Venezuela heats up
The battle for power in Venezuela between president Nicolas Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaidó is intensifying. Reuters reports that Maduro oversaw a display of the Venezuelan army showcasing its Russian hardware on Sunday in what the news agency called a show of “military force and loyalty”. Guaidó, meanwhile, gave an interview to The Guardian in which he claimed that international backing and grassroots support meant the country had a unique chance “to leave the chaos behind”. That international backing includes support from the United States. The BBC reports that national security advisor John Bolton has said that any threats against Guaidó or American diplomats will be met with “a significant response”.
Engel heads CSV
The CSV party on Saturday elected MEP Frank Engel as its new president. He won 54% of the vote at the party’s national congress, where he was up against young Luxembourg City alderman Serge Wilmes. Former RTL TV presenter Félix Eischen was named general secretary and Elisabeth Margue and Stéphanie Weydert were also voted onto the board as vice-presidents.
Sanctions lifted
The United States on Sunday lifted sanctions on aluminium giant Rusal and other Russian firms linked to oligarch Oleg Deripaska, a close ally of president Vladimir Putin. The move happened after Deripaska, against whom personal sanctions remain in place, ceded control of the companies, the BBC says. But bi-partisan opponents to lifting the sanctions said the move was inappropriate while the Mueller investigation about Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election continues, Reuters reports.
Stone considering cooperation
Meanwhile, the Mueller investigation looks like it may have advanced over the weekend when longtime Republican operative Roger Stone said he would consider testifying “honestly about…any communications with the president”. Reuters says Stone will be arraigned in federal court on Tuesday charged with lying to Congress about the Trump campaign’s efforts to use stolen emails to undercut Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. But according to The Guardian, Stone says he will prove that his lies were merely a “failure of memory on my part…without intent.”
Ireland doubles down on backstop
Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney on Sunday insisted his country’s position on the backstop solution to ensure there will be no hard border between the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland is not going to change. The Guardian reports on Coveney’s interview with Andrew Marr on the BBC in which he said, “the backstop is already a compromise”. In what it called “a forceful interview”, The Guardian says Coveney insisted the backstop was only part of the withdrawal agreement because of the red lines drawn by British prime minister Theresa May during negotiations with the EU.
Little hope in Brazil dam burst search
The BBC cites rescue teams in Brazil saying the chances of finding any survivors of the dam burst near the south-eastern town of Brumadinho were very low. So far 58 bodies have been recovered, but some 300 people are still missing. The Irish Times reports that a similar dam burst in 2015, at a mine owned by the same company, killed 19 and caused one of Brazil’s worst environmental disasters.
US on wrong track, says poll
An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll published on Sunday reveals that by 63% of Americans believe the country is “off on the wrong track” as opposed to 28% who think it is “headed in the right direction.” CNBC says the poll also shows that 50% think president Trump was to blame for the government shutdown rather than 37% who put Democrats in Congress at fault.
2020 race is on
More candidates are throwing themselves into the race for the 2020 presidential elections in the United States. The Guardian reports on Kamala Harris’s Oakland rally to kick off her campaign for the Democratic nomination, saying estimates put the crowd at 20,000. Meanwhile former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz is taking steps to mount an independent campaign for president, says The Seattle Times. But some Democrats fear a Schultz campaign would hand the election to Donald Trump by splitting the opposition vote, The Guardian says.
Sports roundup
Denmark is the new handball world champion after beating Norway by an impressive 31-22 margin on Sunday. Novak Djokovic won the men’s title at the Australian Open tennis tournament, beating Rafael Nadal in straight sets on Sunday. Japan's Naomi Osaka beat Czech Petra Kvitova in the women’s final in a much more thrilling match. And finally Bayern Munich’s Ryan Johansson has chosen to play international football for Ireland rather than Sweden or Luxembourg, where he grew up, the Irish Independent reports.
Today’s breakfast briefing was written by Duncan Roberts