Page 68 - United States

US DOJ, FBI announce new task force to target Hamas over Oct 7 attack

The Justice Department on Monday announced the creation of a task force to investigate Hamas for its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel as well as potential civil rights violations and acts of antisemitism by anyone supporting the militant group. Agents and prosecutors participating in Joint Task Force October 7, or JTF 10-7, will investigate and look to bring charges against Hamas militants directly responsible for the rampage in southern Israel, the department said. "The barbaric Hamas terrorists will not win and there will be consequences, Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement announcing the task force. The attack killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and Hamas took 251 hostages. It touched off an Israeli counteroffensive that has destroyed vast areas of Gaza, displaced most of the population and killed over 48,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not say how many were combatants. The Biden administration's .

Expulsion of S African envoy by US just hiccup in relations: Prez Ramaphosa

The arbitrary expulsion of South Africa's Ambassador to the US, Ebrahim Rasool on Friday is "just a hiccup" in the relations between the two countries, President Cyril Ramaphosa said as the controversy around the issue raged over the weekend. Ramaphosa was speaking informally to journalists on Monday afternoon for the first time since US Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared Rasool "persona non grata" in a post on the social media platform X on Friday. This was after Rasool had participated in a discussion hosted earlier on Friday by the South African NGO Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection in which Rasool made comments which angered Rubio enough to call for his repatriation even before any formal diplomatic channels were followed. In his post on Friday, Rubio referred to Rasool as a race-baiting politician who hates America and hates @POTUS. "South Africa's ambassador to the United States is no longer welcome in our great country," Rubio added. In his academic address

India seeks to strengthen its defence cooperation with Five Eyes

New Delhi has some form of pact with four of the grouping's members

A requiem for multilateralism in an era of increasing interdependence

The shift away from the '90s started with the turn of the millennium. Now it is even worse with the US asserting what it still considers its paramount power

US to withdraw from EU-led group investigating invasion of Ukraine

The decision to withdraw from the International Centre for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression (ICPA) against Ukraine, which the Biden administration joined in 2023

Trump admin says South African ambassador has to leave US by Friday

After Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined that Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool was no longer welcome in the US and posted his decision Friday on social media

Trump warns Iran of 'consequences' over further Houthi attacks from Yemen

The comments by Trump on his Truth Social website further escalate his administration's new campaign of airstrikes targeting the rebels

US, Houthis both vow escalation after airstrikes target rebels in Yemen

The Houthi-run Health Ministry said the US strikes killed at least 53 people, including five women and two children, and wounded almost 100 in the capital of Sanaa

Ivory Coast losing US aid as al-Qaida, other extremist groups approaching

With its tomato patches and grazing cattle, the Ivory Coast village of Kimbirila-Nord hardly looks like a front line of the global fight against extremism. But after jihadis attacked a nearby community in Mali five years ago and set up a base in a forest straddling the border, the US committed to spending USD 20 million to counter the spread of al-Qaida and the Islamic State group here and in dozens of other villages. The Trump administration's sweeping foreign aid cuts mean that support is now gone, even as violence in Mali and other countries in the Sahel region south of the Sahara has reached record levels and sent tens of thousands refugees streaming into northern Ivory Coast. Locals worry they have been abandoned. Diplomats and aid officials said the termination of aid jeopardises counterterrorism efforts and weakens US influence in a part of the world where some countries have turned to Russian mercenaries for help. In Kimbirila-Nord, US funding, among other things, helped yo

Trump orders deep cuts to Voice of America, other US-funded media outlets

President Donald Trump's administration on Saturday began making deep cuts to Voice of America and other government-run, pro-democracy programming, with the organisation's director saying all VOA employees have been put on leave. On Friday night, shortly after Congress passed its latest funding bill, Trump directed his administration to reduce the functions of several agencies to the minimum required by law. That included the US Agency for Global Media, which houses Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and Asia and Radio Marti, which beams Spanish-language news into Cuba. On Saturday morning, Kari Lake, the failed Arizona gubernatorial and US Senate candidate whom Trump named a senior adviser to the agency, posted on X that employees should check their email. That coincided with notices going out placing Voice of America staff on paid administrative leave. For the first time in 83 years, the storied Voice of America is being silenced, Michael Abramowitz, the organisation's director,

Who are Yemen's Houthi rebels and why are they under attack by US

The strikes, which have killed at least 24 people so far, could last for weeks according to one US official and come as Trump ramps up sanctions pressure on Tehran

At least 32 dead in massive US storm after Kansas reports 8 fatalities

Violent tornadoes ripped through parts of the US, wiping out schools and toppling semitractor-trailers in several states, part of a monster storm that has killed at least 26 people as more severe weather was expected late on Saturday. The number of fatalities increased after the Kansas Highway Patrol reported eight people died in a highway pileup caused by a dust storm in Sherman County on Friday. At least 50 vehicles were involved. Missouri recorded more fatalities than any other state as it withstood scattered twisters overnight that killed at least 12 people, authorities said. The deaths included a man who was killed after a tornado ripped apart his home. "It was unrecognisable as a home. Just a debris field," said Coroner Jim Akers of Butler County, describing the scene that confronted rescuers. "The floor was upside down. We were walking on walls." Dakota Henderson said he and others rescuing people trapped in their homes on Friday night found five dead bodies scattered in the

