White House

Biden Preemptively Pardons Family Members and Trump Foes

US President Joe Biden issued preemptive pardons on Monday to former Covid pandemic advisor Anthony Fauci, retired general Mark Milley and close family members to shield them from "politically motivated prosecutions" under the Trump administration. In an extraordinary move in his last hours in the White House, Biden gave similar pardons ...

Trump Unveils his First Measures During his Inauguration Speech

During his inauguration, Donald Trump announced his intention to take several actions. 'America's decline is over' President Donald Trump declared Monday that America's "decline is over," framing his return to power as a rejection of the "radical and corrupt" establishment he claimed defined Joe Biden's presidency. "My recent election is a ...

President Aoun Congratulates Trump on Assuming Presidency

President Joseph Aoun extended his congratulations to US President Donald Trump following his official inauguration on Monday, wishing him success in leading the United States “toward greater progress and prosperity.” In a congratulatory cable, Aoun emphasized the mutual commitment to strengthening bilateral relations between Lebanon and the ...

Trump Sworn in For Second Term Vowing Sweeping Change

Donald Trump was sworn in for a historic second term as president on Monday, pledging a blitz of immediate orders on immigration and the US culture wars as he caps his extraordinary comeback. With one hand raised in the air and the other on a Bible given to him by his mother, the 47th US president solemnly took the oath of office beneath the huge ...

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 ...

Biden Worries About An ‘Oligarchy’ Taking Over America

In a sombre farewell speech on Wednesday, Joe Biden expressed concern that America was falling into the hands of an ‘oligarchy’, targeting Donald Trump and the tech multi-billionaires now lining up behind him. It was a far cry from the ‘optimism’ professed by the outgoing president over the last four years, during this short address of ...

Gaza Truce and Hostage Release Deal Nearing Finalization

A Gaza truce and hostage release deal is close and could be finalized in the final week of US President Joe Biden's term, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Monday. "We are close to a deal, and it can get done this week. I'm not making a promise or prediction, but it is there for the taking, and we are going to work to make ...

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 ...

Jimmy Carter: From Humiliation in Iran to the Historic Camp David Accord

The humiliation of the hostages in Iran will remain a stain on the record of Jimmy Carter, who passed away on Sunday at the age of 100. However, the former U.S. president achieved the first Israeli-Arab peace agreement, one of the successes of a foreign policy long criticized for its perceived weakness. Even Zbigniew Brzezinski, his national ...

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 ...

US Moves Closer to Budget Paralysis After New Bill Fails

On Thursday, the US House of Representatives largely rejected a new Republican budget proposal aimed at avoiding a paralysis of the federal government, in a stinging defeat that increases the uncertainty before the fateful midnight hour on Friday. The Republicans, despite having a majority in the lower house, had put this new proposal to the vote ...

Trump Taps Truth Social CEO to Lead Intelligence Advisory Board

US President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday named loyalist Devin Nunes, who heads his social media platform Truth Social, to serve as chairman of a White House intelligence advisory board. Nunes is a Republican ex-congressman from California who led the US House intelligence committee during the start of Trump's first presidential term. He has ...