Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, who was awarded the prestigious honour in 2023 for her work defending women’s rights and human rights in Iran, has been “violently” detained, according to her supporters. 

She was detained by Iranian authorities in the city of Mashhad, some 680 kilometres (420 miles) northeast of the capital, Tehran, on Friday, a foundation in her name said.

Ms Mohammadi, 53, was attending a memorial for a human rights lawyer who was recently found dead under unclear circumstances.

A local official reportedly confirmed arrests were made but did not specifically mention Ms Mohammadi.

It was not immediately clear whether authorities would return her to prison, where she had been serving a sentence before she was temporarily released in December 2024 for medical purposes.

Mohammadi’s detention comes amid Iran’s crackdown on intellectuals and activists, as Tehran grapples with sanctions, a weakening economy, and fears of a renewed conflict with Israel.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate’s detention may also intensify Western pressure at a time when Iran has repeatedly indicated interest in new negotiations with the United States over its nuclear program, which have not yet taken place.

‘Deeply concerned’

The Norwegian Nobel Committee, the body that awards the Nobel Peace Prize, said it was “deeply concerned” by Mohammadi’s arrest.

The committee “calls on the Iranian authorities to immediately clarify Mohammadi’s whereabouts, ensure her safety and integrity, and to release her without conditions,” it said in a statement.

Image:
Ali and Kiana Rahmani receive the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize for their mother, Narges Mohammadi. Pic: AP.

She was arrested by police and security forces alongside other activists while attending a ceremony honouring Khosrow Alikordi, a 46-year-old Iranian lawyer and human rights advocate who had been based in Mashhad.

Mr Alikordi was found dead in his office earlier this month, reportedly from a heart attack. His death has prompted over 80 lawyers to demand more information.

Hadi Ghaemi, the executive director of the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran, said what happened on Friday “is the Islamic Republic’s latest assault on the most basic human freedoms – where even mourning a slain lawyer becomes a punishable act”.

Footage reportedly from the ceremony showed Mohammadi speaking into a microphone, addressing the crowd without wearing a hijab or headscarf.

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She led the crowd in chants of Majidreza Rahnavard’s name, a man executed publicly by hanging from a crane in 2022.

Video released by her foundation showed her without a hijab, standing among a large crowd.

Hasan Hosseini, the city governor of Mashhad, said prosecutors ordered the temporary detention of some ceremony participants after “norm-breaking” chants, calling the move preventive to protect attendees.

Video footage reportedly captured additional anti-government chants, though Hosseini did not address claims of violence during the arrests.

Health fears

Supporters had long warned that Mohammadi could be returned to prison after her December 2024 medical furlough, initially set for three weeks but extended, possibly due to activist and international pressure.

She continued her activism during this period, including protests and media appearances, even outside Tehran’s notorious Evin prison.

Mohammadi had been serving nearly 14 years for charges including collusion against state security and propaganda, and for supporting protests following Mahsa Amini‘s 2022 death.

Medical experts warned that returning her to prison, especially under stressful conditions without proper care, could seriously harm her health.

An engineer by training, Mohammadi has been imprisoned 13 times, convicted five times, and sentenced to over 30 years in total.

Her most recent detention began in 2021 after attending a memorial for a protest victim.

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Kim Jong Un participates in latest public event to honour North Korean troops who served with Russian forces in war against Ukraine.

Published On 13 Dec 202513 Dec 2025

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North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un has hugged injured soldiers in wheelchairs at a ceremony in the capital, Pyongyang, to welcome home troops who served with Russian forces in the war against Ukraine.

State-run Korean Central News Agency said on Saturday that Kim praised the “mass heroism” of the returning 528th Regiment of Engineers of the Korean People’s Army, which had served in Russia’s Kursk region.

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Kim hailed the regiment’s conduct during its 120-day overseas deployment, which commenced in early August and involved combat and engineering duties, including mine clearing in the Kursk region of Russia, where Ukrainian forces had infiltrated and occupied for months before withdrawing.

“You could work a miracle of turning a vast area of danger zone into a safe and secure one in a matter of less than three months, the task which was believed to be impossible to be carried out even in several years,” Kim said, according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.

“The armed villains of the West, armed with whatever latest military hardware they are, cannot match this revolutionary army with an unfathomable spiritual depth,” Kim added at the ceremony on Friday.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Friday welcomed soldiers from the Korean People’s Army’s 528th Regiment of Engineers, who returned from an overseas deployment in Russia’s Kursk region [KCNA via AFP]

The North’s leader also spoke of the “heartrending loss” of nine members of the regiment and announced that the unit would be conferred with the Order of Freedom and Independence. The deceased troops would also be honoured with the title Hero of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, KCNA said, referring to North Korea’s official name.