Trump signs bill funding government for 6 months, avoiding shutdown

President Donald Trump has signed into law legislation funding the government through the end of September, ending the threat of a partial government shutdown and capping off a struggle in Congress that deeply divided Democrats. Harrison Fields, White House principal deputy press secretary, said in a post on X that Trump signed the continuing resolution Saturday. The bill largely keeps government funding at levels set during Joe Biden's presidency, though with changes. It trims non-defence spending by about USD 13 billion from the previous year and increases defence spending by about USD 6 billion, which are marginal changes when talking about a topline spending level of nearly USD 1.7 trillion. The Senate cleared the legislation on Friday in a 54-46 party line vote, with 10 members of the Senate Democratic caucus helping the bill advance to passage despite opposition from within their party most vocally from colleagues in the House, who exhorted them to reject the bill out of ...

Extreme weather in parts of US gets rarely-used 'high risk' designation

A dynamic storm system threatening to spawn powerful tornadoes and hail as big as baseballs has earned a relatively rare designation from forecasters: A high risk day of severe weather. Parts of Missouri, Iowa and Illinois saw some of the most extreme weather on Friday, with the system forecast to take aim Saturday at southern states including Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Numerous significant tornadoes, some of which should be long-track and potentially violent, are expected on Saturday afternoon and evening, the federal Storm Prediction Centre said in its latest forecast. Magenta marks areas at highest risk The Storm Prediction Center uses five categories to warn of expected severe weather, ranging from marginal to high. Its forecast maps are colour-coded, with the lowest risk areas in green and the highest shown in magenta. On Saturday, that area of highest risk includes parts of Mississippi and Alabama. The high risk designation is used when severe weather is expected t

Will only release American-Israeli hostage if truce deal implemented: Hamas

Hamas said Saturday it would only release an American-Israeli and the bodies of four other hostages if Israel implements the existing ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, calling it an exceptional deal aimed at getting the truce back on track. A senior Hamas official said long-delayed talks over the ceasefire's second phase would need to begin the day of the release and last no longer than 50 days. Israel would also need to stop barring the entry of humanitarian aid and withdraw from a strategic corridor along Gaza's border with Egypt. Hamas would also demand the release of more Palestinian prisoners in exchange for hostages, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door talks. Edan Alexander, 21, who grew up in Tenafly, New Jersey, was abducted from his military base during Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack that ignited the war, and is the last living American citizen held in Gaza. Israel has cast doubt on Hamas' offer There was no immediate commen

ISIS chief killed in Iraq, Trump says fugitive leader 'hunted down'

Abdallah Maki Mosleh al-Rifai, or "Abu Khadija," was "deputy caliph" of the militant group and "one of the most dangerous terrorists in Iraq and the world," CNN reported

More than 50 universities face probe as part of Trump's anti-DEI campaign

More than 50 universities are being investigated for alleged racial discrimination as part of President Donald Trump's campaign to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs that his officials say exclude white and Asian American students. The Education Department announced the new investigations on Friday, one month after issuing a memo warning America's schools and colleges that they could lose federal money over race-based preferences in admissions, scholarships or any aspect of student life. Students must be assessed according to merit and accomplishment, not prejudged by the colour of their skin, Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement. We will not yield on this commitment. Most of the new inquiries are focused on colleges' partnerships with the PhD Project, a nonprofit that helps students from under-represented groups get degrees in business with the goal of diversifying the business world. Department officials said that the group limits eligibility based on r

Manipulative, scared: Zelenskyy slams Putin's response to US ceasefire deal

Vladimir Putin conditionally backed the US ceasefire plan, saying Russia agreed in principle but sought clarifications and conditions, stressing the need to address the conflict's root causes

Hundreds of US govt offices may begin closing this summer at DOGE's behest

Federal agencies will begin to vacate hundreds of offices across the country this summer under a frenetic and error-riddled push by Elon Musk's budget-cutting advisers to terminate leases that they say waste money. Musk's Department of Government Efficiency maintains a list of canceled real estate leases on its website, but internal documents obtained by The Associated Press contain a crucial detail: when those cancellations are expected to take effect. The documents from inside the General Services Administration, the US government's real estate manager, list dozens of federal office and building leases expected to end by June 30, with hundreds more slated over the coming months. The rapid pace of cancellations has raised alarms, with some agencies and lawmakers appealing to DOGE to exempt specific buildings. Several agencies are facing 20 or more lease cancellations in all, including the IRS, the Social Security Administration, the US Department of Agriculture and the US Geological

Whether US is heading for recession or just 'detox', downturns are costly

US markets have been roiled over Trump's unpredictable trade policies, including on tariffs, as investors grapple with uncertainty and escalating conflicts with trading partners