U.S. strike near Venezuela. The U.S. military killed three people in a strike on a boat that Trump claimed yesterday was carrying drugs from Venezuela—the second such lethal strike this month. Shortly before Trump’s announcement, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro had condemned the earlier strike as a “heinous crime.”
Fed bench complete. The U.S. Senate confirmed Stephen Miran, Trump’s nominee to fill a short-term vacancy on the Federal Reserve board, ahead of an interest rate decision tomorrow. Meanwhile, an appeals court ruled that Fed Governor Lisa Cook can stay on the board pending her lawsuit challenging Trump’s attempt to remove her.
Draft TikTok deal. The United States and China reached a preliminary agreement regarding the future of TikTok, envoys from both countries said yesterday. While no further details were provided, the app faces an impending U.S. ban if its Chinese parent company does not separate from operations. Trump said yesterday he will speak to Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday.
Trump in London. Trump arrives in the United Kingdom (UK) today for a state visit, making him the only world leader to receive such an invitation twice. Trump is due to meet with both King Charles III and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, with whom Trump is expected to discuss Russia’s war in Ukraine. The countries are also due to sign a technology cooperation agreement, the UK embassy in Washington said.
Belarus-Russia war games. Delegations from Hungary, Turkey, and the United States were among the twenty-three countries that observed the drills yesterday; the multiday exercises are taking place in both Belarus and Russia. Belarus’ government invited the United States to observe the games as ties between the two countries improve.
U.S.-Colombia anti-drug work. For the first time in thirty years, the United States has designated Colombia as failing to cooperate with anti-narcotics trafficking efforts. Despite the shift, the Trump administration issued the country a waiver so it would not lose U.S. financial aid. Last week, Colombia’s ambassador to the United States said some $100 million of U.S. support was at stake in the decision.
Drone probe in Warsaw. Polish authorities detained two Belarusian citizens as part of a probe into a drone flying over government buildings in Warsaw, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said today. Poland’s development minister said the drone appeared to have been launched locally, unlike the Russian drones that crossed into Polish airspace last week.
UN probes South Sudan graft. A commission created by the UN Human Rights Council said in a new report that widespread elite corruption in the country was diverting money from basic services. In one example, it accused authorities of paying $1.7 billion to firms linked to the vice president for work that was never done. South Sudan’s justice minister said the report did not match the government’s own data.