Video footage of the ceremony released by North Korea showed uniformed soldiers disembarking from an aircraft and Kim embracing soldiers seated in wheelchairs, as other soldiers and officials gathered to welcome the troops.

The Russian Ministry of Defence confirmed last month that North Korean troops, who had helped Russia repel Ukraine’s incursion into Kursk, were now involved in clearing the area of mines.

Concluding a key meeting of his ruling Workers’ Party of Korea on Thursday, Kim also praised the deployment of North Korean troops in support of Russia’s war on Ukraine, saying it “demonstrated to the world the prestige of our army”.

North Korea’s “ever-victorious army” was the “genuine protector of international justice”, Kim said.

Under a mutual defence pact between Moscow and Pyongyang, an estimated 14,000 North Korean soldiers were deployed to fight for Russia, with the number of those killed or wounded ranging between 3,000 and 4,000.

The welcoming ceremony held on Friday marks the latest event to publicly honour North Korean soldiers who served in Russia’s war on Ukraine.

In October, Kim was featured embracing weeping soldiers at a ground-breaking ceremony for a planned memorial to those who fought for Russia, and in June, state media showed Kim draping coffins with the national flag in what appeared to be the repatriation of soldiers’ remains from Russia.

The welcoming home ceremony on Friday in Pyongyang, North Korea, for the Korean People’s Army’s 528th Regiment of Engineers [KCNA via AFP]



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Terence Baxter* had booked a meet-and-greet service to park his Volkswagen at Heathrow airport while he and his wife went on holiday. The couple handed over the keys at the drop-off site and were driven to the terminal – and that was the last they saw of their car. On their return they were informed by the company it had been stolen.

Their case comes as airports and police forces are warning travellers to be wary of “unofficial” operators advertising cheap long-stay parking after a rise in complaints.

Returning holidaymakers have been reporting vehicles that have been damaged, burgled or stolen while in the care of meet-and-greet companies.

Some have received penalty charge notices (PCNs) for parking breaches while their cars were in supposedly secure compounds, while others were left stranded at the arrivals terminal when their meet-and-greet service failed to materialise.

Anyone can set up as a parking operator and trade legally, provided they are not in breach of airline bylaws. The unscrupulous companies usually do not have contracts with landowners. Some operators “moonlight” from the car parks of airport hotels – where customers are directed to drop off their cars – and then dump the vehicles on land outside the airport perimeter, including on construction sites and in fields.

Some motorists received PCNs for parking breaches while their cars were in supposedly secure compounds. Photograph: Alan Novelli/Alamy

Baxter used a comparison website, Compare Your Parking, to find a long-stay deal. He clicked a recommended option, Heathrow Park & Ride, and paid £109 for three weeks’ parking at a secure site. Almost a month later he was informed that his booking had been amended, and the service provider would now be a company called Park At Airport Ltd. The drop-off location was the car park of the Heathrow Holiday Inn, where he was met by an agent in a car. The paperwork was completed in the boot.

On the couple’s return to the UK, they called the number provided and were promised they would be met in the arrivals hall and taken to their car.

“They didn’t come,” Baxter says. “I had to phone them again five times. Eventually, they called to inform me that my car had been stolen, along with seven others.”

Baxter is now pursuing a claim through his insurer that has been classed as “at fault”. He says: “I feel that I am being made to feel like the guilty party, while the car park company seems as if it can walk away and carry on trading with no consequences.”

Customer reviews of Park At Airport on Trustpilot suggest similar experiences. Some report the theft of their vehicle, lost keys or receiving PCNs for parking breaches or unpaid ultra-low emission zone (ULEZ) charges.

Park At Airport blamed vehicle and key thefts on organised criminal gangs and said it was cooperating with a police investigation. It said that the matter of PCNs being issued to customers was being resolved. “We make it clear that vehicles may be moved between compounds,” a spokesperson said. “Unfortunately, there was a recent security breach that affected a relatively small number of customers. Since then, we have implemented enhanced security measures across all our compounds.”

Sussex police told the Guardian it had closed the investigation because of a lack of evidence. “Officers remain aware of ongoing concerns in the local area about the practices of some parking providers,” a spokesperson said. “They continue to work closely with the relevant authorities, including trading standards, to address these issues.”

An investigation last year into airport meet-and-greet companies by the consumer group Which? found that some comparison websites operate in cahoots with unscrupulous parking firms.

“Rogue operators are often prominently listed in search engine results and on some comparison sites. With generic names that change as soon as they attract poor reviews, consumers can easily be caught out,” says the Which? travel expert Guy Hobbs. “In some cases we believe the comparison site and provider to be one and the same.”

