Top World News
Trump administration invokes state secrets privilege in Kilmar Ábrego García case
Lawyers say they’re ‘still in dark’ about government’s efforts to free the man who was wrongly deported to El SalvadorThe Trump administration is invoking the “state secrets privilege ” in an apparent attempt to avoid answering a judge’s questions about its erroneous deportation of Kilmar Ábrego García to El Salvador.US district judge Paula Xinis disclosed the government’s position in a two-page order on Wednesday. She set a Monday deadline for attorneys to file briefs on the issue and how it could affect Ábrego García’s case. Xinis also scheduled a 16 May hearing in Greenbelt, Maryland, to address the matter. Continue reading...
Xi hails ‘confident’ China-Russia ties as Putin welcomes ‘dear friend’ to Kremlin
Chinese leader describes talks as ‘friendly and fruitful’ during visit for Victory Day commemorationsXi Jinping and Vladimir Putin exchanged warm words in the Kremlin on Thursday during a grand ceremony welcoming the Chinese leader for his 11th visit to Russia, ahead of a military parade to mark 80 years since the end of the second world war.After nearly four hours of talks, Xi described his meeting with his Russian counterpart as “in-depth, friendly and fruitful”. Continue reading...
'Putin is playing them': Senator 'heartsick' over ignorance of Trump and Vance on Russia
Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) said he is “heart sick” to know Vice President J.D. Vance and President Donald Trump still have no idea “Putin is playing them.”The comments came on MSNBC’s Morning Joe in reaction to comments made by Vance and Trump. Anchor Mika Brzezinski first played Vance’s candid assessment of where negotiations stand between Russia and Ukraine from Wednesday morning. ALSO READ: ‘Pain. Grief. Anger’: Families heartbroken as Trump backlash smashes adoption dreamsThe Vice President, in part, said, “I wouldn't say that the Russians are uninterested in bringing this thing to a resolution. What I would say is right now, the Russians are asking for a certain set of requirements, a certain set of concessions, in order to end the conflict. We think they're asking for too much. There's a big gulf, predictably, between where the Russians and the Ukrainians are, and we think the next step in the negotiation is to try to close that gulf. We think it's probably impossible for us to mediate this entirely without at least some direct negotiation between the two, and so that's what we focus on."Brzezinski said, “Hours later, President Trump was asked about Vance's comments.” “When did he say that?” Trump asked a reporter. “Earlier this morning,” the reporter replied.“Well, it's possible that he's right,” Trump said.“He may know some things because I've been dealing with this and some other things, but we are getting to a point where some decisions are going to have to be made. I'm not happy about it. I'm not happy about it.”“All right, senator, I don't even know what to make of that answer, actually,” Brzezinski said. “I am so worried. My guess is the US is turning its back on Ukraine.”ALSO READ: 'Dictatorship, not a town hall': Families 'distraught' as MTG disruptors tased and jailed“Well, Mika. If Vice President Vance is waking up to the idea that Russia under Putin is an aggressor, that's a good thing,” Coons said. “But it is just– it makes me heartsick on the 80th anniversary of our victory in Europe over aggression and fascism that it's so hard for President Trump and Vice President Pence to see clearly that Putin has been playing them for months. That [Putin] has no intention of coming to the table in good faith and negotiating a peace agreement.”He added, “Only by standing up to Putin, only by doubling down on our support for Ukraine, is there any hope of a just peace in the ongoing war.”Watch below or click the link right here. - YouTube youtu.be
From snail slime to salmon sperm: the K-beauty boom hits UK high streets
South Korean skincare retailers want to capitalise on viral sales of beauty ranges by opening stores across the UKKorean beauty products are moving from phone screens to UK high streets as social media drives sales of skincare with the help of eye-catching ingredients such as snail slime and salmon sperm.Retailers are looking to capitalise on the TikTok and Instagram trend for skincare and makeup ranges from South Korea – known as K-beauty – by opening physical stores and launching brands in a push to get consumers to pick up products that havegone viral online. Continue reading...
