Honduras Election Turmoil Deepens as Nasralla Alleges Fraud in Tight Presidential Race 
Cuba Reaffirms Anti-Drug Cooperation as Tensions Rise in the Caribbean 
U.S. Repatriation Flight Carrying 266 Venezuelan Migrants Lands in Caracas 
Trump and Lula Discuss Trade, Sanctions, and Security in “Productive” Phone Call 
China’s Expanding Maritime Military Presence Alarms Taiwan and Japan 
Taiwan Opposition Criticizes Plan to Block Chinese App Rednote Over Security Concerns 
UN Chief Says Gaza Operation “Fundamentally Wrong” as Concerns Over War Crimes Grow 
Australia and Japan Strengthen Defence Cooperation Amid Rising Regional Tensions 
U.S. Expected to Expand Travel Ban to More Than 30 Countries 
IMF Deputy Dan Katz Visits China as Key Economic Review Nears 
Drones Spotted Near Zelenskiy’s Flight Path in Ireland Trigger Security Alert 
Trump Administration Halts Immigration, Green Card, and Citizenship Processing for 19 Countries 
Trump Administration Tightens H-1B Visa Vetting With New Focus on Free Speech and Censorship 
U.S.-Russia Talks Leave Ukraine Peace Efforts Uncertain 
Maduro Confirms “Respectful” Call With Trump, Signals Openness to Diplomatic Dialogue 
Hong Kong Faces Low Turnout in “Patriots-Only” Election Amid Public Grief After Deadly Fire 
Taiwan Signals Openness to Renew Ties with Honduras as Election Unfolds 
Even while faced with impeachment charges, Donald Trump still finds the time to slam other people. Most recently, the President slammed former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg for being a terrible speaker.
Last week was also the week of the Democratic debates as part of the 2020 Presidential Elections. Bloomberg was running under the Democratic party, however, he was not present at the debates that occurred in Iowa. With this, Trump took to Twitter to say some choice words about the former New York mayor. Trump tweeted “Mini Mike Bloomberg doesn’t get on the Democrat Debate Stage because he doesn’t want to - he is a terrible debater and speaker. If he did, he would go down the polls even more (if that is possible!).”
Bloomberg spent over $225 million in televised promotional ads for his campaign. However, because the rule of the Democratic National Committee stipulates that candidates should collect thousands of small-dollar donations in order to qualify for the debate, he cannot join. He did stress that he would want to participate in the debate if the rules were altered slightly. “It’s hard to get the message out if you’re not in the debates. It gives you a lot of television exposure,” said Bloomberg. Nevertheless, Trump stood by his opinion of the former mayor when he was interviewed at Fox News.
Trump is still faced with an impeachment trial, having commenced last week. The New York Times reports that one of his charges, such as withholding financial and military aid to Ukraine, was outlined in an unpublished manuscript by former national security adviser John R. Bolton. According to Bolton’s account, Trump told him that he wanted to continue freezing the $391 million in Congress-approved military aid to Ukraine unless their officials helped in investigating the Democratic candidates, especially his Democratic rival, former vice president Joe Biden.
This revelation from Bolton would potentially weaken the argument of Trump’s defense, who argued during the trial that the withholding of aid to Ukraine was separate from the president’s request that the Ukrainian government announce investigations into his Democratic enemies, Biden being one of them including his son Hunter Biden. Hunter Biden worked for a Ukrainian energy firm during Joe’s two terms as vice president.
