Washington

Steely Fashion Redefines Melania Trump’s Second First Lady Era

Where in the world is Melania Trump? Making a striking return to Washington, she donned a sharply tailored outfit exuding an air of international mystery as her husband once again assumed the presidency of the United States. Her long navy coat and matching wide-brimmed hat — shielding her eyes in most photographs and unintentionally hindering ...

With Trump Inauguration Indoors, Supporters Say ‘Winging It’ but Still Thrilled

With glacial temperatures forcing US President-elect Donald Trump's swearing in indoors, the National Mall, normally jam-packed for inaugurations with hundreds of thousands of revelers, was eerily dead on Monday. We're "winging it," Trump supporters Lorri Williams and Ellie Hymes told AFP from the mall. The pair, who traveled to Washington from ...

Markets extend global rally as Trump-Xi talks boost sentiment

Most Asian markets rose Monday following a rally on Wall Street and a record-breaking day in Europe, with sentiment boosted by positive talks between Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping that soothed worries about the incoming US leader's second term. A sense of caution has permeated trading floors ahead of the tycoon's inauguration ...

Trump Is In Washington Ahead Of His Inauguration As The 47th President of the United States On Monday

Donald Trump arrived in Washington on Saturday evening for a reception at one of his golf courses, kicking off four days of festivities that will culminate in his inauguration on Monday as the 47th President of the United States. Before arriving with his wife Melania and their son Barron from their fiefdom of Mar-a-Lago, Florida, he promised that ...

Trump Promises a ‘Record’ Number Of Presidential Decrees On His First Day In Office

Donald Trump promised on Saturday that he would sign a ‘record’ number of presidential decrees immediately after being sworn in on Monday in Washington, where he is expected to arrive this Saturday evening. In a telephone interview with NBC News, the soon-to-be 47th President of the United States said that he did not have a precise figure in ...

Trump's Diplomatic Chief to be Heard by US Senate

Marco Rubio, Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of state, will say Wednesday that China cheated its way to superpower status and that the "liberal world order" long cherished by the US elite should be discarded. Rubio will face fellow senators at his confirmation hearing in what is likely to be among the least contentious sessions for Trump's ...

Fueling the Los Angeles Fires: the Santa Ana Winds

Helping drive the wildfires in the US city of Los Angeles are the so-called Santa Ana winds, a weather phenomenon known to dry out "the hills and the nerves to flash point." The windstorms occur when cold air gathers in the neighboring states of Nevada and Utah. As it moves west and then rushes down California's mountains, it heats up -- and ...

Qatar in Talks to Fund Syria Public Wage Hikes

Qatar is weighing a plan to provide Syria's new rulers with funds to increase public sector salaries, a diplomatic source said Thursday, as the interim government in Damascus seeks to rebuild state institutions. "Discussions are taking place, but an agreement is yet to be concluded," the source told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity because ...

Former US President Carter Lies in State After Somber Washington Procession

The body of late US president Jimmy Carter was transferred Tuesday in a grand and solemn military ceremony to the US Capitol, where it will lie in state until a national funeral later this week. Carter, who died on December 29 at the age of 100, served a single term from 1977-1981 and was widely praised for his post-presidential humanitarian ...

National Funeral Service, Flyover and 39 Bells for Carter Sendoff

Mourners are to begin paying their respects to Jimmy Carter on Saturday, kicking off a carefully choreographed six-day farewell for America's longest-lived president. Flags have been flying at half-mast around the country since Carter died on December 29 at the age of 100 in his hometown of Plains, Georgia. Carter's state funeral officially ...

Asia stocks begin year on cautious note

Asian stocks began 2025 mostly in the red on Thursday after worries about US interest rates, tariffs and China's economy gave Wall Street the holiday blues for a fourth straight session. Equities mostly had a bumper 2024 on the back of enthusiasm about artificial intelligence (AI), cuts in borrowing costs by central banks and Donald Trump's ...

Former US President Jimmy Carter Has Died Aged 100

Former U.S. President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jimmy Carter passed away on Sunday at the age of 100 in his hometown of Plains, Georgia, in the southeastern United States, prompting a wave of tributes from his successors at the White House and leaders around the world. Outgoing President Joe Biden declared a national day of mourning on ...