Next Steps For Ukraine Talks Unclear After Moscow Meeting, Trump Says

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer talks with Simon Bowen, Interim Chair for Great British Energy - Nuclear (GBE-N), at the engineering workshop at Coleg Menai, during Starmer's visit to announce Wylfa on Anglesey, an island in North Wales, as the location for the country's first small modular reactor, in Llangefni, Britain

Great British Energy, a state-owned energy company, unveiled a five-year strategic plan on Thursday aimed at accelerating the country's transition to renewable power to help meet its climate targets.

Britain is seeking to largely decarbonise its power sector by 2030, a goal that it says will help drive down energy costs and that will also require a huge increase in renewable capacity.

GBE was launched last year to invest in and co-develop clean power projects. The government has pledged a total of 8.3 billion pounds ($11.04 billion) over the current Parliament.

Under the strategic plan, GBE said it would deliver some 15 gigawatts of clean energy generation and storage capacity by 2030, enough to power around 10 million homes, by using its own investments and partnerships to help mobilise 15 billion pounds of private finance.

The company will focus on three priority areas: local community energy, onshore energy development, and offshore wind expansion, and will operate as both developer and equity investor, with returns from the publicly owned assets reinvested into new capacity.

"GBE will build a portfolio which is generating income by 2030 and be on a pathway to company-wide profitability," the strategic plan said.

The initiative is expected to directly support over 10,000 jobs, including in regions that are historically reliant on oil and gas, while backing more than 1,000 local community energy projects, GBE said.

($1 = 0.7519 pounds)

Source: Reuters

U.S. flag and U.S. H-1B Visa application form are seen in this illustration taken September 26, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

The Trump administration has ordered increased vetting of applicants for H-1B visas for highly skilled workers, with anyone involved in "censorship" of free speech considered for rejection, according to a State Department cable seen by Reuters.

H-1B visas are crucial for U.S. tech companies which recruit heavily from countries including India and China. Many of those companies' leaders threw their support behind Trump in the last presidential election.

The cable, sent to all U.S. missions on December 2, orders U.S. consular officers to review resumes or LinkedIn profiles of H-1B applicants - and family members who would be traveling with them - to see if they have worked in areas that include activities such as misinformation, disinformation, content moderation, fact-checking, compliance and online safety, among others.

"If you uncover evidence an applicant was responsible for, or complicit in, censorship or attempted censorship of protected expression in the United States, you should pursue a finding that the applicant is ineligible," under a specific article of the Immigration and Nationality Act, the cable said.

The enhanced vetting for H-1B visas, which allow U.S. employers to hire foreign workers in specialty fields, has not been previously reported.

The cable said all visa applicants were subject to this policy, but sought a heightened review for the H-1B applicants given they frequently worked in the technology sector "including in social media or financial services companies involved in the suppression of protected expression."

"You must thoroughly explore their employment histories to ensure no participation in such activities," the cable said.

The new vetting requirements apply to both new and repeat applicants.

The Trump administration has made free speech, particularly what it sees as the stifling of conservative voices online, a focus of its foreign policy.

Officials have repeatedly weighed in on European politics to denounce what they say is suppression of right-wing politicians, including in Romania, Germany and France, accusing European authorities of censoring views like criticism of immigration in the name of countering disinformation.

In May, Rubio threatened visa bans for people who censor speech by Americans, including on social media, and suggested the policy could target foreign officials regulating U.S. tech companies.

The Trump administration has already significantly tightened its vetting of applicants for student visas, ordering U.S. consular officers to screen for any social media posts that may be hostile towards the United States.

As part of his wide-ranging crackdown on immigration, Trump in September imposed new fees on H-1B visas.

Trump and his Republican allies have repeatedly accused the administration of Democratic former President Joe Biden of encouraging suppression of free speech on online platforms, claims that have centered on efforts to stem false claims about vaccines and elections.

