United States

Mexico, El Salvador seize over 10 tonnes of cocaine amid deadly US strikes

The navies of El Salvador and Mexico announced drug seizures in the Pacific Ocean this week of more than 10 tonnes of cocaine, in contrast to deadly strikes by the US government that just this week left 11 people dead on three boats suspected of carrying drugs in Latin American waters. The latest announcement came Thursday, when Mexico said it had seized nearly four tonnes of suspected drugs and detained three people from a semisubmersible craft, 250 nautical miles (463 kilometres) south of the port of Manzanillo. Mexican Security Secretary Omar Garcia Harfuch said via X that the seizure from the sleek, low-riding boat with three visible motors brought the weekly total to nearly 10 tonnes, but he did not provide detail on the other seizures. Mexican authorities said the seizure was made with intelligence shared US Northern Command and the US Joint Interagency Task Force South. On Sunday, El Salvador's navy announced the largest drug seizure in the country's history of 6.6 tonnes of

Indonesia signs trade deal with Trump admin, tariffs slashed to 19%

Indonesian coffee, chocolate, natural rubber and spices would be tariff-free, the Jakarta government said

Directing govt agencies to release files on UFOs, aliens and more: Trump

US President Donald Trump said Thursday that he's directing the Pentagon and other government agencies to identify and release files related to extraterrestrials and UFOs because of "tremendous interest." Trump made the announcement in a social media post hours after he accused former President Barack Obama of disclosing "classified information" when Obama recently suggested in a podcast interview that aliens were real. Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, "I don't know if they're real or not," and said of Obama, "I may get him out of trouble by declassifying." In a post on his social media platform Thursday night, Trump said he was directing government agencies to release files related "to alien and extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), and unidentified flying objects (UFOs), and any and all other information connected to these highly complex, but extremely interesting and important, matters." Obama, who made his comments in a podcast appearance over th

US pays $160 million of $4 billion it owes to UN, Trump promises more funds

The United States has paid about USD 160 million of the nearly USD 4 billion it owes the United Nations, the UN said Thursday, and President Donald Trump promised more money to the financially strapped world organization. The Trump administration's payment last week is earmarked for the UN's regular operating budget, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told The Associated Press. The UN has said the United States owes USD 2.19 billion to its regular budget, including USD 767 million for this year, as well as USD 1.8 billion to a separate budget for the far-flung UN peacekeeping operations. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned late last month that the world body faces "imminent financial collapse" unless its financial rules are overhauled or all 193 member nations pay their dues, a message clearly directed at the United States. He said in a letter to all member nations that cash for the regular budget could run out by July, which could dramatically affect UN operations. U.N. ...

Trump says 9 Board of Peace members pledge $7 bn for Gaza relief

President Donald Trump announced Thursday at the inaugural Board of Peace meeting that nine members of the body have agreed to pledge USD 7 billion toward a Gaza relief package. Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, UAE, Morocco, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan and Kuwait are the countries that are making pledges, Trump added. "But every dollar spent is an investment in stability and the hope of new and harmonious (region)," said Trump, thanking the donors. The amount, while significant, represents a fraction of the estimated USD 70 billion needed to rebuild the Palestinian territory decimated after two years of war. Trump also announced the US was pledging USD 10 billion for the Board of Peace, but didn't specify what the money will be used for. "The Board of Peace is showing how a better future can be built, starting right here in this room," Trump said.

US gives IEA one-year deadline to drop net zero focus or they'll quit

The Paris-based IEA was formed after the 1970s oil supply crisis and provides research and data to the US and other industrialised governments to guide energy policy

US jobless claims fall sharply to 206,000, biggest drop since Nov

That was lower than all but one estimate in a Bloomberg survey. In the past year, new applications have fallen below the 210,000 mark only a handful of times

US trade deficit slipped to $901 billion last year amid Trump tariffs

The US trade deficit slipped modestly in 2025, a year in which President Donald Trump upended global commerce by slapping double digit tariffs on imports from most countries. The gap the between the goods and services the US sells other countries and what it buys from them narrowed to just over USD 901 billion from USD 904 billion in 2024, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. Exports rose 6 per cent last year, and imports rose nearly 5 per cent. The trade gap surged from January-March as US companies tried to import foreign goods ahead of Trump's taxes, then narrowed most of the rest of the year. Trump's tariffs are a tax paid by US importers and often passed along to their customers as higher prices. But they haven't had as much impact on inflation as economists originally expected. Trump argues that the tariffs will protect US industries, bringing manufacturing back to America and raise money for the US Treasury.

