Seen in the News

[Stanley]

See THIS long range weather forecast.
Snow and ice warnings have been issued by the Met Office for New Year's Day as colder Arctic air is set to grip the United Kingdom. The cold spell is likely to last over a week with amber and yellow alerts issued by the UK's Health Security Agency (UKHSA) as temperatures drop. While snow initially may be limited to northern Scotland, parts of Northern Ireland, England and Wales could see some snow by the end of the week. It is then possible more widespread snow could move in across the UK next week.
Deep Joy!

[Stanley]

THIS seems like a good place to start the news for the New Year.
At a children's centre in south London, six soon-to-be parents are comparing notes on the size of their unborn babies. They are all discussing how big the foetus is at various stages of pregnancy, using fruit and vegetables as a guide. Dan from Edinburgh says that his baby, due in early January, was at one point the size of a grapefruit. Another father - Shaun from Gateshead - chimes in that his is cabbage-sized. All six people - among them, a nurse, an electrician, a writer, a publicist, a physician's associate and a software developer - have travelled from across the country on a drizzly afternoon to take part in a social experiment. BBC Radio 4's Today programme plans to follow these families for five years, chronicling the ups and downs of looking after a young child in modern Britain. Early childhood is an important stage of life in determining a child's long-term future, scientists say. But it's also a period that can get lost in our national politics, which so often seems to focus on the needs of the elderly and middle-aged. Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, says: "Talk to the overwhelming majority of parents, good parents, they will take bullets for their children. I don't think that's reflected sufficiently in the state." And for many British parents raising a child can feel like a game of chance.

[Stanley]

See this latest news of the Swiss bar fire.
Around 40 people have died after a fire ripped through a bar in a ski resort in southern Switzerland, police have said. A further 115 people are injured, many of them "severely". The fire broke out at around 01:30 (00:30 GMT) during new year celebrations in a bar called Le Constellation in Crans-Montana. Officials investigating the incident have not confirmed any cause, but categorically ruled out an attack. People from multiple countries have been affected. Regional police commander Frédéric Gisler said the priority in the coming days was to identify those who had died "so that their bodies can be returned rapidly" to their families. Thirteen helicopters, 42 ambulances and 150 emergency responders were sent overnight to the scene of the fire in the Valais region, which is popular with tourists. Most of the injured experienced severe burns and 60 people were sent to Sion hospital in Valais, with a "significant number" in a critical condition, Regional governor Mathias Reynard said.

[Stanley]

See THIS update on the bar fire.
The families of teenagers missing after a fire at a bar in a Swiss ski resort are facing an agonising wait for news and appealing for information about their loved ones online. The fire in Crans-Montana was likely caused by sparklers placed on bottles of champagne that came "too close to the ceiling", Swiss officials told a news conference on Friday. An investigation into the fire will focus on the materials used at the site, the bar's fire safety measures, its capacity and the number of people inside at the time, Valais Attorney General Beatrice Pilloud said. Swiss authorities have said it could take days if not weeks to identify the victims of the fire, which killed 40 people and injured another 119. Officials said 113 of the injured had been identified, with authorities still working to identify the other six. In the meantime, families and friends have been taking to social media to appeal for information about their loved ones who were at the bar that night.

[Big Kev]

The orange knob has kicked off...
BBC News - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c5yqygxe41pt
Venezuela latest: Explosions heard as smoke rises in Caracas - BBC News

[Big Kev]

BREAKING NEWS!
US to run Venezuela until they can arrange a safe transition, or all the oil is gone, whichever comes first...

[Stanley]

I couldn't believe it when the news broke yesterday but HERE'S the reality of the latest update...
Donald Trump says the US launched strikes on Venezuela and captured its President Nicolás Maduro. Maduro and his wife landed at Stewart Air National Guard Base in New York state before being taken by helicopter to Manhattan's DEA office, and then on to Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center. Trump earlier shared a photo of Maduro blindfolded on board the USS Iwo Jima. President Trump says the US is going to "run" Venezuela "until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition". Some in Venezuela believe that Trump isn't serious about shoring up Venezuela for a democratic future, but rather to plunder its oil wealth, writes Tom Bateman. In an address on state television, Venezuela's Vice-President Delcy Rodríguez says Maduro is the country's only president. Maduro has been indicted in New York on drugs and weapons charges. He has previously denied being the leader of a drug cartel. Venezuela has declared a national emergency, denouncing "extremely serious military aggression"
It looks to me like thinly veiled theft of an entire country's assets. No doubt we shall see.
I think Ian is right, Trump should be committed to a secure institution.