Source: Reuters

Joesley Batista, co-owner of a sprawling business empire led by the meat-processing giant JBS NV, is quietly positioning himself as a connector trying to defuse political tensions between the Trump administration and Venezuela's ruling regime.

Batista traveled to Caracas last week in a bid to persuade President Nicolás Maduro to heed Trump's call to step down and allow for a peaceful transition of power, according to people with knowledge of the trip. He met with Maduro on Nov. 23, days after US President Donald Trump held a phone call with the country's leader to urge him to leave Venezuela, according to the people, who asked not to be identified without permission to speak publicly.

Trump administration officials were aware of Batista's plans to visit Caracas and reinforce the president's message, but he went on his own initiative and wasn't asked to go on behalf of the US, according to some of the people familiar with the trip.

"Joesley Batista is not a representative of any government," said J&F SA, the Batista family's holding company, in a statement. It offered no further comment.

The White House declined to comment. Neither Venezuela's Information Ministry nor Vice President Delcy Rodriguez's office responded to requests for comment about Batista's visit.

The trip, which hasn't been previously reported, marks the latest attempt to defuse tensions after Trump threatened land strikes in Venezuela following months of lethal attacks against alleged drug trafficking boats. The US says the Maduro regime is illegitimate, a criminal group that stole an election last year and facilitates the export of cocaine from Colombia, resulting in American deaths.

Batista's effort to mediate with Maduro followed the biggest US military deployment in the waters around Latin America in decades, and more than 20 US attacks on alleged drug-running boats near the coasts of Venezuela and Colombia that killed more than 80 people. Trump on Wednesday reiterated that assaults on land will start very soon.

"We know every route, we know every house, we know where they manufacture," Trump said at a White House event.

Batista's efforts to add to various attempts at dialogue, including by US envoy Richard Grenell, Qatari diplomats, and financial and oil investors with interests in Venezuela. While the proposals vary regarding how long Maduro would remain in power and whether he would go into exile, they all aim to avoid an escalation of attacks that until now have been waged in international waters.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio in an interview broadcast this week cast doubt on the possibility that the US could negotiate a deal with Maduro to get him to stop drug traffickers, saying the Venezuelan leader has repeatedly broken commitments over the years. Rubio said it's still worth trying to reach an agreement.

In many ways, Batista has the perfect profile to bridge the divide with Maduro. He's the rare figure with good relationships with both Trump and the Maduro regime.

JBS owns Colorado-based chicken producer Pilgrim's Pride Corp., which gave $5 million to Trump's inaugural committee, the largest single donation. JBS this year won Securities and Exchange Commission approval to list its shares in New York, overcoming fierce opposition from environmental groups and advocacy investors over concerns about past bribery scandals involving the Batista brothers and the company's alleged role in cattle-driven deforestation of the Amazon.

Batista met with Trump earlier this year to advocate removal of tariffs on beef and a detente with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva after a clash over the prosecution of his predecessor and Trump ally Jair Bolsonaro. JBS is the world's largest meat supplier and has more than 70,000 employees in the US and Canada.

The Batista family's ties to Venezuela go back at least a decade. JBS and Maduro years ago negotiated a $2.1 billion deal to supply Venezuela with meat and chicken at a time when the nation was experiencing acute food shortages and hyperinflation. The contract was facilitated by Venezuelan socialist hardline politician and current Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello.

Maduro has ruled Venezuela through increasing repression since 2013, weathering oil sanctions that Trump imposed in January 2019, under his first term.

J&F owns oil production in Argentina. The firm had considered investing in a Venezuelan oil joint venture centered on assets that belonged to ConocoPhillips and were seized by the government of Maduro's predecessor and patron, Hugo Chávez, in a wave of nationalizations in 2007.

Batista has become increasingly intertwined with power circles since helping transform the butcher shop founded by his father in the 1950s into the world's largest meat producer — with crucial help from Brazil's development bank during Lula's previous administrations. The company became the largest donor to political campaigns in Brazil in 2014, when Lula's successor, President Dilma Rousseff, was reelected.

