Derek Chisora appears to be waiting for the perfect match-up to mark his 50th professional fight in the sport. That may have just come along.
The British heavyweight veteran convinced fans to invest in him once again by putting together three wins in his last three outings. The unanimous decision victories came against Gerald Washington, Joe Joyce and Otto Wallin, each more impressive than the last for the 42-year-old.
Though many don’t believe he will retire after his 50th fight, the next ring walk will be an emotional one whatever no matter what happens after. For an occasion like that, Chisora wants the perfect dance partner, and Fabio Wardley — world title belt and all — makes perfect sense.
At least the champion thinks as much, with Wardley telling Sky Sports he would be all in.
“I think massively [it would be an attractive fight for British boxing fans]. For me as well, with my fights, I look at them from the perspective not just as a boxer but also as a fan. I look at them like: if I was sitting on the sofa and that popped up, would it interest me?
“I think you’d be hard-pressed to find somebody in boxing that’s going to see my name, Chisora and a fight, who thinks our styles aren’t going to go well together or create an entertaining fight.”
“It would be a nice way to send him packing [into retirement] for his 50th fight. Credit to him for all he’s done in the sport, and for all the years I’ve watched him he’s been entertaining and a pleasure.
“It would almost be like I’m doing a service. Give him his 50th, throw in a world title, send him packing with a big show and a big fight, but it’s only going to end one way.”
Many heavyweight fights are expected to be announced in the coming weeks and months, both Wardley and Chisora included. Whether or not fans see their names on a poster together remains to be decided.
What was announced as a 2050 pipe dream by Kawasaki, the company’s hydrogen-powered, four-hooved, all-terrain robot horse vehicle Corleo, is actually going into production and is now expected to be commercially available decades earlier – with the first model to debut in just four years.
Corleo goes where two wheels most definitely won’t
Kawasaki
We first wrote about this mountain-climbing monster in April last year, when it was merely a concept with some bad CGI video. But it seems Kawasaki is now getting serious about its futuristic mechanical quadruped, setting up a dedicated operation – known as the Safe Adventure Business Development Team – and aiming to have the robo-horse up and galloping for visitor use at Expo 2030 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Following that, the plan is to have the mobility vehicles on sale for consumers by 2035.
While it’s not quite the same, Kawasaki Heavy Industries has also announced that you’ll be able to experience what it’s like to ride Corleo – albeit virtually – with a simulator due to be released next year.
“Kawasaki will also develop a riding simulator that enables riding experience of the four-legged mobility vehicle,” the company announced. “This riding simulator targets completion by 2027, with plans to deploy the entire system – including motion data, 3D models, and motion data obtained during CORLEO development – to the gaming and e-sports industries.”
But back to the real Corleo. The company is focused on its use as a vehicle that can conquer mountainous terrain safely, blending motorcycle technology and robotics to offer stability and maneuverability. While its rear legs operate independently and are built for shock absorption, the vehicle will be guided by the rider’s shifting body weight – a little like horseback riding but without the reins. It’s also reported to be equipped with advanced AI to master mixed and challenging terrain, including rocky slopes and water crossings.
Kawasaki’s original renders of Corleo
Kawasaki
As previously reported, Corleo is expected to be powered by a 150cc hydrogen engine that generates electricity to propel the legs and is fueled by rear-mounted hydrogen canisters for low emissions and silent operation. The robo-horse will also house a GPS navigation screen to guide riders by mapping paths, while keeping the rider’s center of gravity stable (no pun intended).
While it’s still a way off, the deadline is more optimistic than 2050, which was the original ETA when it debuted at Japan’s World Expo 2025 in Osaka. At this point we have no idea how many will be made, nor how much it’ll cost, but the latest developments take this from novelty to “one-to-watch.”
Note: Map shows the area with a shake intensity of 4 or greater, which U.S.G.S. defines as “light,” though the earthquake may be felt outside the areas shown. All times on the map are Philippine time.The New York Times
A strong, 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck in the Philippine Sea on Wednesday, according to the United States Geological Survey.
