Donald Trump

Over 1,300 State Department Employees Laid Off in Trump Government Downsizing

The US State Department began laying off more than 1,300 employees on Friday as part of President Donald Trump's campaign to massively downsize the federal government workforce. A State Department official said 1,107 members of the civil service and 246 Foreign Service employees were being informed that they were being fired. The layoffs at ...

Global Oil Demand Slumps Amid Tariff Tensions, Says IEA

Growth in oil demand is anemic globally, with several countries in the crosshairs of US President Donald Trump's tariff threats suffering drops, the IEA said Friday. Annual growth in oil demand fell from 1.1 million barrels per day (mbd) in the first quarter of the year to just 0.5 mbd in the second, the International Energy Agency said in ...

Trump Says Canada To Face 35% Tariff Rate Starting August

Canada will face a 35 percent tariff on exports to the United States starting August 1, President Donald Trump said Thursday in a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney. It was the latest of more than 20 such letters issued by Trump since Monday, as he continues to pursue his trade war threats against dozens of economies. Canada and the US are ...

Russia and US Hold 'Frank' Talks on Ukraine War

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US top diplomat Marco Rubio held "frank" talks on the Ukraine war during a meeting Thursday, both sides said, as Washington hit out at Moscow's lack of "flexibility". The US secretary of state said Lavrov shared new and "different" ideas on resolving the conflict and promised to present them to US ...

Hamas Says Israeli Troops Sticking Point in Truce Talks as Gaza Pounded

Hamas on Thursday said it opposes any ceasefire deal that includes a large Israeli military presence in Gaza, after offering to release some hostages and as the civil defense reported scores of civilians killed across the Palestinian territory. The Islamist militant group said late Wednesday that it had agreed to release 10 people seized in its ...

UN Urges US to Reverse Sanctions on Expert Over Gaza Criticism

The UN called on Washington Thursday to reverse its decision to sanction a UN expert who has repeatedly accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza and has criticised US policy on the war there. United Nations rights chief Volker Turk also called for a halt to "attacks and threats" against people appointed by the UN and other ...

Marco Rubio Met with Sergei Lavrov on the Sidelines of the Escalation in Ukraine

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Thursday in Malaysia with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, with the war in Ukraine coming up on the sidelines of a diplomatic meeting of Southeast Asia dominated by Washington’s trade war. Mr. Rubio’s visit, his first in Asia since taking office, coincides with Donald Trump’s intensification of ...

Trump Pushes Japan to Import More American Rice, a Major Political Challenge for Tokyo

Donald Trump’s demand that Japan, described as “spoiled”, buy more American rice is creating additional pressure for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who is already facing a tough election that could bring his time in office to an end after less than a year. Japan is one of more than 20 countries receiving letters this week from the US ...

Trump Names Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy as Temporary NASA Administrator

Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he is appointing his Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy, to head NASA, the American space agency. Sean Duffy will be the “acting administrator” of NASA, the American president specified on his Truth Social network, without indicating for how long. “He will be an exceptional leader of the space ...

Brazil, Trump up the Ante in Row Over Bolsonaro Coup Trial

Brazil and the United States escalated their row Wednesday over President Donald Trump's support for coup-accused ex-leader Jair Bolsonaro, with the American president slapping a 50 percent tariff on one of its main steel suppliers. Leftist Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva threatened to reciprocate. Trump has strongly ...

FBI Opens Criminal Probe into Former FBI, CIA Directors

The FBI has opened a criminal investigation into its former director James Comey and ex-CIA chief John Brennan, two prominent critics of President Donald Trump, US media reported. Fox News Digital said the probe involved "potential wrongdoing" related to the investigation into claims of Russian interference in the 2016 election won by Trump and ...

The Economics of Peace: How Trade Disarms Nations

Warlords often repeat the same line to their followers: We know what’s best for you, and you must fight for a cause we’ve already defined. But in a world where conflicts can be resolved through law, why drive people into violence that is both senseless and costly? War: A Losing Proposition In societies built on cooperation and the rule of ...