U.S. President Donald Trump

April 18, 2025 6:25 PM

US will abandon Ukraine peace push if no progress ‘within a matter of days,’ Rubio says

U.S. President Donald Trump will walk away from trying to broker a Russia-Ukraine peace deal within days unless there are clear signs that a deal can be done, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday. "We're not going to continue with this endeavour for weeks and months on end. So we need to determine very quickly now, and I'm talking about a matter of days, whether or not this is doable in the next few weeks," Rubio said in Paris after meeting European and Ukrainian leaders. ...

April 17, 2025 10:15 AM

World Bank’s Banga urges developing nations to lower tariffs, focus on regional trade

World Bank President Ajay Banga urged developing countries on Wednesday to liberalize trade, saying many maintained higher tariffs than advanced economies and lowering them could offset the risk of reciprocal import taxes. Banga told reporters that global uncertainty - triggered in recent months by U.S. tariffs and retaliatory measures announced by China and other countries - was contributing to a more cautious business and economic environment. He said the impact would vary country by country...

April 14, 2025 12:36 PM

Back to Russian gas? Trump-wary EU has energy security dilemma

More than three years after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Europe's energy security is fragile. U.S. liquefied natural gas helped to plug the Russian supply gap in Europe during the 2022-2023 energy crisis. But now that President Donald Trump has rocked relationships with Europe established after World War Two, and turned to energy as a bargaining chip in trade negotiations, businesses are wary that reliance on the United States has become another vulnerability. Against this backdrop, executiv...

April 3, 2025 5:06 PM

Hungary says it is withdrawing from ICC as Israeli leader visits

Hungary's government has decided to withdraw from the International Criminal Court, it said on Thursday, shortly after Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu, sought under an ICC arrest warrant, arrived in the country for a state visit. Right-wing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban invited his Israeli counterpart to Budapest in November, a day after the ICC issued its arrest warrant over allegations of war crimes in Gaza, where Israel launched its offensive following an attack by Hamas-led fighte...

March 16, 2025 10:13 AM

Who are Yemen’s Houthis and why are they under attack by the US?

U.S. President Donald Trump has launched the biggest military operation in the Middle East since taking office against Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis after they resumed Red Sea shipping attacks. The strikes, which have killed at least 24 people so far, could last for weeks according to one U.S. official and come as Trump ramps up sanctions pressure on Tehran. WHAT IS THE HISTORY OF THE HOUTHIS? In the late 1990s, the Houthi family in the far north of Yemen set up a religious revival movement fo...

March 16, 2025 7:47 AM

Trump launches large-scale strikes on Yemen’s Houthis, at least 24 killed

U.S. President Donald Trump launched large-scale military strikes against Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis on Saturday over the group's attacks against Red Sea shipping, killing at least 24 people at the start of a campaign expected to last many days. Trump also warned Iran, the Houthis' main backer, that it needed to immediately halt support for the group. He said if Iran threatened the United States, "America will hold you fully accountable and, we won't be nice about it!" The unfolding strikes ...

March 15, 2025 9:30 AM

After Trump request, Putin says he will let Ukraine troops in Kursk live if they surrender

U.S. President Donald Trump urged Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin on Friday to spare Ukrainian troops that Russia is pushing out of its Kursk region, an appeal Putin said he would honor if they surrendered. Trump posted on social media after his envoy, Steve Witkoff, held a lengthy meeting with Putin on Thursday night in Moscow that Trump described as "very good and productive". "There is a very good chance that this horrible, bloody war can finally come to an end," Trump said, referring to a U....

March 12, 2025 11:09 AM

India’s wholesale inflation likely eased to 2% in February: UBI report

India’s Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation is expected to have fallen to 2% in February 2025, down from 2.3% in January, driven by a drop in oil prices and a seasonal decline in food prices, according to a report by Union Bank of India (UBI). The report noted that the primary factor behind the moderation in WPI inflation was the sharp decline in vegetable prices, a major component of food inflation. Vegetable prices are estimated to have dropped by 12% month-on-month, helping to ease infla...

March 12, 2025 10:59 AM

US Education Department to cut half its staff as Trump eyes its elimination

March 11, 2025 3:38 PM

WHO starts process of slimming down in response to U.S. cuts

The World Health Organization has started a process of fixing new priorities and announced a one-year limit on staff contracts, an internal memo showed on Tuesday, as it aims to make the U.N. agency more sustainable after the U.S. withdrawal. The memo, dated March 10 and signed by WHO's Assistant Director-General Raul Thomas, laid out further cost-cutting measures - the latest in a series of such steps since U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement in January. Senior WHO officials have begun...