USA

EU 'Fully Invested' in Trump Trade Talks After US Court Ruling

The EU is "fully invested" in reaching a deal with the United States to avoid sweeping tariffs, the bloc's trade chief said Friday, after US judges ruled the controversial measures were unconstitutional. "Delivering forward-looking solutions remains a top EU priority. Staying in permanent contact," EU trade commissioner ...

Elon Musk's Rocket-Fueled Ride With Trump Flames Out

Elon Musk stormed into US politics as President Donald Trump's chainsaw-brandishing sidekick. Four turbulent months later it's the tech tycoon himself on the chopping block. Trump hailed Musk as "terrific" as he announced that they would hold a joint press conference on Friday as the South African-born magnate leaves the so-called Department of ...

Hamas Says Israel-Approved US Truce Plan Falls Short

The White House said Thursday Israel had "signed off" on a new Gaza ceasefire proposal submitted to Hamas, but the Palestinian militant group said the deal failed to satisfy its demands. Negotiations to end more than 19 months of war have so far failed to achieve a breakthrough, with Israel resuming operations in Gaza in March after a ...

US Special Envoy for Syria Meets Shareh in Damascus

The US Special Envoy for Syria, Thomas Barrack, arrived in Damascus on Thursday, according to Syria’s official news agency SANA, marking a new stage in the normalization of relations between the two countries following the fall of Bashar al-Assad. He is currently meeting Syrian interim President Ahmad al-Shareh. Barrack, who also serves as the ...

Syria Inks $7 Bn Energy Deal With Qatari, Turkish, US Firms

Syria signed a $7 billion energy deal on Thursday with a consortium of Qatari, Turkish, and US companies as it seeks to revive the war-torn country's crippled power sector. The agreement was sealed at the presidential palace in Damascus in the presence of interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and US ambassador Thomas Barrack. It aims to generate ...

Russia Proposes new Ukraine Talks, Kyiv Demands Terms Upfront

Russia said Wednesday it wanted new talks with Ukraine in Istanbul next Monday to present its plan for a peace settlement, but Kyiv said it needed to see the proposal in advance for the meeting to yield results. Diplomatic efforts to end the three-year conflict have accelerated in recent months, but Moscow has repeatedly rejected calls for an ...

US Trade Court Blocks Tariffs in Major Setback for Trump

A US federal court on Wednesday blocked most of Donald Trump's sweeping import tariffs from going into effect, ruling that the president had overstepped his authority with the across-the-board global levies. The opinion marks a significant setback to the Republican leader as he bids to redraw the US trading relationship with the world by forcing ...

OPEC+ meets as oil output hike looms

Ministers of the OPEC+ oil alliance, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, discussed production on Wednesday as another hike looms despite falling prices. The 22-nation group began a series of cuts in 2022 to prop up crude prices, but Saudi Arabia, Russia and six other members surprised markets recently by sharply raising output for May and June. The ...

Japan Urges Universities to Accept Students Hit by US Block

The Japanese government has asked local universities to consider accepting international students enrolled at US universities as President Donald Trump seeks to force Harvard to submit to unprecedented oversight. The Trump administration moved last week to block Harvard from enrolling foreign students, but on Friday a judge suspended the order ...

Ancient Bread Rises Again as Turkey Recreates 5,000-Year-Old Loaf

In the early Bronze Age, a piece of bread was buried beneath the threshold of a newly built house in what is today central Turkey. Now, more than 5,000 years later, archaeologists have unearthed it, and helped a local bakery to recreate the recipe -- with customers lining up to buy it. Round and flat like a pancake, 12 centimetres (five inches) ...