Page 5 - Donald Trump Administration

Progress in US-led peace talks 'quite solid', says Ukrainian Prez Zelenskyy

Initial drafts of US proposals for a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia meet many of Kyiv's demands, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday, although he suggested that neither side in the almost four-year war is likely to get everything it wants in talks on reaching a settlement. Overall, it looks quite solid at this stage, the Ukrainian leader said of recent talks with US officials who are trying to steer the neighbouring countries toward compromises. There are some things we are probably not ready for, and I'm sure there are things the Russians are not ready for either, Zelenskyy told reporters in Kyiv. US President Donald Trump has for months been pushing for a peace agreement. However, the negotiations have run into sharply conflicting demands from Moscow and Kyiv. But US envoy Steve Witkoff said Sunday he held productive and constructive talks in Florida with Ukrainian and European representatives. Zelenskyy said that nearly 90% of Ukraine's demands have been .

Russia fully committed to achieving peace, says US envoy Steve Witkoff

The negotiations were held between Russia and the United States as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Washington to increase pressure on Moscow

Trump admin removes nearly 30 career diplomats from foreign service posts

The Trump administration is recalling nearly 30 career diplomats from ambassadorial and other senior embassy posts as it moves to reshape the US diplomatic posture abroad with personnel deemed fully supportive of President Donald Trump's America First priorities. The chiefs of mission in at least 29 countries were informed last week that their tenures would end in January, according to two State Department officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal personnel moves. All of them had taken up their posts in the Biden administration but had survived an initial purge in the early months of Trump's second term that targeted mainly political appointees. That changed on Wednesday when they began to receive notices from officials in Washington about their imminent departures. Ambassadors serve at the pleasure of the president, although they typically remain at their posts for three to four years. Those affected by the shake-up are not losing their foreign service jobs

US Coast Guard pursuing another tanker helping Venezuela skirt sanctions

The US Coast Guard on Sunday was pursuing another sanctioned oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea as the Trump administration appeared to be intensifying its targeting of such vessels connected to the Venezuelan government. The pursuit of the tanker, which was confirmed by a US official briefed on the operation, comes after the US administration announced Saturday it had seized a tanker for the second time in less than two weeks. The official, who was not authorised to comment publicly about the ongoing operation and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Sunday's pursuit involved a sanctioned dark fleet vessel that is part of Venezuela's illegal sanctions evasion. The official said the vessel was flying a false flag and under a judicial seizure order. The Pentagon and Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the US Coast Guard, deferred questions about the operation to the White House, which did not offer comment on the operation. Saturday's predawn seizure of a Panama-flagg

Vivek Ramaswamy challenges Conservatives on surging bigotry on the Right

The leading Republican candidate for Ohio governor is calling out his party for rising intolerance, including against Indian American immigrants and their children, like him.

US trade chief criticises India, EU as negotiations drag on into 2026

He also said negotiations with India that began earlier this year still haven't resulted in an agreement - noting that the US had concluded deals with a slew of other partners

Yale, US universities plan student loan options as Trump caps grad debt

Graduate student loans account for half of the outstanding $1.7 trillion federal student loan portfolio, according to the Education Department

US Department of Justice appeals dismissal of James, Comey indictments

The Justice Department had said earlier it would appeal Currie's ruling, but since then, prosecutors have tried and failed twice to convince other grand juries to approve the charges against James

Trump announces lower drug price deals with 9 major pharma companies

US President Donald Trump announced Friday that nine drugmakers have agreed to lower the cost of their prescription drugs in the US. Pharmaceutical companies Amgen, Bristol Myers Squibb, Boehringer Ingelheim, Genentech, Gilead Sciences, GSK, Merck, Novartis and Sanofi will now rein in Medicaid drug prices to match what they charged in other developed countries. As part of the deal, new drugs made by those companies will also be charged at the so-called most-favoured-nation pricing across the country on any newly launched medications for all, including commercial and cash pay markets as well as Medicare and Medicaid. Drug prices for patients in the US can depend on a number of factors, including the competition a treatment faces and insurance coverage. Most people have coverage through work, the individual insurance market or government programs like Medicaid and Medicare, which shield them from much of the cost. Patients in Medicaid, the state and federally funded program for peopl

Head of group suing over White House ballroom backs Trump-picked chairman

The president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation said Friday she trusts the Trump-appointed chairman of a federal planning commission to do his job and give serious review to President Donald Trump's proposal to add a ballroom to the White House. Carol Quillen said in an interview that she takes Will Scharf, chairman of the National Capital Planning Commission, at his word after he said at the panel's December meeting that the review process would be treated seriously once the White House submits the plans. Scharf said at that meeting that he expected to receive the plans sometime this month, and the panel's review process would happen at a normal and deliberative pace. Quillen said she trusted that would be the case. I take him at his word that the process will be conducted as it always is, deliberately and seriously, and that the commission will do its job," she said. The White House has not responded to multiple queries about when the ballroom plans will be shared