The temblor happened at 11:02 a.m. Philippine time about 17 miles east of Santiago, Philippines, data from the agency shows.
U.S.G.S. data earlier reported that the magnitude was 6.7.
As seismologists review available data, they may revise the earthquake’s reported magnitude. Additional information collected about the earthquake may also prompt U.S.G.S. scientists to update the shake-severity map.
Aftershocks in the region
An aftershock is usually a smaller earthquake that follows a larger one in the same general area. Aftershocks are typically minor adjustments along the portion of a fault that slipped at the time of the initial earthquake.
Quakes and aftershocks within 100 miles
Source: United States Geological Survey | Notes: Shaking categories are based on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale. When aftershock data is available, the corresponding maps and charts include earthquakes within 100 miles and seven days of the initial quake. All times above are Philippine time. Shake data is as of Tuesday, Jan. 6 at 10:16 p.m. Eastern. Aftershocks data is as of Wednesday, Jan. 7 at 3:32 a.m. Eastern.
In 2017, as political outsider Donald Trump headed to Washington, Delcy Rodríguez spotted an opening.
Then Venezuela’s foreign minister, Rodríguez directed Citgo — a subsidiary of the state oil company — to make a $500,000 donation to the president’s inauguration. With the socialist administration of Nicolas Maduro struggling to feed Venezuela, Rodríguez gambled on a deal that would have opened the door to American investment. Around the same time, she saw that Trump’s ex-campaign manager was hired as a lobbyist for Citgo, courted Republicans in Congress and tried to secure a meeting with the head of Exxon.
The charm offensive flopped. Within weeks of taking office, Trump, urged by then-Sen. Marco Rubio, made restoring Venezuela’s democracy his driving focus in response to Maduro’s crackdown on opponents. But the outreach did bear fruit for Rodríguez, making her a prominent face in U.S. business and political circles and paving the way for her own rise.
“She’s an ideologue, but a practical one,” said Lee McClenny, a retired foreign service officer who was the top U.S. diplomat in Caracas during the period of Rodríguez’s outreach. “She knew that Venezuela needed to find a way to resuscitate a moribund oil economy and seemed willing to work with the Trump administration to do that.”
Nearly a decade later, as Venezuela’s interim president, Rodríguez’s message — that Venezuela is open for business — seems to have persuaded Trump. In the days since Maduro’s stunning capture Saturday, he’s alternately praised Rodríguez as a “gracious” American partner while threatening a similar fate as her former boss if she doesn’t keep the ruling party in check and provide the U.S. with “total access” to the country’s vast oil reserves. One thing neither has mentioned is elections, something the constitution mandates must take place within 30 days of the presidency being permanently vacated.
This account of Rodríguez’s political rise is drawn from interviews with 10 former U.S. and Venezuelan officials as well as businessmen from both countries who’ve had extensive dealings with Rodríguez and in some cases have known her since childhood. Most spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation from someone who they almost universally described as bookishly smart, sometimes charming but above all a cutthroat operator who doesn’t tolerate dissent. Rodríguez didn’t respond to AP requests for an interview.
Father’s murder hardens leftist outlook
Rodríguez entered the leftist movement started by Hugo Chávez late — and on the coattails of her older brother, Jorge Rodríguez, who as head of the National Assembly swore her in as interim president Monday.
Tragedy during their childhood fed a hardened leftist outlook that would stick with the siblings throughout their lives. In 1976 — when, amid the Cold War, U.S. oil companies, American political spin doctors and Pentagon advisers exerted great influence in Venezuela — a little-known urban guerrilla group kidnapped a Midwestern businessman. Rodriguez’s father, a socialist leader, was picked up for questioning and died in custody.
McClenny remembers Rodríguez bringing up the murder in their meetings and bitterly blaming the U.S. for being left fatherless at the age of 7. The crime would radicalize another leftist of the era: Maduro.
