11 h. ago People from Venezuela and neighbouring countries: share your reaction to US raid

We’d like to hear from people in Venezuela, as well as from neighbouring countries mentioned by the Trump administration, about how they are responding to recent US actionsAs Donald Trump prepares to make his first public appearance since Venezuela’s former president, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores, appeared in a US court and pleaded not guilty to all charges, there is growing international concern over the shock US military operation in Venezuela, which the UN human rights office has said undermined a fundamental principle of international law.We would like to hear from Venezuelans, both in the country and abroad, about how you are feeling in the wake of these events – either positively or negatively – and what concerns or hopes you have for Venezuela’s future. You might want to share how this is affecting you personally, your family, or people you know on the ground. Continue reading...

Politics

27 h. ago Ben Jennings on Donald Trump’s attitude to international law – cartoon

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Politics

30 h. ago Now Musk’s Grok chatbot is creating sexualised images of children. If the law won’t stop it, perhaps his investors will | Sophia Smith Galer

The owner of X has grown used to acting with impunity – but this may be a red line for those with ‘conservative values’ who fund his adventures in free speechIt’s a sickening law of the internet that the first thing people will try to do with a new tool is strip women. Grok, X’s AI chatbot, has been used repeatedly by users in recent days to undress images of women and minors. The news outlet Reuters identified 102 requests in a 10-minute period last Friday from users to get Grok to edit people into bikinis, the majority of these targeting young women. Grok complied with at least 21 of them.There is no excuse for releasing exploitative tools on the internet when you are sitting on $10bn (£7.5bn) in cash. Every platform with AI integration (which now covers almost the entire internet) is planning for the same challenges; if you want to enable users to create images and even videos with generative AI, how do you do so without letting the same people cause harm? Tech companies spend mo...

Society

34 h. ago US raid on Venezuela ‘undermined a fundamental principle of international law’, says UN rights body – live

Spokesperson for UN high commissioner says ‘accountability for human rights violations cannot be achieved by unilateral military intervention’Deposed Maduro pleads not guilty after capture in shock US attack on VenezuelaUS foes and allies denounce Trump’s ‘crime of aggression’ in Venezuela at UN meetingMy colleague Sibylla Brodzinsky has reported on the relationship between the US and Colombia, home to significant oil reserves. Here is an extract from her story:Colombia has long been a close partner of the US in the fight against drug trafficking and enjoyed bipartisan support in Washington but relations have soured dramatically since Trump came to office.Colombia’s narcotics trade is largely controlled by illegal armed groups such as the Gulf Clan, the National Liberation Army (ELN) and dissident factions of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) guerrilla group, the majority of whose members demobilised after a 2016 peace deal Continue reading...

Society

36 h. ago Why managing Trump is far more important than defending international law for Starmer

Political editor David Maddox explains why Sir Keir Starmer could be the pivotal figure in Paris for the conference on Ukraine when European leaders know that they have to ‘manage’ Trump

Politics

36 h. ago Cooper says she raised international law with US over Venezuela

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper addressed the Commons after Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro entered a not guilty plea in court in New York.

Society

40 h. ago Europe’s failure to condemn Trump’s illegal aggression in Venezuela isn’t just wrong – it’s stupid | Nathalie Tocci

The more European countries act as colonies, unable and unwilling to stand up to Trump, the more they’ll be treated as suchThere is no two without a three, as we say in Italian. After their complicit silence on Israel’s war crimes in Gaza and their tacit acceptance of the US/Israel attack on Iran, Europeans now hesitate to condemn the US’s audacious military operation to bring about regime change in Venezuela. With few notable exceptions – such as Spain, the Netherlands and Norway – most European leaders have fudged their response. Spain, in fact, has acted without its EU partners, condemning the US attack alongside a group of Latin American countries. European governments seem unable to utter in the same breath that, although Nicolás Maduro was an illegitimate dictator, the US attack to topple him is a gross violation of international law.The French president, Emmanuel Macron, the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, and the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, at least...

