Author: Andrew Rogers

US President Donald Trump said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured him that India will stop buying oil from Russia, signaling a potential shift in global energy trade. Trump added that he plans to encourage China to take similar steps as Washington seeks to curb Moscow’s oil revenues. India and China are the largest buyers of Russian seaborne crude, benefiting from discounted prices after Europe largely stopped purchasing Russian oil due to US and EU sanctions following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Trump has recently targeted India for its continued purchases of Russian oil, imposing tariffs on Indian exports…

San Francisco city leaders have strongly rejected President Donald Trump’s threat to deploy federal troops, calling it an unnecessary and unwelcome move. Trump suggested the Bay Area city could face military intervention to address crime, repeating claims that the city has become unsafe. Speaking at the White House with FBI director Kash Patel, Trump said, “I’m going to be strongly recommending… that you start looking at San Francisco… one of our great cities 10 years ago, 15 years ago, and now it’s a mess… Every American deserves to live in a community where they’re not afraid of being mugged, murdered,…

Hamas has confirmed it has returned all Israeli hostage bodies it can access, saying specialized equipment is needed to recover others from Gaza’s heavily damaged areas. The announcement comes amid warnings from Israel that fighting could resume if the ceasefire agreement is not fully respected. Two additional bodies were handed over on Wednesday, adding to the seven previously returned by Hamas. Israel also received one body it said was not a former hostage. The Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s armed wing, stated that it had fulfilled its commitment by returning all living hostages and all accessible corpses. It added that retrieving…

An elite military unit in Madagascar announced on Tuesday that it has seized power, following the impeachment of President Andry Rajoelina after weeks of anti-government protests. The takeover comes as the country grapples with political unrest and public demonstrations demanding reform. Rajoelina, who claimed in a Facebook Live video on Monday that he went into hiding after alleged assassination attempts, had resisted calls to resign. However, the Capsat military unit, which controls administrative and technical services within the armed forces, sided with the demonstrators over the weekend. The presidential office described the situation as an “attempted coup d’état” in a…

The US Senate on Tuesday again blocked a Republican plan aimed at ending the government shutdown that has now lasted two weeks. The eighth vote on a bill to fund government operations through November 21 failed 49-45, far short of the 60 votes needed to advance. No senators changed their positions from the previous vote, signaling a continued deadlock in Congress. The shutdown has already led to layoffs across multiple federal agencies. Both parties blamed each other for the impasse, with tensions rising over funding priorities and political strategy. Democratic leader Chuck Schumer criticized the Trump administration for approving a…

Donald Trump addressed the Israeli Knesset hours after the last Israeli hostages were freed from Gaza, calling it the “historic dawn of a new Middle East.” He described the Gaza conflict as a “long and painful nightmare” and declared that Israel had achieved all it could by force. “This is not only the end of war – this is the end of an age of terror and death,” Trump said, urging that Israel’s military victories be turned into lasting peace and prosperity for the entire region. Trump emphasized that his message was also for Arab states, promising that Israel would…

Wang Jian, once a leading journalist in Hong Kong, has become a notable voice on YouTube, dissecting US politics and China-US relations. Broadcasting from his home near Boston, Wang reaches an audience of over 800,000 subscribers, offering insight often unavailable in mainland China. On a rainy May evening, Wang prepared for his second broadcast of the day. Eating dinner in his garage apartment, he spoke in Mandarin about former President Donald Trump. “Trump combines populism, small-town savvy, and wealth,” he said. “It is reminiscent of Mao Zedong’s style.” By 11 p.m., Wang was live, his ring lights on, guiding viewers…

One of Europe’s largest farm machinery companies, Krone, has paused exports of its equipment to the United States due to unexpected tariffs affecting hundreds of products. The measures, described as “alarming,” target items ranging from knitting needles and hair dryers to combine harvesters. The US has imposed new levies on 407 products made from steel derivatives. This includes appliances, agricultural machinery, construction equipment, wind turbines, elevators, and bridge components. The list requires exporters to provide unprecedented levels of detail on the origin, weight, and value of every steel component, down to nuts and bolts. Oliver Richtberg, head of foreign trade…

The Israeli military has confirmed that a second group of 13 living hostages has been safely handed over to the Red Cross. The hostages are now on their way to the IDF and Shin Bet forces in the Gaza Strip area. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) shared the update on X, stating that the Red Cross has taken custody of the hostages. The transfer marks the latest effort to secure the safe return of Israelis held captive. According to Israeli media, the hostages include Elkana Bohbot, Avinatan Or, Yosef-Haim Ohana, Evyatar David, Rom Braslavski, Segev Kalfon, Nimrod Cohen, Maxim Herkin,…

Heavy clashes erupted along the Pakistan Afghanistan border on Saturday night after Taliban forces attacked Pakistani military posts, escalating tensions in the region. This violence follows a Pakistani airstrike in Kabul earlier this week, according to security officials from both countries. Taliban fighters claimed they captured two Pakistani border posts in Helmand province in retaliation for airstrikes on Afghan territory. Pakistani officials confirmed that clashes occurred at multiple border locations and said their forces responded with heavy artillery, tanks, and light and heavy weaponry. “Tonight, Taliban forces began firing at several border points. We retaliated with artillery at four locations…