Author: Fatimah Idera

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has issued orders requiring journalists to have official escorts within much of the Pentagon building, effective immediately. This move bars credentialed reporters from most of the Department of Defense headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, unless they have official approval and an escort. The decision is reportedly based on concerns about operational security and protecting classified national intelligence information. Hegseth emphasized that protecting sensitive information is “an unwavering imperative for the Department,” as unauthorized disclosure could put U.S. Service members’ lives in danger. However, the Pentagon Press Association has criticized the new rules, calling them a “direct…

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to escalate the trade war by imposing a 50 per cent tariff on European Union goods starting June 1 and warning Apple of a potential 25 per cent levy on imported iPhones. Trump’s statements, made via social media, caused global markets to fluctuate, with major U.S. stock indexes and European shares falling, the dollar weakening, and gold prices rising. The EU’s total exports to the U.S. last year was approximately $566 billion, with Germany, Ireland, and Italy leading the way. A 50% tariff could increase consumer prices on goods like German cars and Italian olive…

U.S. singer-songwriter and pianist Billy Joel said on Friday he is canceling all his scheduled concerts after he was recently diagnosed with normal pressure hydrocephalus, a brain disorder. Billy Joel is undergoing physical therapy and has been advised to refrain from performing while he recovers. According to a statement on social media. “I’m sincerely sorry to disappoint our audience, and thank you for understanding,” Joel said. Joel’s condition was exacerbated by recent concert performances, leading to problems with hearing, vision, and balance, according to the statement. The condition, which is more likely in people over the age of 65, occurs…

The federal government is winding down production of the penny coin following a bipartisan effort to nix the lowest-denomination of U.S. currency over cost concerns. The Treasury Department placed its final order for blank pennies in May and expects to stop putting new pennies into circulation by early 2026. President Donald Trump directed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to cease production of the coin in February, describing spending on penny minting as wasteful. This move is supported by both Republican and Democratic lawmakers who introduced separate bills in the House of Representatives and the Senate calling for an end to penny…

Finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of Seven democracies papered over their differences on Thursday, pledging to tackle excessive imbalances in the global economy and saying they could increase sanctions on Russia. There had been doubt before the meeting whether it would issue a final communique, in light of divisions over U.S. tariffs and Washington’s reluctance to refer to Russia’s war on Ukraine as illegal. But after three days of talks, participants signed on to a lengthy document devoid of previous language on fighting climate change and which also softened references to the Ukraine war. “We found…

Four decades ago, Hiroko Suzuki’s father navigated the challenges of a U.S. trade war by shifting the family auto-parts business, Kyowa Industrial, into niche products. Now, tariffs imposed by the Trump administration threaten her own attempt to diversify the 78-year-old company into medical devices. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has labeled the U.S. tariffs, including 25% on automobiles, a national crisis for Japan, the world’s fourth-largest economy. Meanwhile, Japan’s top trade negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, is heading to Washington for a third round of talks to address the issue. Kyowa Industrial, a maker of prototype parts and race-car components based in Takasaki,…

European and American authorities, along with their Canadian counterparts, have joined forces to disrupt a massive malware network. Over 300 servers worldwide have been taken down, and international arrest warrants have been issued for 20 suspects. This operation, dubbed Operation Endgame, aims to tackle the world’s most notorious malware variants. German, French, Dutch, Danish, British, American, and Canadian agencies collaborated to identify over three dozen suspects, with 20 individuals facing criminal charges. More than 650 domains have been neutralized, and approximately €3.5 million in cryptocurrency has been seized. This brings the total amount of cryptocurrency seized during the operation to…

A suspect is in custody after shooting dead two Israeli embassy staff outside a Jewish museum in Washington. The gunman, named by police as Elias Rodriguez, 30, of Chicago, approached a group of four people leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum and opened fire, killing Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, who officials said were in a relationship. Metropolitan police chief Pamela Smith said the shooter had been pacing outside the museum, steps away from the FBI’s field office, before the shooting. After killing the pair, he walked inside, where event security detained him. The suspect yelled, “Free, free…

A plane crashed into a San Diego military housing neighbourhood on Thursday morning, officials confirmed. The incident occurred on Salmon Street, where the plane headed to Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport. Addressing reporters at the site of the crash, San Diego Fire-Rescue Department Assistant, Chief Dan Eddy, said that the plane struck about 15 homes, causing multiple homes and cars to catch fire. “I just walked it myself, and down the street itself, it looks like something from a movie,” Eddy said Thursday morning. Eddy said officials were still looking for the pilot and other “souls on board.” The plane appeared…

Britain had conclude a deal with Mauritius on the future of the Chagos Islands on Thursday after a judge at London’s High Court overturned an eleventh-hour injunction which had blocked the agreement being signed earlier. Lawyers representing a British national born in the Chagos Islands were granted an interim injunction in the early hours of Thursday morning, postponing the formal signing of the treaty which aims to secure the future of the strategically-important U.S.-UK Diego Garcia air base. But Judge Martin Chamberlain lifted the injunction following a hearing later on Thursday, clearing the way for Britain to sign the multi-billion…