Page 43 - Donald Trump

Trump invites Japan PM Takaichi for first US visit amid tensions with China

President Donald Trump invited Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during a phone call Friday to visit the United States this year, the Japanese foreign ministry said, in what would be the ultraconservative leader's first trip to the US since taking office in October. The White House is yet to confirm the call and the invitation. It comes as ties between Japan and China have been strained, ramping up tensions in the region. The US, a close ally of Japan, is seeking to strengthen its ties with Tokyo but also stabilize its relationship with Beijing ahead of a likely trip by Trump to China in April. Beijing staged two-day military exercises in the waters off Taiwan this week. Takaichi, Japan's first female prime minister, infuriated China late last year when she said Chinese military action against Taiwan could be grounds for a Japanese military response, breaking away from former Japanese leaders' strategic ambiguity on the highly sensitive matter. In a statement Friday, the Japane

US Coast Guard search for survivors after attacks on alleged drug boat

The US Coast Guard said Friday it's still searching for people in the eastern Pacific Ocean who had jumped off alleged drug-smuggling boats when the US military attacked the vessels days earlier, diminishing the likelihood that anyone survived. Search efforts began Tuesday afternoon after the military notified the Coast Guard that survivors were in the water about 400 miles (650 kilometres) southwest of the border between Mexico and Guatemala, the maritime service said in a statement. The Coast Guard dispatched a plane from Sacramento to search an area covering more than 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometres), while issuing an urgent warning to ships nearby. The agency said it coordinated more than 65 hours of search efforts, working with other countries as well as civilian ships and boats in the area. The weather during that time has included 9-foot seas and 40-knot winds. The US has not said how many people jumped into the water, and, if they are not found, how far the death toll may ris

More oil tankers turn away from Venezuela amid US threat to seize vessels

As part of Trump's pressure campaign, US forces have launched strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats that have killed more than 100 people, and seized two oil tankers

Trump orders divestment in $2.9 mn chips deal citing US security concerns

President Donald Trump on Friday ordered the unravelling of a USD 2.9 million computer chips deal that he concluded threatened US security interests if the current owner, HieFo Corp., remained in control of the technology. The executive order cast a spotlight on a business deal that drew scant attention when it was announced in May 2024 during President Joe Biden's administration. The deal involved aerospace and defence specialist Emcore Corp. selling its computer chips and wafer fabrication operations to HieFo for USD 2.92 million a price that included the assumption of about USD 1 million in liabilities. But Trump is now demanding that HieFo divest that technology within 180 days, citing credible evidence that the current owner is a citizen of the People's Republic of China. HieFo was founded by Dr. Genzao Zhang and Harry Moore. According to a press release that came out after the deal closed, plans for the technology acquired from Emcore were to be overseen by largely the same

AI euphoria to geopolitics: Why markets look strangely unprepared for 2026

After years of soaring markets and ignored risks, 2026 could test investor complacency as geopolitics, AI hype, policy volatility and debt push the global economy towards turbulence

US intervention will create chaos in entire region: Iran official

Iran warned the US not to interfere in its protests after President Donald Trump's threat; an Iranian official said any US action would lead to 'chaos in entire region' and damage American interests

'Locked and loaded': Trump warns Iran over killings during protests

President Donald Trump warned Iran against killing peaceful protesters, saying US is 'locked and loaded' as protests over inflation, jobs and a currency crash spread across several cities

From herstoric win to space glory, all that shaped the India story

Rediffusion's 'Hits & Misses' survey on what dominated the country's landscape

Donald Trump withdraws National Guard from Chicago, LA and Portland

Donald Trump had earlier ordered the National Guard to Portland, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC

H-2B visa window opens Jan 1: What is it and what all you need to know about it? | US Visa

The United States is opening the H-2B visa filing window for temporary non-agricultural jobs starting April 2026.

