U.S. President Donald Trump

April 29, 2026 10:14 AM

Global Stocks retreat on Iran, AI concerns as Fed meeting looms

Markets got off to an uneven start in Asian trading on Wednesday as worries about the Iran conflict and health of the AI sector dominated ahead of the Federal Reserve's decision and earnings from tech megacap stocks later in the session. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eased 0.2%, retreating for a second day from record highs set on Monday, led by declines for Taiwanese chipmakers. Japanese markets were closed for a holiday. S&P 500 e-mini futures EScv1 nudged up...

April 28, 2026 3:36 PM

Trump unhappy with Iran’s latest proposal to end the war

U.S. President Donald Trump is unhappy with the latest Iranian proposal on resolving the two-month war, a U.S. official said, dampening hopes for resolution of a conflict that has disrupted energy supplies, fuelled inflation, and killed thousands. Iran's latest proposal would set aside discussion of Iran's nuclear programme until the war, on hold following a ceasefire announced earlier this month, is ended and disputes over shipping from the Gulf are resolved. Trump is unhappy with Iran's pr...

April 28, 2026 10:41 AM

Kimmel says his joke was misconstrued, Trump says ABC should fire late-night host

Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel said on Monday his joke about U.S. first lady Melania Trump had been misconstrued and was not a "call to assassination." Kimmel used the opening monologue of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" to address comments made last Thursday in a parody segment on the White House correspondents' dinner. He said his quip that Melania Trump had "a glow like an expectant widow," referred to the difference is ages of the first lady and her husband, President Donald Trump. "It was a very ligh...

April 28, 2026 10:23 AM

Top Jalisco cartel leader ‘El Jardinero’ arrested in Mexico

Mexican special forces have arrested Audias Flores, known as "El Jardinero" and one of the top commanders of the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), in the western state of Nayarit, security minister Omar Garcia Harfuch said on Monday. Flores - a regional commander in control of swathes of CJNG territory along Mexico's Pacific coast - was considered a potential successor to Nemesio Oseguera, alias "El Mencho," who ran the cartel and was killed in a security operation in February. Se...

April 24, 2026 9:51 PM

UN says Israeli strikes in Lebanon, Hezbollah rockets into Israel may breach international law

The U.N. human rights office said on Friday it has documented patterns of attacks on civilians in populated areas and residential buildings in Lebanon and Israel that may amount to serious violations of international humanitarian law. The report covers the first three weeks of the latest escalation, which began after Hezbollah launched attacks on Israel on March 2, prompting Israel to respond with a large‑scale military offensive. Since then, nearly 2,500 people have been killed in Lebanon, ...

April 24, 2026 9:33 PM

Hezbollah says ceasefire ‘meaningless’ as fighting continues in south

Lebanon's Hezbollah said a U.S.-mediated ceasefire in the war with Israel was meaningless a day after it was extended for three weeks, as Lebanese authorities reported two people killed by an Israeli strike and Hezbollah downed an Israeli drone. U.S. President Donald Trump announced the three-week extension on Thursday after hosting Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors at the White House. The ceasefire agreement between the governments of Lebanon and Israel had been due to expire on Sunday. While ...

April 24, 2026 7:26 PM

Putin may or may not attend the G20 in Miami, the Kremlin says

Vladimir Putin may or may not travel to the G-20 summit in Miami, the Kremlin said on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump said it would be very helpful if the Russian president did attend. Trump ‌intends to invite Putin to ⁠attend the G-20 summit in December in Miami, the Washington Post reported earlier on Thursday, ‌citing ⁠administration officials. "President Putin may go to Miami as a member of the G20, or he may not go, or another Russian representative may go,...

April 24, 2026 3:29 PM

No US-Iran peace talks in sight, but Islamabad maintains security lockdown

For nearly a week, Pakistan's capital has been waiting for peace talks between the U.S. and Iran to take place there, and although there is no sign the two sides will meet, large parts of the city remain sealed off by authorities. Key roads leading into Islamabad are shut down and a strict security cordon envelops the administrative centre, the so-called "Red Zone". In the adjacent "Blue Area", cafes have run out of fruit, markets are deserted and with no service at bus terminals, weekend commu...

April 24, 2026 2:39 PM

China rejects Trump accusation that intercepted Iran ship was ‘gift from China’

China's foreign ministry on Friday rejected an accusation by U.S. President Donald Trump that an Iranian-flagged cargo ship intercepted by U.S. forces was a "gift from China." The U.S. said it fired on and seized an Iranian cargo ship that tried to evade its blockade of Iranian ports. Iran's military said the ship had been travelling from China and vowed retaliation against what it called "armed piracy by the U.S. military." Trump on Tuesday told CNBC the ship "had some things on it, which was...

April 23, 2026 10:38 PM

Iran shows off its control over strait, Israel warns of further attacks

Iran flaunted its tightened grip over the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday with video of its commandos storming a huge cargo ship, after the collapse of peace talks that Washington had hoped would open the world's most important shipping corridor. Iranian state television broadcast footage overnight of masked troops pulling up in a grey speedboat alongside the MSC Francesca, climbing a rope ladder to a shell door in the hull and jumping through brandishing rifles. The footage, presented with an ac...