The Trump administration on Thursday condemned Thailand’s return of at least 40 Uygurs to China, urging other nations not to forcibly send Uygurs seeking protection back to China and calling on Chinese authorities to provide regular access to those who have already been returned. Additionally, “the Thai Government must insist and fully verify continuously that Chinese authorities protect the Uygurs’ human rights”, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement. Thai and Chinese officials said on Thursday that the group of 40 Uygur men, who had been detained in Thailand for more than a decade, had been deported to China. The men made a public appeal last month to halt the deportation, saying they faced imprisonment and possible death in China. Thai lawmakers and international officials had urged
Category Archives: POLITICS
Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum, seen here in early February, has pledged to collaborate with Washington. Photo: Yuri CORTEZ / AFP/FileSource: AFP Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Thursday that she hoped to talk to her US counterpart Donald Trump as part of efforts to avoid being hit with his threatened tariffs. She spoke shortly after Trump wrote on social media that he would move ahead with imposing levies on Mexico and Canada next week. A high-level Mexican delegation is in Washington in search of an agreement and “we hope that we can talk to President Trump once these meetings take place,” Sheinbaum said at her morning news conference. “I hope we can reach an agreement,” she added. Sheinbaum has repeatedly expressed optimism that tariffs between the two countries can be avoided.
Feb
NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 27 – Attorney General Dorcas Oduor has announced that all corruption cases in the country will be concluded within six months after commencement as part of the government’s renewed war on graft. Speaking during the launch of the Kenya Integrity Plan (KIP) at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) on Thursday, Oduor revealed that the government has developed the Anti-Corruption Law Amendment Bill 2025, which aims to fast-track corruption cases and minimize delays in the judicial process. “We have developed the Anti-Corruption Law, Amendment Bill 2025, which seeks to, among other things, have corruption and economic crimes concluded within six months after commencement and lessen the time taken to appeal at the High Court and the Court of Appeal,” she stated. “If the amendment goes through, then
Feb
The U.S. Supreme Court temporarily delayed a court-mandated deadline requiring the Trump administration to pay nearly $2 billion to contracted aid organizations for work they already completed. Chief Justice John Roberts, in an order Wednesday night, stayed a lower court order that the administration pay out $1.9 billion by midnight. In his order, Roberts asked the aid groups that sued the Trump administration to provide a response by noon Friday after which the court will decide its next steps. Roberts’ order came after the Trump administration sought emergency intervention by the high court after a panel of federal appeals court judges denied the administration’s earlier request to push the deadline. Acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris asked the justices to impose an administrative stay — freezing the status quo for a
Feb
The UAE, Saudi Arabia, and other Gulf countries are increasingly important in some of this focus on what happens next. By SETH J. FRANTZMAN FEBRUARY 27, 2025 21:08 Updated: FEBRUARY 27, 2025 21:35 Hamas terrorists stand guard in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, February 22, 2025 (photo credit: REUTERS/Hatem Khaled) The first phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire appears to be headed for an extension. This is because it is in Hamas’s interest to keep the ceasefire going. Now that Hamas has emerged above ground and Gazans are seeking to return to a more peaceful life amid the destruction of the war, many people will want the ceasefire to continue. Hamas has shown flexibility. It always wanted a ceasefire, and it wanted to use the hostage deal to draw it
Feb
Bernd Debusmann Jr at the White House, BBC News Watch: Trump and Macron cite ‘progress’ in Ukraine war peace talks French President Emmanuel Macron said any peace deal in Ukraine must come with security guarantees, as he met US President Donald Trump at the White House for talks on the war. “This peace must not be a surrender of Ukraine, it must not mean a ceasefire without guarantees,” he said as the two leaders held a joint news conference following their meeting on Monday. Trump, who did not mention security guarantees himself, said the cost and burden of securing peace in Ukraine must be paid for by European nations and not just the US. Macron responded that Europe understood the need to “more fairly share the security burden”, and added
Feb
The prosecution said on Sunday that Netanyahu had said repeatedly that he would be able to continue as prime minister and defendant. By MICHAEL STARR FEBRUARY 23, 2025 18:13 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives to the courtroom at the Distrcit court in Tel Aviv, before the start of his testimony in the trial against him, February 17, 2025. (photo credit: Gideon Markowicz/POOL) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s request to shorten the number of corruption trial testimony hearings each week is in contradiction with his demands for more and exhaustive sessions, the prosecution argued Sunday in a filing calling for the Jerusalem District Court to reject the Israeli leader’s petition. Following the Netanyahu defense team’s Thursday proposal to schedule Netanyahu corruption trial testimonies on Mondays and Wednesdays, the prosecution noted that
Feb
An official said Patel will likely be sworn into the position early next week. February 22, 2025, 7:14 PM President Donald Trump is expected to name FBI Director Kash Patel as the acting head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News. A Justice Department official told ABC News that Patel is expected to be sworn in as acting director early next week. FBI Director nominee Kash Patel gestures as he walks on stage to speak during the inaugural parade inside Capital One Arena, in Washington, DC, on Jan. 20, 2025. Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images, FILE The White House didn’t respond to a request for comment. The move comes after Attorney General Pam Bondi fired the ATF’s general counsel, Pamela
