2 h. ago The facts are stark: Europe must open the door to migrants, or face its own extinction | George Monbiot

Plummeting birth rates mean that without attracting immigration, many countries are sliding towards collapseI know what “civilisational erasure” looks like: I’ve seen the graph. The European Commission published it in March. It’s a chart of total fertility rate: the average number of children born per woman. After a minor bump over the past 20 years, the EU rate appears to be declining once more, and now stands at 1.38. The UK’s is 1.44. A population’s replacement rate is 2.1. You may or may not see this as a disaster, but the maths doesn’t care what you think. We are gliding, as if by gravitational force, towards the ground.Civilisational erasure is the term the Trump administration used in its new national security strategy, published last week. It claimed that immigration, among other factors, will result in the destruction of European civilisation. In reality, without immigration there will be no Europe, no civilisation and no one left to argue about it.George Monbiot is a Guard...

Events

4 h. ago Planning to visit the US? Take it from this American citizen – don’t | Eleanor Limprecht

I love many things about the land of my birth but Donald Trump’s America has become an unwelcoming country of deep divisions and waning trustI’m in the US right now, but if I didn’t have family here (and a US passport), I wouldn’t be. My teenagers and I flew over the week of Thanksgiving from Australia, preparing ourselves for long lines and extra questions at customs. It took less than five minutes in the US citizens’ line.With the news this week of the Trump administration planning to implement new invasive requirements for travellers from 42 countries, including Australia, that would require five years of social media history for visas, I would simply not travel here on another passport. There are plenty of places which welcome visitors without trawling their political opinions and family history. Continue reading...

Politics

4 h. ago Why is Trump going after Venezuela? His administration has so far floated these three reasons for its pressure campaign

Trump said that “other things are happening” in addition to the U.S. military’s seizure of a Venezuelan oil tanker

Politics

5 h. ago Noem confronted by deported veteran after insisting no former military were forced out of country

Kristi Noem was confronted by a deported veteran after she insisted that no former US military personnel had been removed from the country under the Trump administration.

Events

7 h. ago Putin phones Venezuelan president to offer Russia's support after Trump seizes oil tanker off coast

Putin called Maduro a day after United States forces seized control of an oil tanker in Venezuela as part of an escalation in tensions between the Trump administration and Maduro's government.

Politics

7 h. ago Trump expands Venezuela sanctions as Maduro decries new ‘era of piracy’

Six more oil supertankers added to sanctions list, as well as members of Maduro’s extended family, amid rising tensions following tanker seizureDonald Trump has exerted more pressure on Venezuela’s president Nicolás Maduro, expanding sanctions and issuing fresh threats to strike land targets in Venezuela, as the South American dictator accused the US president of ushering in a new “era of criminal naval piracy” in the Caribbean.Late on Thursday, the US imposed curbs on three nephews of Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores, as well as six crude oil supertankers and the shipping companies linked to them. The treasury department alleged the vessels “engaged in deceptive and unsafe shipping practices and continue to provide financial resources that fuel Maduro’s corrupt narco-terrorist regime”. Continue reading...

Politics

7 h. ago Federal judge orders FEMA to restore billions in canceled disaster mitigation funding

A federal judge in Massachusetts has ordered the Trump administration to restore billions in canceled FEMA disaster mitigation funding

Events

7 h. ago US ‘prepares to board more Venezuela oil tankers’ as White House ‘won’t watch them sail the seas’ & sanctions 6 more

US officials are reportedly preparing to storm and seize more tankers transporting Venezuelan oil to put pressure on dictator Nicolás Maduro. Tensions between Washington and Caracas escalated when rifle-wielding US troops rappelled from helicopters to raid an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. Stunning footage showed commandos sweeping through the ship as they executed...

Events

9 h. ago Trump and White House blast ‘Fake News’ journalists and negative polls as president pushes affordability agenda: Live updates

A new poll found Trump’s approval rating on the economy has declined substantially in recent months

Politics

11 h. ago ICE issues deportation order for Belarusian woman extradited by FBI

Yana Leonova faces multiple charges including fraud and conspiracy for smuggling US aviation parts to RussiaAn ongoing FBI investigation into a Belarusian woman accused of smuggling US aviation parts and electronics to Russia is teetering on the brink of collapse after being caught in what one judge called a “Kafkaesque” case brought on by the Trump administration’s attempts to deport her before she faces trial.Federal prosecutors had worked for over a year to secure the extradition of Yana Leonova, who faces multiple charges including fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering. But their efforts unraveled when immigration officials abruptly issued an order to detain and deport her soon after she was flown into the US last month, a move that plunged the case into legal chaos. Continue reading...

Events

11 h. ago US seizure of rogue oil tanker off Venezuela signals new crackdown on shadow fleet

The recent seizure of an oil tanker known as Skipper by the U.S. off the coast of Venezuela marks a dramatic escalation of President Donald Trump’s campaign to choke off Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro’s access to oil revenues

Events

11 h. ago Trump administration creates new militarized zone in California along southern US border

Trump hands 760 acres of California public land to the navy for a new defense zone, deepening border militarizationThe US’s southern border is poised to become more militarized following an announcement by Trump administration officials that armed forces would now oversee 760 acres of public land for a three-year period.The US Department of Interior said in a statement that jurisdiction over this acreage – located in California’s San Diego and Imperial counties – would be transferred to the US navy “to establish a National Defense Area to support ongoing border security operations”. Continue reading...

Events

13 h. ago US national park gift shops ordered to purge merchandise promoting DEI

The Trump administration is expanding its crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion by ordering national parks to remove certain items from gift shops

Politics

13 h. ago White House intends to seize oil from stormed Venezuelan tanker it claims is Iran ‘shadow vessel’: Live updates

White House will also conduct an investigation of the vessel, including by interviewing those aboard

Events

14 h. ago Noem links the seizure of an oil tanker off Venezuela to US antidrug efforts

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has linked the seizure of an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela to the Trump administration's counterdrug efforts

Events

14 h. ago Dramatic moment shows cops rescuing FBI agent from car dangling from overpass

This is the moment that cops rescued an FBI agent who was stuck in a car that was dangling off an interstate overpass.

Events

15 h. ago Noem defends seizure of Venezuelan oil tanker and gets combative with Democrats during Congressional hearing: Live updates

Noem’s testimony comes a day after the US escalated tensions with Venezuela by seizing an oil tanker off the country’s coast

Politics

16 h. ago US lawmakers condemn seizure of Venezuelan oil tanker: ‘Trump is sleepwalking us into a war’

Unease grows in Washington, including among some Republicans, over Trump administration’s escalating military posture in the CaribbeanUS politics live – latest updatesSenior Democratic lawmakers and at least one Republican have condemned Wednesday’s seizure of a Venezuelan oil tanker off the nation’s coast, with one saying Donald Trump is “sleepwalking us into a war with Venezuela”.There is growing, at least somewhat bipartisan unease in Washington over the administration’s escalating military posture in the region. Trump has accused Venezuela of facilitating drug trafficking, and increased the US military presence in the Caribbean to a level not seen in decades. The administration has also conducted a campaign of bombings of alleged drug boats, killing more than 80 people so far. Continue reading...

Events

16 h. ago Noem faces Congressional grilling over deportation efforts and threats to the US: Live updates

Noem’s testimony comes a day after the US escalated tensions with Venezuela by seizing an oil tanker off the country’s coast

Events

17 h. ago Trump administration separates thousands of migrant families in the US

A new wave of immigration enforcement is dividing families inside the U.S. Federal officials and their local law enforcement partners are detaining tens of thousands of asylum-seekers and migrants

Politics