Reuters: World

Banksy's migrant rescue ship seized by Italy's coast guard in Lampedusa A rescue ship funded by British street artist Banksy was seized in Lampedusa on Sunday after Italy's coast guard said the boat had disobeyed its instructions to head to Sicily after carrying out a migrant rescue operation. The coast guard said it had ordered the MV Louise Michel ship to dock in Trapani in Sicily after it performed an initial rescue operation in Libya's Search And Rescue area. The ship instead went to assist migrants on three other boats in Malta's Search And Rescue area. The coast guard added that it was already on its way to assist the three other boats at the time. read more

Exclusive: Biden nominee to head FAA withdraws after Republican criticism U.S. President Joe Biden's nominee to head the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is withdrawing his nomination after Republican criticism that he was not qualified to serve as the top aviation regulator. Last year, Biden nominated Denver International Airport CEO Phil Washington to serve as FAA administrator. A spokesperson for Washington at the airport did not immediately comment. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg late Saturday confirmed Washington's withdrawal first reported by Reuters. "The partisan attacks and procedural obstruction he has faced are undeserved, but I respect his decision to withdraw and am grateful for his service," Buttigieg said on Twitter. read more

Putin says Moscow to station nuclear weapons in Belarus, U.S. reacts cautiously Russia will station tactical nuclear weapons in neighbouring Belarus, President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday, marking the first time since the mid-1990s that Moscow will have based such arms outside the country. Putin made the announcement at a time of growing tensions with the West over the Ukraine war and as some Russian commentators speculate about possible nuclear strikes. The United States - the world's other nuclear superpower - reacted cautiously. A senior administration official noted Russia and Belarus had talked about such a deal over the past year, and said there were no signs Moscow planned to use its nuclear weapons. read more

Biden says US is prepared to act "forcefully" to protect Americans U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday said the United States is prepared to "act forcefully" to protect Americans, commenting after the U.S. military carried out air strikes against Iran-backed forces in retaliation for an attack that killed an American contractor and wounded five U.S. troops. "Make no mistake: the United States does not ... seek conflict with Iran, but be prepared for us to act forcefully to protect our people," Biden told reporters during an official visit to Canada. source

Biden warns Iran after tit-for-tat strikes in Syria President Joe Biden on Friday warned Iran that the United States would "act forcefully" to protect Americans, after the U.S. military carried out air strikes against Iran-backed forces in retaliation for an attack in Syria. Later, officials said that another U.S. service member was wounded on Friday in the latest tit-for-tat strike between Iran-backed forces and U.S. personnel in Syria. That comes on top of seven casualties on Thursday, which Washington blamed on a drone of Iranian origin, and included an American contractor being killed and five U.S. troops and another contractor being wounded. Suspected U.S. rocket fire on Friday targeted new areas in eastern Syria, according to two local sources, with no casualties reported. Pro-Iranian forces in Syria said in an online statement late Friday that they have a "long arm" to respond to further U.S. strikes on their positions. read more

Russia wants demilitarised buffer zones in Ukraine, says Putin ally Russia wants to create demilitarised buffer zones inside Ukraine around areas it has annexed, an ally of President Vladimir Putin said on Friday, saying it might be necessary to push deeper into Ukraine if such zones cannot be set up. More than a year into Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Putin's core war aims remain unfulfilled despite Russian control of nearly a fifth of the country. Former President Dmitry Medvedev, who casts himself as Putin's most publicly hawkish official, said Russia needed demilitarised corridors around the areas it is claiming - and which Ukraine says it will never accept Russian control of. read more

Binance halts deposits, withdrawals after technical glitches - CEO Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has suspended deposits and withdrawals on its platform due to technical issues affecting its spot trading, Chief Executive Changpeng Zhao said in a tweet on Friday. "Initial analysis indicates matching engine encountered a bug on a trailing stop order," he said in a tweet, adding that the pause in deposits and withdrawals was a standard operating procedure. "Engine 1 is back online. Still need more time to do reconciliations, and for other engines to catch up," Zhao said in a subsequent tweet. Last week Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, said it will be halting its sterling deposits and withdrawals, a month after it ceased dollar transfers. read more

Manhattan DA: Trump created false expectation of arrest, Republicans interfered Manhattan prosecutors on Thursday said Donald Trump misled people to expect he would be arrested this week and prompted fellow Republicans in Congress to interfere with a probe under way into his hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels. On Saturday, the former president said he would be arrested on Tuesday in the probe by the Manhattan District Attorney's office. On Monday, three Republican committee chairmen in the U.S. House of Representatives went on the offensive against District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, accusing him of abusing prosecutorial authority and seeking communications, documents and testimony from him. read more

TikTok attacked for China ties as US lawmakers push for ban U.S. lawmakers on Thursday battered TikTok's chief executive about potential Chinese influence over the platform and said its short videos were damaging children's mental health, reflecting bipartisan concerns over the app's power over Americans. CEO Shou Zi Chew's testimony before Congress did little to assuage U.S. worries over TikTok's China-based parent company ByteDance and added fresh momentum to lawmakers' calls to ban the platform nationwide. Over five hours of testimony, Chew repeatedly denied the app shares data or has connections with the Chinese Communist Party and argued the platform was doing everything to ensure safety for its 150 million American users. read more

Protests across France after Macron doubles down on pensions French workers angry with President Emmanuel Macron and his plan to raise the pension age blocked access to a terminal at Paris' main airport on Thursday as part of a nationwide day of protests, forcing some travellers to get there on foot. At Roissy-Charles De Gaulle airport and across the country, wildcat actions by small groups of protesters blocked roads and access to schools and universities, while protesters gathered with banners reading "No to the pension reform." Near Toulouse, in the southwest, plumes of smoke were seen rising from burning piles of debris blocking traffic on a highway. Union activists also blocked the train tracks at Paris' Gare de Lyon station, BFM TV footage showed. read more

China's military says US warship illegally entered waters in South China Sea China's military said on Thursday it monitored and drove away a U.S. destroyer that had illegally entered waters around the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea. In a statement, the military said without the approval of the government, the guided-missile destroyer Milius illegally intruded into China's territorial waters, undermining peace and stability in the busy waterway. "The theater forces will maintain a high state of alert at all times and take all necessary measures to resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and security and peace and stability in the South China Sea," said Tian Junli, a spokesman for China's Southern Theatre Command. Tension between the United States and China has been growing in the area. The United States has been shoring up alliances in the Asia-Pacific seeking to counter China's assertiveness in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, as Beijing seeks to advance its territorial claims. source

TikTok CEO: App has never shared US data with Chinese government TikTok's chief executive will tell lawmakers the Chinese-owned short video app with more than 150 million American users has never, and would never, share U.S. user data with the Chinese government amid growing U.S. national security concerns. "TikTok has never shared, or received a request to share, U.S. user data with the Chinese government. Nor would TikTok honor such a request if one were ever made," CEO Shou Zi Chew will testify on Thursday, according to written testimony posted on Tuesday by the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee. He added that TikTok's parent company ByteDance is not owned or controlled by any government or state entity. "Let me state this unequivocally: ByteDance is not an agent of China or any other country," Chew will say to the committee. read more