6 h. ago US judge orders release of grand jury transcripts in Epstein case

A US federal judge on Friday ordered the release of the grand jury transcripts from the investigation in Florida of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The Justice Department requested the unsealing of the transcripts after US President Donald Trump signed a bill last month requiring the public release of all government records regarding Epstein. Grand jury proceedings are generally kept secret and a previous Justice Department request to unseal the transcripts from Epstein’s Florida case...

Events

27 h. ago Trump praises DR Congo and Rwanda leaders, who sign his deal as fighting continues

US President Donald Trump praised the leaders of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda for their courage as they signed a deal on Thursday aimed at ending the conflict in eastern Congo and opening the region’s critical mineral reserves to the US government and American companies. The moment offered Trump – who has repeatedly and with a measure of exaggeration boasted of brokering peace in some of the world’s most entrenched conflicts – another chance to tout himself as a dealmaker...

Politics

27 h. ago Trump praises African leaders, who sign his deal as fighting continues

US President Donald Trump praised the leaders of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda for their courage as they signed a deal on Thursday aimed at ending the conflict in eastern Congo and opening the region’s critical mineral reserves to the US government and American companies. The moment offered Trump – who has repeatedly and with a measure of exaggeration boasted of brokering peace in some of the world’s most entrenched conflicts – another chance to tout himself as a dealmaker...

Politics

31 h. ago Fiona Hill on what Trump’s Caribbean boat strikes signal to Russia and China : Here & Now Anytime

Fiona Hill on what Trump’s Caribbean boat strikes signal to Russia and China : Here & Now Anytime  NPR

Politics

42 h. ago India and Japan show impact of Trump’s tariffs extend beyond trade

For a sign of the degree to which US President Donald Trump’s decision in August to double tariffs on most Indian goods to a staggering 50 per cent – the highest rate across Asia – is weighing on investor sentiment, look no further than the rupee. Having plumbed a series of record lows in recent months, India’s currency has been the worst performer in Asia this year and has breached the psychologically important level of 90 per US dollar. One of the last major economies yet to strike a trade...

Politics

54 h. ago Bessent calls Beijing an ‘ally’ after Trump signs bill on ties with Taiwan

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday described the United States as an ally to both mainland China and Taiwan, while at the same time asserting that its relationships have not shifted, hours after US President Donald Trump enacted legislation deepening US ties with the self-governed island. Asked about concerns among some in Washington about the Trump administration’s approach to the long-held policy of strategic ambiguity on the Taiwan issue at The New York Times DealBook Summit,...

Politics

67 h. ago Taiwan cheered, China upset after Trump signs new Taiwan legislation into law

Taiwan cheered, China upset after Trump signs new Taiwan legislation into law  Reuters

Politics

6 d. ago Congo and Rwanda presidents to meet in US to sign peace deal

Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi will travel to the US next week to sign a final agreement with his Rwandan counterpart aimed at securing peace in eastern Congo, the Congolese government said on Friday, capping months-long diplomatic efforts spearheaded by US President Donald Trump. Congo’s government has often said its signing of the deal will be conditioned on Rwanda’s withdrawal of support for the M23 rebels in the conflict-battered east. Tshisekedi’s confirmation of the December 4 signing...

Politics

7 d. ago Trump says all orders signed by Biden with autopen are ‘terminated’

Donald Trump said on Friday that all documents signed by autopen under Joe Biden were “terminated”, in a legally uncertain move as the US president escalates attacks on his predecessor. “Any document signed by Sleepy Joe Biden with the Autopen, which was approximately 92% of them, is hereby terminated, and of no further force or effect,” Trump said on social media. “I am hereby cancelling all Executive Orders, and anything else that was not directly signed by Crooked Joe Biden, because the...

Politics

7 d. ago Trump declares all orders signed by autopen under Biden ‘terminated’

US President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he was nullifying all documents signed by autopen during the administration of his predecessor, Joe Biden. “Any document signed by Sleepy Joe Biden with the Autopen, which was approximately 92% of them, is hereby terminated, and of no further force or effect,” Trump said on social media. He added that he was “hereby cancelling all Executive Orders, and anything else that was not directly signed by Crooked Joe Biden, because the people who...