Which? recently published a useful guide to the best, and cheapest, on-site and off-site parking options at UK airports.

A dummy booking on Compare Your Parking, the typo-laden comparison site used by Baxter, produced quotes from a range of providers with official-sounding names such as Heathrow Park & Ride and unattributed four- or five-star reviews. In some cases, when we looked, customers had to click through to the small print to discover that the contract was with a differently named company. The companies checked out by the Guardian had one-star reviews on Trustpilot, with customers reporting unsafe storage compounds, theft and damage.

Compare Your Parking is the trading name of Compare Travel Services Ltd, whose director was previously linked to a meet-and-greet service called Wizpark, which attracted some critical reviews from customers on social media. The company did not respond to our requests for a comment.

Heathrow airport this year signed up to a new quality-control initiative designed to vet member parking operators after scores of complaints from scam victims. The approved meet and greet parking operator scheme” (AM-GO), launched by the British Parking Association, is supported by Police Crime Prevention Initiatives and requires member companies to uphold a code of practice. Birmingham airport has also joined the scheme.

Most airports do not yet have a list of approved parking operators. Travellers should read reviews of providers before booking and check they bear the Park Mark logo, which shows that their facilities have passed police safety checks. And if a deal is significantly cheaper than average, beware, as there is probably a catch.

* Name has been changed

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Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Saturday that his country would keep up military strikes on Cambodia until it no longer felt under threat from its neighbor, telling local media there was no ceasefire in place.

Anutin wrote on Facebook that Thailand would “continue to perform military actions until we feel no more harm and threats to our land and people,” after telling reporters it was Cambodia that should first stop its attacks.

“I want to make it clear. Our actions this morning already spoke,” he said.

The recent cross-border clashes, which come after a long-running territorial dispute reignited this year, have displaced more than 500,000 people and killed more than 20 people, including several civilians, with hundreds more wounded, officials say.

Anutin’s statements come after US President Donald Trump on Friday said that both countries had agreed to stop fighting, following days of clashes along their shared 800 kilometer (nearly 550 mile) border.

Cambodia confirms strikes

Cambodia’s Defense Ministry also said in a post on Facebook that “Thai forces have not stopped the bombing and is still continuing the bombing.”

Thailand-Cambodia border clashes escalate

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Its information minister, Neth Pheaktra, said Thai forces had “expanded their attacks to include civilian infrastructure and Cambodian civilians,” something denied by Thailand.

Royal Thai Air Force spokesman Chakkrit Thammavichai said Thai forces were “using high-precision weapons to prevent the damage on innocent civilians.”

Trump says ceasefire agreed in phone calls

On Friday, Trump, who has been mediating in the conflict, said he had spoken by phone with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Anutin, writing on his Truth Social platform that both leaders had agreed to a truce.

“They have agreed to CEASE all shooting effective this evening, and go back to the original Peace Accord” agreed in July, Trump wrote, describing the call as a “very good conversation.”

After the call,  Anutin said Cambodia was “going to comply with the ceasefire”, adding: “The one who violated the agreement needs to fix [the situation].”

Cambodia’s Hun Manet said his country “has always been adhering to peaceful means for dispute resolutions.”

Long-running Thai-Cambodian border dispute

A ceasefire was brokered in July by the US, China and Malaysia after five days of clashes, which was followed by a declaration by the warring parties to prolong the truce.

However, the agreement was suspended in November after landmines injured Thai soldiers at the border.

The border dispute dates back to the 1950s, shortly after Cambodia gained independence from France, and first centered on the disputed ownership of the ancient Hindu Preah Vihear temple before enlarging to include other border areas.

Edited by: Wesley Rahn

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One of the quickest ways to refresh a room without redecorating is with a new rug. Right now, Wayfair is having some great deals on rugs of all sizes from celebrity collections, including Kelly Clarkson Home, Martha Stewart’s line, and Magnolia Home by Joanna Gaines x Loloi. And there’s still time to refresh your space before the holiday guests arrive.

Swapping in a new rug instantly transforms a room with a fresh pop of color, pattern, or texture. Wayfair has thousands of options to suit a variety of styles and budgets, and we rounded up eight standout deals from these popular collections starting at $32. Whether your vibe is minimalist, maximalist, or somewhere in between, there’s a rug for you below — up to 84 percent off.

Best Celebrity Rug Deals at Wayfair

Kelly Clarkson Home Colette Area Rug

Wayfair

We love how this rug from Kelly Clarkson Home fits seamlessly into a variety of styles. Its softly faded pattern works well with traditional decor and antique pieces, while the stain-resistant design keeps it looking like new, even in high-traffic spots. Grab it in eight sizes, including rectangle, runner, and square designs.

