War

With Venezuela holding a massive protest today dubbed the "Mother Of All Protests" to challenge the rule of president Maduro, who meanwhile has ordered the army into the streets, while summoning a counterprotests, violence seemed inevitable and moments ago Reuters reported that a young protester was shot in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas.

#19Abril OTRO HERIDO MAS ...víctima de la Represión del Dictador Colombiano en #Venezuela pic.twitter.com/Rz3fw8H2Eh #19VzlaEnLaCalle

The U.S. Air Force scrambled two F-22 stealth fighters on Monday night to intercept a pair of Russian nuclear-capable bombers which came as close as 100 miles from Alaska's Kodiak Island, Fox reports. This was the first time since President Trump took office that Moscow has sent bombers so close to the U.S. 

Authored by Patrick Buchanan via Buchanan.org,

“Why would I call China a currency manipulator when they are working with us on the North Korean problem?” tweeted President Donald Trump on Easter Sunday.

Earlier, after discovering “great chemistry” with Chinese President Xi Jinping over “the most beautiful piece of chocolate cake” at Mar-a-Lago, Trump had confided, “I explained … that a trade deal with the U.S. will be far better for them if they solve the North Korean problem!”

Just when a few hours had passed without any escalation around the Korean Peninsula, The Guardian reports that the US military is considering shooting down North Korean missile tests as a show of strength to Pyongyang according to two sources briefed on the plans.

As the USS Carl Vinson heads towards the peninsula, along with two oither carriers, the Pentagon is looking for ways short of war to pressure North Korea into denuclearization, particularly if Pyongyang goes forward with an anticipated sixth nuclear test.

In response to a U.S. navy battle group being sent toward the Korean peninsula at the weekend, Pyongyang has responded with a warning of "catastrophic consequences”, adding that North Korea is "ready to react to any mode of war desired by the U.S." With China supposedly agreeing that some form of action now has to be taken on its ally, Statista's Martin Armstrong looks at the countries with the largest amount of active-duty troops in the world.

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