Category Archives: US News

Four men guilty of Kim Kardashian jewellery heist in Paris

Posted on by

Three pensioners and a man in his 30s jailed as four others convicted of related charges

Four men have been found guilty of breaking into a luxury residence in Paris and stealing jewellery worth millions of euros from the American reality TV star Kim Kardashian when she attended fashion week in 2016.

Three pensioners and one man in his 30s were convicted of carrying out the armed heist, which was thought to be the biggest robbery of an individual in France in 20 years. Four other people were found guilty of assisting in the plot or related charges. Two people were acquitted of accusations they handed out information about Kardashian’s whereabouts.

Continue reading...

British students at Harvard report ‘growing anxiety’ over US government attacks

Posted on by

Trump administration’s effort to ban foreign enrolment could force students to disrupt their studies and careers

British and international students at Harvard report “growing anxiety” over their fate, as the Trump administration’s latest attack on the university could force them to disrupt their studies and careers.

On Thursday, the administration said it would revoke Harvard University’s eligibility to enrol international students, which was later temporarily frozen by a US federal judge on Friday.

Continue reading...

Iran-US nuclear talks end with no agreement but ‘possibility of progress’

Posted on by

There were fears latest meeting could collapse but both sides appear willing for more talks on uranium enrichment

Talks between Iran and the US on whether Iran will be allowed to continue to enrich uranium inside the country have ended without an agreement, but apparently without the feared breakdown.

The indirect talks between the two sides were mediated by Oman and held in Rome.

Continue reading...

Court halts Trump administration’s effort to send eight men to South Sudan

Posted on by

The group is in temporary custody of homeland security in Djibouti following challenges in court

Eight men the Trump administration attempted to send to South Sudan are in temporary custody in Djibouti after a federal court ruling halted their removal, officials confirmed on Thursday.

The Trump administration had attempted to send the men, who it said had been convicted of criminal offenses, to their home countries: officials said two each were from Myanmar and Cuba and the others were from Vietnam, Laos, Mexico and South Sudan.

Continue reading...

Trump threatens 25% tariff on Apple and Samsung phones not made in US

Posted on by

Announcement wipes about $70bn off Apple shares amid pressure on company to build smartphones in US

Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 25% tariff on iPhones if they are not made in the United States, as he stepped up the pressure on Apple to build its signature product in the country.

The president wiped approximately $70bn (£52bn) off the company’s shares with a post on the Truth Social platform that said iPhones sold inside the US must be made within the country’s borders.

Continue reading...

Brazilian tribe sues New York Times for allegedly portraying members as porn addicts

Posted on by

Defamation suit claims Marubo people were depicted as tech-addled and porn-obsessed after introduction of internet

An Indigenous tribe from the Brazilian Amazon has sued the New York Times, saying the newspaper’s reporting on the tribe’s first exposure to the internet led to its members being widely portrayed as technology-addled and addicted to pornography.

The Marubo tribe of the remote Javari valley, a community of about 2,000 people, filed the defamation lawsuit seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in damages this week in a court in Los Angeles.

Continue reading...

Shooting of Israeli embassy staffers underscores US ‘era of violent populism’

Posted on by

This is the latest act of violence in a string of incidents that have affected Jewish, Arab and Muslim communities

The killing of two staff of the Israeli embassy in Washington DC comes as the war in Gaza has splintered the American body politic alongside the ongoing rise in political violence.

A shooter, identified as Elias Rodriguez, shot the two people, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, outside the Capital Jewish Museum on Wednesday after they left an event hosted by the American Jewish Committee. Rodriguez reportedly chanted “free, free Palestine” while being detained by security.

Continue reading...

World’s seven wealthiest countries agree to counter China’s trade practices

Posted on by

G7 finance ministers and central bank governors pledge to address ‘economic imbalances’, without naming China

Top finance officials from the world’s seven wealthiest democracies have set aside stark differences on US tariffs and agreed to counter global “economic imbalances”, a swipe at China’s trade practices.

Ahead of the meeting of G7 finance ministers and central bank governors there had been doubt about whether there would be a final communique, given divisions over US tariffs and Washington’s reluctance to refer to Russia’s war on Ukraine as illegal.

Continue reading...

Mahmoud Khalil finally allowed to hold one-month-old son for the first time

Posted on by

Detained Palestinian activist granted contact by judge who blocked Trump administration’s efforts to separate family

Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University graduate and detained Palestinian activist, was finally allowed to hold his infant son for the first time Thursday – one month after he was born – thanks to a federal judge who blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to keep the father and infant separated by a Plexiglass barrier.

The visit came before a scheduled immigration hearing for Khalil, a legal permanent resident who has been detained in a Louisiana jail since 8 March.

Continue reading...

FTC drops case over Microsoft’s $69bn Activision Blizzard acquisition

Posted on by

Microsoft president declares ‘victory’ in Call of Duty maker deal as FTC chair says case doesn’t fit with Trump’s agenda

The US Federal Trade Commission dropped a case that sought to block Microsoft’s $69bn purchase of the Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard, saying on Thursday that pursuing the case against the long-closed deal was not in the public interest.

Andrew Ferguson, the FTC chair, is seeking to use the agency’s resources for cases that fit with Donald Trump’s agenda, such as an investigation related to whether advertisers colluded to spend less on X.

Continue reading...

Iran would view US as ‘participant’ in any Israeli attack on its nuclear sites

Posted on by

Warning issued after US intelligence reportedly understood Israel might attack if Iran-US talks broke down

Iran has said it will hold the US responsible for any Israeli attack on its nuclear sites in remarks that set a fraught backdrop for the fifth and probably most important round of talks between Iran and the US on the future of Iran’s nuclear program.

Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, issued the warning on Thursday after reports appeared in the American media claiming US intelligence understood Israel was planning an attack on Iranian nuclear sites – with or without American support – if the talks broke down.

Continue reading...

German troops start first permanent foreign deployment since second world war

Posted on by

Heavy combat unit of 4,800 soldiers and 200 civilian staff inaugurated in Lithuania on Nato’s eastern flank

The German chancellor has visited Lithuania to mark Berlin’s first permanent foreign troop deployment since the second world war, as he called on allies to dramatically expand their efforts to bolster European defences against a hostile Russia.

As a crowd waved Lithuanian, German and Ukrainian flags, Friedrich Merz and his defence minister, Boris Pistorius, attended a ceremony launching the official formation of an armoured brigade aimed at protecting Nato’s eastern flank.

Continue reading...

Trump and AOC condemn antisemitism after Israeli embassy staff shooting

Posted on by

Politicians took to social media to express shock and sorrow over killings of staffers outside Jewish museum in DC

Donald Trump, Republicans and Democrats have condemned antisemitism in the shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington DC on Wednesday night.

“These horrible D.C. killings, based obviously on antisemitism, must end, NOW!” Trump wrote on social media in response to the shooting. “Hatred and Radicalism have no place in the USA. Condolences to the families of the victims. So sad that such things as this can happen! God Bless You ALL!”

Continue reading...

House passes Trump’s sweeping tax-cut bill, sends it to Senate

Posted on by

Measure would tighten eligibility for health and food programs for the poor and could add $3.8tn to US debt

The Republican-controlled US House of Representatives narrowly passed a sweeping tax and spending bill that would enact much of President Donald Trump’s policy agenda on Thursday and saddle the country with trillions of dollars in debt.

The bill would fulfill many of Trump’s populist campaign pledges, delivering new tax breaks on tips and car loans and boosting spending on the military and border enforcement. It will add about $3.8tn to the federal government’s $36.2tn in debt over the next decade, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

Continue reading...

Judge rules White House violated order by deporting migrants to South Sudan

Posted on by

Eight people apparently deported as their lawyers say they are at ‘risk of harm’ and that there is ‘no clarity’

A federal judge has ruled the US government’s attempt to deport migrants to South Sudan “unquestionably” violated an earlier court order.

Brian E Murphy, the US district judge in Massachusetts, made the remark at an emergency hearing he had ordered in Boston following the Trump administration’s apparent removal of eight people to South Sudan, despite most of them being from other countries.

Continue reading...

Trump administration accepts jet from Qatar for possible use as Air Force One

Posted on by

Plane offer set off a firestorm of bipartisan criticism of Trump and raised questions about Qatar’s motives

The Trump administration has accepted the controversial gift of a Boeing 747 jetliner from the government of Qatar, and directed the air force to assess how quickly the plane can be upgraded for possible use as a new Air Force One.

The offer of the jet has set off a firestorm of bipartisan criticism of Trump, particularly following the president’s visit to the country last week to arrange US business deals.

Continue reading...

Justice department opens inquiry into Andrew Cuomo’s Covid-19 response

Posted on by

Ex-New York governor and current NYC mayoral candidate accused of mishandling nursing homes during pandemic

The justice department has reportedly opened a criminal investigation into Andrew Cuomo, the former New York governor and current frontrunner in the New York City mayoral race.

The investigation was launched after Republicans accused Cuomo of mishandling the state’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, multiple outlets reported on Tuesday.

Continue reading...

Target sales fall sharply in first quarter as customers worry about tariffs

Posted on by

Retailer warns sales will slip for all of 2025 as customers pull back spending amid fears over tariffs and economy

Sales at Target fell more than expected in the first quarter, and the retailer warned they will slip for all of 2025 year as its customers, worried over the impact of tariffs and the economy, pull back on spending.

Target also said that customer boycotts have also done some damage during the latest quarter. The company scaled back many diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in January after they came under attack by conservative activists and the White House. Target’s retreat created another backlash, with more customers angered by the retailer’s reduction of LGBTQ+-themed merchandise for Pride month in June of 2023.

Continue reading...

South Africa’s Ramaphosa expected to take golf stars to Trump meeting

Posted on by

Ernie Els and Retief Goosen reportedly part of delegation as president seeks to reset ties after white ‘genocide’ claims

The South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, is expected to take the golfers Ernie Els and Retief Goosen with him to meet Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Wednesday, as the government attempts to reset relations with the US amid Trump’s accusations that it is fomenting a white “genocide”.

Ramaphosa’s appeal to Trump’s love of golf, with the potential inclusion of Els and Goosen reported by South African local media, is part of his efforts to avoid a public dressing down of the kind Trump gave to the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in February.

Continue reading...

Chicago Sun-Times confirms AI was used to create reading list of books that don’t exist

Posted on by

Outlet calls story, created by freelancer working with one of the newpaper’s content partner, a ‘learning moment’

Illinois’ prominent Chicago Sun-Times newspaper has confirmed that a summer reading list, which included several recommendations for books that don’t exist, was created using artificial intelligence by a freelancer who worked with one of their content partners.

Social media posts began to circulate on Tuesday criticizing the paper for allegedly using the AI software ChatGPT to generate an article with book recommendations for the upcoming summer season called “Summer reading list for 2025”. As such chatbots are known to make up information, a phenomenon often referred to as “AI hallucination”, the article contains several fake titles attached to real authors.

Continue reading...