31 h. ago The Trump administration sinks to a new low – opening fire on drowning men | Jonathan Freedland

These deadly US boat strikes are the latest example of a president corrupting both the law and moralityThe Trump administration looks ever more like a criminal enterprise – and now it seems to have added war crimes to its repertoire. Though even that may be too generous a description.On Thursday, word came that the US military had launched yet another deadly strike on a small boat moving through international waters. This time the attack killed four people, bringing to at least 87 the number of people the US has killed in a series of 22 such strikes on what it says are drug boats – vessels carrying illicit narcotics in the Caribbean or eastern Pacific.Jonathan Freedland is a Guardian columnistGuardian newsroom: Year One of Trumpism: Is Britain Emulating the US? On Wednesday 21 January 2026, join Jonathan Freedland, Tania Branigan and Nick Lowles as they reflect on the first year of Donald Trump’s second presidency – and to ask if Britain could be set on the same path. Book tickets h...

Events

33 h. ago Four killed in latest ‘drug boat’ strike as Hegseth faces war crimes accusations

The US military conducted another deadly strike on an alleged drug boat, killing four men on board.

Events

39 h. ago Cloudflare outage hits major web services including X, LinkedIn and Zoom – business live

Cloudflare reports it is investigating issues with Cloudflare Dashboard and related APIsTechnical problems at internet infrastructure provider Cloudflare today have taken a host of websites offline this morning.Cloudflare said shortly after 9am UK time that it is “is investigating issues with Cloudflare Dashboard and related APIs [application programming interfaces – used when apps exchange data with each other]. Continue reading...

Society

49 h. ago US military conducts strike on another suspected drug boat as probe into the first strike begins

U.S. Southern Command says it has conducted another strike against a small boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean, following a pause of almost three weeks

Events

49 h. ago Pentagon announces it has killed four men in another boat strike in Pacific

Strike comes amid congressional turmoil over legality of US attacks on suspected drug smugglersThe Pentagon announced on Thursday that the US military’s southern command had conducted another deadly strike on a boat suspected of carrying illegal narcotics, killing four men in the eastern Pacific.Video of the new strike was posted on social media by the US southern command, based in Florida, with a statement saying that, at the direction of Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary, “Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel in international waters operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization”. Continue reading...

Events

51 h. ago Takeaways from the Navy's investigations into 4 mishaps during Houthi campaign

The Navy has released investigative reports into four mishaps that all involve the aircraft carrier USS Harry S

Events

52 h. ago Stress of Houthi combat was a key factor in series of costly Navy mishaps, investigations show

Investigative reports into a series of high-profile Navy mishaps during a U.S.-led campaign against Yemen’s Houthi rebels reveal the operation's toll on ships and personnel

Culture

53 h. ago Experts urge release of boat strike video as US admiral denies ‘kill them all’ order

Democrat Jim Himes calls footage ‘one of the most troubling scenes’ he’s observed in public serviceAnalysis: Killing of survivors sparks outrage – but entire US ‘drug boat’ war is legally shakyTop Democratic and Republican lawmakers in Congress on Thursday said that the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, had not ordered the military to kill surviving members of a a deadly attack on a boat alleged to be carrying drugs in the Caribbean, but differed over whether the double strike was appropriate.The allegation that Hegseth ordered the killing of survivors sparked bipartisan concern in Washington that he or others involved may have committed a war crime. On Thursday, US navy admiral Frank Bradley, who commanded the attack, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Caine, appeared before the House and Senate’s armed services and intelligence committees for a closed briefing in which they showed video and discussed the attack with lawmakers. Continue reading...

Events

55 h. ago US lawmakers call for inquiry into second US military strike on alleged Caribbean drug boat

Democratic representative Jim Himes, who saw footage of attack, called it ‘one of the most troubling scenes’ he’s observed in public serviceAnalysis: Killing of survivors sparks outrage – but entire US ‘drug boat’ war is legally shakyA Democratic congressman described an unedited video of an extrajudicial military strike that killed two survivors in the Caribbean as “one of the most troubling scenes” he’s seen in public service, as human rights advocates and policy experts are lining up to demand the video’s public release.Congressman Jim Himes, the ranking member of the House intelligence committee, made the remarks on Thursday after viewing footage in a classified briefing of the 2 September follow-up attack that killed two men clinging to wreckage off the coast of Venezuela. His assessment came as experts called the operation murder under international law. Continue reading...

