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Nobel winner says Trump just made 'America's weakness' clear with one foolish move

Donald Trump's recent comments on Truth Social and during a speech addressing the war with Iran have made the United States look foolish, a Nobel Prize winner claimed. Paul Krugman believes the president has made America look like a laughing stock in recent weeks. But the long-term damage of doing so makes Trump's administration an unreliable ally to world leaders who would previously be reassured by the US as an ally. Not anymore, according to the veteran economist, who says the recent statements made by Trump have undermined America's world standing. Writing in his Substack, Krugman suggested Trump's rhetoric has not only severed close ties with friendly nations but emboldened other, more aggressive countries to take action. "Think about Gulf states that relied on America to protect them and preserve their access to world markets," he wrote. "Now they know that we can’t and won’t, while Iran holds a knife at their throats.""They’re now looking to themselves for security — and starting to buy equipment and technology from Ukraine, which has learned the hard way how to fight a modern war."Think about Asian and European nations that have swallowed Trump’s many insults, and mostly avoided retaliating against his tariffs, because they feared both U.S. power and the loss of U.S. support. Now America’s weakness and unreliability have been laid bare."Krugman went on to suggest previous statements made by Trump, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, had worsened the war. Trump's comments on the importance of oil have only made it harder for his administration, the veteran economist suggested. "In Trump’s mind, control over fossil fuels is the essence of national greatness," Krugman wrote. "In his inaugural address, Trump declared that 'We will drill, baby, drill … We will be a rich nation again, and it is that liquid gold under our feet that will help to do it.'""But this was obvious nonsense. For one thing, the narrative that woke environmentalists had hobbled U.S. fossil fuel production was at odds with the reality that fracking had in fact caused a boom in oil and gas production that began under Obama and continued under Republican and Democratic administrations alike.""Trump has been doing all he can to block development of wind and solar power, in the apparent belief that this will empower America. But what it actually does is empower regimes that are in a position to disrupt world oil supply, while having little to lose from chaos in the world economy. Which means, above all, Iran."

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Picture this: A raffle offers a Picasso for 100 euros to fund Alzheimer’s research

A raffle in France offers the chance to win a Picasso portrait for a 100-euro ticket

Nigerian army general and several soldiers killed during an assault on a base in the northeast

Nigeria's officials say that an army general and several soldiers have been killed during an attempt to raid a military base in the northeast

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Trump ‘reaping bitter fruit’ of thinking Iran intervention as easy as Venezuela, says former diplomat

John Feeley says US president was ‘flush with victory’ of Maduro capture and could make same mistake in CubaDonald Trump is “reaping the bitter fruit” of erroneously thinking that the capture of Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, offered a blueprint for toppling the Iranian regime, according to one of the US state department’s most respected former Latin America experts.John Feeley, a Marine helicopter pilot who later served as the US ambassador to Panama, believed Trump had been “flush with the victory from Venezuela” when he made the ill-fated decision to attack Iran in February, leaving a trail of destruction across the Middle East and dealing a hammer blow to the global economy. Continue reading...

Weather tracker: Cyclone Maila batters Solomon Islands with 115mph winds

Powerful storm brings destruction, while temperatures soar in Vietnam and torrential rain lashes South KoreaSevere Tropical Cyclone Maila, currently in the Solomon Sea, is expected to continue moving south-westwards over the coming days. According to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, Maila had peak sustained winds of 115mph (185km/h), with gusts up to 160mph on Thursday, making it the strongest cyclone recorded this far north in the Solomon Sea.The storm has caused widespread damage across the Solomon Islands, particularly in Western, Choiseul and Isabel provinces, where schools, clinics and homes have been damaged. The government is prioritising humanitarian assistance after about 120 people were displaced and almost 73,000 people affected overall. Continue reading...