US president says it’s a ‘solid 50/50’ on either making a ‘good’ deal with Iran or striking the country anew

Donald Trump said he would meet today with American negotiators to review Iran’s latest proposal and decide by Sunday whether he will strike Iran “to kingdom come”.

The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, also told reporters in India on Saturday that “there may be news later today” about Iran. He did not specify what that news would be.

Taylor Sheridanhas become the most powerful showrunner in Hollywood, and he has cleverly reintroduced classical narrative techniques into modern settings. While there isn’t a single Sheridan project that isn’t epic in scope, they adhere to a formal style of week-to-week progression that is reminiscent of both legacy television and American literature. The biggest issue that has arisen is when the stars of his respective shows begin to take ownership of them, resulting in uneven pacing without any clear ending point in mind. It’s thanks to intentional precision that 1923is the perfect prequel to Yellowstone because it doesn’t necessitate knowledge of the original series. While Sheridan is working to advance the insights he’s made about the Dutton family legacy, 1923 is a bold historical epic that explores a unique era in American history.

US-backed board has put sole blame for stalled ceasefire on militant group despite Israel not fulfilling its obligations, analysts say

The top diplomat from the Board of Peace has blamed Hamas for the stalled ceasefire, but critics have said the US-backed board’s lack of even-handedness in implementing the truce risks a return to war.

The “high representative for Gaza”, Nickolay Mladenov, told the UN security council on Thursday that Hamas was the “principal obstacle” to the ceasefire’s continued implementation because “it refused to accept verified decommissioning, relinquish coercive control and allow a genuine civilian transition”.

Medellín, Colombia – The Venezuelan government on Wednesday published a declaration saying it regretted recent violence in the Catatumbo region of Colombia just days after Bogotá announced bombing in cooperation with Caracas.

The statement muddies the waters about whether or not Venezuela was involved in the military operations against the National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels near the two countries’ joint border, which allegedly killed 7 guerrilla fighters. 

“The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela expresses its profound concern and regrets the escalation of violence in the border region of Catatumbo,” read a statement shared on X by Foreign Minister Yvan Gil.

The declaration came after Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on Monday that he had ordered the bombing in cooperation with Venezuela. 

“I gave the order to bomb the ELN camp in accordance with the agreement reached with the Bolivarian government of Venezuela,” wrote Petro on X.

Petro appeared to allude to an agreement with Caracas to cooperate on tackling cross-border crime following his visit to Venezuela in April. 

But Caracas appeared to wash its hands of the recent bombing operation; while it did not directly acknowledge the bombing or Petro’s statement, its declaration said that it “rejects any armed action that compromises the peace, stability, and security of border communities.” 

It added that the only way to preserve peace and stability in the region is through “mechanisms of understanding and mutual respect, avoiding actions that can aggravate tensions or generate greater risks for border populations, who for decades have faced the consequences of a conflict out of their control.”

Since last year, Catatumbo has been the site of what has been described as “the most serious humanitarian crisis of recent times” in Colombia. In January 2025, a family of three, including a nine-month-old baby, was killed, marking the collapse of fragile peace pacts between the ELN and the Frente 33 – a dissident faction of the demobilized FARC rebels – and triggering a humanitarian crisis on a scale not seen in the country for over a decade.

The Red Cross said that 2025 was one of the most complicated years for humanitarian conditions in Colombia: more than 235,000 people were individually displaced, over 176,000 people have been unable to move freely because of armed conflict, and there has also been a sharp increase in cases of mass displacements.

Venezuela’s statement highlights the cross-border nature of the conflict, noting that the country “has historically suffered the consequences of Colombian internal conflict.” Colombian armed groups like the ELN and dissident FARC factions have traditionally had a significant presence in Venezuela and were known to have ties to the Nicolás Maduro regime.

But both the interim government under Delcy Rodríguez and Petro have been under pressure from the White House to confront guerrilla groups.

This article originally appeared on The Bogotá Post and was re-published with permission.

