Trump

A widening feud between US President Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV has erupted into a deeply unusual political and spiritual clash, one that could carry real consequences for the Republican leader as November’s pivotal US mid-term elections draw closer. Mr Trump has come under fire, including from some of his own allies, after lashing out at the US-born pontiff, who has condemned the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, its intervention in Venezuela and the Iran war. The dispute threatens to unsettle the religious…

A prolonged US blockade of one of the world’s most critical maritime chokepoints threatens to send fresh shocks through energy markets and supply chains, raising new risks and costs for economies far beyond the Gulf. By Sanjoy Paul, University of Technology Sydney For weeks, the global economy has been fixated on a single question: when will the Strait of Hormuz fully reopen? Following Iran’s war with Israel and the United States, Tehran has in effect shut the narrow passage, a route that normally carries about one-fifth of…

Donald Trump has declined to apologise for attacking Pope Leo XIV, escalating an extraordinary public clash after the pontiff renewed his call for an end to the violence in the Iran war. "There's nothing to apologise for. He's wrong," Mr Trump told reporters, doubling down a day after a social media post and public remarks aimed at the US-born pope. "Pope Leo said things that are wrong. He was very much against what I'm doing with regard to Iran, and you cannot have a nuclear Iran," said Trump, who also argued that Leo was…

Monday April 13, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — President Donald Trump has prolonged the U.S. national emergency over Somalia for another year, renewing a policy first put in place in 2010 to confront terrorism, piracy and the chronic instability that has long unsettled the Horn of Africa nation. In a notice dated April 8, 2026, the White House said the emergency, which was due to lapse on April 12, will now stay in force through April 12, 2027. The extension preserves U.S. sanctions and other legal tools intended to curb threats…

As strains inside NATO deepen over the Iran war, alliance Secretary General Mark Rutte has told several capitals that US President Donald Trump is seeking firm commitments within days to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, according to two European diplomats who spoke to Reuters. Mr Rutte held talks with Mr Trump in Washington on Wednesday as unease spread across the alliance over the conflict with Iran. "We note the frustration in Washington, but they did not consult allies either before or after starting this war," said one…

A tense Middle East standoff deepened as US President Donald Trump said American military forces would stay in the region until a peace agreement with Iran is secured, while warning that any failure to comply could trigger a dramatic widening of the conflict. The prospect of further turmoil pushed oil prices higher as markets fretted over supply risks and continuing restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz. In a social media post, Mr Trump said US ships, aircraft and personnel — backed by extra ammunition and weapons — would…

Thursday April 9, 2026 Rescuers stand amid rubble at the site of an Israeli strike in Tyre, Lebanon, on April 8 President Donald Trump said Lebanon was left out of the ceasefire between the United States and Iran, a position that directly undercut Pakistan’s claim that it had helped secure a truce covering the wider region. The comment came after Israel unleashed a sweeping assault on Lebanon on Wednesday that killed and wounded more than 1,400 people in crowded areas. Trump brushed off the fighting between Israel and…

Anthony ZurcherWednesday April 8, 2026 For now, at least, the crisis stepped back from the brink. At 18:32 Washington time, President Donald Trump announced on his social media platform that the US and Iran were "very far along" toward a "definitive" peace agreement and that he had accepted a two-week ceasefire to keep talks moving. It was not quite the final bell, but it came close: Trump’s deadline of 20:00 EDT (00:00 GMT on Wednesday) had been looming, with the warning that if no deal emerged, the US would unleash major…

A single social media post set the tone for a day of global alarm: the president of the United States appeared to threaten the destruction of Iran itself. "A whole civilisation will die tonight," he wrote, "never to be brought back again". In Washington, the backlash was immediate and fierce. "Unhinged," "deranged," "lunatic," and "genocidal" were among the terms used by political opponents, with many demanding he be removed from office. Many Republicans, by contrast, sought to soften the impact of the comments, urging the…

Berk Kutay GokmenTuesday April 7, 2026 President Donald Trump escalated his warning to Iran on Tuesday, saying “a whole civilization will die tonight” as the clock ticked down on his deadline for a ceasefire deal. “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something…