31 h. ago Egypt unveils Gaza reconstruction plan as Arab nations reject Trump’s resettlement proposal

Foreign ministers from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation will hold an urgent meeting in Saudi Arabia to discuss implementation strategies.

Politics

5 d. ago Things to know about the ruling blocking President Trump's refugee ban

President Donald Trump’s effort to suspend the system for resettling refugees in the U.S. is on hold after a federal judge in Seattle blocked it

Politics

5 d. ago US judge blocks Trump’s suspension of refugee resettlement program

US district judge in Seattle says Trump’s executive order exceeded his powers by shutting down programA federal judge has blocked Donald Trump’s attempt to suspend the US’s refugee admission system after ruling that the move exceeded his powers.The ruling, from US district judge Jamal Whitehead, stated that Trump’s executive order affecting refugee admissions, issued on the day of his inauguration, amounted to an illegal usurpation of the powers of Congress. Continue reading...

Events

6 d. ago America’s siding with tyrannical dictatorships is a step too far

Editorial: In voting to reject a United Nation resolution condemning Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine – alongside three undemocratic regimes – Donald Trump’s desire to be a global renegade is clear. It a turning point that must be faced up to, in all its enormity

Politics

1 week ago Starmer to tell Trump that UK’s Chagos deal will avoid tensions with China

PM to claim if US rejects Mauritius’s claim to own the islands, Beijing will be drawn into the regional disputeKeir Starmer is to urge Donald Trump to recognise that a US rejection of Mauritius’s legal claim to own the Chagos Islands, including the strategic US military base at Diego Garcia, may stoke tensions similar to those in the South China Sea.Starmer is due to meet Trump next Friday mainly to discuss the future of Ukraine, but also a UK plan for Gaza’s reconstruction under international protection with no need for Palestinians to be required to quit the Gaza Strip. The paper is similar but not identical to proposals being discussed by Arab foreign ministers in Riyadh, which has a strong international component and would prevent Hamas ruling in Gaza. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago We asked the people of Gaza how they saw their future – this is what we found | Nils Mallock

Support for Hamas is declining – no obvious alternative has emerged, but our poll shows there are reasons to be hopefulNils Mallock is research fellow at the XCEPT research group at King’s College LondonAfter coming the closest yet to falling apart, the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel is back on its fragile track. Just days ago, an escalating dispute threatened the deal after both sides expressed frustration about the other’s fulfilment of their respective obligations. Donald Trump’s recent proposal to resettle Gaza’s population of two million Palestinians also rattled the truce.The turbulences of the month-old ceasefire expose a deeper political uncertainty: after 15 months of fighting, no clear vision exists for what comes next. Who should govern and rebuild Gaza? What will its future relationship with Israel be?Nils Mallock is research fellow at the XCEPT research group at King’s College London, a PhD candidate at the London School of Economics, and regularly briefs the UK For...

Politics

1 week ago Mohammed bin Salman wants an alternative to Trump’s Gaza plan – but one that most benefits Saudi Arabia | Madawi al

The crown prince sees Hamas as a regional threat, and may propose a deal that risks sidelining PalestiniansSaudi Arabia has suddenly experienced a diplomatic awakening after lukewarm engagement with the conflict in Gaza. Today, leaders of Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates will gather in Riyadh to discuss Donald Trump’s proposal for a US takeover of Gaza. (Keen to be viewed as a global deal maker, Saudi Arabia will also be hosting negotiations over Ukraine this week.)Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was alarmed by Trump’s outrageous “Riviera plan” to reconstruct Gaza following eviction of its people to neighbouring countries. Alongside Arab leaders, he hopes to propose an alternative plan with the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem its capital at its core. The crown prince has insisted that there will be no normalisation of Israel without a Palestinian state.Madawi al-Rasheed is a fellow of the British Academy and a visiting professor at the Midd...

Politics

1 week ago Catholic bishops sue Trump administration for ‘pulling the rug out’ from under refugee programs

Devastating funding freeze stranded thousands of recently arrived refugees, lawsuit says

Politics

1 week ago US Catholic bishops sue Trump administration for halt in funding for refugee settlement

Catholic bishops are suing the Trump administration over its abrupt halt to funding of refugee resettlement, calling the action unlawful and harmful to newly arrived refugees and to the nation’s largest private resettlement program

Politics

2 w. ago Trump’s plan for Gaza leaves Arab nations facing an impossible choice | Nesrine Malik

This mortifying dilemma goes to the very soul of the region - and its leaders have brought it on themselvesArab states are in a bind. King Abdullah of Jordan squirmed in the Oval Office last week, as the press asked him and Donald Trump about the latter’s Gaza plan. He is in a tight spot, wanting to keep Trump onside while at the same time not agreeing to the ethnic cleansing of Gaza. Immediately after, anonymous Egyptian “security sources” – not parties prone to leaking without strategic direction from President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi – said that Sisi would not accept an invitation to visit Washington as long as the Gaza displacement plan was on the agenda. Now, this was probably more for the Egyptian public’s consumption than for Trump’s benefit – Egypt is in no position to make an enemy of the new administration – but it nonetheless shows how hard it is for Trump to secure the acquiescence of even the US’s closest allies.Saudi Arabia also postponed a visit to the US once Trump annou...

Politics