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Hello, I'm David Harper with the BBC News.
President Trump says his administration is waging war on drug cartels who bring people and drugs into the country. Mr. Trump said there was no need for a formal declaration of war, adding "we're just going to kill people." Here's Nomia Iqbal. President Trump keeps referring to the military operation targeting drug trafficking as a war. But the power to declare war belongs to Congress, where a resolution must be passed by a majority vote. His administration hasn't provided any evidence to identify the groups for countries accused of running drugs by sea. Many lawmakers and civil rights groups say it is all amounting to illegal extrajudicial killings. President Trump said last week he'd authorized the CIA to carry out covert missions inside Venezuela, escalating his campaign against President Maduro's regime who he blames for fueling drug cartels. The Pentagon has announced its new generation press corps, who will be permitted to report from U.S. defense headquarters. More than 60 journalists, largely from far-right platforms, have signed the new restrictive media policy agreement and received accreditation. Abiona Boja reports. Just a day after the new generation press corps was ushered in, another controversial alt-right journalist has joined the fray, Breanna Morello from Alex Jones' conspiracy theory program, Infowars, an outlet which lost the civil case for falsely claiming that the Sandy Hook school shooting never happened. Joining her will be a plethora of right-wing influencers, including Turning Point USA's media venture Frontlines and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell's Lindell TV. Earlier this month, all the major news outlets, including Fox News, walked out and handed in their Pentagon passes in defiance of the new policy, which prohibits the publishing of material not explicitly approved for release. North Korea has begun building a memorial for its soldiers killed fighting for Russia in Ukraine. The North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony in the capital Pyongyang, said the military brotherhood between his country and Moscow would "advance non-stop", according to state media. North Korea has sent thousands of its troops and container loads of weapons over the past year to assist Russia in its invasion of Ukraine. The first minister of Northern Ireland has criticized the acquittal of a British military veteran charged with murdering two men taking part in a civil rights march in Londonderry 53 years ago. Michelle O'Neill said the verdict was a denial of justice. Major F, who can't be named, was among troops who opened fire on the unarmed demonstrators, killing 13 people. Tony Doherty's father, Patrick, was killed on Bloody Sunday. He had mixed feelings about today's outcome. "Very disappointed and some think many of the families were shocked as well that it was so comprehensive and that he was found not guilty of all of the charges. It does have a ring of finality to it, but I think in my view the blame doesn't fall on the judge for his judgement. The blame falls on the fact that the evidence was not collected or collated at the time." This is the latest World News from the BBC. European Union leaders meeting in Brussels have moved forward cautiously on plans to use frozen Russian assets to fund Kyiv's war effort but failed to reach a final decision. They agreed to present options for financial support to Kyiv at their next summit in December. International law forbids the outright seizure of 200 billion euros of Russian central bank assets frozen by the EU. M23 rebels occupying a gold mine in eastern Congo have denied they were behind the looting of at least 500 kilograms of bullion. The mine's owner, Twangiza, which operates in the South Kivu province, has alleged that the rebels, who control much of the province, secretly transported the gold through underground channels. It claims some of its own employees helped seize the gold worth an estimated $70 million. A new study has found that two species of coral are now functionally extinct in Florida's coral reef after a record-breaking marine heatwave in 2023. The corals have fared better in other reefs off Florida where temperatures were not so high. Temesghen Debesai reports. The study found that the heatwave two years ago left elkhorn and staghorn corals in the region devastated after nearly three months of unprecedented ocean temperatures. The corals described as ecologically vital have been in decline since the 1970s due to climate change, pollution and unsustainable fishing. It's now believed the heatwave has proved catastrophic for their survival. Researchers writing in the journal Science say numbers in the world's third biggest reef are now so low they are unable to perform their functional role in the ecosystem. The former first lady of Ghana, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, has died aged 76. She was the widow of Ghana's longest-serving leader, Jerrie Rawlings, who led two coups before being twice elected as president. In 2016, she became the first woman to run for president of Ghana but lost. As first lady, she was credited with significantly helping women across the country. BBC News. |