Trump claims, again, that he stopped India-Pak war with 200% tariff threat

India has repeatedly stated that the ceasefire following the 2025 military escalation was reached bilaterally, without any third-party intervention

Meaningful deal in 10 days or 'bad' things will happen: Trump warns Iran

"Otherwise bad things happen," Trump, who has repeatedly threatened to attack Iran, told the first meeting of his Board of Peace in Washington

India likely to join US-led 'Pax Silica' strategic bloc on Friday: Report

India is likely to formally join a US-led strategic alliance, known as 'Pax Silica', which is aimed at building a resilient supply chain for critical minerals and artificial intelligence. The move comes amid efforts by the two sides to finalise the proposed trade deal and move forward on several other initiatives to solidify the bilateral ties after a spell of severe strain in the relations. India is likely to formally join the 'Pax Silica' initiative on Friday, people familiar with the matter said. The initiative was launched in December to build a secure, resilient, and innovation-driven supply chain for critical minerals and artificial intelligence (AI). The Pax Silica Summit was held in Washington on December 12 where partner nations signed the Pax Silica declaration. The declaration lays out a shared vision of deep economic and technology cooperation across supply chains -- from raw materials through semiconductors and AI infrastructure -- and commitment to mutual prosperity

Indian-origin former Optum director convicted for hiring 'ghost employee'

A former senior director at Optum was convicted on multiple fraud charges for hiring an unqualified friend in a no-show job and receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks

Iran says it agreed with US on principles for potential nuclear deal

The two sides will each draft and exchange texts for a deal before setting a date for a third round of talks, he said, cautioning that the next stage would be "more difficult and detailed"

US scraps rule that granted electric vehicles higher fuel economy credits

The DOE said it had concluded that the fuel content factor was "unlawful" and was issuing a rule to immediately remove it from fuel economy calculations

NYC Mayor Mamdani threatens 10% property tax hike as last-resort option

What's more, City Council leadership is adamant they oppose a property-tax increase. The proposal would need approval from the council to be implemented

US-brokered Russia-Ukraine peace talks end with no breakthrough seen

The latest US-brokered talks between envoys from Moscow and Kyiv over Russia's all-out invasion of Ukraine ended Wednesday with no sign of a breakthrough and with both sides saying the talks were "difficult," as the war's fourth anniversary approaches next week. The negotiations in Switzerland were the third round of direct talks organised by the US, after meetings earlier this year in Abu Dhabi that officials described as constructive but which also made no major headway. Expectations for significant progress in Geneva were low. "The negotiations were not easy," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said after the talks broke up and he spoke briefly by phone from Kyiv with his negotiating team. He earlier accused Russia of "trying to drag out negotiations" while it presses on with its invasion - an accusation he and European leaders have repeatedly made in the past. Despite that, some progress was made on military issues although political differences remain deep, including ove

Oil edges up after 2% drop as focus turns to US-Iran negotiations

Political consultancy Eurasia Group said in a Tuesday note ‌to clients that it thinks there is a 65 per cent probability of U.S. military strikes against Iran by the end of April

Ukrainian, Russian envoys hold second day of US-brokered talks in Geneva

Envoys from Moscow and Kyiv met Wednesday in Geneva for a second consecutive day of US-brokered talks, with officials trying to bridge political and military differences stemming from Russia's all-out invasion of Ukraine almost four years ago. "Consultations are taking place in working groups by areas within the political and military tracks," the head of the Ukrainian delegation, Rustem Umerov, wrote in English on X. "We are working on clarifying the parameters and mechanisms of the decisions discussed yesterday." The negotiations in Switzerland are the third round of direct talks organised by the US, after meetings earlier this year in Abu Dhabi that officials described as constructive but yielded no breakthrough. US President Donald Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, said on social media that Washington's push for peace in Ukraine over the past year has "brought about meaningful progress." He didn't elaborate, and the fighting has continued. The two armies are locked in battle on the

YouTube down for more than 320,000 users in US, shows Downdetector

There were 321,958 incidents of people reporting issues with the social media platform