Author: Elizabeth Jenrola Oso

Donald Trump has invoked section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act to place the city’s Metropolitan Police Department under federal control, ordering the deployment of the national guard and describing Washington DC as “lawless”  despite official figures showing crime at historic lows. Speaking on Monday, the US president vowed to allow officers to “do whatever the hell they want” in the face of what he called provocations. “That’s the only language they understand,” he said. “They like to spit in the face of the police. You spit, and we hit, and they get hit real hard.” Defence…

Villagers in Vietnam whose farms are set to be demolished to make way for a $1.5bn (£1.18bn) golf resort backed by the Trump family have reportedly been offered rice provisions and cash compensation of as little as $12 (£9.40) per square metre by state authorities. According to Reuters, thousands of villagers in Hung Yen province, south of Hanoi, will receive payouts based on the size and location of their land. Elderly farmers told the agency they feared losing their farms would leave them without a stable livelihood. The luxury development, the first project by the Trump Organization in Vietnam, broke…

In a Fox News interview broadcast on Sunday, Vance sought to deflect criticism of the administration’s refusal to release the “Epstein files” by blaming Democrats.

The Gravelines nuclear power plant in northern France has been forced to shut down after a massive swarm of jellyfish clogged the filter drums that draw in cooling water, its state-owned operator, EDF, has confirmed. The facility, one of the largest in France, is cooled via a canal linked to the North Sea. According to EDF, four reactors were affected in the incident, which occurred late on Sunday, prompting a complete halt in production. Reactors 2, 3 and 4 automatically shut down when the pumping station’s filter drums became packed with what EDF described as a “massive and unpredictable” influx…

Tourist trails on Mount Vesuvius in southern Italy have been closed as firefighters continue to battle a huge blaze sweeping across the volcano’s slopes. Officials have also warned of another “challenging day” for crews tackling France’s largest wildfire since 1949. The wildfire on Mount Vesuvius, near Naples, broke out several days ago and by Saturday afternoon had spread to roughly 3km (1.9 miles) wide, destroying hundreds of hectares of woodland and killing wildlife. Thick smoke was visible from both Pompeii and Naples. Six Canadair firefighting aircraft have been deployed from the state fleet, while teams comprising firefighters, soldiers, forestry corps,…

Shares in US footwear company Crocs tumbled by almost 30% on Thursday after the firm warned of falling sales, citing the impact of tariffs, “super cautious” American consumers and signs that the “ugly shoe” trend may be losing steam. The Colorado-based maker of foam clogs and sandals saw its share price fall 29.2%, following a forecast that revenues could decline between 9% and 11% in the current quarter. Analysts had expected a slight increase. The plunge wiped the company’s valuation to its lowest level in almost three years. Chief executive Andrew Rees said there was “ample evidence” that many North…

The summit at Chevening came ahead of a planned meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin next Friday in Alaska.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has insisted that “Ukrainians will not give their land to occupiers” after Donald Trump said any end to the war with Russia must involve “some swapping of territories”.

People’s connection to nature has plummeted by more than 60% since 1800, closely mirroring the disappearance of nature-related words such as “river”, “moss” and “blossom” from books, according to new research. Computer modelling suggests that this decline will continue unless far-reaching societal and policy changes are implemented  with introducing children to nature at an early age and radically greening urban areas identified as the most effective interventions. The study, published in the journal Earth by Professor Miles Richardson, a nature connectedness expert at the University of Derby, tracked the erosion of nature in people’s lives over 220 years using data…

Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, has dismissed the possibility of a United States military incursion into her country, following reports that Donald Trump had authorised the use of force against Latin American drug cartels designated as terrorist organisations.