Author: Elizabeth Jenrola Oso

A federal judge has ruled that Donald Trump’s administration acted unlawfully when it terminated about $2.2 billion in research grants awarded to Harvard University, handing a major legal victory to the Ivy League institution. The decision by US District Judge Allison Burroughs in Boston on Wednesday prevents the White House from cutting off further research funding to Harvard, which has been at the centre of a fierce political battle over campus antisemitism and alleged left-wing bias in higher education. The Trump administration had sought to use federal funding as leverage to push through sweeping changes at universities. Columbia University and…

Portugal will observe a day of national mourning today after a funicular railway carriage derailed in central Lisbon on Wednesday evening, killing at least 15 people and injuring 18 more. The crash occurred at about 6pm on the steep line of the Elevador da Glória, a landmark funicular dating back to 1885. The yellow and white carriage toppled on its side in a narrow street near Restauradores Square, crumpling against a building as it came off the tracks. Emergency officials said all victims were recovered from the wreckage within just over two hours. Among the injured was a child; five…

A Georgia dentist is believed to have shot dead his wife and teenage daughter before taking his own life inside their $1.7 million home in Johns Creek, an affluent suburb of Atlanta. Police found the bodies of James Choi, 52, his wife Myoung, also 52, and their 15-year-old daughter Grace during a welfare check at the St Ives Country Club gated community on Sunday afternoon. “This tragic incident has deeply affected not only the family and neighbours, but our entire community,” said Johns Creek police chief Mark J. Mitchell. “We extend our heartfelt condolences to those impacted and ask that…

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Mexico on Wednesday for his first visit since taking office, as the Trump administration intensifies its crackdown on illegal immigration and drug cartels while seeking to counter China’s influence in Latin America. Washington’s top diplomat will meet President Claudia Sheinbaum and other Mexican officials in Mexico City before continuing to Ecuador. Rubio, the first Latino to hold the post, previously visited Central America and the Caribbean on his maiden foreign trip, signalling the administration’s renewed focus on the region. The visit comes a day after the US military attacked a…

More than 1,000 past and present employees of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have called for the resignation of health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, accusing him of endangering public health with repeated attacks on vaccines. In a letter published on Wednesday, the group said Kennedy’s leadership had caused turmoil at the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), citing the dismissal of its director, Susan Monarez, and her replacement by a Trump loyalist with no scientific background. The letter, issued under the banner Save HHS and co-signed by six medical organisations, accused Kennedy of “endangering…

Several survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse have voiced support for a bipartisan push in Washington to release all government files relating to the disgraced financier, who died in a Manhattan prison in 2019. Speaking outside the US Capitol on Wednesday, Anouska De Georgiou, who was abused by both Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, said the campaign for transparency came at a personal cost. “Every day of this journey toward healing has come at a profound cost to my mental health,” she said. “But this legislation really matters.” She argued that the only motive to oppose the bill would be…

Donald Trump has accused the leaders of China, Russia and North Korea of conspiring against the United States during a vast military parade in Beijing marking 80 years since Japan’s defeat in the Second World War. In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, the US president offered his congratulations to China on the anniversary but took a swipe at President Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un. “May President Xi and the wonderful people of China have a great and lasting day of celebration,” he wrote. “Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong…

China has staged its largest-ever military parade in Beijing, with President Xi Jinping declaring that the world stands at a crossroads between peace and conflict. The event, marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the second world war, referred to in China as the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, drew dozens of world leaders, including Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un, in what analysts described as a pointed display of defiance towards the west. Addressing a crowd of more than 50,000 spectators in Tiananmen Square, Xi said humanity faced a choice “between peace or war, dialogue…

Afghanistan is reeling from a devastating earthquake that has killed more than 1,400 people and injured thousands more, with the Taliban calling for urgent international assistance as rescue efforts struggle to reach remote areas. The 6.0-magnitude quake struck on Sunday in the country’s eastern Kunar province, near the border with Pakistan, flattening villages built of mud and stone along steep valleys. Many victims remain trapped under rubble, but rescuers have been hampered by treacherous terrain, poor weather and damaged roads. On Tuesday, a second tremor measuring 5.5 hit south-eastern Afghanistan at a similar shallow depth of six miles, prompting fears…

At least 20 people are missing and six confirmed dead following violent protests that have swept across Indonesia for more than a week, a human rights group has said. The demonstrations began on 25 August in response to anger over the lavish perks and benefits enjoyed by lawmakers, including a controversial housing allowance. Tensions escalated sharply after a 21-year-old motorcycle taxi driver, Affan Kurniawan, was killed when he was run over by a police vehicle at a protest site. The Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS) said on Sunday that it had verified 20 reports of missing…