Author: Onu Akter

Donald Trump’s trade agenda faced its toughest challenge yet on Friday after a federal appeals court ruled that the former president exceeded his constitutional authority when he imposed broad tariffs on nearly every country in the world. The Washington DC court, in a 7–4 ruling, declared that Trump had gone beyond the powers granted to him under existing US law. The decision noted that while presidents do have considerable leeway in responding to national emergencies, that authority does not extend to imposing tariffs or taxes on imports without congressional approval. The ruling directly targets tariffs Trump enacted on April 2,…

The United States has blocked Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and about 80 other Palestinian officials from attending next month’s UN General Assembly session in New York, citing concerns that their presence could undermine peace efforts. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the officials sought “the unilateral recognition of a conjectural Palestinian state” and blamed them for bypassing negotiations with Israel. The decision has drawn support from Israel but raised questions about compliance with international agreements governing UN operations. Typically, the US facilitates travel for foreign officials attending UN meetings. The State Department clarified that Palestinian representatives at the UN…

China has historically supported anticolonial struggles and the Palestinian cause, but today, despite rhetorical backing and diplomatic engagement, it is reluctant to confront Israel directly. During the 2023 Gaza conflict, videos circulated online suggesting China had airdropped humanitarian aid to Palestinians. Many viewers celebrated, seeing it as a significant step by Beijing to support Gaza. However, the footage was later proven false, raising questions about China’s actual involvement. Following the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023, Beijing refused to label them as terrorism. In February 2024, Ma Xinmin, a legal advisor to China’s foreign ministry, told the International…

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced on Saturday that it had arrested eight individuals suspected of passing coordinates of sensitive sites and details about senior military officials to Israel’s intelligence agency, Mossad. The arrests were made during investigations into activities connected to the June war between Iran, Israel, and the United States. The conflict began in June when Israeli forces struck Iranian nuclear facilities, killing top military commanders and scientists. The attacks marked the most significant blow to the Islamic Republic since the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s. Iran retaliated by launching missile and drone attacks on Israeli targets,…

Iran has arrested eight people suspected of passing sensitive military information to the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad during a recent 12-day war with Israel and the United States. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced the arrests on Saturday, saying the suspects received specialized training from Mossad through online platforms. The IRGC statement said authorities apprehended the suspects in northeastern Iran before they could carry out their plans. Officials also seized materials that could be used to make launchers, explosives, bombs, and booby traps. State media reported earlier this month that Iranian police detained up to 21,000 people during the…

Several UK councils are pressing ahead with legal action to prevent asylum seekers being housed in local hotels, even after the Court of Appeal overturned a temporary injunction. The decision allows asylum placements to continue at The Bell Hotel in Epping, a case seen as a potential precedent for other areas. Epping Forest District Council, which secured the original injunction, said it is exploring all options, including appealing to the Supreme Court. Reform UK has called on all 12 councils it controls to consider legal challenges against hotel housing for asylum seekers. Kemi Badenoch encouraged Conservative-run councils to “keep going”…

Former US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has delivered a sharp rebuke of President Donald Trump’s trade policy toward India, warning that sweeping tariffs are damaging America’s global standing and inadvertently driving New Delhi closer to Beijing. Speaking on The Bulwark Podcast with Tim Miller, Sullivan said Trump’s aggressive trade measures have undermined years of bipartisan work to strengthen ties with India. “The American brand globally is in the toilet. Look at India. Trump has executed a massive trade offensive against them. Now, India is thinking, we have to go sit down with China to hedge against America,” he said.…

A federal appeals court has ruled that most of Donald Trump’s tariffs represent an unlawful use of presidential emergency powers, striking a major blow to one of his flagship economic policies. In a 7-4 decision delivered Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals said the former president exceeded his authority when imposing so-called “reciprocal tariffs” on nearly every trading partner of the United States. The judges concluded that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), the statute Trump relied on to justify his actions, does not give the president the right to levy duties or taxes. The decision upholds a lower…

When Ronald Reagan became the first U.S. president to address China’s Great Hall of the People in 1984, he used the moment to champion the core Republican belief in free markets and limited government. His philosophy was simple: trust the people. Reagan argued that the greatest economic progress came when individuals were allowed to make their own choices, take risks, and benefit from them, while governments stepped aside. Four decades later, the United States is seeing a dramatic departure from those principles. Under President Donald Trump in 2025, the White House has taken an unprecedented hands-on role in corporate America,…

The UK, France, and Germany have formally initiated the process to restore major United Nations sanctions on Iran, reactivating provisions from the 2015 nuclear deal. The so-called “snapback mechanism” could see sanctions return within 30 days unless Iran takes steps to comply with its previous nuclear commitments. The move marks a significant escalation in international tensions over Tehran’s nuclear programme. In a letter to the EU’s foreign policy chief, Iran’s foreign minister asserted that the three European nations had “no legal jurisdiction” to reimpose sanctions. He added that both Russia and China supported Iran’s position. The minister stressed that Tehran…