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Critics have exposed a little-known flaw in President Donald Trump’s "unlawful" diesel deal with Russia that threatens to scare off the banks and ports needed to bring the fuel ashore.Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), five other Democrats and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) warned six major banks and four port authorities about that legal risk in an Oct. 24 letter, Axios reported Monday.The recipients include Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and port authorities in New York, New Jersey and Texas, Axios reported.“[A]ny importation of Russian diesel into the U.S. raises significant legal questions and may be subject to legal action, as well as congressional investigations,” the lawmakers wrote.Asked about the letter, the administration told The Hill that its move is legal.White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers accused Democrats of continuing their “decade-long obsession with investigating President Trump.”The first tanker carrying Russian diesel under the deal, the Agioi Fanendes, loaded 40,000 metric tons at Russia’s Primorsk port on Oct. 22 and is expected in New York on Nov. 7, Reuters reported. Axios noted that ships’ planned destinations often change.Trump announced the deal on Truth Social on Oct. 9, promising lower diesel prices.The Treasury Department issued a license the same day allowing Russian diesel transactions, including “importation into the United States,” through April 7, 2027. Critics say the license conflicts with the Ending Importation of Russian Oil Act, a 2022 law that bans imports of Russian energy products, including diesel, Time reported.The lawmakers wrote that “criminal penalties may apply to any company that knowingly buys Russian diesel or facilitates its importation, and not simply the importer of record,” the company named on customs forms.Trump could pardon those crimes but not civil fines, which can equal the fuel’s value and include seizure of the ships that carried it, Scott R. Anderson, a senior editor at Lawfare and a former State Department lawyer, wrote on Oct. 15.The administration can pursue those fines for up to five years after the fuel arrives, giving the next administration a chance to bring them, Anderson wrote.As a result, he wrote, the license “seems unlikely to lead to an actual increase in U.S. imports” of Russian diesel.“Those enabling the administration’s unlawful acts should generally be on notice about the risks they are taking,” former Rep. Tom Malinowski, a New Jersey Democrat, wrote on X Monday.In March 2022, when Treasury issued a license letting Russian oil shipments already under contract enter the country, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it would hold the cargo and bar unloading until it verified the paperwork, according to a CBP bulletin.This time, Raw Story found no similar CBP notice.Treasury’s terrorism and financial intelligence office has said on X that the new license “is in compliance with all applicable laws.”The 2022 law lets a president lift the ban only after consulting Congress, certifying that Russia has agreed to leave Ukraine on terms Kyiv accepts and waiting 90 days so lawmakers can block it, Time reported.A bipartisan group of senators, including Tillis, said Oct. 11 that the administration “failed to consult with Congress or submit any explanation” for its decision.Rival fuel sellers would likely have grounds to sue, but only once the imports actually happen, Anderson wrote.Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) introduced a bill to nullify the license, and three House committees have referred it, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported.Investigating the deal will be a priority if Democrats win control of either chamber in next week’s midterm elections, Axios reported.The lawmakers asked the banks and ports to confirm by Wednesday that they are preserving contracts, shipping documents and payment records tied to Russian diesel.

Commanders suspected of sexual violence during the largest and fastest slaughter of civilians in more than 30 years have been subjected to travel ban and asset freezeSenior Sudanese commanders implicated in a “campaign of rape” have been targeted by the UK on the first anniversary of a mass atrocity that saw tens of thousands of civilians killed over several days.A year after the fall of El Fasher, the British government said it had sanctioned military leaders from both sides in the country’s ongoing conflict whom it suspected of sexual violence during the siege of the city. Continue reading...

Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, denies charges that he fatally strangled Anna Yagi, 39, in a hotel on the island of OkinawaProsecutors in Japan have filed formal charges against a US marine suspected of murdering and robbing a woman while stationed on the country’s island of Okinawa, according to Japanese media.Devin Jacob Ballard, a 20-year-old lance corporal assigned to Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa, is charged with fatally strangling Anna Yagi, 39, at a hotel in the city and stealing from her a backpack containing a wallet, the public broadcaster NHK reported. Continue reading...

Pope Leo XIV will proceed with his planned trip to Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru.

A geopolitical expert warned Sunday that President Donald Trump is facing a trap in Iran, one that created one of the most dangerous windows in the war's timeline. Robert Pape, a political scientist who teaches at the University of Chicago, wrote in a new Substack essay that Iran's pathway to winning the war against the U.S. is by creating excruciating economic pressure on the Trump administration. Pape predicted that the Trump administration is likely to respond to such pressure with a limited ground operation in Iran after the midterms are over. This could cause a spiral of repeating escalations that drag the U.S. further into the war. "This is the Escalation Trap in its purest form," Pape wrote. Pape argued that the two months after the midterm elections in November will be the "most dangerous" part of the war. For starters, Pape noted that the lame-duck Congress will have little incentive to prevent Trump from acting on his worst impulses, especially if the Democrats trounce Republicans, as some polls have suggested. He also noted that Trump will have the fewest domestic constraints of his second term after the midterms, which could cause Trump to deal with the ongoing economic pressure in a concerning way. "Pressure on Hormuz and Gulf oil leaves Washington two choices: make the sweeping concessions an increasingly ambitious Iran demands, which carry a heavy price at home, or climb the next rung," Pape wrote. The stakes are even greater because of the looming elections in Israel, he added. There is a chance Netanyahu becomes a "caretaker" Prime Minister after the election, which could cause him to act erratically as well.

