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Trump preparing to pardon individuals charged in Jan. 6 attack, source states
President Donald Trump is preparing to issue sweeping pardons to defendants charged in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol and intends to interrupt sentences for some people who attacked cops, a source familiar with the matter said on Monday. The source did not give details about when Trump planned to do so. The strategy, initially reported by ABC News, requires pardoning those who did not devote violence throughout the riot at the Capitol, efficiently wiping away legal consequences from their convictions. Trump is also seeking to commute the sentences of some of those convicted of attacks on law enforcement, a relocation that would not discharge them of regret however could result in the release of some rioters presently in prison. More than 1,580 individuals have actually been criminally charged with participating in the riot, a failed effort by Trump advocates to block the congressional accreditation of the 2020 election. Leaders of the reactionary Proud Boys and Oath Keepers companies are amongst those serving time in federal jail for their roles in the violence. More than 600 individuals have been charged with attacking or obstructing cops during the riot, according to U.S. Justice Department figures. Trump vowed during his 2024 campaign to pardon many of those charged, arguing they had been dealt with unfairly by the legal system.
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Trump says the US will retake back the Panama Canal by invoking an expansionist agenda
Donald Trump, the newly sworn in President of the United States, promised on Monday to take back the Panama Canal during his inauguration speech. He invoked the 19th-century expansionist doctrine "Manifest Destiny." Trump reaffirmed his threat made before his inauguration to regain control of the canal. He accused Panama of not fulfilling its promises to transfer the strategic waterway to the United States in 1999, and of transferring the operation to China. The Panamanian government has denied these claims. "We didn't hand it over to China." Trump said, "We gave it to Panama and we're bringing it back." He did not provide any further details about when or how this would be done, but had refused to rule out the possibility of using military force in the past. This drew both criticism and praise from Washington's Latin American allies and enemies. On Monday, Panama's president Jose Raul Mulino responded to X by saying that his country had administered the canal for world trade including the U.S. and that "it is and will continue be Panamanian." Trump's repeated threat to close the Panama Canal at the beginning of his second term is his most obvious mention of a territorial expansion agenda that he has laid down in recent weeks. He also spoke of acquiring Greenland and turning Canada into an American state in the lead-up to his inauguration. Possible encouragement for Russia, China Ambitions Some critics have said that Trump's language resembles imperialism of the modern day. They claim this could be used to encourage Russia to continue its war in Ukraine, and to justify China if they decide to invade Taiwan. Analysts have questioned if Trump is serious in his plans to pursue what critics call a land grab. They speculate that he could be setting up an extreme position for negotiating concessions. Trump's first term, from 2017 to 2021, was also known for making headline-grabbing pronouncements and threats that he did not follow through on. Trump did not mention Greenland or Canada during his first four-year term, but he gave hints about territorial ambitions in his second four year term. He said: "The United States once again will consider itself as a growing nation. One that expands its territory, builds cities, raises expectations, and carries the flag to new and beautiful horizons." Trump continued, "We will continue to pursue our Manifest Destiny in the stars by launching American astronauts who will plant the stars on Mars." Manifest Destiny was a term coined by the United States in the 1880s to describe the belief that the U.S. had a God-given right to expand their control across North America. It was used as a justification to seize land from Mexico and Native Americans. In his Monday speech, Trump reiterated his promise to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. Trump claimed that the U.S. "foolishly gave" the Panama Canal to Panama. For decades, the United States built and governed the territory around the canal. In 1977, the United States signed two accords with Panama that allowed the canal to be returned to Panamanian control. After a period of joint management, the United States returned it to Panama in 1999. Panama has broken its promise to us. We have been treated badly by this stupid gift. Trump stated that the spirit and purpose of our agreement have been violated. He claimed that U.S. vessels are "being overcharged severely and not being treated fairly in any shape or form." Panama insists that it treats all vessels fairly that transit the Canal, and says that China has no influence over its administration. China does not administer or control the canal. However, a Hong Kong-based subsidiary of CK Hutchison Holdings0001.HK has managed two ports at the Caribbean and Pacific entrances for many years. The 82-km-long (51-mile-long) canal connects the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean through Panama. It is vital for U.S. imports, such as autos, commercial goods, and liquefied gas, by container ships coming from Asia. Matt Spetalnick in Washington; Elida Moreno and Katharine Jackson, in Panama City. Matt Spetalnick wrote the article. Don Durfee edited it.