Years later, Batista admitted to bribing hundreds of politicians — including a finance minister — in return for funding from state-run banks and pension funds. In 2017, he famously recorded an off-the-agenda meeting with President Michel Temer as part of a plea-bargain deal with Brazilian authorities in exchange for immunity. The scandal rocked the country and triggered one of the deepest stock-market routs in Brazil's modern history — a day that was subsequently branded "Joesley Day."

The Trump administration has continued its aggressive approach toward Venezuela. It designated the Cartel de los Soles, a narcotrafficking organization allegedly headed by Maduro and senior Venezuelan officials, as a foreign terrorist organization the day after Batista's visit to Caracas, ratcheting up pressure.

Source: Bloomberg Europe

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth put US troops at risk when he used the commerical messaging app Signal to discuss US strikes in Yemen, a Pentagon watchdog report finds

Key points

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth put American troops and mission at risk when he used the Signal mesaging app on his personal device to discuss planned strikes against Houthi militants in Yemen, a report by the Pentagon's watchdog has found.

That's according to US media, including CNN and ABC, and news agencies. They cite sources familiar with the results of the investigation by the Pentagon's inspector general, which hasn't yet been publicly released.

Hegseth didn't violate rules on classification, the report found according to the sources, because as the head of the Pentagon, he has the authority to declassify information.

But the information shouldn't have been discussed on the commercial app, the report said. That's because the information was so sensitive that it could have endangered the lives of American troops and the mission itself if it was intercepted.

Hegseth declined to sit for an interview with the inspector general, sources said, citing the report, instead provided written answers. He also only provided a small number of his Signal messages for review.

The meant the investigation had to rely on screenshots published by The Atlantic magazine, whose editor-in-chief was accidentally added to the Signal chat, according to sources.

The classified review was delivered on Tuesday evening to Congress.

A partially redacted version of the report is expected to be released publicly later this week, possibly on Thursday.

Trump stands by Hegseth

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the review affirms the Trump administration's statements that "no classified information was leaked, and operational security was not compromised."

"President Trump stands by Secretary Hegseth," Leavitt said in a statement on Wednesday.

The Pentagon said the review exonerated Hegseth.

"This matter is resolved, and the case is closed," Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement to CNN.

Hegseth used Signal discuss military strikes in Yemen

Hegseth's use of the commercial messaging app came to light when editor-in-chief at The Atlantic magazine, Jeffrey Goldberg, was mistakenly added to a Signal chat by then-national security adviser Mike Waltz.

Signal is encrypted but it isn't authorized for carrying classified information and isn't part of the Defense Department's secure communications network.

The group chat included Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and others.

They discussed March 15 military operations against the Iran- backed Houthis in Yemen.

In March, the US launched strikes against Houthis rebels in Yemen, who had been attacking shipping in the Red SeaImage: U.S. Central Command/REUTERS

The chat included messages in which Hegseth revealed the timing of strikes hours before they happened and information on aircraft and missiles involved.

Waltz sent real-time intelligence on the aftermath of the military action.

It later came out that Hegseth had created a second Signal chat with 13 people that included his wife and brother where he shared similar details of the same strike.

Hegseth under scrutiny after US kills survivors of drug boat strike

Hegseth is currently under fire over the killing of two people who survived a first US strike on their alleged drug-trafficking boat off the coast of Venezuela in early September.

On Tuesday, Hegseth said he hadn't seen any survivors before they were killed in a second strike.

The initial strike reportedly left two survivors clinging to the boat's burning wreckage. The survivors were then killed in a a so-called follow up "double tap" strike ordered by a Special Forces commander.

The Washington Post alleged last Friday that the second strike followed Hegseth's direct spoken order to kill all of those on board.

The killings raise fresh questions of the legality of the Trump administration's strikes on vessels they say are carrying illicit drugs to the United States.

Source: DW

Rates to ship commodities from energy to bulk ores across the world's oceans are heading for a rare year-end surge as conflicts, sanctions, and swelling output upend global supply lines.

