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President Trump has submitted to Congress for review an agreement with Saudi Arabia aimed at bolstering the kingdom's civilian nuclear program, but continues to insist that it won't move forward if Saudi Arabia doesn't normalise relations with Israel, according to a Trump administration official. The classified document was submitted to Capitol Hill on Monday as required by the Atomic Energy Act, according to the administration official, a congressional aide, and two others familiar with the matter. All four spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to comment publicly on the classified matter. The agreement was signed last month in Washington by US Energy Secretary Chris Wright and his Saudi counterpart. But the next day, Trump announced he was requiring the Saudis to normalise relations with Israel through the Abraham Accords as part of the pact, raising doubts that the agreement would come to fruition. Neither the administration official nor the others ...
The Trump administration is preparing to revoke the business and tourism visas of up to 200,000 foreigners who have applied for or are currently seeking asylum status in the United States. If it happens, the move would be the largest single mass revocation of visas in US history and would likely face legal challenges. Unless challenged or revised, the State Department is expected to announce in the coming weeks the revocation of so-called B1 and B2 visas issued between 2016 and 2026 whose holders have sought asylum or are now seeking asylum, according to State Department documents obtained by The Associated Press and two US officials. The action will be taken in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security. "We are coordinating with DHS to identify and revoke the nonimmigrant visas of foreigners who have come to the United States claiming to be short-term visitors, but then file for asylum to stay here permanently," said State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott. He declined
The Supreme Court sided with the Trump administration Monday in a case over President Donald Trump's executive order restricting mail-in voting, though it remains unclear how much can be implemented before the fast-approaching midterm elections. The decision leaves room for additional court challenges that could further slow Trump's order, and other similar cases have already been filed. The US Postal Service laid out how it would implement the order last week, but time is running short to impose major changes with some states beginning to send mail ballots to voters in just a few weeks. The court's conservative majority didn't decide the legality of Trump's order, instead ruling that the states did not have the legal right to challenge it. "The Court's disposition of this application does not mean that any measure taken by the Government to implement the Order will necessarily be lawful. On that score, time will tell," the majority wrote in an unsigned order. The Supreme Court's .
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts is allowing the White House to continue construction on President Donald Trump's USD 400 million ballroom project for now. Roberts signed a temporary order on Friday allowing work to continue while the court considers an emergency appeal from the Trump administration. Lower courts had ordered a halt to the project, finding that it must have congressional approval. That ruling was set to take effect on Friday. Roberts signed the order because he oversees appeals of Washington-based cases. The case comes before the nation's highest court as Trump, a Republican, exercises unparalleled assertions of presidential power and increasingly seeks to mold the capital in his own image. The Trump administration has scored a series of victories on the high court's emergency docket, though the justices have ruled against some of the president's signature policies after fuller review. The administration has argued that the president has total authority to
The US government has notified Congress of its plans to pay USD 850 million of the several billion it owes to the United Nations, the largest payment the Trump administration would make to the world body since it demanded sweeping reforms in exchange for continued support as its largest donor. The State Department laid out its plans to transfer USD 725 million as part of its dues to the regular UN budget and USD 125 million toward UN peacekeeping operations in Haiti and the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to notifications sent to lawmakers this month and obtained by The Associated Press. The US is behind on about USD 5 billion in dues related to its UN membership, with more than USD 2 billion owed toward the regular budget and USD 3 billion for peacekeeping operations, the United Nations says. In February, the Trump administration made a single payment of USD 160 million shortly after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the institution was facing "imminent ...
The Trump administration has imposed sanctions on the president of the International Criminal Court and one of its top prosecutors as it continues a campaign to dismantle the tribunal, which it accuses of trying to unfairly prosecute US and Israeli soldiers for alleged crimes in Afghanistan, Iraq and Gaza. The State Department said Tuesday it had hit ICC president Tomoko Akane, a Japanese national, and ICC senior trial lawyer Abdoulaye Seye, who is from Senegal, with sanctions that freeze any assets they have in US jurisdictions or come into contact with the US financial system. "The Trump Administration has been clear: the International Criminal Court is a corrupt and fatally politicized supranational court that has maliciously abused its authority and exceeded its mandate," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement. "We will not tolerate its assault on state sovereignty." The move is the latest by the Trump administration against the ICC, which it says has exceeded its ..
US President Donald Trump has termed the Saudi Arabia-Turkey-Pakistan defence agreement a "big, bold and important first step" towards defending themselves in a "more meaningful way". Trump's remarks on Sunday came days after the three nations signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement -- holding any armed offensive against any of the three countries an attack against all of them. "Very happy to see that Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan have recently, and finally, signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement. It shows how the Middle East is coming together, and how countries will finally be able to defend themselves in a more meaningful way," Trump said in a post on Truth Social. "Congratulations to the Great Leadership of the three Nations mentioned. THIS IS A BIG, BOLD, AND IMPORTANT FIRST STEP - WOW," Trump wrote. The agreement was signed August 7 by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. India said
President Donald Trump on Sunday ordered the Pentagon to scale back joint exercises with South Korea after he said it declined to help denuclearise Iran. The announcement comes days before one of two scheduled large-scale joint annual exercises between South Korean and US troops are set to begin this week . It also comes just days after North Korea resumed ballistic missile testing activities that are banned by the UN. The allies have said the 11-day exercises are meant to strengthen their readiness against threats from North Korea, and reiterated that they are defensive in nature.