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United States Transportation Security Administration forced out by Trump
The head of the U.S. Transport Security Administration was forced out of workplace on Monday and will be replaced by President Donald Trump's new administration. TSA Administrator David Pekoske, who managed a workforce of 60,000 workers supplying security at U.S. airports and other transportation centers, left workplace on Monday. He said in a memo verified and initially reported by CNN that he was encouraged by Trump's transition team that my time as your administrator will end at noon ET today. Pekoske, a former vice commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard and Department of Homeland Security official, was first designated to a five-year term by Trump in 2017 and reconfirmed for a 2nd term in 2022 under then-President Joe Biden. Some Republicans have raised issues about reports that the TSA briefly placed previous legislator Tulsi Gabbard on a flight watch list referred to as Quiet Skies. Gabbard has actually been nominated by Trump to serve as director of National Intelligence. Other Biden appointees with five-year terms opted to resign after Trump's election win, consisting of the head of the Federal Aviation Administration, Mike Whitaker, who said in December he would leave reliable Monday after about 15 months on the job.
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Rome Fiumicino opens solar farm to suppress airport emissions
The operator of Rome's. Fiumicino airport on Monday opened a solar farm built by energy. group Enel and network service provider Circet which. is developed to cut its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by more. than 11,000 loads each year. The new facilities, which the airport provided as the. initial step of a more comprehensive drive to boost renewable resource, extends. for almost 2.5 kilometres (1.55 miles) along the eastern side of. Fiumicino. Aeroporti di Roma (ADR), which manages Fiumicino, said in a. statement the solar farm was the largest self-consumption. photovoltaic system in a European airport, and one of the. largest systems in the world within an airport border. The farm has a peak capacity of 22 megawatts, ADR stated, and. aims to reach 60 megawatts in the next 5 years by including. solar panels. ADR, which is owned by infrastructure group Mundys, stated the. task was worth around 50 million euros, part of its more comprehensive. 200 million euro plan of investments on renewables and. sustainable movement. The solar farm is a best example of how airport grounds. can be optimised ... to enable the airport's sustainable growth,. stated Mundys chairman Giampiero Massolo. The Italian federal government of Giorgia Meloni has an objective to add. more than 35 gigawatts of green energy capability by 2030 through. photovoltaic plants. In 2015 nevertheless it passed rules suppressing the installation. of solar panels on farming land after sector lobbies. grumbled that they were incompatible with cultivation. This is a demonstration of how we can use numerous areas that. do not have monumental worth or high farming intensity to. accomplish the objective of decarbonisation, Energy Minister Gilberto. Pichetto Fratin said at the job's presentation.
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Rains scarce in Ivory Coast cocoa regions last week
Rains were limited in the majority of leading grower Ivory Coast's primary cocoa areas last week and more are needed to improve the ApriltoSeptember midcrop, farmers said on Monday. Ivory Coast, the world's leading producer of the main component in chocolate, has its dry season from mid-November to March when rainfall is poor. Cocoa prices hit record highs last month buoyed by worries that dry weather in West Africa might lead to a 4th successive global deficit this season. Farmers informed Reuters that as flowers and cherelles, which develop into cocoa pods, were proliferating on trees more wetness was required to assist them make it through and turn into bean-producing pods. They added that if the dry conditions continue, flowers and cherelles could shrivel and potentially reduce the size of the mid-crop harvest Bean supplies from the October-to March main crop harvest. are tailing off, farmers said. Cocoa beans arrivals at Ivory Coast's two primary ports for the week of Jan. 13-19 were at 34,000 metric loads, compared to 41,000 loads for the same week the previous season, exporters' information showed on Monday. In the centre-western area of Daloa and the central areas of Bongouanou and Yamoussoukro, where no rain fell last week, farmers said they were worried as the absence of rain might compromise cocoa trees with leaves drying on trees. If it does not rain, the mid-crop harvest will begin late and we'll not get enough cocoa beans, said Maurice N'Da, who farms near Daloa, where 0 millimetres (mm) fell last week, 1.2 mm below the five-year average. In the western area of Soubre and the southern areas of Divo, where second-rate rains were last week, and Agboville, and the eastern area of Abengourou, where no rain fell last week, farmers said it was still too early to be pessimistic. In Soubre, 2.1 mm of rains was tape-recorded last week, 1.1 mm listed below the five-year average. The weekly average temperature level throughout the country varied from 27.7 to 29.1 degrees Celsius.