Irish broadcaster requests discussion over Israel’s Eurovision participation
RTÉ asks European Broadcasting Union for talks after 72 former contestants call for ban on Israeli broadcasterIreland’s public broadcaster has asked the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) for a discussion about Israel’s inclusion in the Eurovision song contest, as 72 former contestants called for the Israeli broadcaster Kan to be banned from next week’s event in the Swiss city of Basel.The director general of Ireland’s RTÉ, Kevin Bakhurst, said in a statement on Wednesday that he was “appalled by the ongoing events in the Middle East and by the horrific impact on civilians in Gaza, and the fate of Israeli hostages”. Continue reading...
Trump releases details about major trade deal ahead of his own teased announcement
President Donald Trump highlighted a new detail about a "major trade deal" he's been teasing all week.The U.S. president first let the cat out of the bag Tuesday, during a White House meeting with Canadian prime minister Mark Carney, and then Wednesday night announced that a trade deal – with "a big, and highly respected country," no less – would be announced Thursday morning at 10 a.m. EST in the Oval Office, but he could barely contain his excitement hours ahead of the event."This should be a very big and exciting day for the United States of America and the United Kingdom," Trump posted on Truth Social at 5:42 a.m. EST. "Press Conference at The Oval Office, 10A.M. Thank you!"ALSO READ: ‘Pain. Grief. Anger’: Families heartbroken as Trump backlash smashes adoption dreamsNot even a half hour later, he spooled out a few additional details about his less-and-less surprising announcement."The agreement with the United Kingdom is a full and comprehensive one that will cement the relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom for many years to come," Trump posted at 6:08 a.m. EST. "Because of our long time history and allegiance together, it is a great honor to have the United Kingdom as our FIRST announcement. Many other deals, which are in serious stages of negotiation, to follow!"The White House and British officials declined to comment on the president's post on Wednesday night, but both nations have discussed lowering British tariffs on U.S. cars and farm goods, in addition to lifting British taxes on U.S. technology companies.It's not clear why Trump characterized the U.S.-British relationship as an "allegiance," which refers to loyalty and support for a ruler, country, group or belief, according to the Cambridge Dictionary, rather than an "alliance," which is defined by the same dictionary as a group of countries, political parties or people who have agreed to work together because of shared interests or aims.International trade attorney Timothy C. Brightbill cautioned the New York Times not to expect much from the announcement, which he predicted would probably be “just an agreement to start the negotiations, identifying a framework of issues to be discussed in the coming months.”“We suspect that tariff rates, nontariff barriers and digital trade are all on the list — and there are difficult issues to address on all of these,” added Brightbill, an international trade attorney at Wiley Rein.
'We will never sign!' Trump stuns as he issues 'bizarre' demand to Swedish city
The United States is requiring businesses and government offices in Stockholm, Sweden, to comply with the Trump administration's anti-DEI policies, according to Swedish news outlet Dagens Nyheter. "Stockholm's urban planning office must not work for diversity, equity, and inclusion," according to the outlet's English translation. "The U.S. embassy demands this in a letter with a contract that they expect the city to sign." Stockholm's urban planning councilor Jan Valeskog called the requirement "completely bizarre," adding, "We will never sign this contract." In addition, the U.S. Embassy is requiring Swedish suppliers "to certify that they do not apply certain inclusion programs," the outlet reported. ALSO READ: ‘Pain. Grief. Anger’: Families heartbroken as Trump backlash smashes adoption dreams The X account @ChrisO_wiki translated more of the report in a post, saying the Swedish government was given 10 days to comply."Since February 2025, US embassies around the world have been sending letters to local contractors making similar demands," the post said. "This seems to be the first time that it's been reported that a similar letter has been sent to a foreign government organisation."Valeskog is quoted as saying, "If the U.S. terminates its relationship with the city planning office, the embassy will have difficulty obtaining a building permit if they want to rebuild, for example. That's their headache, not ours."The X account continued, "The Swedish government says that it would violate Swedish law to comply with such a demand. Commenting on similar letters sent to Swedish businesses, Minister for Gender Equality and Working Life Nina Larsson says: 'According to the Discrimination Act, Swedish companies are obliged to work preventively and actively to counteract discrimination and promote equal rights – for example based on gender, ethnicity or disability. Otherwise, there may be penalties. Companies should feel secure in the fact that Swedish law is firm. It is also important that we – both politically and from the industries – are clear about this towards foreign clients.'"
