Yashwi Thakur

[ad_1] Macron's office issued a statement on Cocaine rumors but people have questions. French President Emmanuel Macron's office has issued a scornful statement after he was accused of hiding a cocaine pouch on his way to Ukraine, where he was accompanied by German chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.“When European unity becomes inconvenient, disinformation goes so far as to make a simple tissue look like drugs,” Macron’s office said in a statement, accusing France’s enemies of trying to undermine European unity.“This fake news is being spread by France’s enemies, both abroad and at home. We must remain vigilant against manipulation,” the statement continued, without specifying the enemy countries.“This is a tissue. For blowing your nose," it said.Russia spreads cocaine hoaxForeign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot accused Russia of being "desperate" to prevent peace in Ukraine. "You are now propagating blatant […]

[ad_1] President Donald Trump on Monday signed a sweeping executive order aimed at slashing prescription drug prices in the United States, giving pharmaceutical companies a 30-day deadline to cut costs or face action."Starting today, the United States will no longer subsidise the healthcare of foreign countries... and we’ll no longer tolerate profiteering and price gouging from Big Pharma," Trump told reporters as he signed the executive order at the White House that drug prices should fall by at least 59 percent -- and in some cases as high as 80 or 90 percent.The directive instructs the health department, under Robert F Kennedy Jr.'s leadership, to negotiate new drug prices within a month. Should negotiations fail, Kennedy must create a rule linking US medication prices to lower international rates.Trump further stated, "We're going to equalize. We're all going to pay the […]

[ad_1] Donald Trump says he would never turn down a free, expensive plane coming as a gift. President Donald Trump addressed the major row over a possible Qatari gift that is likely to become his Air Force One and wondered what is wrong in accepting a free gift from Qatar as the US helped Qatar a lot, with many things, including security.Trump said he's disappointed with Boeing as the company is taking so long to build a new plane for him, as his existing Air Force One is 40 years old. He said he ordered for a new plane during his first term, but it did not get ready and won't get ready anytime soon -- a delay he said his administration inherited from the Joe Biden's government.Trump said Qatar offered to help as they buy a lot of Boeing, […]

[ad_1] Food security experts warn Gaza is at critical risk of famine if Israel doesn't end its blockade (Photo: AP) The Gaza Strip will likely fall into famine if Israel doesn't lift its blockade and stop its military campaign, food security experts said in a stark warning on Monday. Nearly half a million Palestinians are facing possible starvation, living in "catastrophic" levels of hunger, and 1 million others can barely get enough food, according to findings by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a leading international authority on the severity of hunger crises. The group said "there is a high risk" of outright famine if circumstances don't change. Israel has banned all food, shelter, medicine and any other goods from entering the Palestinian territory for the past 10 weeks, even as it carries out waves of airstrikes and ground operations. […]

[ad_1] File photo: US President Donald Trump (Picture credit: AP) President Donald Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates this week is drawing renewed attention to the enduring business relationships between the Trump family and the Middle East.While the stated goal of the trip is to reinforce strategic partnerships and economic cooperation, observers suggest that personal and financial interests remain closely intertwined with official diplomacy.This is Trump’s first formal visit to the region in his second term, but it closely mirrors the beginning of his presidency in 2017 when his debut foreign trip was to Saudi Arabia. At that time, he was feted by Gulf leaders, and according to analysts, this latest tour could offer a similar atmosphere. “This is his happy place,” Jon B. Alterman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies told reporters, […]

[ad_1] German FM visits Israel, doubts military solution for Gaza (Photo: AP) Germany's newly-appointed foreign minister Johann Wadephul said on a visit to Israel that the conflict in Gaza cannot be solved through military actions, stressing he supports a political solution.Wadephul said that Gaza is part of the Palestinian territory. He expressed doubts over Israel's conduct in the Gaza war and whether it serves Israel's security.Earlier this week, Israel's far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich had said that he expected that Gaza's population would be confined to just a narrow swath of land within the next six months, with the remainder of the enclave "totally destroyed."What did Wadephul say?Wadephul said Berlin would hold its commitment to guarantee Israel's security, reminding that it was Germany's "reason of state."He nevertheless noted that there is still room for criticism among friends, adding that this […]

[ad_1] Representative image (AP) Almost every month, there's another announcement about how various Gulf states will spend mind-blowing sums of money, hundreds of billions of dollars, if not trillions, in deals made with the new Trump administration in the US.In January, Saudi Arabia said it would broaden investments into, and trade with, the US to over $600 billion (€530 billion) in the next four years. US President Donald Trump himself then suggested that the sum could be as high as $1 trillion (€884 billion). And recent reports suggest the US will soon offer Saudi Arabia an arms package worth over $100 billion.Not to be outdone, the United Arab Emirates followed up with announcements in March that they'd be spending more than $1.4 trillion in the US over the next 10 years. Analysts say the pledge, which will focus on artificial […]

[ad_1] Germany has begun rejecting asylum seekers at its borders with other European countries, the first such action since the new government tightened immigration, a German newspaper reported Sunday.On Thursday and Friday, out of 365 undocumented entries at all borders, 286 migrants and refugees were sent back, including 19 who had applied for asylum, according to data provided to Bild am Sonntag.The paper said the main reasons for being rejected were: no valid visa, fake documents or entry suspension.Congratulations!You have successfully cast your voteLogin to view resultBild reported that over two days, authorities also detained 14 smugglers, carried out 48 open arrest warrants, and apprehended nine individuals under extremism laws targeting hard-left, far-right, and Islamist ideologies, among others.Four claimants classified as "vulnerable" were permitted to enter the country.Why is Germany taking a tougher line on immigration?New German Chancellor Friedrich Merz […]

[ad_1] SEOUL: South Korea's former president Yoon Suk Yeol appeared in court Monday for another hearing in his criminal trial after filing past waiting journalists, as he defends himself against insurrection charges over his declaration of martial law.Yoon was formally stripped of office last month after being impeached and suspended by lawmakers over his December 3 attempt to subvert civilian rule, which saw armed soldiers deployed to parliament.In January he became South Korea's first sitting head of state to be arrested, although he was later released on procedural grounds.Yoon was ordered by the Seoul court to attend trial and has been stripped of his right to enter through the underground parking lot, meaning he had to go past a media scrum for the first time. Dressed in a suit and red tie, Yoon walked past journalists without responding to any […]

[ad_1] Office of Management and Budget Director Russel Vought at White House (AP) Russell Vought, President Trump's top budget official and a leading figure behind the controversial Project 2025 agenda, is set to succeed Elon Musk as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). As first reported by The Wall Street Journal, the billionaire tech mogul is stepping down from his government role, making way for Vought, who has already been quietly shaping many of DOGE’s policies from behind the scenes.This transition marks a significant shift in how the federal government is managed under Trump’s second term. Musk, who has overseen the department since January 2025, was tasked with executing deep budget cuts and rolling back federal regulations. His approach drew praise from fiscal conservatives but also sparked mass protests and agency shutdowns. Now, Vought, already director of the […]