Epstein files: Clinton photos draw attention in recent release by US DOJ

The Justice Department released thousands of files Friday about convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein but the incomplete document dump did not break significant ground about the long-running criminal investigations of the financier or his ties to wealthy and powerful individuals. The files included a small number of photos of President Donald Trump, sparing the White House for now from having to confront fresh revelations about an Epstein relationship that the administration for months has tried in vain to push past. It did, however, feature a series of never-before-seen photos of Bill Clinton from a trip that the former president appears to have take with Epstein decades ago. Reaction to the disclosures broke along mostly partisan lines. Democrats and some Republicans seized on the limited release to accuse the Justice Department of failing to meet a congressionally set deadline to produce the Epstein files. White House officials on social media gleefully promoted a photo of Clint

'Seen us engaged' in resolving India-Pak conflict: US Secy of State Rubio

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio referred to the conflict between India and Pakistan that US President Donald Trump claims he resolved along with several others this year, saying the American leader has made it a priority to be a peacemaker. Trump has repeated the claim of stopping the conflict between India and Pakistan nearly 70 times so far. Rubio said that the US remains engaged around the world, including in conflicts that perhaps are not central to everyday life in America. The President has made it a priority to be a peacemaker and so you've seen us engaged whether it's Russia, Ukraine, or India and Pakistan or Thailand and Cambodia, which is an ongoing challenge, Rubio said Friday at a year-end news conference. He said that some of the conflicts resolved by the US have deep roots that go back many, many years, but we are prepared to be engaged and helpful. In ways that perhaps other nations can't, we've been viewed as indispensable in that regard, and it's a role the ...

Britain appoints new ambassador to US, replaces Epstein-linked diplomat

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer appointed a new UK ambassador to the United States on Thursday, replacing a diplomat who was fired over his over his links to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Christian Turner, currently the UK's permanent representative to the United Nations, will replace Peter Mandelson, who was sacked in September because of his friendship with Epstein. The appointment comes as US President Donald Trump has been critical of Europe and at a time when Starmer and his European peers are pushing to make sure that a US brokered peace plan between Russia and Ukraine does not leave Kyiv vulnerable. The United Kingdom and United States have a very special relationship, and Christian's extensive experience as an outstanding diplomat will support this uniquely close bond and ensure it continues to flourish," Starmer said. Turner, a veteran diplomat, will take on the role after US agreement. He was previously political director of the Foreign, Commonwealth and

Can Trump run for a third term? US lawyer outlines possible paths

Lawyer Alan Dershowitz says the Constitution is not explicit on every scenario barring a third term, outlining hypothetical routes even as he doubts Donald Trump will attempt another run

Next Fed chair will believe in lower interest rates 'by a lot', says Trump

Trump made the comments during a national address touting his economic and national security accomplishments in the first year of his second term in office

US House rejects resolutions to limit Trump's campaign against drug cartels

House Republicans rejected a pair of Democratic-backed resolutions Wednesday that would have put a check on President Donald Trump's power to use military force against drug cartels and the nation of Venezuela. Democrats forced the votes using war powers resolutions as Trump has stepped up his threats against the South American nation and Congress has questioned how the US military is conducting a campaign that has destroyed 26 vessels allegedly carrying drugs and killed at least 99 people, including an attack Wednesday. The legislation would have forced the Trump administration to seek authorization from Congress before continuing attacks against cartels that it deems to be terrorist organizations in the Western Hemisphere or launching an attack on Venezuela itself. Rep Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, argued that Trump's aggressions in the region were really because the president is coveting Venezuelan oil. They were the first votes in the ..

US Senate passes $901 bn defence bill, seeks clarity on drug boat strikes

The Senate gave final passage to an annual military policy bill Wednesday that will authorize $901 billion in defense programs while pressuring Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to provide lawmakers with video of strikes on alleged drug boats in international water near Venezuela. The annual National Defense Authorization Act, which raises troop pay by 3.8%, gained bipartisan backing as it moved through Congress, and the White House has indicated that it is in line with President Donald Trump's national security priorities. However, the legislation, which ran over 3,000 pages, revealed some points of friction between Congress and the Pentagon as the Trump administration reorients its focus away from security in Europe and towards Central and South America. The bill pushes back on recent moves by the Pentagon. It demands more information on boat strikes in the Caribbean, requires that the U.S. keep its troop levels in Europe at current levels and sends some military aid to Ukraine. But

Top Trump aide says he has 'alcoholic's personality'; US President responds

In a Vanity Fair interview, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles suggested that Elon Musk is a 'drug user', and called US Vice President Vance a 'conspiracy theorist'

US states sue Trump admin again over billions in withheld EV charging funds

Sixteen states and the District of Columbia are suing President Donald Trump's administration for what they say is the unlawful withholding of over USD 2 billion dollars in funding for two electric vehicle charging programmes, according to a federal lawsuit announced Tuesday. The lawsuit filed Tuesday in the US District Court for the Western District of Washington is the latest legal battle that several states are pursuing over funding for EV charging infrastructure that they say was obligated to them by Congress under former President Joe Biden, but that the Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration are impounding. The Trump Administration's illegal attempt to stop funding for electric vehicle infrastructure must come to an end, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a release. This is just another reckless attempt that will stall the fight against air pollution and climate change, slow innovation, thwart green job creation, and leave communities without

Trump declares fentanyl as weapon of mass destruction to tackle drug crisis

The move comes as Trump has cited fentanyl deaths to justify a series of attacks against boats in international waters that the Pentagon says were being used to smuggle drugs