'We need to make changes': Mark Cuban pitches surprising answer to Medicaid cuts
Billionaire Mark Cuban offered up his unsolicited advice to the Trump administration on how to reform Medicaid without making any cuts to the entitlement. Congress has been trying to figure out how to give President Donald Trump his "big, beautiful" spending bill without making cuts to Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid. Trump himself has said the entitlements would not be touched. However, DOGE's Elon Musk indicated in a March Fox News interview that entitlements would be on the table, saying, "The waste and fraud in entitlement spending — which is most of the federal spending is entitlements — so, that’s, like, the big one to eliminate. That’s the, sort of half-trillion, maybe $6-700 billion a year." ALSO READ: ‘Pain. Grief. Anger’: Families heartbroken as Trump backlash smashes adoption dreams Cuban, who owns the Dallas Mavericks and appears on "Shark Tank" alongside Trump pal Kevin O'Leary, posted on X Wednesday, "I'm against a reduction in benefits for Medicaid recipients. In fact I would like to see them get more benefits. BUT The way the system is currently constructed to move dollars from the fed gov to states and then to beneficiaries, like much of our health care system, is backa-- halfwards." Cuban continued, "States have learned how to arbitrage current laws to increase their receipts (see provider taxes ), insurance companies and their [pharmacy benefit managers] are still in the middle. Both create a lot of room for cost cuts, not only for taxpayers, but for the entire system. However. Talking about cuts and Medicaid is political suicide. What this really needs to be about is Medicaid Process Simplification. We need to make changes. Let's do what needs to be done across all of healthcare. Simplify it. Remove the arbitrage. Start with the patient, rather from the budget and work down. There is no silver bullet, but there are ways to make improvements and save money @HHSGov." According to Investopedia, "Arbitrage is the simultaneous purchase and sale of an asset in different markets to exploit tiny differences in their prices."
US reportedly planning to deport migrants to Libya despite ‘clear’ violation of court order
Judge confirms move would breach order as Libya’s rival governments say both would refuse any US deporteesThe Trump administration is reportedly planning to deport a group of immigrants to Libya, despite a judge’s efforts on Wednesday to block any such flights and the state department’s previous condemnation of the “life-threatening” prison conditions in the country.Reuters cited three unnamed US officials as saying the deportations could happen this week. Two of the officials said the immigrants, whose nationalities are not known, could be flown to the north African country as soon as Wednesday, but they added the plans could still change. The New York Times also cited a US official confirming the deportation plans. Continue reading...
Sudan to cut ties with United Arab Emirates over alleged RSF support
UAE insists it does not provide arms to paramilitary group as Sudanese ambassador recalledSudan’s security and defence council has declared that it will break diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates over its alleged backing of the paramilitary Sudanese Rapid Support Forces.During a televised speech on Tuesday, Sudan’s defence minister, Yassin Ibrahim, said Sudan was “severing diplomatic relations with the UAE” and recalling its ambassador, claiming the Gulf nation had breached Sudan’s sovereignty through its RSF “proxy”, which has been fighting the army in a bloody civil war since April 2023. Continue reading...
Soccer Legend Pelé Has Died At Age 82
The Brazilian “King of Football” had been treated for colon cancer since 2021.View Entire Post ›
Japan’s Annual Penis Festival Is Unlike Anything Else
Kanamara Matsuri has been an annual tradition since 1969, and besides being known for its fun, it raises money for a good cause.View Entire Post ›
May 11, 2025