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April 30, 2026 2:40 PM

Trump welcomes United Arab Emirates exit from OPEC

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday welcomed the United Arab Emirates' move to pull out of OPEC and said he thinks the move could help lower oil prices. "I think it's great," Trump said when asked by reporters at the White House what he thought of the UAE's decision. The UAE - one of the group's biggest producers - said on Tuesday it was quitting OPEC, dealing a blow to the group as an unprecedented energy crisis caused by the Iran war exposes discord among Gulf nations. "I think ultimat...

April 29, 2026 10:23 PM

Pentagon’s Hegseth defends Iran war, says not a quagmire

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sought to defend the Iran war in fiery remarks to Congress on Wednesday, saying it was not a quagmire and attacking Democratic lawmakers as "feckless" for criticizing the unpopular conflict. Hegseth was testifying before Congress for the first time since the U.S. and Israel launched a war against Iran on February 28 that has led to a surge in gasoline prices. Trump's popularity has taken a pounding since the conflict began and just 34% of Americans approv...

April 29, 2026 10:21 PM

Hormuz shipping traffic remains at a trickle as US-Iran deadlock deepens

At least six ships - a fraction of the usual traffic - have crossed the Strait of Hormuz in the past 24 hours, shipping data showed on Wednesday, while the U.S. and Iran remain deadlocked over coming to terms that would re-open the crucial waterway. The vessel traffic was mainly through Iranian waters and included the Vast Plus chemical tanker, which is subject to US sanctions, according to Kpler ship-tracking data and satellite analysis from SynMax. Most of the ships were dry bulk carriers, a...

April 29, 2026 10:24 PM

Germany’s Merz says relations with Trump are good despite spat over Iran

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Wednesday his relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump remained good despite a row between the two men over the Iran war, but he reiterated his worries over the economic impact of the conflict. The spat reflects diverging views between the Trump administration and its European NATO allies on Iran and other issues, including the Ukraine conflict. "From my perspective, my personal relationship with the U.S. President remains good. I simply had doubts...

April 29, 2026 10:24 PM

US to issue passports bearing Trump’s image

The U.S. State Department said on Tuesday it would produce a limited number of commemorative passports bearing a portrait of Donald Trump, the latest example of the administration attaching the president's likeness or name to official property. The passports will be released as part of celebrations for the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Declaration of Independence in July, State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a statement, which did not mention that the passports would contain Trump...

April 29, 2026 10:53 PM

Trump urges Iran to sign a deal and discusses prolonged blockade

Donald Trump discussed how to mitigate the impact of a possible months-long U.S. blockade of Iran's ports with U.S. oil companies, a White House official said on Wednesday, as the U.S. president urged Tehran to "get smart soon" and sign a deal. Tuesday's talks with oil executives followed deadlock in efforts to resolve the conflict, which has led the United States to try to squeeze Iran's oil exports with a naval blockade to try to force it to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping. Trump has...

April 29, 2026 10:35 PM

Trump’s court setbacks fail to blunt his campaign against media

President Donald Trump has suffered a string of courtroom setbacks in his battles with the American media, but the rulings have done little to blunt a broader campaign of pressure and retaliation that extends beyond the press. Courts have consistently sided with news organizations, rejecting Trump’s defamation lawsuits and blocking efforts by his administration to limit press access or defund public media, citing the robust free-speech protections guaranteed by the First Amendment of the U.S....

April 29, 2026 10:30 PM

Trump push for state voter rolls rebuffed by courts as midterms near

As the U.S. midterm elections approach, Democrats are winning legal challenges to the Trump administration's push to obtain states' voter rolls, dealing a blow to the president's unprecedented effort to expand the federal government's role in elections. The Democratic-run states' victories come as their party is locked in a fierce battle to take back both houses of Congress from President Donald Trump's Republicans in the November 3 midterms. On Tuesday, a federal judge in Arizona dismissed a ...

April 29, 2026 3:18 PM

Trump approval sinks to new low as war with Iran drives cost-of-living concern

President Donald Trump's approval rating sank to the lowest level of his current term, as Americans increasingly soured on his handling of the cost of living and an unpopular war with Iran, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll. The four-day poll completed on Monday showed 34% of Americans approve of Trump's performance in the White House, down from 36% in a prior Reuters/Ipsos survey, which was conducted from April 15 to 20. The majority of responses were gathered prior to the Saturday night ...

April 29, 2026 3:15 PM

US imposes sanctions on 35 individuals, entities for aiding Iran’s sanctions evasions

The U.S. government ratcheted up pressure on Tehran on Tuesday, imposing sanctions on 35 entities and individuals for their roles in Iran's shadow banking sector, and threatened sanctions against banks doing business with Chinese "teapot" refineries that it said are paying tolls for shipments to cross the Strait of Hormuz. The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control said the designated individuals and firms had facilitated the movement of the equivalent of tens of billions of dol...