[Tizer]

This from Anthony Zurcher, the BBC's North America correspondent and one of the Americast team. He's an American (from Texas) and always worth reading or listening to....
`Venezuela could now define Trump's legacy - and America's place in the world' LINK
[And note this bit: During his press conference, the president said the Venezuelan operation advanced his "America First" priorities because it ensured US regional security and provided a steady source of oil. He dusted off the Monroe Doctrine – an early 19th Century American foreign policy that asserted the Western Hemisphere should be free from influence by European powers – and rebranded it the "Donroe Doctrine".

[Tizer]

Now it's Jeremy Bowen's turn...
`Bowen: Trump's action could set precedent for authoritarian powers across globe' LINK
This is near the end of the article....
Democratic vice-chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Senator Mark Warner issued a statement saying China's leaders, and others, will be watching closely. "If the United States asserts the right to use military force to invade and capture foreign leaders it accuses of criminal conduct, what prevents China from claiming the same authority over Taiwan's leadership? What stops [Russian President] Vladimir Putin from asserting similar justification to abduct Ukraine's president? Once this line is crossed, the rules that restrain global chaos begin to collapse, and authoritarian regimes will be the first to exploit it."

[Stanley]

Jeremy Bowen is right. One of the dangers I see is that if Trump gets away with a return Imperialism other leaders will take it as a precedent.
Worth remembering that a constant theme in the rise of Naziism was expansion to gain land and resources. (Lebensraum) and this is what Putin is currently doing in Ukraine.

[Tizer]

Next step - Greenland!! Remember in December Mad Dog Trump appointed Jeff Landry, the Republican governor of Louisiana, as his `special envoy' to the country. Now he has again proposed annexing Greenland....
`'We need Greenland': Trump repeats threat to annex Danish territory' LINK

Then what next? Iceland, the Faroes...the UK? Eeeek!!

[Stanley]

He is so unpredictable that anything is possible.

[Stanley]

See THIS live report on Maduro.....
Trump officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, have briefed top US lawmakers on Venezuela. Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in the US Senate, says the briefing was "vague" and "unsatisfying", while House Speaker Mike Johnson says operation was "decisive and justified". Earlier, Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro says "I am still president" as he pleads not guilty to drug trafficking and other charges in his first appearance at a New York court. He and his wife Cilia Flores were seized from their Caracas compound on Saturday and flown to the US as part of a special forces operation - here's what happened. Today's hearing ended with a tense exchange between a member of the public and Maduro, who said he was a "prisoner of war", our reporter in court says. Earlier, dramatic images showed the pair being transferred to the courthouse in handcuffs, surrounded by armed officers. Meanwhile, Delcy Rodríguez, while being sworn in as Venezuela's interim president, has praised Maduro and his wife as "heroes"

[PanBiker]

I thought that persons charged with a felon had the right to be tried by their peers! In my book that would be in a Venezuelan court surely? Or am I naive in that assumption? As it stands a US court is bound to be biased to some degree.

[Stanley]

Ian, I doubt if the Trump administration will be swayed by such basic concepts....

Nearer to home I saw THIS
7 hours ago
The US may act to seize a Russian-flagged oil tanker heading across the Atlantic to Europe, CBS News, the BBC's media partner in the US, reported. Two US officials told the broadcaster that American forces plan to intercept the ship, which historically has carried Venezuelan crude oil and is thought to be between Scotland and Iceland. President Donald Trump said last month that he was ordering a "blockade" of sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela, a move the government there described as "theft". Ahead of his seizure of the country's former leader Nicolás Maduro on Saturday, Trump had repeatedly accused Venezuela's government of using ships to bring drugs to American shores. The US coastguard tried to board the Bella 1 last month in the Caribbean when it was believed to be heading towards Venezuela. They had obtained a warrant to seize the ship, accused of breaking US sanctions and shipping Iranian oil. It then dramatically changed course, as well as its name to the Marinera, reportedly reflagging from a Guyanese to a Russian vessel. Its approach to Europe has coincided with the arrival of around 10 US military transport aircraft in the UK as well as helicopters. Russia says it is "monitoring with concern" the situation around the ship. CBS News reported that the two US officials said American forces preferred to seize the ship rather than sink it. The Marinera is believed to be between Scotland and Iceland, with the distance and weather making a boarding difficult. If any US military operation were to be launched from the UK then Washington would be expected to inform its ally. For now the UK Ministry of Defence says it will not comment on other nations' military activities.