Years later, while Jorge Rodríguez was a top electoral official under Chávez, he secured for his sister a position in the president’s office.
But she advanced slowly at first and clashed with colleagues who viewed her as a haughty know-it-all.
In 2006, on a whirlwind international tour, Chávez booted her from the presidential plane and ordered her to fly home from Moscow on her own, according to two former officials who were on the trip. Chávez was upset because the delegation’s schedule of meetings had fallen apart and that triggered a feud with Rodriguez, who was responsible for the agenda.
“It was painful to watch how Chávez talked about her,” said one of the former officials. “He would never say a bad thing about women but the whole flight home he kept saying she was conceited, arrogant, incompetent.”
Days later, she was fired and never occupied another high-profile role with Chávez.
Political revival and soaring power under Maduro
Years later, in 2013, Maduro revived Rodríguez’s career after Chávez died of cancer and he took over.
A lawyer educated in Britain and France, Rodríguez speaks English and spent large amounts of time in the United States. That gave her an edge in the internal power struggles among Chavismo — the movement started by Chávez, whose many factions include democratic socialists, military hardliners who Chávez led in a 1992 coup attempt and corrupt actors, some with ties to drug trafficking.
Her more worldly outlook, and refined tastes, also made Rodríguez a favorite of the so-called “boligarchs” — a new elite that made fortunes during Chávez’s Bolivarian revolution. One of those insiders, media tycoon Raul Gorrín, worked hand-in-glove with Rodríguez’s back-channel efforts to mend relations with the first Trump administration and helped organize a secret visit by Rep. Pete Sessions, a Texas Republican, to Caracas in April 2018 for a meeting with Maduro. A few months later, U.S. federal prosecutors unsealed the first of two money laundering indictments against Gorrin.
After Maduro promoted Rodríguez to vice president in 2018, she gained control over large swaths of Venezuela’s oil economy. To help manage the petro-state, she brought in foreign advisers with experience in global markets. Among them were two former finance ministers in Ecuador who helped run a dollarized, export-driven economy under fellow leftist Rafael Correa. Another key associate is French lawyer David Syed, who for years has been trying to renegotiate Venezuela’s foreign debt in the face of crippling U.S. sanctions that make it impossible for Wall Street investors to get repaid.
“She sacrificed her personal life for her political career,” said one former friend.
As she amassed more power, she crushed internal rivals. Among them: once powerful Oil Minister Tareck El Aissami, who was jailed in 2024 as part of an anti-corruption crackdown spearheaded by Rodríguez.
In her de-facto role as Venezuela’s chief operating officer, Rodríguez proved a more flexible, trustworthy partner than Maduro. Some have likened her to a sort of Venezuelan Deng Xiaoping — the architect of modern China.
Hans Humes, chief executive of Greylock Capital Management, said that experience will serve her well as she tries to jump-start the economy, unite Chavismo and shield Venezuela from stricter terms dictated by Trump. Imposing an opposition-led government right now, he said, could trigger bloodshed of the sort that ripped apart Iraq after U.S. forces toppled Saddam Hussein and formed a provisional government including many leaders who had been exiled for years.
“We’ve seen how expats who have been outside of the country for too long think things should be the way it was before they left,” said Humes, who has met with Maduro as well as Rodríguez on several occasions. “You need people who know how to work with how things are not how they were.”
Democracy deferred?
Where Rodríguez’s more pragmatic leadership style leaves Venezuela’s democracy is uncertain.
Trump, in remarks after Maduro’s capture, said Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado lacks the “respect” to govern Venezuela despite her handpicked candidate winning what the U.S. and other governments consider a landslide victory in 2024 presidential elections stolen by Maduro.
Elliott Abrams, who served as special envoy to Venezuela during the first Trump administration, said it is impossible for the president to fulfill his goal of banishing criminal gangs, drug traffickers and Middle Eastern terrorists from the Western Hemisphere with the various factions of Chavismo sharing power.