Martha Stewart Silk & Wool Geometric Area Rug

Wayfair

This rug from Martha Stewart feels luxurious thanks to its handwoven design, and it has a natural floral print that adds an elegant touch to spaces. The naturally distressed piece provides a lived-in appearance that can hide wear and tear, too. With this normally high-end rug deeply discounted, now is the perfect time to treat your feet — and your home.

Magnolia Home by Joanna Gaines x Loloi Sinclair Runner

Wayfair

Shouldn’t all high-traffic rugs be machine washable? It just makes sense — and Magnolia Home by Joanna Gaines delivers that practicality with style. This runner is durable enough for bathrooms, kitchens, entryways, and pet-friendly spaces. The distressed pattern helps to hide dirt while still looking great. Five-star reviewers love the rug’s beautiful colors and how soft it feels underfoot. With 10 sizes to choose from, there’s an option for nearly any space.

Martha Stewart Sisal/Jute Accent Rug

Wayfair

A jute or sisal rug is another practical choice. Durable, natural accent rugs like these are ideal for placing in entryways, bathrooms, and other high-traffic areas. They also look great layered over larger rugs or when placed on top of carpet. Martha Stewart’s jute/sisal collection doesn’t stop at classic natural tones — it also includes naturally dyed, bold hues like blue, red, and olive green.

Keep scrolling to find more beautiful rugs from Kelly Clarkson, Martha Stewart, and Joanna Gaines’ Wayfair collections. 

Kelly Clarkson Colletta Southwestern Area Rug

Wayfair

Magnolia Home by Joanna Gaines x Loloi Lenna Area Rug

Wayfair

Kelly Clarkson Rhode Machine-Washable Runner

Wayfair

Martha Stewart Floral Accent Rug

Wayfair

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Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor faced fresh humiliation on Friday as more Jeffrey Epstein photos were released.

The latest batch of images was published on the same day as the former Prince and Sarah Ferguson made a rare public appearance for the christening of their granddaughter Athena.

One photograph shows Andrew with Bill Gates at a public event in 2018. The original photo also featured King Charles, but he has been cropped out.

The cache of new images includes snaps of sex predator Epstein parading around with rich and powerful friends including Donald Trump and Bill Clinton. One showing Epstein in his Manhattan townhouse study has sparked a frenzy of speculation because of a disturbing framed photograph on his desk that appears to show an incapacitated woman.

Democratic lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee unveiled the intimate photos, having chosen them from more than 95,000 unseen images handed over from the estate of the late paedophile. Some photos depict graphic sex toys but it is unclear the location or dates of the images.

The cache was released hours after Andrew and Sarah attended the Chapel Royal at St James’s Palace for the christening of Athena, the second daughter of Princess Beatrice, 37, and her property developer husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, 42.

The image of Mountbatten-Windsor and Gates has previously been made public by the Getty Images photo agency, and includes King Charles who has been cropped out of the version by US lawmakers.

According to the caption, it was taken at a summit during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting focusing on malaria in London on April 18, 2018.

Democratic lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee unveiled almost 100 photos from the Epstein estate, including one of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor with US software tycoon Bill Gates

The new cache of photos features several US presidents, including Donald Trump (left) – pictured here with Epstein (centre) and Belgian model Ingrid Seynhaeve (right)

In another photo the current US President is seen posing with six women, whose identities have been redacted

Singer Jimmy Buffett and his wife (left) with US president Bill Clinton (centre), Ghislaine Maxwell (second from right) and Jeffrey Epstein (far right)

These latest images are not the highly anticipated trove of Epstein files many have been expecting after President Trump signed a bill ordering their release – a significant turning point in a months-long fight over the documents. 

The deadline for the full files is next Friday. The Democrat lawmakers may be hoping this disclosure will keep the Epstein case in the news and continue to keep pressure building on Mr Trump. 

Other famous names pictured in the new set include several of the President, along with former US president Bill Clinton, former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, actor Woody Allen, US economist Larry Summers, lawyer Alan Dershowitz and entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson. There is no suggestion any of these men have done anything wrong.

In one of the photos, Mr Trump poses with six unnamed women, whose faces have been obscured by censors to protect their identities. Last night Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released another batch containing more than 70 images, including one of Epstein in a bathtub, taking the total published yesterday to almost 100. 

‘In the interest of transparency, we will continue to release photos from the Epstein estate,’ they said.

When asked about the photos, President Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that Epstein ‘has photos with everybody’.

‘He has hundreds and hundreds of people that have photos with him,’ he said. ‘That’s no big deal, I know nothing about it.’

