Trump to embark on Middle East trip to meet Gulf allies

President eager to discuss trade and investment but no plans to visit Israel amid tensions over Gaza war

Donald Trump this week will embark on the first foreign trip of his second administration with a tour of the Middle East, as he looks to secure investment, trade and technology deals from friendly leaders with deep pockets amid turbulent negotiations around numerous regional conflicts, including Israel’s war in Gaza.

The tour through the Middle East is largely a repeat of his first international trip in 2017, when he was feted in the region as a transactional leader eager to secure quick wins and capable of providing support for the regional monarchies’ economic and geopolitical interests.

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There is suffering everywhere you look, says mother of emaciated baby girl trapped in Gaza

Babies such as Siwar Ashour are suffering from malnutrition as crucial supplies run out amid Israel’s total blockade on aid

Siwar Ashour was born into war and hunger and has known nothing else. She is now in real danger of dying without ever having known a moment of peace or contentment.

The six-month-old Palestinian girl, whose painfully emaciated body symbolised the deliberate starvation of Gaza when she appeared on the BBC this week, was only 2.5kg when she was born on 20 November last year.

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There is suffering everywhere you look, says mother of emaciated baby girl trapped in Gaza – The Guardian

  1. There is suffering everywhere you look, says mother of emaciated baby girl trapped in Gaza  The Guardian
  2. ‘Catastrophic’ conditions in Gaza as Israeli blockade enters third month, aid group says  PBS
  3. Gaza’s hospitals cannot provide food to recovering patients  Al Jazeera
  4. Malnourished children, hospital supplies running low: Impact of 2 months of no aid in Gaza  ABC News
  5. 'No food when I gave birth': Malnutrition rises in Gaza as Israeli blockade enters third month  BBC
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Can Trump Rename the Persian Gulf? – The New York Times

  1. Can Trump Rename the Persian Gulf?  The New York Times
  2. Trump plans to announce that the US will call the Persian Gulf the Arabian Gulf, officials say  AP News
  3. Donald Trump angers Iranians by considering renaming the Persian Gulf  Le Monde.fr
  4. Trump planning to change how US refers to Persian Gulf  CNN
  5. Trump plans to announce US will refer to Arabian Gulf rather than Persian Gulf  The Guardian
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The Ukrainian drone pioneer racing Russia’s military machine – Financial Times

  1. The Ukrainian drone pioneer racing Russia’s military machine  Financial Times
  2. How new drones are sneaking past jammers on Ukraine’s front lines  The Economist
  3. To Escape Tiny Explosive Drones In Ukraine, Artillery Is Heading Underground  Forbes
  4. Modern Warfare: Facing Russian Drone Problem, Ukraine's Underground Solution  NDTV
  5. Beyond the Hype: Why Drones Cannot Replace Artillery  Small Wars Journal
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Australia news live: Littleproud says Canavan leadership challenge ‘healthy’; teen caught with knife and fake gun outside AFL match

Nationals leader applauds his colleague for having the courage to put up his hand. Follow today’s news live

Nationals leader David Littleproud is backing his record to hold on to the party’s top job as he faces a challenge from a fellow Queenslander.

The minor Coalition party faces a leadership tussle after Queensland senator Matt Canavan threw his hat in the ring.

We shouldn’t get upset about democracy taking place.

This is healthy for our democracy.

From my perspective, I still think I have a contribution to make and I want to do so. Someone once said that success isn’t final, failure isn’t fatal and the courage to continue is what matters. Here I am, a Labor MP quoting Churchill on Insiders. That’s where we’ve got to.

Indeed. Can I say, the party has given me great opportunities. Its faith in me, particularly with my faith, allowed me in part to make and break records, I’ve challenged the status quo and conservativism. It provides hope and aspiration for others. I want to be part of that.

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Trump claims ‘total reset’ in US-China trade relations after tariff talks in Geneva

US president praises ‘very good’ discussions as top US and Chinese officials meet over trade war triggered by Trump’s tariff blitz

Donald Trump has hailed a “total reset” in US-China trade relations after the first day of talks between top American and Chinese officials in Geneva aimed at defusing a trade war sparked by his tariff rollout.

The US president praised the “very good” discussions and deemed them “a total reset negotiated in a friendly, but constructive, manner”.

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Five arrests after more than a tonne of cocaine allegedly found on motorboat off NSW coast

The 1,110 blocks of cocaine on board are worth more than half a billion dollars on the street, police said

More than a tonne of cocaine has been seized off the east coast of Australia and five men arrested after police raided a suspicious motorboat.

Detectives said they were tipped off about the purchase of a 13-metre-long boat with a large sum of cash in Sydney’s Sutherland shire on 28 April.

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New Jersey mayor to continue fight against Ice detention center after arrest

Newark’s Ras Baraka says court fight against Geo Group will go on despite being jailed and charged with trespassing

Speaking out after his arrest on Tuesday, the Newark mayor Ras Baraka said his city would continue its fight in court against the company that runs an immigration detention facility in New Jersey.

“I know there are some protests that other people are planning, and if I feel obligated to be there, I will,” Baraka told the Rev Al Sharpton on MSNBC Saturday afternoon. “This doesn’t stop the city’s contention with the Geo Group, and we’re going to continue in court with them.”

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UK to time limit visas for roles below graduate level under new migration plan

Yvette Cooper to announce proposals to reduce net migration as government reacts to growing pressure from Reform UK

Visas for skilled overseas workers will be time-limited for those not taking a graduate-level job, the Home Office has announced.

The measure comes as part of a preview of wider plans being unveiled this week that are designed to reduce net migration to the UK.

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Danny Dyer says Harold Pinter’s death sent him into ‘spiral of madness’

Actor tells BBC about his relationship with the playwright, his ‘mentor’, and how he went ‘off the rails’

The actor Danny Dyer said the death of his mentor, the Nobel prize-winning playwright Harold Pinter, triggered a “spiral of madness” in his life.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs, Dyer reflected on how he had stayed at Pinter’s home while performing in his play Celebration. The play opened at London’s Almeida theatre in 2000, before transferring to the Lincoln Center in New York.

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