A rare revolt from Republican senators has forced the Trump administration to scrap President Donald Trump's proposed $1.8 billion "weaponisation" fund, a dramatic reversal laid out by US Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche before lawmakers. "We are not moving forward with the fund," Mr Blanche said. "Period." Even so, Mr Blanche told politicians that one contentious piece of a separate agreement with President Donald Trump will stay intact: a provision blocking future audits of his or his family's past tax records. The…

The threat of a wider war sharpened on Monday as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had warned US President Donald Trump that Israel would hit Beirut if Hezbollah kept up attacks on Israeli communities. "I spoke with President Trump this evening and told him that if Hezbollah does not stop attacking our towns and our citizens, Israel will strike terrorist targets in Beirut," Mr Netanyahu said in a statement from his office. "Our position on this issue has not changed. At the same time, the IDF will continue…

A birthday celebration for America’s 250th anniversary has become a political flashpoint after US President Donald Trump urged organizers to scrap a planned concert series and replace it with a rally led by him. "We should have a giant MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN RALLY, for 250, instead of having overpriced singers, who nobody wants to hear, whose music is boring, and yet who do nothing but complain," Mr Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, adding: "Cancel it." The call came after several performers withdrew soon after…

Trust, Iran’s chief negotiator made clear, remains in short supply. Tehran will not sign off on any agreement with Washington, he said, unless it can prove that Iranian rights are fully protected. The comments from Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf came as fresh reports suggested US President Donald Trump had returned a more hardline peace proposal to Iran, highlighting just how much distance still separates the two sides. Any further revisions to the draft risk slowing an already fragile push to formally end the Middle East war and…

Just hours before Eid al-Adha, a buffalo in Bangladesh known as "Donald Trump" for its sweeping blond hair was pulled back from sacrifice and granted an unlikely new future at the national zoo. In Muslim-majority Bangladesh, the South Asian country of 170 million people, Eid al-Adha — the "feast of the sacrifice" — will be observed tomorrow. The 700kg bull, a rare albino buffalo crowned with a pale, flowing mane that recalls the trademark hairstyle of the US president, had been set to be slaughtered for the occasion.…

Days before turning 80, US President Donald Trump has undergone his annual medical examination, a routine presidential event unfolding against renewed scrutiny of his health. Mr Trump, the oldest person ever sworn in as president, has frequently contrasted his own physical and mental stamina with that of his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden. Still, his latest medical and dental evaluation at Walter Reed Military Hospital outside Washington comes as questions linger over reports that he has seemed drowsy in meetings and over…

"A government of laws, not men." That message blazed across the US Department of Justice headquarters in Washington DC on Tuesday, casting a sharp rebuke in light against one of the most powerful buildings in the country. The words, drawn from founding father John Adams, were projected above a banner of US President Donald Trump that has hung from the building for months. Washington has hardly been quiet since Mr Trump returned to the White House last year, and the capital has become familiar terrain for demonstrations of…

Federal immigration arrests in New York City have surged by more than 70% since President Donald Trump returned to office, according to a city audit that points to a sharp rise in enforcement activity across the five boroughs. Commissioned by Mayor Zohran Mamdani shortly after he entered office this year, the audit found that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 5,567 people in the New York City area from 20 January, 2025, when Mr Trump, a Republican, was sworn in for a new term, through 10 March, 2026. The report…

Four days after US President Donald Trump departed Beijing, Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived — a swift diplomatic handover that underscored China’s central place in an increasingly unsettled global order. Beijing’s ties with Washington and Moscow differ sharply, of course: one relationship is defined by strategic rivalry, the other by strategic partnership. Yet as China welcomes a steady procession of global leaders, each high-profile visit helps reinforce the sense that Beijing is becoming a pivotal stage for world…

Seasoned political negotiator Roelf Meyer formally presented his credentials to President Donald Trump on Thursday, stepping in as South Africa’s new ambassador to the US at a moment when political relations between the two countries remain frosty.