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United States upgrades probe into emergency situation braking problems in certain Honda vehicles
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Security Administration said on Monday it is broadening and upgrading a probe into about 295,125 American Honda cars over reports of crashes and injuries due to their automatic emergency situation braking systems. According to the reports, the automatic emergency braking system in these lorries was triggering unintentionally, which increases the threat of a crash due to the quick deceleration. The problem affects the 2019-2022 models of the Honda Insight, a hybrid electrical car, and the Honda Passport SUV, according to the U.S. vehicle safety regulator. The regulator said it is upgrading the probe from March to an engineering analysis, and broadening it to include 2023 Honda Passport lorries. Engineering analysis is a necessary step before the NHTSA could require a recall. The NHTSA stated Honda provided an analysis of the declared flaw and specified that some consumers might have perhaps had an insufficient understanding of the braking system and its limitations. The company's report states that the Workplace of Defects Examination got 106 problems, which included reports of three crashes and two injuries. Honda did not instantly respond to a Reuters request for remark.
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Airport group ADP reacts to Air France-KLM's accusation of unfair treatment
Groupe ADP, which manages 3 of Paris' primary airports, pressed back on Monday versus accusations by the head of Air FranceKLM that other airlines got better treatment at its Charles De Gaulle Airport center. ADP said in a declaration that the activity of other airline companies, many of which operate just a couple of everyday flights, was not comparable to that of Air France-KLM. In an interview with Le Parisien paper published on Monday, Air France-KLM CEO Benjamin Smith stated: We are treated even worse than foreign companies, despite the fact that the state is the majority shareholder of ADP! He said that while foreign airlines had the ability to disembark and embark straight to and from the airport structures 100% of the time, Air France-KLM's terminal had that capability just 85-90% of the time. ADP stated it was surprised by Smith's comments, adding that it was working with the airline company to satisfy the competitiveness obstacles of the center and enable planes at the terminal to disembark and embark straight almost all the time.
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US upgrades probe into 129,000 Ford cars over hands-free tech
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Security Administration said on Monday it is updating a probe into 129,222 Ford Automobile over reports of collisions including the company's handsfree driving innovation, BlueCruise. The NHTSA opened the examination after getting notices of two deadly crashes last April, involving BlueCruise-equipped Ford Mustang Mach-E lorries. The regulator said it is updating the probe to an engineering analysis, covering automobiles in between the 2021-2024 design years. Engineering analysis is a necessary step before the NHTSA could require a recall. The BlueCruise system utilizes a camera-based chauffeur tracking system to identify driver attentiveness and is utilized on 97% of U.S. and Canadian highways without any intersections or traffic signals. The technology was introduced in model year 2021 and is currently readily available in a select variety of Ford and Lincoln vehicles. In April, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). opened separate examinations into the 2 Mach-E crashes,. consisting of a Feb. 24 crash of a Honda CR-V in Texas and a March 3. accident in Philadelphia. According to the NHTSA, in both fatal crashes, the. Ford Mustang Mach-E lorry was traveling over 70 miles per hour on a. highway throughout nighttime lighting conditions on BlueCruise mode. when it hit a fixed automobile. The company stated these vehicles seem to have system. restrictions associating with the detection of stationary vehicles. while traveling at highway speeds and in nighttime lighting. NHTSA stated it will further examine these limitations. and examine motorists' ability to react to circumstances that. go beyond such limitations. Ford did not immediately react to a Reuters' request. for remark.
Airlines suspend flights as Middle East stress increase
Concerns over a wider conflict in the Middle East have prompted international airline companies to suspend flights to the region or to prevent afflicted air space.