But it was the image with an apparently unconscious woman draped over a sofa that was causing the most comments. The undated photo shows Epstein at his desk opposite Right-wing political strategist Mr Bannon. The pair had a professional relationship during 2018 and 2019, when Mr Bannon provided media coaching and advice to Epstein.

Film director Woody Allen (left) and Jeffrey Epstein (right) are seen speaking together on what appears to be a movie set

Woody Allen (left) speaking to Steve Bannon (right) on an unknown date in a photo obtained from the Epstein estate

Segway inventor Dean Kamen (left) and billionaire Richard Branson (right), holding a notepad, are seen with Epstein

A framed photo on the right-hand corner of the desk, facing toward Epstein, appears to show a woman lying down, apparently incapacitated. A black box has been placed over her face to protect her identity. The image’s contents cannot be definitively determined, but lurid claims exploded on social media with commenters calling it ‘very disturbing’, ‘vile’ and ‘disgusting’.

‘What a sicko,’ Leasha Knight wrote on X. ‘What appears to be an incapacitated young girl passed out on a couch. You have to be pretty confident you won’t be arrested to have such a deplorable picture on your desk.’

There is also a photo of Democrat former president Clinton which appears to have been signed by him. A spokesman for Clinton has previously acknowledged that he took four trips with his staff on Epstein’s private plane in 2002 and 2003.

Microsoft founder Gates said in a 2021 CNN interview that Epstein joined him for ‘several dinners’, with the computer entrepreneur hoping Epstein’s contacts could help him raise money for global health causes. ‘It was a huge mistake to spend time with him, to give him the credibility of being there,’ Mr Gates said. Spokesmen for Mr Gates have previously maintained that there was no business partnership or personal friendship between the pair.

One photo shows a bowl of condoms with a caricature of Trump’s face along with a sign saying, ‘Trump condom $4.50.’ Each condom shows Trump’s face with the text, ‘I’m HUUUUGE!’

Democrat congressman Robert Garcia said yesterday: ‘These disturbing photos raise even more questions about Epstein and his relationships with some of the most powerful men in the world.’

The White House said: ‘Once again, House Democrats are selectively releasing cherry-picked photos with random redactions to try and create a false narrative.

‘The Democrat hoax against President Trump has been repeatedly debunked.’

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RSV is a common virus that can cause cold and flu symptoms, and it can be serious for babies and older adults

RSV can cause a wide variety of symptoms(Image: Getty Images)

Many people could be battling a potentially severe respiratory illness, mistaking it for the common flu. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a widespread virus that can trigger symptoms similar to a cold or flu; however, it can pose serious risks for infants and older adults if contracted.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) reports that cases of both influenza and RSV are on the rise across the UK as we approach the winter season’s midpoint. RSV tends to spread more frequently during the colder months and can easily transmit to others.

Recent data from the UKHSA reveals that RSV positivity increased to 10 per cent in the week between November 24 and 30, up from 8.7 per cent the previous week. NHS guidance emphasises that nearly all children contract RSV at least once before their second birthday.

Some people are at a higher risk of complications(Image: Getty Images)

Despite this, infants and older adults can experience complications from an RSV infection, particularly pneumonia (lung inflammation), which may necessitate hospital treatment in some instances. Infants are also at heightened risk of bronchiolitis, a chest infection that can progress into a severe lung infection.

Thankfully, you can reduce the risk of infection by taking measures to prevent its spread, especially if you’re exhibiting symptoms of an RSV infection.

RSV symptoms

According to the NHS, people infected with RSV will typically show symptoms within the first few days of infection. This can include a variety of symptoms, many of which are similar to the flu or the common cold:

• A cough
• A high temperature – signs include your back or chest feeling hotter than usual, sweatiness and shivering (chills)
• A runny or blocked nose
• Tiredness
• Sneezing
• A cough that gets worse
• Shortness of breath
• Faster breathing or long gaps between breaths
• Difficulty feeding (in babies) or loss of appetite
• Wheezing
• Confusion (in older adults)

Some symptoms may need to be seen by a doctor(Image: Getty Images)

Symptoms from an RSV infection usually get better on their own without further treatment. However, there may be some situations where you may need to speak to a GP.

Full details on RSV can be found on the NHS website here.

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Donald Trump is being sued by a preservation group which wants a federal court to halt the construction of a new ballroom at the White House until it goes through multiple independent reviews and wins approval from Congress.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation’s lawsuit represents the most concrete effort so far to change or stop plans for the new $300m ballroom that would be nearly double the size of the White House before the East Wing was demolished.

“No president is legally allowed to tear down portions of the White House without any review whatsoever – not President Trump, not President [Joe] Biden, and not anyone else,” the non-profit organisation’s lawsuit states.