Events

45 h. ago Keir Starmer refuses to say whether Donald Trump's capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro broke international law

The Prime Minister, who has lectured opponents on the importance of international law for years, insisted it remained 'the benchmark against which we judge the actions of all other governments'.

Politics

49 h. ago Starmer criticised for not querying legality of Trump’s Venezuela attack

Some Labour MPs want the UK prime minister to label the US intervention as a breach of international law

Politics

49 h. ago Cooper says she raised international law with Rubio over Venezuela

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper addressed the Commons after Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro entered a not guilty plea in court in New York.

Society

50 h. ago The Guardian view on Europe’s response to ‘America first’ imperialism: too weak, too timid | Editorial

Sir Keir Starmer and European leaders must defend the rule of international law, as a dangerous new world order emergesThe initial reaction of European leaders to Donald Trump’s illegal military intervention in Venezuela was not only weak, it also had the briefest of shelf lives. Refusing on Sunday to condemn the attack as a breach of international law, European Union member states called hopefully for “a negotiated, democratic, inclusive and peaceful solution to the crisis, led by Venezuelans”. The delusional nature of that response was laid bare as Mr Trump told reporters the same day: “We’re in charge.”So much for the restoration of democracy. The US president also repeated threats of further military action, should the repressive regime left behind when Nicolás Maduro was seized fail to do Washington’s bidding. As Mr Trump’s marginalising of the Nobel prize-winning opposition figurehead María Corina Machado illustrated early on, the will of Ven...

Politics

52 h. ago Did the US and Donald Trump break international law in Venezuela?

The US detention of Venezuela's President Maduro raises concerns over legality and international law

Politics

52 h. ago Marco Rubio sees his 2028 odds soar on Polymarket after Venezuela attacks

Secretary of state’s role in ousting of Nicolas Maduro raises prospects of White House run as President Donald Trump’s successor – but JD Vance still in pole position

Events

53 h. ago Spain's left wing PM lashes out at Trump for 'violating international law' with Maduro capture while most EU leaders attempt 'balancing act' to avoid condemning US President

Spain's left-wing prime minister Pedro Sánchez has lashed out at Donald Trump for capturing Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro

Politics

53 h. ago With Trump’s military action in Venezuela, the US has made every other country less safe | Volker Türk

This weakens the only mechanism we have to prevent world conflict, namely the UN. The international community must stand up for the rule of lawVolker Türk is UN high commissioner for human rightsThe US military operation in Venezuela undermines a fundamental principle of international law, agreed after the horrors of two world wars and the Holocaust: states must not use force to pursue their territorial claims or political demands.I am deeply disturbed by these events – and by some of the reactions I have seen. A narrative is emerging that seeks to justify the US military intervention as a response to the Nicolás Maduro government’s appalling human rights record.Volker Türk has been the UN high commissioner for human rights since 2022 Continue reading...

Events

55 h. ago Trump breached international law with Venezuela operation, suggests Swinney

The South American country’s president Nicolas Maduro was arrested and taken to the US over the weekend.

Politics

56 h. ago Hands off Greenland! Starmer backs Denmark's rebuke to Trump

Keir Starmer threw his support behind Denmark after it rebuked the president's persistent demands to take the territory.

Politics

57 h. ago Starmer says international law is 'complicated' as he desperately tries to sit on fence over Trump's Venezuela raid... but does manage to condemn US threats to Greenland

Keir Starmer dodged saying whether he believed the US had broken the law with the extraordinary seizure of Nicola Maduro from Caracas.

Politics

58 h. ago Was Trump’s attack on Venezuela illegal? What international law says about Maduro’s capture

This is clearly a blatant, illegal and criminal act, say law experts

Events

58 h. ago Donald Trump has broken international law over Venezuela regime change, says John Swinney

The First Minister said "I cannot see how international law has been respected here" after US troops pulled Nicolás Maduro from his bed and flew him to an American jail.

Politics