Events

59 h. ago Military general to claim survivors of boat strike were trying to continue their drug run when hit with second attack

Admiral Frank ‘Mitch’ Bradley is expected to explain how he concluded the survivors were legitimate targets for another attack

Events

61 h. ago Killing of survivors sparks outrage – but entire US ‘drug boat’ war is legally shaky

Pentagon’s Law of War manual clearly prohibits attack, but justification for whole campaign also faces tough questionsGraphic depictions of two survivors being killed by a second US military strike on an alleged Venezuelan drug ferrying boat have provoked outrage where previously there was none – or at least relatively little.A firestorm of controversy has greeted a recent Washington Post report which suggested that a deadly attack on a vessel carrying 11 people in the Caribbean was followed with a second assault after the initial strike failed to kill everybody onboard. Continue reading...

Events

3 d. ago Trump tees up land strikes in Venezuela as ultimatum hangs over Maduro: 'We know every route, we know every house'

President Donald Trump teased that the US military may soon strike land targets within Venezuela after its sustained assault on narco-terrorist boats allegedly hauling drugs to the US.

Politics

3 d. ago Wes Streeting orders review of mental health diagnoses as benefit claims soar

Health secretary has asked experts to investigate whether normal feelings have become ‘over-pathologised’The health secretary, Wes Streeting, has ordered a clinical review of the diagnosis of mental health conditions, according to reports. Streeting is understood to be concerned about a sharp rise in the number of people making sickness benefits claims because of diagnoses for mental illness, autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the Times reported. He has asked leading experts to investigate whether normal feelings have become “over-pathologised”, the newspaper said, as he seeks to grapple with the 4.4 million working-age people now claiming sickness or incapacity benefit. The figure has risen by 1.2 million since 2019, while the number of 16 to 34-year-olds off work with long-term sickness because of a mental health condition is said to have grown rapidly in the same period. Streeting told the Times he knew from “personal experience how devastating it can be ...

Science

3 d. ago Pentagon knew boat attack left survivors but still launched a follow

The Pentagon knew there were survivors after a September attack on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean Sea and the U.S. military still carried out a follow-up strike

Events

3 d. ago Family of Colombian man killed in US strike in the Caribbean files human rights challenge

The family of a Colombian man has filed a formal challenge to U.S. military strikes on alleged drug-carrying boats

Events

3 d. ago Pentagon watchdog finds Hegseth’s use of Signal posed risk to US personnel, AP sources say

The Pentagon’s watchdog has found that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth put U.S. personnel and mission at risk when he used the Signal messaging app to convey sensitive information about a military strike against Houthi militants in Yemen

Events

3 d. ago Pub takes decision to close for a time after customers fall ill

An investigation is underway into reports of illness "potentially linked" to a pub in Maesteg

Economics

3 d. ago Final Hillsborough report provides closure but not consequences

Failings of legal system mean 97 people were unlawfully killed, but no one will be held accountableWhen the Independent Office for Police Conduct published the final report on its mammoth investigation into the Hillsborough disaster, the response from bereaved families and survivors was conflicted.Some of the IOPC’s findings could be regarded as historic, in particular that 12 former officers would have had cases to answer for gross misconduct, including Peter Wright, the chief constable of South Yorkshire police at the time of the 1989 disaster. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Final Hillsborough report ends investigation with no consequences

Failings of legal system mean 97 people were unlawfully killed, but no one will be held accountableWhen the Independent Office for Police Conduct published the final report on its mammoth investigation into the Hillsborough disaster, the response from bereaved families and survivors was conflicted.Some of the IOPC’s findings could be regarded as historic, in particular that 12 former officers would have had cases to answer for gross misconduct, including Peter Wright, the chief constable of South Yorkshire police at the time of the 1989 disaster. Continue reading...

Events

4 d. ago Trump fires off furious expletive as he's grilled on 'war crime' strike on drug smugglers

President Donald Trump and Department of War Secretary Pete Hegseth lauded the commander in charge of authorizing controversial lethal strikes on Venezuelan drug boats on Tuesday.

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