“And no president is legally allowed to construct a ballroom on public property without giving the public the opportunity to weigh in.”

Image:
Pic: Reuters

The ballroom project has drawn criticism from preservationists, architects, and President Trump’s political opponents.

It is among several sweeping changes Mr Trump has made to the White House since he returned to office in January. He has installed gold decorations throughout the Oval Office, and paved over the lawn of the Rose Garden to create a patio similar to the setting at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

Image:
Pic: Reuters

Commenting on the lawsuit, White House spokesman David Ingle said that Mr Trump is within his “full legal authority to modernise, renovate and beautify the White House – just like all of his predecessors did”.

Mr Ingle did not specify whether the president was planning to consult Congress at any point.

While nearly every president alters the White House, Mr Trump’s plans are the most extensive since President Harry Truman’s near-total renovation of its oldest section.

Unlike Mr Trump, Mr Truman obtained explicit congressional approval and funding, consulted engineering and arts authorities, and appointed a bipartisan commission to oversee the work.

Mr Trump has stressed that the project is funded with private money, including his own, but that doesn’t change how federal laws and procedures apply to a US government project.

Federal law cites “express authority of Congress” over DC projects.

Image:
Pic: Reuters

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Trump threatens Venezuela land strikes ‘soon’

Mr Trump has long maintained that a White House ballroom is overdue, noting that large events are held in tents and guests get wet when it rains.

The lawsuit said Mr Trump never gathered public input and ignored statutes requiring consultation with the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts before tearing down the East Wing and starting work on the ballroom.

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Oil tanker movements in and out of Venezuelan waters come to near standstill after US seizes vessel and fuel cargo.

Venezuela’s oil exports have plummeted since the United States seized an oil tanker off the country’s coast this week and imposed new sanctions on shipping companies doing business with the embattled Latin American country.

Oil tanker movements into and out of Venezuelan waters have almost come to a standstill, the Reuters news agency reported on Friday, after the US announced that it would seize more vessels as part of its military pressure on Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro.

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The seizure on Wednesday of the Skipper tanker marked the first US capture of Venezuelan oil cargo since Washington imposed sanctions on Caracas in 2019. It also comes amid a US military build-up in the Caribbean, which appears designed to remove Maduro from power.

Threats of more seizures have now left tankers – loaded with about 11 million barrels of oil and fuel – stuck in Venezuelan waters and fearing to venture further, according to data and documents reviewed by Reuters.

Only tankers chartered by US oil giant Chevron have left ports and sailed into international waters carrying Venezuelan crude since the seizure of the Skipper, according to Reuters. Chevron has US government authorisation to operate in Venezuela through joint ventures with state-run oil company PDVSA and can export its oil to the US.

Chevron confirmed this week that it was operating in Venezuela “without disruption and in full compliance with laws and regulations applicable”, according to Reuters, and had exported two cargoes of Venezuelan heavy crude to the US since the seizure of the Skipper.

As the Skipper was taken to Houston, Texas, on Friday for the unloading of its confiscated fuel cargo, Trump reiterated that the US military will start carrying out strikes on land against drug trafficking targets in Latin America.

Speaking at the White House, Trump said that US forces – which have been attacking vessels in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean for weeks, killing some 90 people – had stopped 96 percent of drugs trafficked to the US by water.

The US also claims it is attacking drug trafficking vessels but has provided no evidence, while international law experts say the attacks amount to extrajudicial killings by Washington in international waters.

Trump says Maduro’s ‘days are numbered’

The Agencia Venezuela News site reported on Friday that Venezuela’s Executive Vice President, Delcy Rodriguez, filed a formal complaint with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) denouncing Washington’s “violation of freedom of navigation in the Caribbean”.

Rodriguez told the IMO of the “vulgar robbery” of Venezuelan oil by the US, which was an “internationally illegal act”,  the news agency said. “The Vice President also reiterated that Washington’s threatening actions are not related to a supposed fight against drug trafficking,” it added.

On Monday, Trump said in an interview that Maduro’s “days are numbered” while also declining to rule out a ground invasion of Venezuela by US forces.

Washington has offered a $50m reward for Maduro’s capture, accusing the Venezuelan president of leading the alleged “Cartel of the Suns”, which the US has branded a “narco-terrorist” organisation.

On Thursday, the US Treasury announced sanctions on three relatives of Maduro and six shipping companies and six vessels involved in transporting Venezuelan oil, a move that could imperil his leadership.

“If there are no oil exports, it will affect the foreign exchange market, the country’s imports… There could be an economic crisis,” Elias Ferrer of Orinoco Research, a Venezuelan advisory firm, told the AFP news agency.

