Poland rejected on Friday a suggestion by Donald Trump that Russian drone incursions into its airspace could have been a mistake, a rare contradiction of the U.S. president from one of Washington's closest European allies. Poland, backed by aircraft from other NATO, shot down drones that had violated its airspace on Wednesday, the first time a member of the Western military alliance is known to have fired during Russia's war in Ukraine. Russia said its forces had been attacking Ukraine at the time and that it had not intended to hit any targets in Poland. Trump told reporters in Washington...
Republicans in the U.S. Congress advanced major elements of President Donald Trump's budget package on Wednesday, as key committees approved tax cuts that would add trillions of dollars to the U.S. debt, while cutting spending on healthcare for the poor and disabled. With Democrats boycotting this top priority of Trump's, Republicans relied on their majorities in the tax-writing House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee and the Energy and Commerce panel overseeing Medicaid and other healthcare programs to advance the controversial package of bills. Flexing their majority muscles,...
As per the commerce ministry's announcement on Wednesday, China has temporarily halted some non-tariff measures that were previously imposed on 17 U.S. entities from its unreliable entity list and 28 U.S. entities from its export control list. These entities were added to the lists in April. China's unreliable entities list, which was updated on April 4, included 11 U.S. entities. Measures against these entities have been suspended for a period of 90 days, effective from Wednesday. Furthermore, measures against six more U.S. entities, which were added to the list on April 9, have also been...
Syria's Ahmed al-Sharaa has transformed himself from al Qaeda militant to Syrian president in a dramatic political rise capped on Wednesday by a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump. The encounter in Saudi Arabia is a milestone for a man who joined al Qaeda in Iraq around the time of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion and spent years in U.S. prison there before returning to Syria to join the insurgency against Bashar al-Assad. The meeting - following Trump's announcement of an end to U.S. sanctions on Syria - is a huge boost for Sharaa as he tries to bring the fractured country under his...
President Donald Trump kicked off his Gulf trip on Tuesday with a surprise announcement that the United States would lift long-standing sanctions on Syria, and a $600 billion commitment from Saudi Arabia to invest in the United States. The United States has agreed to sell Saudi Arabia a nearly $142 billion package of arms, the White House said, calling it Washington's largest ever "defense cooperation agreement." The end of sanctions on Syria would be a major boost for a country devastated by more than a decade of civil war. Rebels led by current President Ahmed al-Sharaa toppled President...
Republicans who control the U.S. House of Representatives kicked off public debate on major pillars of President Donald Trump's budget legislation on Tuesday, weighing choices about tax policies and spending on popular social safety-net programs that may strain their narrow majority. The plan, which would extend tax cuts passed during Trump's first term, could add to the nation's $36.2 trillion in debt over the next decade. Congress' bipartisan Joint Tax Committee estimates the tax cuts would cost $3.72 trillion. "Together with a one big, beautiful bill, we can ignite a second Trump...
Asia-Pacific markets traded higher, tracking Wall Street gains overnight.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.41% after hitting a fresh record high on Thursday, while the Topix added 0.61%. South...
Both the STOXX 50 and STOXX 600 hovered around the flatline on Friday, as investors adopted a cautious stance ahead of further developments in trade talks between US President Trump and Chinese...
Poland rejected on Friday a suggestion by Donald Trump that Russian drone incursions into its airspace could have been a mistake, a rare contradiction of the U.S. president from one of Washington's...