President Donald Trump's administration is plotting one of the "most serious attempts to undermine international law" in modern history, according to one expert. Stephen Zunes, a politics professor at the University of San Francisco, detailed a resolution that the Trump administration plans to submit to the United Nations Security Council regarding Morocco's annexation of the Western Sahara territory. Zunes noted that the resolution includes some significant policy proposals that, taken together, amount to "a gift to Netanyahu, Putin, and any other leader seeking to expand territory by force." "This is one of the most serious attempts to undermine international law since the founding of the United Nations," Zunes posted on X. Morocco has been attempting to annex Western Sahara since the late 1970s. The country currently controls about 80% of the territory, although international bodies don't recognize Morocco's annexation. The Trump administration's proposal would remove longstanding requirements for U.N. peacekeeping forces to oversee a referendum about Morocco's annexation, which Zunes said would negate the "right of self-determination that has long been the basis of decolonization under international law."The resolution also falsely claims that there is a growing consensus about Morocco's annexation, when Zunes noted that only two far-right governments — Israel and Colombia — have recognized the move. Zunes described the argument as a "legal fiction.""There will certainly be objections from Pakistan, China, Russia, and perhaps some other countries which could result in changes in the language before it is put to a formal vote," Zunes added. "However, with Washington’s history of running roughshod over international legal precedent and the failure of even democratic nations to consistently stand up to Trump’s bullying (particularly on what are considered less-consequential issues), it is hard to predict." "Even if the full text isn’t accepted, the Trump administration may succeed in its primary goal: to make Morocco’s autonomy proposal, which falls way short of the international definition of autonomy and would rule out the option of independence, which is required for real decolonization, recognized by the United Nations as the only basis of future negotiations," he continued.

Kim Aris tells the Guardian chance to speak with detained Nobel laureate was ‘public relations’ move from military leadersMyanmar’s former democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi appears to be in good physical and mental health but is living in near-complete isolation, her son has said after the first call with his 81-year-old mother in more than five years.“She still sounds certainly all there mentally, and physically she sounds strong,” Kim Aris said. “I don’t think she has anybody outside of the military or the police around her, so essentially she’s been held in solitary confinement from what I gather.” Continue reading...

Elon Musk acknowledged that SpaceX changed how Ukraine's military can use Starlink and followed it with a stark warning about the war.In a lengthy post on X Saturday, the billionaire accused Ukrainian forces of violating Starlink's terms of service by using the satellite internet system "for offensive drone strikes to kill people" before announcing, "That loophole was closed last week."Musk then made clear how much rides on the service. "Were Starlink to be turned off, the Ukrainian front line would collapse immediately," he wrote. "This is NOT a threat, it is simply a statement of fact."He argued Starlink "remains critical to the defense of Ukraine, as it is the only system that cannot be jammed or blown up, at least for now," and credited it with "preventing Russia from overrunning Ukraine in the early days of the war." "SpaceX has done more to defend Ukraine than any private company on Earth BY FAR," Musk wrote.Musk drew a distinction between Starlink, which he called "a civilian commercial service," and Starshield, "a different system" that he said is controlled by the U.S. government. "What they decide to do is up to them," he wrote.Then he turned on his critics. "I have nothing but UTTER CONTEMPT for the virtue-signaling evil warmongers who push for endless slaughter and offer no realistic solution to the conflict," Musk wrote. "May you burn in hell. End of story."The post, which racked up more than 1.5 million views, came in response to an account insisting Starlink is not a weapons system.Ukrainian activist Serhii Sternenko pushed back hard on Musk's version of events. "As someone who was inside the process at the Ministry of Defense, I can say with certainty that this is not true," he wrote, noting that "whitelists were introduced" in February.Others piled on. The account for MeidasTouch called it "a deranged post" in which Musk "openly acknowledges that SpaceX recently restricted Ukraine's ability to use Starlink." Shaun Pinner, a British veteran who fought for Ukraine and was held captive by Russian forces, replied simply, "What absolute crap."Singer Marco Foster, an executive producer at Really American who posts political clips on his popular X account, turned Musk's words around by suggesting the "warmongers" jab was "obviously referring to genocidal b— Vladimir Putin."