Below are a few of the airline companies that have cancelled services to and from the area:
AEGEAN AIRLINES
The Greek airline company has cancelled flights to and from Beirut until March 29 and to and from Tel Aviv till Dec. 9. From Dec. 10, some flights to and from Tel Aviv will operate as typical.
AIR ALGERIE
The Algerian airline company has suspended flights to and from Lebanon until more notification.
AIRBALTIC
Latvia's airBaltic has actually cancelled flights to and from Tel . Aviv till Jan. 28. AIR FRANCE-KLM Air France has actually extended its suspension of Paris-Tel Aviv. flights till Dec. 31 and Paris-Beirut flights up until Jan. 5.
KLM has actually extended the suspension of flights to Tel Aviv till. the end of the year at least.
The group's low-cost unit Transavia has cancelled flights to. and from Tel Aviv, Amman and Beirut till end-March.
AIR INDIA
The Indian flag carrier has suspended flights to and from. Tel Aviv up until more notice.
BULGARIA AIR
The Bulgarian carrier has cancelled flights to and from. Israel up until Dec. 23.
CATHAY PACIFIC
Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific has actually cancelled flights to Tel . Aviv till
Oct. 25, 2025. CORENDON AIRLINES The Turkish airline company cancelled flights to and from Tel Aviv. till January.
DELTA AIR LINES
The U.S. provider has paused flights between New york city and Tel . Aviv through March 2025.
EASYJET
EasyJet will not rush to resume flights to Tel Aviv. after a ceasefire in between Israel and Hezbollah entered into effect,. its inbound CEO said on Nov. 27. The UK budget plan airline company had. formerly suspended flights to and from Tel Aviv up until March.
EGYPTAIR
The Egyptian provider in September stated it had suspended. flights to Beirut until the circumstance stabilises.
EMIRATES
UAE's state-owned airline has cancelled flights to Beirut. till Dec. 31 and to Baghdad until Dec. 14.
ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES
The Ethiopian provider has suspended flights to Beirut until. even more notice, it stated in a Facebook post on Oct. 4.
FLYDUBAI
Flights to Beirut are presently suspended, a flydubai. spokesperson said on Nov. 28.
IAG
IAG-owned British Airways has actually suspended flights to Tel Aviv. until the end of March 2025.
IAG's Spanish affordable airline Vueling has actually cancelled. operations to Tel Aviv and to Amman until at least early 2025.
IRAN AIR
The Iranian airline has actually cancelled Beirut flights up until. even more see.
IRAQI AIRWAYS
The Iraqi nationwide carrier has actually suspended flights to Beirut. up until more notification.
ITA AIRWAYS
The Italian provider has actually extended the suspension of Tel Aviv. flights through Jan. 31.
LOT
The Polish provider has actually cancelled flights to Tel Aviv up until. Dec. 20. Its very first scheduled flight to Beirut is prepared for. April 1.
LUFTHANSA GROUP
The German airline group has actually extended the suspension of its. flights to Tel Aviv until Jan. 31.
Flights for Tehran are cancelled till Jan. 31 and for. Beirut till Feb. 28.
SunExpress, a joint endeavor in between Lufthansa and Turkish. Airline companies, has actually suspended flights to Beirut through. Dec. 17.
PEGASUS
The Turkish airline has actually cancelled flights to Beirut till. Jan. 1.
QATAR AIRWAYS
The Qatari airline company resumed flights to and from Lebanon from. Dec. 9.
RYANAIR
Europe's biggest budget plan airline does not plan on resuming. operations to Israel until March 31 at the earliest, while a. choice to resume operations to and from Jordan from December. is under discussion, a Ryanair spokesperson said on Nov. 27.
SUNDAIR
The German airline company has cancelled flights between Beirut and. Bremen until March 26 and in between Beirut and Muenster/Osnabrueck. till March 29.
TAROM
Romania's flag provider has suspended Beirut flights until. Dec. 20.
UNITED AIRLINES
The Chicago-based airline company has actually suspended flights to Tel Aviv. for the foreseeable future.
VIRGIN ATLANTIC
The UK carrier has actually suspended Tel Aviv flights up until. end-March.
WIZZ AIR
The Hungary-based airline has suspended Tel Aviv flights. through Jan. 14.
(source: Reuters)