Feb
The president signed the an executive order earlier this month. February 21, 2025, 9:36 PM At a White House event with a bipartisan group of governors Friday, President Donald Trump briefly sparred with Democratic Maine Gov. Janet Mills after threatening to withhold federal funds from her state over the issue of transgender athletes. The back-and-forth came as Trump discussed his executive order banning transgender athletes from women’s sports. “Are you not going to comply with that?” Trump asked Mills directly. Gov. Janet Mills reacts after challenging U.S. President Donald Trump over federal law on the issue of trans women in sports as Trump addressed a meeting of governors at the White House, Feb. 21, 2025 in Washington. Win McNamee/Getty Images She responded that she would comply with state and federal
Feb
NAIROBI, Kenya Feb 13 – The debate over National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula’s impartiality has taken an ethnic twist with Western parliamentary leaders caucus shielding him from what they term as ‘sponsored media attack’. Wetangula has been in the spotlight for a week now with his reputation as National Assembly speaker being questioned after the High Court overruled his ruling deeming the Kenya Kwanza Alliance as the majority coalition in the house. Led by Sirisia Member of Parliament John Walukhe, they alleged that the recent publications against him have been sponsored by detractors keen on assassinating his character. “As Members of Parliament who participated in the election of the Speaker, we wish to note our serious disapproval of this veiled narrative that we suspect is sponsored by serious enemies of
Feb
Senate President Godswill Akpabio (L) with Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas (R) during the presentation of the 2025 Budget proposal by President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday, December 18, 2024 in Abuja The National Assembly on Thursday passed the ₦54.99trn 2025 Appropriation Bill. The bill was passed separately by the Senate and the House of Representatives. A breakdown of the budget showed N3.645trn for statutory transfers, N14.317trn for debt servicing, N13.64trn for recurrent expenditure and N23.963trn capital expenditure (development fund), with fiscal deficit put at N13.08trn. The Deficit-to-Gross domestic product (GDP) Ratio was put at 1.52%. Last Week, President Bola Tinubu increased the 2025 fiscal year budget from an initial N49.7trn to N54.2trn, seeking approval from the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Chairman of the House
Netanyahu’s advisors “allegedly received payments, maintained connections, and did business with the country that funded Hamas,” Golan said. By ELIAV BREUER FEBRUARY 13, 2025 12:09 Updated: FEBRUARY 13, 2025 12:51 Leader of the Democrats party Yair Golan leads a faction meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, on February 10, 2025. (photo credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90) Democrats party chairman and former deputy IDF chief of staff Yair Golan said in a press conference on Thursday in Tel Aviv that “there is a suspicion of betrayal in the Prime Minister’s Office that must be investigated.” Golan’s comments came in the wake of a report on Channel 12 on Tuesday that Eli Feldstein – a member of the prime minister’s media team who is currently under house arrest for leaking classified
Over 100 Kenyan MPs and other high-ranking VIPs are set to land in the Ethiopian capital on Thursday, February 13, to witness the AU Commission elections The MPs intend to “observe” the elections and offer support to Raila Odinga, who faces a stiff challenge from Djibouti’s Foreign Minister Mahamoud Ali Youssouf The government clarified that the entourage of legislators would foot their own bills to and fro the continental headquarters Kenya’s opposition leader Raila Odinga, is one of the top contenders for the African Union Commission chairship elections slated for February 15-16 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Raila Odinga hopes to succeed Moussa Faki as AU Commission chair. Photo: Tony Karuma.Source: Getty Images Over 100 MPs and other high-ranking VIPs are set to land in the Ethiopian capital on Thursday, February
Feb
Claims by South Korea ’s conservative bloc that China meddled in the country’s election could escalate tensions with Beijing and jeopardise trade ties, analysts have warned. Beijing has voiced strong discontent over the allegations by supporters of suspended President Yoon Suk-yeol , who on December 3 plunged the country into political chaos with a martial law decree that he insisted was necessary to investigate election fraud involving China and North Korea. Seoul’s election watchdog has dismissed the allegations as baseless. Adding to the controversy, a viral fake news story on YouTube claims that martial law troops arrested 99 Chinese “hackers” who helped opposition parties at the National Election Commission. In response, Dai Bing, the Chinese ambassador in Seoul, issued a statement late on Monday condemning the spread of unfounded allegations.
Feb
The billionaire has brought his four-year-old to numerous Washington events. February 11, 2025, 7:40 PM As camera crews and reporters crowded into the Oval Office on Tuesday, trying to focus on President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s first public comments on slashing the government, the dramatic scene at times got stolen — by Musk’s son, “Lil X.” “This is X, and he’s a great guy — high IQ,” Trump said at the top of his remarks, chuckling and calling the four-year-old a “high-IQ individual.” President Donald Trump is joined by Elon Musk and his son X Æ A-Xii, as he signs a series of executive orders in the Oval Office at the White House on Feb. 11, 2025 in Washington. Alex Brandon/AP While defending his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)