Page 7 - Donald Trump Administration

Putin meets Trump's envoys as Kremlin links Ukraine settlement to territory

Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the settlement in Ukraine with US President Donald Trump's envoys during marathon overnight talks, and the Kremlin insisted that the territorial issue needs to be resolved to reach a peace deal. The Kremlin meeting, which lasted past 3 a.m. Friday, came hours after Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sharply criticized his European allies Thursday for what he cast as their slow and fragmented response to Russia's nearly four-year full-scale invasion that he said has left Ukraine at the mercy of Putin amid an ongoing U.S. push for a peace settlement. Kremlin foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov, who participated in Putin's meeting with Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, said "it was reaffirmed that reaching a long-term settlement can't be expected without solving the territorial issue," a reference to Moscow's demand that Kyiv withdraws its troops from the areas in the east that Russia illegally annexed but never fully ...

US moves to rewrite defence pact to expand military presence in Greenland

White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said that if the deal goes through, the US would achieve all its strategic goals in Greenland 'at very little cost, forever,' adding that Trump is hopeful about it

Trump says Federal Reserve chair interviews done, has pick in mind

Trump's shortlist includes National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, BlackRock executive Rick Rieder, current Fed Governor Christopher Waller and a former governor, Kevin Warsh

US walks away from WHO leaving behind $260 million in unpaid dues

The withdrawal notice left the health organisation without its top donor. Between 2022 and 2023, the US contributed nearly $1.3 billion to the WHO

Trump calls for UN to work with new Board of Peace on Gaza, other conflicts

The reaction came after Trump formally launched the Board of Peace at the WEF, signing its charter and describing the move as a major step towards global conflict resolution

What happens to Greenland 'not our concern': Russian President Putin

Commenting on Denmark's treatment of Greenland, Putin said Denmark has treated Greenland like a colony for many years and has often been harsh towards it

US Army issues standby orders for a possible Minneapolis deployment

The US Army has ordered several dozen additional active-duty soldiers to prepare for a possible deployment to Minneapolis if needed, a defense official said Wednesday, amid protests over the Trump administration's immigration enforcement crackdown. The defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive plans, confirmed that members of an Army military police brigade who are stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina have been given prepare-to-deploy orders. If deployed, the troops would likely offer support to civil authorities in Minneapolis, according to the official, who stressed that such standby orders are issued regularly and they do not necessarily mean that the troops would end up going. About 1,500 active-duty soldiers from the Army's 11th Airborne Division based in Alaska also have received similar standby orders. President Donald Trump has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act, a rarely used 19th century law that would allow him to use active-du

Trump's 'Board of Peace' adds to US challenges against UN authority

US President Donald Trump's ambition for the 'Board of Peace' to play a role in global conflicts beyond Gaza appears to be the latest US attempt to sidestep the UN Security Council, raising new questions about the relevance of the 80-year-old world body and uncertainty about its future as a primary force in brokering peace worldwide. Trump is establishing the board, to be composed largely of invited heads of state, as the UN has embarked on major reforms intended to modernise an organisation founded on the ashes of World War II and make it a more viable global player in the 21st century. A decades-long reform effort gained new impetus after the Trump administration last year set out to eliminate billions of dollars in funding to international organisations and humanitarian assistance at large. Cutting life-saving humanitarian efforts, consolidating major agencies and moving personnel out of New York headquarters are just a few of the changes the UN has made as it courts continued ..

Immigration crackdown reaches Maine as court freezes curbs on protest limit

Maine became the latest target of the Trump administration's immigration enforcement crackdown, while a federal appeals court on Wednesday suspended a decision that prohibited federal officers from using tear gas or pepper spray against peaceful protesters in Minnesota. The 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals was persuaded to freeze a judge's ruling that bars retaliation against the public in Minnesota, including detaining people who follow agents in cars, while the government pursues an appeal. Operation Metro Surge, an immigration enforcement operation in the Twin Cities, has been underway for weeks. Attorney General Pam Bondi praised the appeals court on X, saying the Justice Department "will protect federal law enforcement agents from criminals in the streets AND activist judges in the courtroom." After the stay was issued, Greg Bovino of US Border Patrol, who has commanded the administration's big-city immigration campaign, was seen on video repeatedly warning protesters on a snow

Elizabeth Holmes asks Trump to shorten prison sentence for Theranos fraud

White House is sifting through thousands of clemency requests, including a pardon bid by Archegos Capital Management founder Bill Hwang, who was convicted over the collapse of his $36 bn family office