'If you break the law…': US embassy toughens tone amid H-1B backlog

Advisory issued as visa backlogs and immigration scrutiny intensify

CIA rejects Russia's claim of Ukraine targeting Putin's residence

Moscow alleged Kyiv targeted Putin's residence, a claim he raised with Donald Trump during a phone call. The CIA later briefed Trump that such an attack was unlikely to have occurred

US sanctions 4 Venezuelan oil firms, 4 more tankers in Maduro crackdown

The U.S. on Wednesday imposed sanctions on four firms operating in Venezuela's oil sector and designated four additional oil tankers, which the U.S. accuses of being part of a shadow fleet serving Venezuelan President Nicols Maduro's government, as blocked property. The action is part of the Trump administration's monthslong pressure campaign on Maduro. U.S. forces also have seized two oil tankers off Venezuela's coast, are pursuing another and have conducted a series of deadly strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean. A set of strikes announced Wednesday increased the death toll from the attacks to at least 110 people since early September. And in a new escalation marking the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil, the CIA carried out a drone strike last week at a docking area believed to have been used by drug cartels. The latest sanctions from the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control target ships called Nord

Department of Justice is reviewing over 5.2 mn documents related to Epstein

The Department of Justice has expanded its review of documents related to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to 5.2 million as it also increases the number of attorneys trying to comply with a law mandating release of the files, according to a person briefed on a letter sent to U.S. Attorneys. The figure is the latest estimate in the expanding review of case files on Epstein and his longtime girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell that has run more than a week past a deadline set in law by Congress. The Justice Department has more than 400 attorneys assigned to the review, but does not expect to release more documents until Jan. 20 or 21, according to the person briefed on the letter who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it. The expanding scope of the disclosure and the additional legal firepower committed to it showed how the Epstein file investigation will continue to occupy significant attention in Congress and the White House, almost ..

US military strikes 3 suspected drug-smuggling boats, killing three at sea

The U.S. military said Wednesday it struck three more boats that were allegedly smuggling drugs, killing three people while others jumped overboard and may have survived. The statement by U.S. Southern Command, which oversees South America, did not reveal where the attacks occurred. Previous attacks have been in the Caribbean Sea and in the eastern Pacific Ocean. A video posted by Southern Command on social media shows the boats traveling in a close formation, which is unusual, and the military said they were in a convoy along known narco-trafficking routes and had transferred narcotics between the three vessels prior to the strikes. The military did not provide evidence to back up the claim. The military said three people were killed when the first boat was struck, while people in the other two boats jumped overboard and distanced themselves from the vessels before they were attacked. Southern Command said it immediately notified the U.S. Coast Guard to activate search and rescue .

China joins US in claiming role in India-Pakistan conflict mediation

The remarks were made by China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi at a foreign policy symposium, echoing US President Donald Trump's claims of mediating the recent India-Pakistan military standoff

Mali, Burkina Faso impose retaliatory travel ban on US national

Mali and Burkina Faso said late Tuesday they would ban U.S. citizens from entering their countries in retaliation for U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to ban Malian and Burkinabe citizens from entering the United States. The announcements, made in separate statements by the foreign ministers of the two West African countries, marked the latest twist in the frosty relationship between West African military governments and the U.S. On Dec. 16, Trump expanded earlier travel restrictions to 20 more countries, including Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, which are run by juntas and have formed a breakaway association from the regional bloc, the Economic Community of West African States. In accordance with the principle of reciprocity, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation informs the national and international community that, with immediate effect, the Government of the Republic of Mali will apply the same conditions and requirements to US nationals as those ...

Trump admin freezes child care funds to Minnesota over fraud schemes

President Donald Trump's administration announced on Tuesday that it's freezing child care funds to Minnesota after a series of fraud schemes in recent years. Acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Jim O'Neill announced on the social platform X that the step is in response to blatant fraud that appears to be rampant in Minnesota and across the country. We have turned off the money spigot and we are finding the fraud, he said. O'Neill said all payments through the Administration for Children and Families, an agency within the U.S. Health and Human Services Department, will require justification and a receipt or photo evidence before money is sent. They have also launched a fraud-reporting hotline and email address, he said. The announcement comes after years of investigation that began with the $300 million scheme at the nonprofit Feeding Our Future, for which 57 defendants in Minnesota have been convicted. Prosecutors said the organization was at the cent

Trump's covert Venezuela strike raises new questions on next steps

The attack is likely to inject additional energy into heated discussions in US Congress about the strategy toward Venezuela, and the debate about how far Trump can go without seeking authorisation

Pentagon announces $8.6 billion Boeing contract for F-15 jets for Israel

The Pentagon said the contract involved foreign military sales to Israel. The U.S. has long been by far the largest arms supplier to its closest Middle East ally