The United States is quietly expanding its influence in Venezuela, with CNN reporting that the CIA is moving to establish a permanent American presence inside the country.

Also:

• Sweden plans to lower the age of criminal responsibility from 15 to 13 for the most serious crimes, as criminal networks increasingly recruit minors.
• France is set to ban public officials from using U.S. videoconferencing platforms.
• More than 200 people have been killed in a coltan mine collapse in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, in territory controlled by the Rwanda-backed M23 militia.
• In Cuba, oil supplies are running critically low after Mexico cancelled shipments under U.S. pressure, raising fears of a humanitarian crisis.
• A Wall Street Journal investigation reveals a $500 million investment by a UAE royal into a Trump-linked crypto business shortly before inauguration, followed months later by U.S. approval of advanced AI chip exports to the UAE.
• Switzerland, meanwhile, plans to raise sales taxes to fund higher defence spending, signalling a shift even among traditionally neutral states.

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