US officials are ‘optimistic’ that an agreement could be imminent. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said that negotiations between the European Union and the United States over a long-running trade dispute are making progress. Speaking in Berlin on Wednesday ahead of a dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron, Merz said, “We have been hearing in…
When Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was in China earlier this year for his third meeting with Xi Jinping since returning to office in 2023, he hailed the relationship between the two countries as “indestructible”. That proximity will likely increase even more following United States President Donald Trump’s announcement of a 50 percent…
The European Union has warned Israel of action over a worsening starvation crisis in Gaza, where the number of Palestinians who have died from starvation has risen to at least 101. The warning from the EU’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, came on Tuesday, as the United States said President Donald Trump’s special envoy would be…
The administration of President Donald Trump has announced that the United States will end its involvement with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) over its decision to admit the State of Palestine as a member. The decision to leave the agency, announced on Tuesday, is to take effect in December 2026. In…
US State Department says the employee was slapped with an exit ban while visiting the country in a ‘personal capacity’. A United States government employee has been prevented from leaving China after visiting the country for personal reasons, Washington has said. The employee of the US Patent and Trademark Office, an agency within the US…
Detainees at three United States immigration detention centres have reported degrading conditions, including a delay in medical treatment that may be tied to two deaths, according to a human rights report. The investigation published on Monday detailed women held in male facilities, rampant overcrowding and potentially deadly indifference to medical needs at the three facilities…
Haaretz report says Israel plans to fly 16 social media influencers who support Trump’s MAGA and America First campaigns. The Israeli foreign ministry will fund a tour of the country by right-wing social media influencers from the United States, says a report. Israeli newspaper Haaretz on Sunday reported that the planned tour will feature 16…
US ambassador says truce was ‘supported’ by the US and ’embraced’ by Turkiye, Jordan and Syria’s neighbours. Syria’s security forces have begun deploying in the restive southern province of Suwayda, an Interior Ministry spokesperson has said, where heavy fighting between Druze and Bedouin armed groups and government forces have left hundreds dead. The Syrian presidency…
US Justice Department files a motion in Manhattan federal court to unseal grand jury transcripts in the Epstein cases. United States President Donald Trump has filed a defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal publication and its owners, including media magnate Rupert Murdoch, seeking at least $10bn in damages over the publication of a bombshell…
Knockback deals potential blow to US diplomat Thomas Barrack’s efforts to press on with ‘go-forward plan’ for Israel-Lebanon peace. Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem appeared to dismiss a proposal that his group disarm, as presented by the United States to Lebanon’s leadership last month. Qassem argued on Friday that the Israeli army would expand in Lebanon…