“Nothing that Trump has said suggests his administration is contemplating a quick transition away from Delcy. No one is talking about elections,” said Abrams. “If they think Delcy is running things, they are completely wrong.”
In Sudan, victims of sexual violence are often forced to suffer in silence, their tears shed where no one can hear them. But for women like Mariam*, the horror of war followed her even as she tried to flee.
Attempting to escape from Gezira State to Khartoum early last year, Mariam’s vehicle was stopped by armed men. She was the only passenger singled out.
“We were coming from Gezira State… They stopped us on the street and forced us down,” Mariam told Al Jazeera Arabic’s correspondent Asma Mohammed.
“They said they wanted to search us. Two of them consulted with each other, then called me over,” she recounted, her voice trembling. “They took me to a place… It was an empty room with a mattress. They told me to lie down, and then they raped me.”
Mariam returned to her family in the waiting car, shattered.
“She told us immediately what happened… How many of them there were,” her aunt told Al Jazeera. “Of course, they were from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).”
‘Is there a girl in this house?’
Mariam’s story is not unique. In el-Fasher, the tragedy repeats itself with even greater brutality.
Um Kulthum*, a medical student, told Al Jazeera she was forced to witness mass rape and murder before becoming a victim herself.
“The RSF forces entered … and besieged the area,” Um Kulthum said. “They killed my uncle, the one who raised me … right in front of us.
“We were four girls, along with our neighbour’s daughter. The RSF forces then gang-raped us in a brutal manner.”
These exclusive accounts align with a harrowing new report released last November by the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA), which documented nearly 1,300 cases of sexual and gender-based violence across 14 states since the war began in April 2023.
Speaking to Al Jazeera in November, Hala Al-Karib, the regional director of SIHA, explained that these are not random acts, but a strategy rooted in viewing women as “property”.
“Kidnappings often occur at the beginning of an invasion… When homes are entered, there is a specific question asked: ‘Is there a girl in this house? Are there young women?’” Al-Karib said.
“We have heard from many witnesses who were told by RSF soldiers: ‘I am coming to take this girl.’”
Sexual slavery and trafficking
The violence extends beyond immediate assault to long-term captivity. Al-Karib described a terrifying reality of “sexual slavery” and forced labour.
“Women are kidnapped for ‘sexual slavery’, specifically young, middle-aged women, and also to serve the soldiers – forced labour, washing clothes, cooking,” Al-Karib told Al Jazeera.
Even more disturbingly, she revealed that the exploitation has crossed international lines.
“Women are also kidnapped for the purpose of enslavement and sale in markets,” Al-Karib said. “They are transported across the border to African countries neighbouring Sudan.”
She added that women’s bodies are being used “as weapons in this war … to defeat communities”, leaving survivors crushed by stigma and often refusing to return to their families out of shame.
Punishing the Masalit
The systematic nature of these crimes was further confirmed by Arnold Tsunga, a lawyer and former Africa director for the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), who led a fact-finding mission to eastern Chad to interview refugees fleeing the violence.
Speaking to Al Jazeera Arabic from Harare, Tsunga described his mission to Adre and Geneina as “heartbreaking”.
“The RSF are the ones who attacked the Masalit group… They were the majority of those subjected to sexual violence and rape,” Tsunga said.
“It is sad to see that violence is now being used systematically as a means and weapon of war … to forcibly remove people from their land and to punish Masalit men who tried to defend their land.”
Tsunga warned that the collapse of the rule of law has created an “absolute environment” for these crimes.
“The RSF are now the responsible authority in these areas… There are no justice institutions working,” he explained. “Impunity leads to more impunity … and this problem is related to rewarding criminals.”
Targeting infants
The scale of the violence has overwhelmed local hospitals. At the Omdurman Maternity Hospital, the director general described a pattern of atrocities that spares no one – not even babies.
“The rapes are in very large numbers, far more than what is recorded,” Imad al-Din Abdullah al-Siddiq told Al Jazeera.
