News & Current Events

[ad_1] US President Donald Trump’s move to ease sanctions on Syria could mark a turning point for the war-scarred country, potentially opening the door to long-awaited reconstruction and economic revival.The announcement came after Trump met interim Syrian PresidentAhmed al-Sharaa in Riyadh, marking the first meeting between a US leader and a Syrian head of state in 25 years. Trump praised Sharaa as a “tough guy” with a “very strong past”, a striking remark given the Syrian leader's former ties to jihadist groups and his inclusion on a US terrorism list as recently as 2013.CNN reported that Sharaa, once known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani and leader of al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria, had a $10 million US bounty on his head before seizing power and expelling Iran-backed militias from Syria. His rapid rise to leadership and rebranding as a national figurehead has […]

[ad_1] Shabana Mahmood (Source: X) In a move to ease the pressure on Britain’s overflowing jails, justice secretary Shabana Mahmood has announced emergency measures allowing recalled prisoners to be released after just 28 days.This step is expected to free up 1,400 prison places, reports the Independent.Speaking on Wednesday, Mahmood warned that the prison system is at a crisis point, with jails now 99 per cent full and on course to completely run out of space within five months. “If our prisons overflow, courts cancel trials, police halt their arrests, crime goes unpunished and we reach a total breakdown of law and order,” she said.The emergency scheme will apply to offenders serving one to four-year sentences who are recalled for breaching their licence terms. However, those recalled for serious further offences, including certain sexual and violent crimes and serious domestic abuse, […]

[ad_1] Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday said that his country is prepared for “any format” of peace talks with Russia, ahead of a planned meeting in Türkey on Thursday. Zelenskyy said that Kyiv’s next steps would depend on who Moscow sends to the table.“Ukraine is ready for any format of negotiations, and we are not afraid of meetings. Tomorrow – in Turkey,” Zelenskyy said in his daily video address on Wednesday. “I am waiting to see who will arrive from Russia. Then I will decide what steps Ukraine should take.”The Kremlin has not yet named its delegation for the Istanbul talks.The announcement comes amid renewed diplomatic efforts to end the war, which has dragged on for nearly three years. Last week, Zelenskyy said he was willing to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin directly in Türkey to try to secure […]

[ad_1] US President Donald Trump received a grand ceremonial welcome in Qatar before visiting Al Wajba Palace, the official residence of Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.The Emir personally guided Trump through the palace during the tour. At one point, the US President turned to the camera and remarked, “Nice house.”Trump’s arrival in Qatar was marked by a high-profile escort. His aircraft, Air Force One, was accompanied by Qatari F-15 fighter jets as a special gesture. On the ground, a motorcade led by Tesla Cybertrucks transported him through Doha.The Qatar leg of Trump’s Middle East tour followed his visit to Saudi Arabia, where he met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.During his visit, Trump also announced the lifting of US sanctions on Syria after holding talks with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on the sidelines of his regional trip.Trump announced a […]

[ad_1] US health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told lawmakers on Wednesday that Americans “should not be taking medical advice” from him, reports news agency Reuters. Kennedy defended job cuts under the Trump administration and his controversial vaccine remarks during his first appearance before Congress.Being a long-time critic of vaccines, Kennedy was grilled by both the House Appropriations Committee and the Senate HELP Committee during back-to-back hearings. His remarks came amid a measles outbreak that has infected over 1,000 people and led to three deaths, mostly among the unvaccinated.When asked if he would give his children the measles vaccine today, Kennedy replied, “Measles? Probably for measles, what I would say is my opinions about vaccines are irrelevant. I don’t think people should be taking advice, medical advice, from me.”The hearings were meant to review US President Donald Trump’s proposed 2026 […]

[ad_1] (From left to right) Cassie and Diddy, Kid Kudi American rapper Kid Cudi’s car mysteriously exploded in his driveway shortly after Sean “Diddy” Combs threatened to blow it up, his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura testified in a New York court on Wednesday.The claim came during Combs’ ongoing sex-trafficking and racketeering trial, where Ventura is a key government witness. She told the jury that the threat came in late 2011, shortly after the hip-hop mogul discovered she had started dating Cudi, whose real name is Scott Mescudi, reports the New York Post. “He mentioned when we were out of the country that Scott’s car would be blown up and he wanted his friends to see it,” Ventura said in her testimony.Later, when she and Combs met Cudi at SoHo House in New York, she recalled the rapper asking, “What about my […]

[ad_1] Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has fallen far short of the massive savings it promised, according to a report by the Financial Times. Despite claims on its official website that it slashed $170 billion in government spending, new analysis says only a fraction of that amount can be verified. Musk had vowed to cut “at least $2 trillion” from the federal budget when he launched DOGE during US President Trump’s re-election campaign. However, a Financial Times investigation has raised serious doubts about the real impact of the cost-cutting task force.According to the FT, the $170 billion figure includes many savings that are exaggerated or misrepresented. For example, DOGE claims $31.8 billion in savings from cancelling or adjusting over 10,000 contracts. But the FT could only confirm reductions in around 6,700 of those cases.The report also highlights that […]

[ad_1] An Indian academic, Badar Khan Suri, detained during the Trump administration’s crackdown on foreign students, has been ordered released by a federal judge in Virginia.The judge said his case raised serious constitutional concerns.Badar Khan Suri, a visiting scholar at Georgetown University, had been held in an immigration detention centre in Texas and is facing deportation. But on Wednesday, US district judge Patricia Tolliver Giles ruled that he could return home to his family in Virginia while his legal challenge proceeds.Khan Suri was arrested on March 17 by masked plainclothes officers outside his home in Arlington, Virginia. His lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union say he was moved rapidly to Louisiana and then Texas, without being allowed to contact his family or lawyer.The Trump administration revoked his visa, citing social media posts and his wife’s connection to Gaza as […]

[ad_1] Department of state, US (File Photo: AP) WASHINGTON: A federal judge agreed Wednesday to temporarily block the Trump administration from stripping Foreign Service employees of their collective bargaining rights. US District Judge Paul Friedman granted a federal labour union's request for a preliminary injunction that, while its lawsuit against the government is pending, stops the Republican administration from implementing a key portion of an executive order signed by President Donald Trump. The American Foreign Service Association, which represents more than 18,000 members of the Foreign Service, sued to stop the administration over the March 27 executive order. The union said Trump's order "upended decades of stable labor-management relations in the Foreign Service," removing all members at the state department and US agency for international development from coverage of a law that gives them the right to organise and bargain […]

[ad_1] Supporters walk behind the casket of Uruguay's former President Jose Mujica during his funeral procession (AP) MONTEVIDEO: Crowds poured into the streets of Uruguay's capital on Wednesday to bid a poignant farewell to former PresidentJose Mujica, a guerrilla fighter-turned-pioneering leader who became an icon of the Latin American left, remembered most for his humility, simple lifestyle and ideological earnestness. Thousands of people mourning the death of their former leader, affectionately known as "Pepe," joined the procession as Mujica's flag-covered coffin, borne on a gun carriage, made its way through downtown Montevideo toward the country's parliament over the course of three hours. Mujica died Tuesday at the age of 89 in his home on the outskirts of Montevideo, a three-room farmhouse where he lived throughout his life and during his presidency (2010-2015), in rejection of Uruguay's opulent presidential mansion. Chants […]