President Donald Trump

April 11, 2025 12:04 PM

Dollar sinks to decade-low vs Swiss franc as US hit by loss of confidence

The dollar slumped on Friday as waning confidence in the U.S. economy prompted investors to ditch U.S. assets to the benefit of safe havens such as the Swiss franc, yen, and euro, as well as gold. The yellow metal recorded a new all-time peak, and the franc notched a fresh decade high. Investors dumped Wall Street stocks overnight, as a powerful relief rally on Wednesday - when President Donald Trump abruptly paused higher tariff rates on dozens of trading partners - reversed course in a frene...

April 8, 2025 1:33 PM

Trump says US, Iran set for direct nuclear talks; Tehran says they will be indirect

President Donald Trump made a surprise announcement on Monday that the United States and Iran were poised to begin direct talks on Tehran's nuclear program, but Iran's foreign minister said the discussions in Oman would be indirect. In a further sign of the difficult path to any deal between the two geopolitical foes, Trump issued a stark warning that if the talks were unsuccessful, "Iran is going to be in great danger." Iran had pushed back against Trump's demands in recent weeks that it dire...

April 2, 2025 2:03 PM

Israel to expand Gaza military operation with large-scale evacuations

Israel announced a major expansion of military operations in Gaza on Wednesday, saying large areas of the enclave would be seized and added to its security zones, accompanied by large-scale evacuations of the population. Israeli leaders have been encouraged by signs of protest in Gaza against Hamas, the militant group that has controlled the enclave since 2007, and the expanded operation appeared at least partly aimed at increasing civilian pressure on its leaders. In a statement, Defence Mini...

March 11, 2025 10:31 AM

Asian stocks slide, yen gets a boost as US growth worries grip markets

Asian stocks fell sharply on Tuesday as a market selloff extended on mounting worries that a wide-ranging trade war could dent U.S. economic growth and lead to a recession, sending skittish investors to the safe-haven Japanese yen. Investor concerns about the potential economic slowdown were exacerbated after President Donald Trump in a Fox News interview talked about a "period of transition" while declining to predict whether his tariffs would result in a U.S. recession. Those comments and wo...

February 13, 2025 8:48 AM

About 75,000 US federal workers accept Trump administration buyout program

About 75,000 U.S. federal workers accepted the deferred buyout program of President Donald Trump's administration, a spokesperson for the U.S. Office of Personnel Management said late on Wednesday. The buyout is one of many approaches Trump is taking to slash a civilian workforce of 2.3 million that he has blasted as ineffective and biased against him. He has also ordered government agencies to prepare for wide-ranging job cuts, and several have already begun to lay off recent hires who l...

February 7, 2025 6:08 PM

Trump imposes sanctions on International Criminal Court

U.S. President Donald Trump has authorized economic and travel sanctions targeting people who work on International Criminal Court investigations of U.S. citizens or U.S. allies such as Israel, drawing condemnation - but also some praise - abroad. The ICC is a permanent court that can prosecute individuals for war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression against the territory of member states or by their nationals. Trump's move, on Thursday, coincided with a visit ...

February 6, 2025 9:31 AM

Trump order seeks to ban transgender women and girls from female sports

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday attempting to exclude transgender girls and women from female sports, a directive that supporters say will restore fairness but critics say infringes on the rights of a tiny minority of athletes. The order directs the Department of Justice to make sure all government agencies enforce a ban on transgender girls and women from participating in female school sports under Trump's interpretation of Title IX, a law against sex discrim...

February 5, 2025 5:34 PM

Iran is willing to give Trump diplomacy ‘another chance’, senior Iranian official says

Iran is ready to give the United States a chance to resolve disputes between the arch foes, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Wednesday, a day after President Donald Trump restored his "maximum pressure" campaign on the country. The official said Tehran disagreed with "any displacement of Gazans, but Iran-U.S. talks are a separate matter", referring to Trump's remarks that the U.S. would take over war-ravaged Gaza and create a "Riviera of the Middle East" after resettling Palestinians e...

January 31, 2025 1:14 PM

Gabbard faces criticism over Russia, Snowden in intelligence confirmation hearing

Former U.S. Representative Tulsi Gabbard, President Donald Trump's choice to be director of national intelligence, faced harsh criticism of her past defense of former NSA contractor Edward Snowden and comments seen as supportive of Russia at a confirmation hearing on Thursday. Both Republicans and Democrats have expressed doubts about the choice of Gabbard, a 43-year-old former Democrat and combat veteran without deep intelligence experience, to serve as the nation's top spy overseeing all 18 U...

January 22, 2025 9:57 AM

Quad leaders reaffirm commitment to strengthen free and open Indo-Pacific

The United States, Australia, India and Japan recommitted to working together on Tuesday, after the first meeting of the "Quad" grouping's top diplomats since President Donald Trump returned to the White House. In a joint statement after the talks in Washington, hosted by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on his first day in the job, the foreign ministers of the Quad reiterated their shared commitment to fostering a free and open Indo-Pacific where "sovereignty and territorial integrity are u...