Politics

9 d. ago TikTok names former Boeing executive as US public policy chief

TikTok said Tuesday it had named former Boeing government affairs chief Ziad Ojakli as the short video app’s head of public policy for the Americas as it works to complete a deal to separate its US assets from its parent company. The move comes as TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance is working to sell about an 80 per cent stake in its US assets to a consortium of US and global investors to meet the national security requirements set out in a 2024 law. President Donald Trump signed an executive...

Events

1 week ago Justice Department renews bid to unseal Jeffrey Epstein grand jury materials

The Justice Department on Monday renewed its request to unseal grand jury transcripts from Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex-trafficking cases, arguing they should be made public under a new law requiring the government to open its files on the late financier and his long-time confidante. US Attorney Jay Clayton cited the Epstein Files Transparency Act – passed by Congress last week and signed into law by US President Donald Trump – in court filings asking Manhattan federal Judges...

Politics

1 week ago US Justice Department renews bid to unseal Epstein grand jury materials

The US Justice Department on Monday renewed its request to unseal grand jury transcripts from Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex-trafficking cases, arguing they should be made public under a new law requiring the government to open its files on the late financier and his long-time confidante. US Attorney Jay Clayton cited the Epstein Files Transparency Act – passed by Congress last week and signed into law by US President Donald Trump – in court filings asking Manhattan federal Judges...

Politics

1 week ago Trump tariffs live updates: Trump, Xi hold first call since US

Trump tariffs live updates: Trump, Xi hold first call since US-China truce; signs of US-EU friction emerge  Yahoo Finance

Politics

1 week ago US senator demands answers to Trump’s TikTok divestiture plan

A Democratic senator on Monday asked US President Donald Trump to answer key details about a plan by TikTok’s Chinese owners to sell a majority stake in the short video app’s US assets. Trump signed an executive order on September 25 declaring that a plan to sell TikTok’s US operations to a consortium of US and global investors meets the national security requirements set out in a 2024 law and gave them 120 days to complete the transaction. In doing so, he delayed enforcement of the law banning...

Politics

1 week ago Slovenia referendum rejects new law to legalise assisted dying

Slovenians on Sunday voted to suspend a new law to legalise assisted dying in a referendum held after critics mounted a campaign against the legislation. Around 53 per cent of voters had rejected the law, while 47 per cent voted in favour, meaning its implementation will be suspended for at least one year. Slovenia’s parliament had approved a law in July allowing assisted dying after a 2024 referendum supported it. But the new vote was called after a civil group, backed by the Catholic Church...

Politics

2 w. ago Bondi says she’ll ‘follow the law’ on Epstein files, as bill heads to Trump

US Attorney General Pam Bondi said the Justice Department “will follow the law” after the passage of legislation forcing the government to release files on sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Bondi, speaking to reporters Wednesday after the Senate sent the bill to US President Donald Trump for his signature, said the law will be followed “while providing maximum transparency and protecting victims”. The attorney general, who, like Trump, has faced criticism for previously declining to release the...

Politics

2 w. ago Trump signs bill approving Epstein files release after fighting it for months

US President Donald Trump signed legislation Wednesday that compels his administration to release files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, bowing to political pressure from his own party after initially resisting those efforts. Trump could have chosen to release many of the files on his own months ago. “Democrats have used the ‘Epstein’ issue, which affects them far more than the Republican Party, in order to try and distract from our AMAZING Victories,” Trump said in a social media post...

Politics

2 w. ago Trump signs bill for Epstein files release after fighting it for months

US President Donald Trump signed legislation on Wednesday that compels his administration to release files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, bowing to political pressure from his own party after initially resisting those efforts. Trump could have chosen to release many of the files on his own months ago. “Democrats have used the ‘Epstein’ issue, which affects them far more than the Republican Party, in order to try and distract from our AMAZING Victories,” Trump said in a social media...

Politics

2 w. ago US ends arms embargo, but can it pry Cambodia away from China on defence?

By lifting its arms embargo on Cambodia, Washington has signalled that President Donald Trump aims to lure Phnom Penh away from Beijing – a move experts warn would be difficult to achieve. According to a notice from the US Federal Register, the State Department formally ended its arms embargo on Cambodia as of November 7, and any arms sales to the country will now be decided on a case-by-case basis. “Based on Cambodia’s diligent pursuit of peace and security, including through renewed engagement...

Politics