Author: Fatimah Idera

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…

Oil prices increased on Monday following positive remarks from both the US and China during weekend trade talks. The progress in negotiations had boosted market sentiment, suggesting a potential resolution to the trade dispute between the world’s two largest crude consumers. Brent crude futures climbed 43 cents, or 0.67%, to $64.34 a barrel by 0500 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were trading at $61.50 a barrel, up 48 cents, or 0.79%, from Friday’s close. Both benchmarks rose more than $1 on Friday and gained over 4% last week for their first weekly gains since mid-April, after a…

The prime minister of Albania, Edi Rama seeks an unprecedented fourth term in office during a campaign dominated by promises to join the European Union and accusations of widespread graft. Albanian elections began as Albanians started voting in parliamentary elections on Sunday. Polling stations opened at 7 a.m. (0500 GMT) and will close at 7 p.m as results were expected to be released on Monday. Rama, in power as head of the Socialist Party since 2013, is favourite to win against his old rival, former prime minister Sali Berisha of the Democratic Party, bolstered in part by an influential network…

Top Iranian and Umited States negotiators had resumed talks to address disputes over Tehran’s nuclear programme in a push for progress as Washington hardened its stance ahead of the U.S. President Donald Trump’s Middle East visit. Though Tehran and Washington both have said they prefer diplomacy to resolve the decades-long dispute, they remain deeply divided on several red lines that negotiators will have to circumvent to reach a new nuclear deal and avert future military action. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff will hold the fourth round of talks in Muscat through Omani mediators,…

London’s Stansted Airport was hit by IT problems on Sunday that left hundreds of passengers stuck in long queues outside and inside the terminal building and caused delays to flights. The technical problems, which affected check-in, baggage and security operations, were later resolved, but flights continued to run behind schedule, the airport said in a statement. Images posted on social media showed people queuing outside the airport had missed their flight. Stansted is the capital’s third-biggest airport by passenger numbers. London’s Heathrow Airport, the busiest in Europe, also shut down for almost a day in March due to a fire…