WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Dick Cheney, a driving force behind the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, was considered by presidential historians as one of the most powerful vice presidents in U.S. history. He died at age 84 on Monday from complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease, his family said in a statement on Tuesday. The Republican — a former Wyoming congressman and secretary of defense — was already a major Washington player when then-Texas governor George W. Bush chose him to be his running mate in the 2000 presidential race that Bush went on to win. 

 

*** 

 WASHINGTON (AFP) – U.S. President Donald Trump  endorsed former New York governor Andrew Cuomo for mayor of New York City and threatened to hold back federal funds to the city if Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani wins the mayoral election on Tuesday. Trump, a Republican who has offered frequent commentary on the New York mayoral election, injected himself further into the race by crossing party lines to support Cuomo over Mamdani and the Republican candidate, Curtis Sliwa, who trails badly in public opinion polls in the heavily Democratic city. Cuomo, a longtime stalwart in the Democratic Party, is running as an independent after losing to Mamdani in the Democratic primary. The U.S. federal government is providing $7.4 billion to New York City in fiscal year 2026, or about 6.4 percent of the city’s total spending, according to a report from the New York State Comptroller.

 

*** 

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will introduce a new criminal offence banning protests outside the homes of elected officials, judges and local councillors, as part of wider efforts to curb harassment and intimidation in politics. Under the Crime and Policing Bill, police would be given powers to stop demonstrations aimed at influencing officials in their public duties or private lives, the government said on Tuesday. Those convicted could face up to six months in prison. A parliamentary survey found that 96% of British lawmakers had experienced harassment, while an independent body that oversees elections in Britain said more than half of candidates in the last general election faced threats or intimidation.

 

*** 

LIMA (AFP) - The government of Peru has decided to break diplomatic relations with Mexico, Peruvian foreign minister Hugo de Zela told a press conference. The minister said Betssy Chavez, former prime minister of the Pedro Castillo government, who is prosecuted for a failed coup attempt in December 2022, is being granted asylum at the residence of the Mexican embassy in Lima. “In response to this unfriendly act, and considering the repeated instances in which the current and former presidents of that country (Mexico) have interfered in Peru’s internal affairs, the Peruvian government has decided, as of today, to break diplomatic relations with Mexico,” he said.

 

*** 

 SEOUL(Reuters) - North Korea fired multiple artillery rockets an hour before U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited the border separating it from the South, Seoul’s military said on Tuesday. Pyongyang also fired similar weapons minutes before South Korean President Lee Jae Myung held talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping last week, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. The JCS said they had recently “detected about 10 artillery rockets fired into the northern part of the West Sea,” Seoul’s name for the Yellow Sea. 

 

*** 

 MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Typhoon Kalmaegi has left at least 26 people dead in the Philippines, mostly in flooding set off by the storm, which barreled across the central part of the country on Tuesday, disaster response officials said. Floodwaters trapped scores of people on their roofs and submerged cars. A Philippine air force helicopter with five personnel on board crashed in a separate incident in southern Agusan del Sur province while flying to help provide humanitarian assistance to provinces battered by Kalmaegi.The Super Huey chopper crashed near Loreto town and efforts were underway to locate the air force personnel aboard, the military’s Eastern Mindanao Command said in a statement.