“Not just a recession, but also shortages of food and medicine, because we wouldn’t be able to import,” Ferrer said.

Before the seizure of the oil tanker this week, Venezuela exported some 952,000 barrels per day of crude and fuel in November, with about 80 percent of those shipments sent directly and indirectly to China.

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Over the first 10 months of his second presidency, Donald Trump has not hidden his desire to control the US media industry – from encouraging TV networks to fire journalists, comedians and critics he dislikes to pushing regulators to revoke broadcast licences. Now he seems determined to set the terms for one of the biggest media deals in history.

It’s a deal that could have repercussions not just in the US, but across the world, with not just the future of Hollywood at stake but also the landscape of news.

Another American president likely would have politely declined to comment when asked by a reporter about a massive media merger that would require fact-driven oversight and regulatory approval by a purportedly independent-minded branch of their administration.

But when Trump was asked on Sunday about Netflix’s $82.7bn (£61.8bn) deal to acquire the studio and streaming businesses of Warner Bros Discovery – the media company whose assets run the gamut from Batman and Casablanca to The Sopranos, Succession and CNN – he didn’t hesitate to say he would be “involved” in the review process for the deal.

Days later a media conglomerate with close ties to his administration, Paramount Skydance, the company behind the Paramount Pictures movie studios, CBS US TV network and Channel 5 in the UK, countered with a hostile $108bn offer for the company.

Trump then offered a contrasting commentary on his role.

“I’m not involved in that,” he told reporters on Wednesday, before adding: “I will be probably involved – maybe involved in the decision. It depends. You have some good companies bidding on it.”

Contradicting himself, Trump then laid out a condition for his support of a deal: the company that buys WBD’s studio, HBO and its streaming assets must also acquire its television channels and make big changes at the cable news network he has long despised, CNN.

“I think CNN should be sold, because I think the people that are running CNN right now are either corrupt or incompetent,” he said.

President Trump has made contradictory comments over his involvement in the deal for Netflix to acquire Warner Bros Discovery. Photograph: Patrick T Fallon/AFP/Getty Images

Only Paramount – run and backed by Trump supporters – had bid for the entire company.

This isn’t normal, commentators and former antitrust officials were quick to point out. “It’s not designed to be a system where the president wakes up one morning and decides it. It’s actually supposed to be the opposite of that,” said Columbia University law professor Tim Wu, who served in Joe Biden’s White House from 2021 to 2023 as a special assistant to the president for competition and tech policy.

During the Biden administration, “we followed the old rules, and the old rules suggested that the White House had to stay very far away from mergers,” Wu said – though “the parties always wanted us to get involved”.

“It’s all set up to keep the White House away,” he said. “This White House? Totally different kind of place.”

Phillip Berenbroick, who served as chief counsel for the US Senate’s judiciary subcommittee on antitrust matters, said that while “it’s not surprising that [Trump’s] interested and says so publicly, that is different from how most presidents and how most administrations have treated the antitrust review process. I think he does relish playing the role of deal-maker”.

Paramount’s starring role raises the likelihood of Trump’s involvement, considering the company is backed by his longtime friend and Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, and run by his Trump-friendly son David, who has talked up the company’s “good” relationship with the administration.

Another factor that may well weigh in Paramount’s favour, as far as Trump is concerned, is the role of his son-in-law Jared Kushner, whose investment company Affinity Partners is an outside funder for the bid – though Trump said earlier this week that he hasn’t talked to him about it.

Jared Kushner, with wife Ivanka Trump, owns investment company Affinity Partners which is an outside funder for the bid from Paramount. Photograph: Luigi Costantini/AP

Senator Elizabeth Warren, of Massachusetts, along with several of her fellow Senate Democrats, has called foul.

“Donald Trump seems to be saying any Warner Bros bidder needs to make a deal with him – and that could involve a donation to his gold-encrusted ballroom, or it could involve getting rid of a news outlet that he doesn’t like or making movies that only flatter him,” she told the Guardian.

“But Donald Trump should not be the ultimate decision maker here. There needs to be a fair and independent review of this deal, and a straightforward application of the strong antitrust laws we already have on the books.”

But despite Trump’s seeming preference, this deal is far from done. Whichever company ultimately wins out for WBD– and WBD has said that it will evaluate Paramount’s proposal and give its shareholders a recommendation within 10 days – the deal will need to be approved by the antitrust division of the justice department, which is run by Gail Slater, a lawyer with a solid reputation around Washington.

Wu emphasised that while the justice department has the most significant role to play, a decision to approve the merger could easily be challenged by a state attorney general or attorneys general, with California – ground zero for the entertainment industry – most likely to take adverse action and potentially hold up the deal.

