Good morning.
US forces have seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, in a major escalation of Donald Trump’s four-month pressure campaign against the South American country’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro, whose government called the seizure “an act of international piracy”.
Trump confirmed the operation on Wednesday, saying the vessel was “seized for a very good reason”. Pam Bondi, the US attorney general, posted a clip of the seizure on X, showing US forces landing on the tanker from a helicopter. She said the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations and the US Coast Guard, with support from the Department of Defense, had “executed a seizure warrant for a crude oil tanker used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran”.
As well as decrying the US seizure as “a blatant theft and an act of international piracy”, Venezuela’s government accused the US of being after its natural resources, saying in a statement: “Under these circumstances, the true reasons for the prolonged aggression against Venezuela have finally been revealed … It has always been about our natural resources, our oil, our energy, the resources that belong exclusively to the Venezuelan people.”
Where is Venezuela’s opposition leader, María Corina Machado, in all this? The Nobel peace prize winner greeted crowds in Oslo after secretly traveling to Norway following 11 months in hiding in Caracas. She said she backs the US oil tanker seizure, calling it a crucial step to tackle what she says is Maduro’s criminal regime.
Sexually explicit letters about exiled Hong Kong activists sent to UK and Australian addresses
Sexually explicit letters, including deepfaked images, about high-profile pro-democracy Hong Kong exiles have been mailed to people in the UK and Australia.
The move marks an intensification of the transnational harassment faced by critics of the Chinese Communist party’s rule in Hong Kong. It is the first time that people wanted for national security offences in Hong Kong have been directly targeted with explicitly sexualised harassment, underlining the gendered threats against activists.
Letters posing as being sent by Carmen Lau, an exiled pro-democracy activist, showing digitally faked images of her as a sex worker, were sent to her former neighbors in the UK in recent weeks. In Australia, Ted Hui, a former Hong Kong legislator, and his wife have been targeted with a fake poster advertising his wife’s services as a sex worker.
Do we know who sent the letters? It remains unclear – and Lau said she was told it was unlikely police would find out who was behind them.
Trump launches $1m ‘gold card’ visa scheme amid immigration crackdown
Donald Trump has launched a new “golden visa” program to allow wealthy foreign nationals to buy a US visa for $1m, and trailed a “platinum” version for $5m.
“A direct path to Citizenship for all qualified and vetted people. SO EXCITING! Our Great American Companies can finally keep their invaluable Talent,” Trump wrote on Wednesday on social media.
The announcement, which was heavily criticized as flying in the face of the US’s longstanding reputation for taking in the hardworking poor, comes as his administration throws its resources behind deporting millions of undocumented immigrants.
How does it compare to other countries’ programs? New Zealand’s new golden visa program costs nearly US$3m – and has been taken up by many rich Americans following Trump’s re-election.
In other news …
Tourists visiting the US would have to disclose their social media history from the last five years under new Trump administration plans.
Half a million evacuees in Cambodia and Thailand have fled border areas after renewed clashes broke out this week, killing at least 15.
Meta has shut down dozens of accounts related to reproductive health and queer groups, in what campaigners call one of the “biggest waves of censorship” on its platforms in years.
Stat of the day: Federal Bureau of Prisons reported 724 allegations of staff sexually assaulting inmates in 2024
In 2024, the Federal Bureau of Prisons reported 724 allegations of staff members sexually assaulting incarcerated people across its 122 facilities, according to its annual report. The agency determined only two of those assaults happened. Now, 11 women have filed lawsuits alleging sexual assault by staff at FMC Carswell, a federal medical women’s prison in Fort Worth, Texas, in recent years. The Guardian spoke to six women, who said sexual assault at the prison is common and often ignored by staff and administrators.
The Filter Recommends: The 20 best gifts in the US for people who love the outdoors
Whether you’re friends with someone who camps every weekend or just enjoys morning coffee outside, you already know: outdoorsy people can be particular about their gear. Lucky for you, Josh Patterson has pulled together a list of the items that he has personally relied on during hiking, biking and fishing trips, from alpaca socks to an indestructible headlamp.
Don’t miss this: ‘I love when my enemies hate me’: how Hasan Piker became one of the biggest voices on the US left
Until fairly recently, Hasan Piker was famous only among the very online. But since Donald Trump’s re-election, the 34-year-old Twitch streamer has broken through to the mainstream with his takes on the flailing political left. Piker grasped early on the importance of having a presence in the cultural spaces dominated by the right, including gaming. He bemoans to Steve Rose how the US left has ceded space: “They just completely gave up on all notion of marketing or branding.”
Climate check: ‘Not normal’ – climate crisis supercharged deadly monsoon floods in Asia
The climate emergency intensified the catastrophic storms that killed more than 1,750 people in Asia, scientists have said. While monsoon rains often bring flooding, they underlined that this was “not normal”. In Sri Lanka, some floods reached the second floor of buildings. Hundreds of people remain missing.
Last Thing: the podcast making you think differently about clothes
You’ve probably heard people say that women’s clothes lack pockets – but did you know that in the 18th century, these pockets were big enough to hold writing tools, a small diary and even a snack? If that kind of thing intrigues you, tune into Articles of Interest, the fashion podcast for non-fashion people. Radio producer Avery Trufelman, who was behind the hit design podcast 99% Invisible, started the series because she realized clothes weren’t being discussed with the same level of inquisitiveness as other forms of design, such as architecture.
Sign up
First Thing is delivered to thousands of inboxes every weekday. If you’re not already signed up, subscribe now.
Get in touch
If you have any questions or comments about any of our newsletters please email newsletters@theguardian.com