“More than 14 female infants less than the age of two were raped. An infant! This is documented by NGOs,” he said.
Al-Siddiq noted that the hospital received a flood of victims aged 11 to 23, mostly unmarried girls. “They come as a result of pregnancy… Abortions were performed for those less than three months… For those more than three months, we didn’t have a licence to abort, so the pregnancy continued, and births took place here.”
UNICEF has confirmed more than 200 cases of sexual assault on children since the start of 2024, some less than the age of five.
A systematic pattern
The SIHA report outlines a calculated three-stage pattern accompanying RSF advances: Initial home invasions and looting accompanied by rape, followed by attacks in public spaces, and finally long-term detention.
This violence occurs against a backdrop of worsening famine. The United Nations’ World Food Programme warned it will cut rations in Sudan from January due to severe funding gaps, leaving millions at risk of starvation.
Meanwhile, international pressure is mounting. The United Kingdom recently sanctioned four senior RSF commanders over alleged mass killings and sexual violence.
But for survivors like Mariam and Um Kulthum, the diplomatic moves offer little solace. As Al-Karib noted, the international investment in reintegrating these women remains “very, very small”.
*Names have been changed to protect the identity of survivors.
Universal Music Group has struck its latest major AI partnership. And it’s a big one.
The world’s largest music rights company announced Tuesday (January 6) a strategic collaboration with AI computing giant NVIDIA, the world’s most valuable company by market capitalization, currently valued at approximately $4.56 trillion.
According to a press release, the partnership will see NVIDIA and UMG “undertake collaborative research and development to promote shared objectives of advancing human music creation and rightsholder compensation.”
The release added that the collaboration will combine NVIDIA’s AI infrastructure with what the companies describe as “the world’s leading music catalog comprising millions of culture-defining tracks” to pioneer what they call “responsible AI for music discovery, creation, and engagement.”
UMG said that, via the partnership, the companies aim to “enrich and enhance the music experience of the billions of music consumers worldwide who enjoy the world’s most popular form of entertainment”.
At the heart of the partnership is NVIDIA’s Music Flamingo model, an advanced audio AI system designed to deliver what the companies describe as a “rich, human-like understanding of songs.”
Equally significant is a dedicated artist incubator that the companies explicitly position as “a direct antidote to generic, ‘AI slop’ outputs.”
The “AI slop” language is notable. Sir Lucian Grainge, UMG’s Chairman and CEO, used similar terminology in an October memo to staff outlining the company’s AI strategy. In it, he characterized low-quality AI content on streaming platforms as “essentially platform pollution” and noted that UMG’s 2023 Artist-Centric principles were designed to combat AI ‘slop’.
By framing elements of the NVIDIA partnership as an ‘antidote’ to such content, UMG is drawing a clear distinction between what it views as responsible, artist-led AI development and the proliferation of AI-generated music on streaming services.
“We’re excited to establish this ground-breaking strategic relationship which unites the world’s leading technology company with the world’s leading music company in a shared mission to harness revolutionary AI technology to dramatically advance the interests of the creative community and the role of music in global culture,” said Sir Lucian Grainge.
Photo: Austin Hargrave
“We eagerly embrace the opportunities that AI presents, and the fact that NVIDIA is choosing to take a leadership position in the tech industry in their commitment to responsible AI principles is critically important.”
Sir Lucian Grainge, UMG
He added: “We eagerly embrace the opportunities that AI presents, and the fact that NVIDIA is choosing to take a leadership position in the tech industry in their commitment to responsible AI principles is critically important.
“We look forward to working closely with NVIDIA to direct AI’s unprecedented transformational potential towards the service of artists and their fans as we work together to set new standards for innovation within the industry, while protecting and respecting copyright and human creativity.”
“We’ll do it the right way: responsibly, with safeguards that protect artists’ work, ensure attribution, and respect copyright.”
Richard Kerris, NVIDIA
Richard Kerris, NVIDIA VP/GM of Media, added: “We’re entering an era where a music catalog can be explored like an intelligent universe, conversational, contextual, and genuinely interactive.