Featured image description: Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Venezuelan Interim President Delcy Rodríguez at a meeting in Caracas on April 24, 2026.

Image courtesy of: Colombian President’s Office.

The post Venezuela contradicts Colombia claims about military strikes near border appeared first on Latin America Reports.

There are few filmmakers within the history of horror cinema that have changed the genre as significantly as John Carpenter. While he’s known for making very intense films with striking images of pure visceral horror, Carpenter’s work is particularly scary because of his understanding of human behavior. Carpenter’s work, while drawing from the supernatural, addresses authentic feelings of distress that are grounded in paranoia. No film is better evidence of this than his 1982 masterpiece The Thing, a film that draws from 1951’s The Thing From Another World, yet improves upon it in every possible way. Although it’s a work of unrelenting paranoia from the moment that it begins, The Thing foreshadows its ending with a clever Easter Egg in its first ten minutes.

Pixar is not only way ahead of all of its competition when it comes to animation, but one of the most consistent studios in Hollywood. The commitment to high quality has been one of Pixar’s most defining qualities, as the studio has made accessible animated films that push the medium forward, all whilst appealing to an audience of all ages. It’s perhaps the only production label that is able to make successful blockbusters that are completely original, even if they have begun to make more sequels in recent years.

KOTA KINABALU, May 23 — Sabah has pledged to maintain at least 50 per cent of its land under forest cover as the state prepares a long-term master plan to guide forest management and balance development with environmental conservation.

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said the state government, through the Sabah Forestry Department, is drafting a Statewide Forest Master Plan that will serve as a guideline for managing Sabah’s forest resources over the next 25 years.

He said the plan is part of Sabah’s efforts to rationalise land use while ensuring ecologically sensitive areas remain protected.

“With the Forest Master Plan in hand, the Sabah government will ensure that all Ecologically Sensitive Areas remain protected while at the same time not neglecting sustainable socio-economic development for the wellbeing of the people of Sabah,” he said when opening the national-level International Forest Day 2026 celebration in the interior district of Sook today.

Hajiji said Sabah currently maintains 63 per cent forest cover, comprising 3.85 million hectares gazetted as forest reserves and other protected areas.

He added that the state is also committed to maintaining 2.2 million hectares, or 30 per cent of Sabah’s total land area, as Totally Protected Areas to strengthen biodiversity conservation.

At the same time, Hajiji said Sabah has identified about 400,000 hectares of degraded forest reserve land for forest plantation development under the Forest Plantation Development Action Plan 2022–2036.

According to him, the initiative is aimed at restoring degraded forest productivity while reducing the timber industry’s dependence on natural forest log supplies.

The chief minister also announced that Sabah, together with the United Nations Development Programme and the Global Environment Facility, will implement the Food Systems, Land Use and Restoration Impact Programme involving integrated landscape management across 2.1 million hectares in 12 districts.

The programme is expected to benefit about 56,000 rural residents by coordinating land-use planning while reducing the environmental impact of palm oil production and preserving high conservation value forests.

Hajiji also said that, based on recent reports, Sabah has maintained its status as a carbon-negative state due to its vast forested areas that absorb more carbon dioxide than the state emits.

He said Sabah’s forests play a critical role as “carbon sinks” in mitigating climate change and stabilising the global climate system.

“This status is supported by the significant forested areas in the state, which contribute greatly to the nation’s carbon absorption capacity,” he said.

He added that peat swamp and mangrove forests could also support Sabah’s blue and green economy sectors.

Hajiji said the state government is continuing community-based forest restoration programmes through the Sabah Forestry Department, including the reforestation of degraded forests, rehabilitation of water catchment areas, and alternative income projects involving non-timber forest products such as kelulut honey and rattan.

He said Sabah has received RM126.36 million in Ecological Fiscal Transfer funds since 2019 for biodiversity conservation projects, while the Sabah Forestry Department has also been allocated RM70.8 million under the 13th Malaysia Plan for forestry initiatives.