British prosecutors have decided not to bring any charges against former Reform UK party lawmaker Rupert Lowe.
Author: Fatimah Idera
U.S. President Donald Trump met with interim Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. This meeting marked a significant turn of events for Syria as it struggles to emerge from decades of international isolation. Trump urged Sharaa to normalise ties with longtime foe Israel. The meeting was attended by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan joining virtually. The meeting came after Trump’s surprise announcement that the U.S. would lift all sanctions on Syria. This decision was made despite deep Israeli suspicion of Sharaa’s administration and concerns within sectors of the Trump administration over…
Harvard University has expanded its lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s moves to cut off billions of dollars in federal funding. The Ivy League school filed an amended complaint in federal court in Boston after officials announced the termination of an additional $450 million in grants. This decision comes on top of the $2.2 billion in funding that President Donald Trump’s administration had already terminated. The Trump administration’s moves to cut funding stem from allegations of antisemitism on Harvard’s campus. A federal antisemitism task force, comprising representatives from agencies like the U.S. departments of Education, Health and Human Services, and Justice,…
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would order the lifting of sanctions on Syria at the behest of Saudi Arabia’s crown prince. This move would be a huge boost for interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa as he seeks to stabilize a country shattered by war. Trump made the surprise announcement during a regional tour that began in Saudi Arabia. The White House said Trump would meet with Sharaa during his Saudi visit. This meeting would take place between the president and a former al Qaeda commander who spent five years in a U.S. prison in Iraq. Two sources…
The United States and Saudi Arabia signed a historic arms agreement worth nearly $142 billion during President Donald Trump’s visit to Riyadh. This deal, described by the White House as the largest defense sales agreement in history, will provide Saudi Arabia with state-of-the-art warfighting equipment. As part of the agreement, Saudi company DataVolt plans to invest $20 billion in AI data centres and energy infrastructure in the United States. This move marks Saudi Arabia’s effort to play a leading role in the technology sector. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has already pledged around $600 billion in new Saudi investments, with…
The White House executive order said on Monday that the U.S. would cut the de minimis tariff on China shipments to 54 per cent from 120 per cent, with a minimum flat fee of $100 to remain starting from May 14. The US-China deal does not include a de minimis exemption for e-commerce shipments. Meanwhile, China announced that it has removed a ban on Boeing deliveries after the trade truce with the US. China and the United States announced a truce in their trade war on Monday after talks in Geneva that will roll back the bulk of tariffs and…
U.S. President Donald Trump is said to arrive in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday morning to kick off a four-day swing through the Gulf region. This trip will focus more on economic deals than on the security crises besetting the region, from the war in Gaza to the threat of escalation over Iran’s nuclear program. American business leaders, including Tesla CEO and Trump adviser Elon Musk, will be in attendance. The president will first visit Riyadh, where the Saudi-US Investment Forum is taking place and further continue to Qatar on Wednesday and the United Arab Emirates on Thursday. He has also…
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his ministers were sworn into office for a second term following a decisive electoral victory. Albanese hailed the win as a mandate for the largest centre-left labour government in the country’s history since its federation in 1901. Albanese’s Labour Party rode a voter backlash against global instability caused by U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies to a come-from-behind victory on May 3. The opposition conservative Liberal Party, whose leader Peter Dutton lost his seat at the election, selected Sussan Ley as its new leader on Tuesday. Ley became the first woman leader of the federal Liberal Party,…
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged to significantly reduce net migration over the next four years, citing the need for greater control to preserve social cohesion and prioritise investment in the domestic workforce. Controlling immigration was a key factor in Britain’s 2016 vote to leave the European Union, yet net arrivals have quadrupled since it left the bloc, helping boost the popularity of Nigel Farage’s right-wing, anti-immigration Reform UK party. Starmer said nations depend on rules that set out rights, responsibilities and obligations, and that without them Britain risked becoming an island of strangers. He said his new plan meant…
Hamas announced on Sunday its intention to release Edan Alexander, the last living American hostage held in Gaza. Recall that Alexander, an Israeli-American soldier, was captured on October 7, 2023. Donald Trump confirmed the news in a social media post, writing that Alexander, 21, “is coming home to his family. This was a step taken in good faith towards the United States and the efforts of the mediators, which are Qatar and Egypt, to put an end to this very brutal war and return all living hostages and remains to their loved ones.” The captive’s release is set to take…