Trump backs lower loan rates, investor ban to make homes more affordable

President Donald Trump 's plans for bringing homeownership within reach of more Americans involve pushing for lower interest rates on home loans and credit cards, and banning large institutional investors from buying single-family homes. In his address Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump outlined four policies his administration is pursuing in a bid to make homeownership more affordable. Each had been previously mentioned by him or his administration in recent weeks, part of a broader push to address affordability generally, a hot-button issue with voters heading into the midterms. The US housing market has been in a sales slump dating back to 2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows. The combination of higher mortgage rates, years of skyrocketing home prices and a chronic shortage of homes nationally following more than a decade of below-average home construction have left many aspiring homeowners priced out of the market. Sales

Can't rule out US military invasion; be prepared: Greenland PM to citizens

Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen has warned of possible risks amid Trump's takeover remarks and said the government will form a task force and advise people to store essential supplies

Trump calls out Britain's 'great stupidity' over Chagos Islands handover

In a Truth Social post, Trump argued that such decisions make it necessary for the US to acquire Greenland

US control of Greenland necessary for global security, says Donald Trump

Trump also posted two pictures suggesting full control over Greenland. One of the photos showed Canada, Greenland and Venezuela as part of the US

US-Europe have 'never been closer', says Bessent despite Greenland crisis

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday said America's relations with Europe remain strong and urged trading partners to take a deep breath and let tensions driven by the Trump administration's new tariff threats over Greenland play out. I think our relations have never been closer, he said, speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. On Saturday, Trump announced a 10 per cent import tax starting in February on goods from eight European nations that have rallied around Denmark in the wake of his stepped up calls for the United States to take over the semi-autonomous territory of Greenland. Trump has insisted the US needs the territory for security reasons against possible threats from China and Russia.

Trump heads to Davos to pitch how he'll make housing more affordable

President Donald Trump plans to use a key address Wednesday to try to convince Americans he can make housing more affordable, but he's picked a strange backdrop for the speech: a Swiss mountain town where ski chalets for vacations cost a cool $4.4 million. On the anniversary of his inauguration, Trump is flying to the World Economic Forum in Davos an annual gathering of the global elite where he may see many of the billionaires he has surrounded himself with during his first year back in the White House. Trump had campaigned on lowering the cost of living, painting himself as a populist while serving fries at a McDonald's drive-thru. But in office, his public schedules suggest he's traded the Golden Arches for a gilded age, devoting more time to cavorting with the wealthy than talking directly to his working-class base. At the end of the day, it's the investors and billionaires at Davos who have his attention, not the families struggling to afford their bills, said Alex Jacquez, .

Trump flips position to attack UK's Starmer over Chagos Islands deal

Diego Garcia, largest island in the Chagos archipelago, is a remote Indian Ocean island almost 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) from the coast of East Africa and is home to a US and UK military facility

Trump shrugs off EU resistance, presses Greenland claim ahead of WEF

Trump brushed aside EU resistance on Greenland, confirmed a call with Nato's Mark Rutte and raised the prospect of tariffs, testing European unity ahead of Davos

US judge refuses to block Trump admin's 7-day notice rule for ICE visits

A US federal judge Monday refused to temporarily block the Trump administration from enforcing a new policy requiring a week's notice before members of Congress can visit immigration detention facilities. District Judge Jia Cobb in Washington concluded that the Department of Homeland Security didn't violate an earlier court order when it reimposed a seven-day notice requirement for congressional oversight visits to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities. Cobb said she wasn't ruling on whether the new policy passes legal muster. Rather, she said, plaintiffs' attorneys representing several Democratic members of Congress used the wrong "procedural vehicle" to challenge it. The judge also concluded that the January 8 policy is a new agency action that isn't subject to her prior order in the plaintiffs' favour. Plaintiffs' lawyers asked Cobb to intervene after three Democratic members of Congress from Minnesota were blocked from visiting an ICE facility near Minneapolis ..

European leaders question US security as trust fades a year into Trump 2.0

Intimidation," threats and blackmail are just some of the terms being used by European Union leaders to describe US President Donald Trump's warning that he will slap new tariffs on nations opposing American control of Greenland. European language has hardened since Trump returned to the White House 12 months ago. Now it's in reaction to the previously unthinkable idea that NATO's most powerful member would threaten to seize the territory of another ally. Trade retaliation is likely should Trump make good on his tariff announcement. A year into Trump 2.0, Europe's faith in the strength of the transatlantic bond is fading fast. For some, it's already disappeared. The flattery of past months has not worked and tactics are evolving as the Europeans try to manage threats from an old ally just as they confront the threat of an increasingly hostile Russia. Trump's first term brought NATO to the brink of collapse. I feared that NATO was about to stop functioning, former Secretary-General