United States (US) Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday trade negotiations with China were ‘a bit stalled’ and suggested President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping could get involved. ‘I would say that they are a bit stalled’, Bessent told broadcaster Fox News when asked about trade talks with Beijing. ‘I believe that we will be having more …

The US government intends to cancel all remaining financial contracts with Harvard, a senior official said Tuesday, in President Donald Trump’s latest attempt to force the prestigious university to submit to unprecedented oversight. The administration ‘will send a letter to federal agencies today asking them to identify any contracts with Harvard, and whether they can be canceled or redirected elsewhere’, …

Djiboutian President Ismail Omar Guelleh, in power since 1999, did not rule out running for a sixth term in next year’s election despite a constitutional ban on doing so, in an interview published Friday. Asked about a potential candidacy in April 2026 in the interview with The Africa Report, the 77-year-old said: ‘I won’t answer that’. ‘What I can say …

A small plane crashed into a residential area of southern California in the middle of the night, police said on Thursday, smashing into houses and setting multiple cars ablaze. TV footage showed rows of cars burned to blackened shells and at least one house suffering major destruction in the San Diego neighborhood of low-rise homes. The Federal Aviation Authority said …

Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israeli strikes killed at least 44 people across the war-ravaged Palestinian territory on Tuesday. ‘Civil defence teams have transferred (to hospitals) at least 44 dead, mostly children and women, as well as dozens of wounded, following new massacres committed by the occupation’ across Gaza since 1:00 am (2200 GMT Monday), agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told …

A recruitment consultant who fraudulently abused the UK government’s Covid-19 support scheme has been sentenced after misappropriating tens of thousands of pounds meant to help struggling businesses survive the pandemic. Rico Iheagwara, 36, of River Meads, Stanstead Abbotts, Hertfordshire, received an ’18-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, at St Albans Crown Court on Friday, 16 May 2025′. He pleaded …

Former United States (US) President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that has already spread to his bones, his personal office said in a statement on Sunday. ‘Last week, President Joe Biden was seen for a new finding of a prostate nodule after experiencing increasing urinary symptoms. On Friday, he was diagnosed with prostate …

Iraq’s Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, has announced a $40 million pledge for the reconstruction of Lebanon and Gaza, following Israel’s latest assault that has reportedly left no fewer than 140 people dead in the Palestinian territory. Sudani made the announcement during the Arab League summit held in Baghdad on Saturday in response to the crisis gripping the region. The …

Ten inmates escaped from a New Orleans jail early Friday morning after navigating through a hole behind a toilet, prompting a manhunt and raising serious concerns about security breaches and possible internal assistance. Authorities from the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office said the escape began at around 12:22am when the inmates tampered with a cell door. Surveillance footage later showed them …

South Sudan’s government on Thursday denied that President Salva Kiir had died, following online speculation. The long-serving 73-year-old leader has long been dogged by rumours of ill health. But he has been pictured in recent months meeting visiting dignitaries and ordering a series of dramatic government reshuffles. He has also moved decisively against his long-time rival and the current first …