strikes on alleged drug-trafficking vessels, killing dozens.
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