“Usually people say, ‘Well, it all depends on what Trump thinks.’ But I think it’s actually not that simple,” Wu said, adding, “Trump likes the idea that it all depends on what Trump thinks.”

When asked about the Paramount bid on Monday, Trump played neutral, suggesting that neither Netflix nor Paramount “are particularly great friends of mine” – though a White House official said that he has good relationships with both companies and does not have a position one way or the other.

Trump has acknowledged that he had recently met Ted Sarandos, the co-chief executive of Netflix, calling him “fantastic”, though he said Sarandos made no guarantees to him about the merger.

Trump has said approval of the deal would depend on how much market share Netflix would take on by acquiring WBD, which he said “could be a problem”, considering its existing dominance of the streaming business. “I want to do what’s right,” he said. “It’s so very important to do what’s right.”

Because a merger of WBD with either Paramount or Netflix would probably serve to greatly reduce competition in Hollywood, both deals are “highly dubious in terms of legality”, said Victor Pickard, professor of media policy and political economy at the University of Pennsylvania. “It seems to me that it should be a textbook case of being seen as anti-competitive in defiance of our antitrust laws, but that certainly doesn’t mean it won’t go through.”

Berenbroick, now a senior strategist for the American Economic Liberties Project, predicted that the merger will “raise red flags” for state, federal and global regulators because of the “significant consolidation” that would result. He expressed confidence in the career staffers at the justice department’s antitrust division. “Those people are really professional and good at their jobs,” he said. The department can file a lawsuit to block the deal, as it did – unsuccessfully – in 2017 to stop the merger of AT&T and then-CNN parent company Time Warner.

Trump could hamper the government’s case in a potential lawsuit by making a statement of preference for one bidder or another, creating the perception of a skewed process, industry experts say.

Despite concerns about consolidation, both Netflix and Paramount have argued publicly that their company would have an easier time winning regulatory approval for the deal. And both companies have hired officials with ties to Trumpworld, potentially easing the path to approval. In October, Paramount brought on as chief legal officer Makan Delrahim, who served as head of the department of justice’s antitrust division during the first Trump administration. Not wanting to be outdone, Netflix this past week brought on Virginia Boney Moore, a former special assistant in Trump’s first office of legislative affairs.

But Trump clearly has a closer relationship with the Ellisons, and officials in his White House had previously discussed their preference for Paramount to emerge as the winning bidder for WBD, which formally put itself up for sale in October. In a filing with the US top financial regulator the Securities and Exchange Commission, Paramount said a Netflix acquisition of WBD would come with “with extraordinary regulatory risk” and “a longer timeline to a possible closing” as a result.

During an interview on CNBC on Monday, David Ellison acknowledged having recent conversations with Trump that touched on CNN. (The Guardian first reported in November that Ellison’s father, Larry, had talked with a senior White House official about potentially ousting two anchors the administration views as Trump critics, Erin Burnett and Brianna Keilar.)

CEO of Paramount Skydance David Ellison says he has had ‘great conversations’ with President Trump about his company owning CNN. Photograph: Jeenah Moon/Reuters

When asked whether he thinks Trump would “embrace” Paramount Skydance owning CNN, Ellison responded, “We’ve had great conversations with the president about this … but I don’t want to speak for him in any way, shape or form.”

Pickard said reported conversations between Trump and the Ellisons about potential firings at CNN are “profoundly troubling” and “just absurd for any democratic society worthy of the name”.

“The end goal of all of this is that Trump wants to snuff out any capacity for dissenting views or independent journalism,” he added.

Trump has largely praised the Ellisons for their stewardship of CBS News, which would probably be combined with CNN. Last month, Trump sat for his first interview with 60 Minutes in five years, and called Bari Weiss, the “anti-woke” commentator who is now the network’s newly appointed top editor, a “great person”. On Sunday, David Ellison sat in Trump’s box at the Kennedy Center Honors award ceremony in Washington which the president himself hosted.

However, minutes after Paramount unveiled its bid on Monday he took to social media to slam the company over CBS’s Sunday news magazine show 60 Minutes interview with the retiring congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. “My real problem with the show, however, wasn’t the low IQ traitor, it was that the new ownership of 60 Minutes, Paramount, would allow a show like this to air. THEY ARE NO BETTER THAN THE OLD OWNERSHIP.”

These are just the opening salvoes in a corporate battle that could take months to resolve and will ultimately reshape global media. A veteran of the anti-trust space said it seems likely that Trump could pressure attorney general Pam Bondi to approve a deal of his choosing.

“If the president wants this deal approved and he tells Pam Bondi, ‘I want this deal approved’ … they’ll find a way to approve it,” the veteran said. “But that doesn’t mean that the states can’t come in and fight the deal.”

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