“By extending NVIDIA’s Music Flamingo with UMG’s unmatched catalog and creative ecosystem, we’re going to change how fans discover, understand, and engage with music on a global scale.”
Kerris added: “And we’ll do it the right way: responsibly, with safeguards that protect artists’ work, ensure attribution, and respect copyright.”
According to the press release, the partnership spans three main areas:
1. ‘Revolutionizing Music Discovery’
The companies say they will be “extending” the NVIDIA Music Flamingo model to “transform how fans discover music.”
Music Flamingo is an AI model developed by NVIDIA that can analyze and understand music. Published by NVIDIA researchers in November 2025, it can process full-length songs up to 15 minutes long, identifying everything from chord progressions and instruments to lyrics and cultural context.
The system was trained on approximately 2 million full songs spanning more than 100 genres and cultural contexts, with detailed annotations describing musical elements.
NVIDIA claims Music Flamingo can outperform competing models in tasks like music captioning, instrument recognition, and lyric transcription across multiple languages. In one example, the model achieved a 12.9% word error rate for Chinese lyric transcription, compared to 53.7% for GPT-4o.
The press release describes Music Flamingo as setting “a new standard in music intelligence by moving beyond surface-level recognition to deliver rich, human-like understanding of songs.”
According to the announcement, “By interpreting the deeper layers of each track, Music Flamingo enables listeners to explore music in ways that go far beyond traditional tags or genres, making discovery more personal and meaningful.”
2. ‘Enhancing Fan Engagement’
The press release stated these technologies will “help unlock interactive experiences that allow artists to connect with audiences beyond conventional playlists or search.”
It added that, “For fans, it powers richer discovery experiences, surfacing songs not just by genre or tempo, but by emotional narrative and cultural resonance, helping established artists reach fans in deeper, more interactive ways, while providing emerging artists with greater opportunities to be discovered by music lovers who are the most likely to become dedicated fans.”
3. ‘Empowering Artists with Creation Tools’
According to the announcement, “to ensure AI-driven music creation tools genuinely empower artists”, NVIDIA and UMG will establish a dedicated artist incubator.
The incubator will bring together “artists, songwriters, and producers to co-design and test new AI-powered tools, integrating them into real-world creative workflows.”
The press release emphasizes that “By prioritizing hands-on artist involvement, the incubator develops solutions that enhance originality and authenticity, serving as a direct antidote to generic, ‘AI slop’ outputs, and placing artists at the center of responsible AI innovation.”
UMG’s studio operations, including Abbey Road Studios in London and Capitol Studios in Los Angeles, will serve as what the companies call “creative laboratories” for this development process.
The NVIDIA partnership arrives as UMG accelerates its positioning in the music-related AI landscape.
In Grainge’s memo to staff outlining the company’s AI strategy, he stated that UMG was “very actively engaged with nearly a dozen different companies on significant new products and service plans.”
Grainge drew a firm line on certain AI applications, writing: “We will NOT license any model that uses an artist’s voice or generates new songs which incorporate an artist’s existing songs without their consent.”
That positioning has been followed by rapid-fire partnership announcements in recent months. In late October, UMG announced a strategic alliance with Stability AI to develop “next-generation professional music creation tools.”
Most notably, that same month, UMG settled its copyright infringement lawsuit against AI music platform Udio, with the companies agreeing to collaborate on a new licensed AI music platform slated to launch in 2026.
UMG has yet to sign a deal with/settle with AI music generator Suno, however. (UMG rival WMG signed a deal and settled its copyright lawsuit with Suno in November).
Meanwhile, at the end of 2025, UMG also inked deals with AI music platform KLAY and AI-powered music creation platform Splice to develop AI-powered music tools, in November and December, respectively.
Throughout today’s announcement, both companies, UMG and NVIDIA, emphasized responsible AI development and artist compensation.
