Author: Fatimah Idera

U.S. President Donald Trump said that American military and commercial ships should be allowed to travel through the Panama Canal and Suez Canal free of charge. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said that “I’ve asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio to immediately take care of, and memorialise, this situation.” The Panama Canal crosses the narrowest part of the isthmus between North and South America, allowing ships to move more quickly between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It carries about 40% of U.S. container traffic each year. The U.S. completed construction of the canal in the early 20th century…

President Donald Trump urged Russia on Sunday to stop its attacks in Ukraine while his top diplomat said the United States might walk away from peace efforts if it does not see progress. Speaking to reporters in New Jersey, Trump said he was disappointed that Russia has continued to attack Ukraine, and said his one-on-one meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at the Vatican on Saturday had gone well. “I see him as calmer. I think he understands the picture, and I think he wants to make a deal,” Trump said of Zelenskiy. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, meanwhile,…

Canadian prosecutors have charged a 30-year-old Vancouver resident with murder for killing at least 11 people aged between 5 and 65 and injuring dozens after he rammed an SUV through a crowd at a Filipino community festival in the western Canadian city, police said on Sunday. According to a post on X by the Vancouver Police, the man, Kai-Ji Adam Lo, was charged with eight counts of second-degree murder by prosecutors in British Columbia and further charges are anticipated. Lo appeared in court on Sunday, hours after police arrested him at the scene of the incident on Saturday evening. Authorities…

At least nine people were killed when a man drove through a crowd at a Filipino community festival in the western Canadian city of Vancouver on Saturday evening, police said in an X post. Police said they had arrested a 30-year-old Vancouver man at the scene, who was “known” to them. The suspect was initially chased down and held by people at the scene. A number of people were also injured. One witness told CTV News he saw a black vehicle driving erratically in the area of the festival just before the crowd was struck.”At this time, we are confident…

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney paused election campaigning on Sunday after at least nine people were killed when a man drove through a crowd at a Filipino community festival in Vancouver, Carney’s campaign said. Sunday is the final day for Carney and Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre to make their pitches to voters ahead of an election on Monday that has centered largely on U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs and threats to annex Canada. It was too early to tell if the mass casualty event in Vancouver would have any impact on the election. Police said they had arrested a…

Global finance leaders came to Washington this past week seeking clarity on what it would take to get some relief from President Donald Trump’s multi-layered tariff assault and on just how much pain it will bring to the world economy. Most headed home with more questions than answers. Many participants in the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Spring Meetings had a sense that Trump’s administration was still conflicted in its demands from trading partners hit with his sweeping tariffs. During the whirlwind week, many finance and trade ministers sought to meet with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and other…

Toyota Motor said it is exploring the possibility of investing in a potential buyout of key parts supplier Toyota Industries, a buyout that reportedly could cost $42 billion. “We are currently exploring various possibilities, including partial investment,” the automaker said in a filing with the Tokyo stock exchange on Saturday following reports about the possible buyout. Report had it that Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda and his founder family have proposed acquiring Toyota Industries in a possible 6 trillion yen ($42 billion) deal. Toyota Industries, which has a market value of 4 trillion yen, said in a statement it had received…

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas named close confidant Hussein al-Sheikh as his deputy and likely successor on Saturday, the Palestine Liberation Organisation said, a step widely seen as needed to assuage international doubts over Palestinian leadership. Abbas, 89, has headed the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority (PA) since the death of veteran leader Yasser Arafat in 2004 but he had for years resisted internal reforms including the naming of a successor. Sheikh, born in 1960, is a veteran of Fatah, the main PLO faction, which was founded by Arafat and is now headed by Abbas. He is…

U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy had a “very productive” meeting on Saturday in Rome, a White House official said, as both leaders attended the funeral of Pope Francis. A spokesman for Zelenskiy’s office said the two leaders, in an encounter in St. Peter’s Basilica, which lasted about 15 minutes, had agreed to have a second meeting later on Saturday and that their teams were working on arrangements for that. The meeting at the Vatican, their first since an angry encounter in the Oval Office in Washington in February, comes at a critical time in negotiations aimed…

Canada stands to elect a more business-friendly government than has been the case in recent years but its trade-dependent economy could be in line for an increased level of deficit spending, analysts and investors said before Monday’s vote. Spurred on by a global trade war, Canada’s new prime minister, Mark Carney, who leads the Liberal Party, and his main election opponent, Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre, have both proposed sweeping changes to boost economic growth. The Liberals are expected to win the most seats, according to the latest polls, although the race is tightening. While U.S. President Donald Trump’s…