Daily earnings to transport crude on key routes have seen the biggest jump this year, up 467%, while rates to ship liquefied natural gas and commodities such as iron ore have increased more than fourfold and twofold, respectively. Freight costs typically dip at year-end due to seasonal weakness in demand.

Vessels are spending more time at sea transporting cargo, contributing to the spike, and several shipping executives expect tightness in the broader market to continue at least through early next year.

"We're seeing an old school, extremely tight physical shipping market," Lars Barstad, the chief executive officer of Frontline Management AS, which operates a fleet of oil tankers, including very-large crude carriers, said on an earnings call late last month. "We're not seeing any kind of weakness."

For crude tankers, rates rallied following a ramp-up in Middle Eastern production, along with higher Asian demand for their barrels after US sanctions on two Russian oil giants. Meanwhile, the cost to ship LNG from the US to Europe recently climbed to the highest level in two years as new projects in North America tied up more vessels to deliver the fuel.

A benchmark measure for ships hauling bulk commodities, including grain and ore, rose to a 20-month high at the end of November as anticipation grew over a major iron ore project in Guinea coming online and weather-related delays off China squeezed supply. More broadly, hostilities around key routes have contributed to an overall increase in costs.

Attacks by Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen on merchant ships in the Red Sea have forced some vessels to transit around Africa, increasing so-called ton-miles — a key metric of demand that multiplies the cargo volume by delivery distances — signaling cargoes are being transported longer than usual.

Freight rates have eased slightly from a peak at the end of November, but elevated costs are reverberating across the shipping market. Buyers of US LNG have contemplated delaying cargo loading, while some owners of oil tankers are seeking to maximize earnings.

In recent weeks, supertanker operators have focused on longer journeys to lock in higher profits, forcing some Indian refiners to use two smaller vessels — rather than the usual one — to get their Middle Eastern crude purchases delivered on time, according to shipbrokers.

However, even as shipping companies enjoy a rare boom after years of bruising earnings, many are cautious about investing in the rejuvenation of fleets, or making big strategic decisions. New ships are expensive, while rates could plunge with more vessels and the potential reopening of the Red Sea.

"If you're a shipowner, you have made money, you are not under distress," said Jayendu Krishna, a director at Drewry Maritime Services. "But you're not in a great party like mood," due to the uncertain industry outlook, he added.

Source: Bloomberg Europe

Australia's household spending handily surpassed expectations in October to post its biggest increase since January 2024, boosting the case for an interest-rate hike next year.

Spending advanced 1.3% from September to exceed economists' expectations for a 0.6% gain, Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed on Thursday. From a year earlier, consumption climbed 5.6% versus estimates for a 4.6% increase.

In response, yields on three-year government bonds jumped above 4% for the first time since January, climbing as much as 6 basis points, while the currency gained. Money market traders boosted bets for a rate hike next year, with the odds for a May move climbing to 55%, from 18% seen Wednesday.

"Discretionary spending surged this month led by goods as promotional events saw households spend more on clothing, footwear, furnishings and electronics following months of weaker spending in these categories," said Tom Lay, head of business statistics at the ABS.

"Services spending also rose in October, as major concerts and cultural festivals drove up demand for catering, hospitality and hotel stays in major cities."

While the Reserve Bank cut rates three times since February to 3.6%, it's expected to keep borrowing costs unchanged at next week's meeting amid signs that inflation pressures may be rebuilding. Money markets are wagering the RBA's next move will be a hike in 2026.

Gross domestic product data released on Wednesday showed Australia's household savings ratio climbed to 6.4% from 6% three months earlier, underpinned by higher incomes.

RBA Governor Michele Bullock said Wednesday that the board is closely watching inflation to see whether recent pressures are transitory or more persistent and will act if necessary, in a signal that further policy easing is unlikely.

Household spending accounts for more than half of Australia's economic output and, as a result, is closely watched by policymakers.

Source: Bloomberg Europe