UMG noted that its Music & Advanced Machine Learning Lab (MAML) previously trained its models using NVIDIA’s AI infrastructure. The new collaboration will employ both companies’ research capabilities, with NVIDIA working directly with UMG and its artists to obtain feedback on product development.
The companies stated they will “pursue new approaches to leverage AI in order to protect artists’ work and ensure proper attribution of music-based content,” though specific technical details on these protection mechanisms were not disclosed in the announcement.
In addition to using NVIDIA AI infrastructure for music discovery and engagement tools, UMG will deploy NVIDIA’s technology in developing “responsibly trained AI-driven business and creative processes.”
NVIDIA’s participation in the music sector extends beyond UMG.
In September, the chip maker secured a strategic investment in AI audio startup ElevenLabs, which launched its Eleven Music platform in August to compete with Suno and Udio.
Eleven Music has already inked licensing agreements with prominent rightsholders, including Merlin and a potentially precedent-setting deal with publisher Kobalt.
Russia has deployed navy assets to escort an oil tanker also being pursued by US forces across the Atlantic, CBS News, BBC’s media partner in the US, reported.
The ship, which currently isn’t carrying anything, historically has transported Venezuelan crude oil and was thought to be between Scotland and Iceland on Tuesday.
The US Coast Guard tried to board the Bella 1 last month in the Caribbean when it was believed to be heading towards Venezuela. It had a warrant to seize the ship, which was accused of breaking US sanctions and shipping Iranian oil.
It then dramatically changed course – as well as its name to Marinera – reportedly reflagging from a Guyanese to a Russian vessel.
Its approach to Europe has coincided with the arrival of around 10 US military transport aircraft as well as helicopters.
Russia says it is “monitoring with concern” the situation around the ship.
Two US officials told CBS News earlier on Tuesday that American forces were planning to board the ship, and that Washington preferred to seize it rather than sink it.
On Tuesday, the US military’s Southern Command posted on social media that it “remains ready to support our US government agency partners in standing against sanctioned vessels and actors transiting through this region.
“Our sea services are vigilant, agile, and postured to track vessels of interest. When the call comes, we will be there.”
The Marinera was believed to be between Scotland and Iceland overnight Tuesday, with the distance and weather making boarding difficult.
Before any US military operation was launched from the UK, Washington would be expected to inform its ally.
For now, the UK Ministry of Defence says it will not comment on other nations’ military activities.
AIS (automatic identification system) tracking data for the tanker, which can be spoofed or faked, suggests it was in the North Atlantic approximately 2,000km (1,200 miles) west of continental Europe on Tuesday.
Under international law, vessels flying a country’s flag are under the protection of that nation but Dimitris Ampatzidis, senior risk and compliance analyst at maritime intelligence firm Kpler, told BBC Verify changing the ship’s name and flag might not change much.
“US action is driven by the vessel’s underlying identity [IMO number], ownership/control networks, and sanctions history, not by its painted markings or flag claim,” he said.
Ampatzidis added that changing to the Russian registry might cause “diplomatic friction” but would not stop any US enforcement action.
“At present, our vessel is sailing in the international waters of the North Atlantic under the state flag of the Russian Federation and in full compliance with the norms of international maritime law,” Russia’s foreign ministry said.
“For reasons unclear to us, the Russian ship is being given increased and clearly disproportionate attention by the US and Nato military, despite its peaceful status,” it said.
“We expect that Western countries, which declare their commitment to freedom of navigation on the high seas, will begin adhering to this principle themselves.”
The potential stand-off over the oil tanker comes days after the US shocked the world with the Maduro seizure from the capital Caracas. It bombarded targets in the city during the operation to extricate him and his wife on suspicion of weapon and drug offences.
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new video loaded: Wintry Conditions Cause Hundreds of Flight Cancellations in Amsterdam
One of Europe’s major travel hubs canceled hundreds of flights this week after days of accumulated ice and snow. More winter weather is expected across Northern Europe through Wednesday.
