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US to propose new Pacific island initiative

AFP

The United States plans to propose a new initiative to address Pacific island issues next week as it scrambles to offset China’s thrust into the region, a top White House official said Thursday.

Washington is “stepping up across the board” its engagement with Pacific island nations to address their concerns over everything from relations with Washington to illegal fishing, climate change and regional security, said Kurt Campbell, a senior official for Asia in the National Security Council. 

“This is an area of enormous strategic importance. We have historical and moral responsibilities, both from the Second World War and, subsequent, the nuclear age,” Campbell told a forum held by the Center for a New American Security, a Washington think-tank.

“We are trying to meet the Pacific where they live,” he said. “Not only are we doing this on a bilateral basis, we will be launching next week an initiative to work with a variety of like-minded countries on an open, very detailed set of engagements.”

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The new initiative will allow those involved, including the 18-member Pacific Island Forum, Japan and major Western powers, “to make clear our desire to keep a Pacific environment that’s open, that’s healthy, that’s productive, and free from coercion,” said Campbell.

The announcement came after China was dealt a setback when 10 Pacific island states in late May rebuffed a proposal for a regional pact that would have pulled them into Beijing’s orbit.

China had offered extensive economic assistance in exchange for a pact that would deepen its role in the regional’s security and economy.

But David Panuelo, president of the Federated States of Micronesia, warned the offer was “disingenuous” and would “ensure Chinese influence in government” and “economic control” of key industries. 

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International

White House considered dropping leaflets over Caracas to pressure Maduro

The White House recently proposed a plan to drop leaflets from U.S. military aircraft over Caracas to further pressure Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, according to sources familiar with the matter cited by The Washington Post.

The operation — which as of Saturday had not yet been authorized — considered dropping the leaflets this Sunday, the day of Maduro’s 63rd birthday. The materials were expected to highlight the $50 million reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest, a bounty the White House doubled in August on the grounds that the Venezuelan leader is involved in “narcoterrorism.”

The proposal represents an escalation in Washington’s efforts to oust Maduro, a goal Trump pursued during his first term (2017–2021) and one that remains a priority for several of his top advisers.

Since the summer, the United States has carried out a large-scale military deployment in the southern Caribbean aimed at pressuring Maduro and, according to the White House, combating drug trafficking. This operation has resulted in the destruction of roughly twenty boats allegedly carrying narcotics and the deaths of 83 people on board.

In mid-November, Trump said he had made a decision regarding a possible military action in Venezuela, further raising tensions with Caracas.

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On Friday, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an advisory urging commercial flights to “exercise extreme caution” when flying over Venezuela and the southern Caribbean due to the “potentially hazardous situation” linked to increased military activity in the region.

This prompted several European and American airlines to cancel flights to the Caribbean nation.

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International

Trump attacks Europe and Biden on Truth Social ahead of talks on Ukraine peace plan

In a message posted on Truth Social, the U.S. president also targeted European nations, “which continue buying oil from Russia,” as well as his predecessor, Joe Biden, whom he accused of inaction at the start of the conflict.

“I inherited a war that never should have happened, a war in which everyone is losing,” the president wrote in all caps on his social media platform.

“The Ukrainian leaders have shown zero gratitude for our efforts, and Europe keeps buying oil from Russia.”

“The United States continues to sell massive quantities of weapons to NATO for distribution to Ukraine (corrupt Joe gave everything away — free, free, free — including large sums of money!),” he added.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is scheduled to meet with a Ukrainian delegation in Geneva this Sunday in hopes of advancing Trump’s plan for Ukraine.

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Washington now presents Trump’s 28-point proposal as a “framework for negotiations” aimed at ending the conflict, though it is viewed with concern in both Kyiv and Brussels.

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International

Tatiana Schlossberg reveals aggressive leukemia diagnosis in personal New Yorker essay

In a deeply personal essay published in The New Yorker, Tatiana Schlossberg revealed her diagnosis: acute myeloid leukemia with a rare genetic mutation known as Inversion 3, a variant that responds poorly to standard treatments.

The 35-year-old journalist explained that the disease was discovered shortly after the birth of her second daughter in May 2024, when doctors detected an extremely high white blood cell count. Schlossberg said she was in complete shock upon receiving the diagnosis, noting that she “didn’t feel sick” and had experienced a healthy pregnancy.

Her treatment since then has been intense. She has undergone chemotherapy, at least two bone marrow transplants, and is participating in clinical trials involving CAR-T therapy, an advanced form of immunotherapy. In one of these trials, her doctors told her they might be able to “keep [her] alive for a year, maybe less.”

Schlossberg reflected on her fears for her children, her husband, George Moran, and her parents, and on the emotional weight of becoming part of the Kennedy family’s long history of tragedy. She also criticized her cousin, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., for political decisions that she argues have harmed medical research that could benefit cancer patients like her.

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