TGIF and welcome to your summary of international business and political news from overnight.
First up, US President Donald Trump lashed out at “four bad Republicans” who joined with the Democrats to pass a “meaningless” resolution limiting his Iranian war powers.
The Republican-led House of Representatives voted 215 to 208, which directed Trump to withdraw US troops from Iran unless Congress declared war, or authorised the use of military force, the Guardian said.
“Yesterday, in a meaningless vote, the House voted, 4 bad Republicans and all of the Dumocrats, to limit my War Powers, right in the middle of my final negotiations to end the War with the Islamic Republic of Iran. Who would do such an unpatriotic thing. They know where the negotiations stand,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“The four Republicans, that’s a whole other story – They’re GRANDSTANDERS! They should be ashamed of themselves."
Meanwhile, US Democrat congressman Richard Neal criticised the Trump administration amid rising prices for consumer goods. Speaking during a committee hearing, Neal said US households were paying an extra US$750 because of the war, Al Jazeera reported.
“The price of a tank of gasoline in many places has gone up by almost 50%. That’s a staggering amount. The administration continues to argue that down is up, and to convince people that their pain should be subjugated to patriotic causes.”
US President Donald Trump.
On the ground, Israel and Hezbollah fighters launched strikes just hours after Israel and Lebanon agreed to implement a ceasefire. Meanwhile, Iran and the US made mixed comments over the status of their ceasefire discussions, CNN noted.
Efforts to reach a lasting ceasefire agreement had stalled, while Trump said a deal could be reached by this weekend. Israel’s continued military strikes in Lebanon had become a major obstacle, Bloomberg reported.
Oil prices dropped about 3% on reports that Trump was reluctant to resume a full-scale war with Iran, despite recent clashes. A White House official said while Trump always preferred a diplomatic solution, he had been clear about the consequences if Iran refused to make a deal, CNBC said.
In other news, former Trump national security adviser John Bolton reached a deal with the Justice Department to plead guilty to a single count of keeping classified information, the AP and ABC reported.
Bolton served for a year in Trump's first administration before being fired. The deal meant Bolton could avoid jail.
A criminal case was filed in October and charged Bolton with 18 counts of either retaining or disseminating classified information, including notes from his time in government.
Kim Jong Un.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected a new plant for weapons-grade nuclear material and said the country wanted to “beef up” nuclear forces at an exponential rate, according to state-run media, CNN reported.
He said that his country had more than doubled its capacity to produce weapons-grade nuclear material in the past five years and the new plant would help strengthen its nuclear war deterrent.
Elsewhere, Canada's government released a national artificial intelligence strategy on how the country planned to adopt new technology over the next decade, the BBC reported.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said AI was already changing how people work, learn, and connect. The plan included spending for programmes to increase AI literacy and scale up its use by businesses and government.
It suggested protecting Canada's sovereignty as a key objective as Carney warned that "AI could be weaponised against us".
In Europe, several staff members were injured when nose gear on a Boeing 787 jet unexpectedly collapsed at an airport gate in Frankfurt. Operator Lufthansa said no passengers were on board, Reuters reported.
A Boeing spokesperson said the company was aware of the incident. The jet was scheduled to depart for Los Angeles.
Finally, Japanese manufacturer Nissan signed a non-binding agreement with Chinese manufacturer Chery to build vehicles in the UK.
Discussions were ongoing over contract manufacturing by Nissan for Chery, which is part-owned by the Chinese state. If the deal went ahead, Nissan would aim to begin manufacturing in 2027, the Guardian reported.
