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The US announced late on Friday its approval of a $1.98bn arms sale to Kuwait, one of the Gulf countries hit by Iranian strikes during the Middle East war.In a statement, the US State Department said it would allow purchases of counter-drone technology from defense company Anduril, which was founded by a supporter of President Donald Trump. “This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the US by improving the security of a major non-Nato ally that has been an important force for political stability and economic progress in the Middle East,” the statement said. Earlier this week, Kuwait officials “condemned Iranian aggression” when a drone strike on its international airport killed one person and injured 63 others. Tehran denied involvement in the attack, saying it was “an error in the American Patriot systems,” referring to a US anti-missile battery.The attacks came despite the April 8 ceasefire that paused the war sparked by the February 28 US-Israeli bombing of Iran, and has largely held despite sporadic exchanges of fire. Source link
Many Iranian and African journalists have been denied the necessary visas to cover the World Cup in the United States, according to the International Sports Press Association. The association sent a letter on Friday to Bryan Swanson, FIFA’s director of media relations, and Jochen Steinhoff, the soccer governing body’s head of media operations and services.“We find ourselves facing a long-standing and unacceptable problem for us journalists: the denial of entry visas to regularly accredited colleagues,” association president Gianni Merlo wrote, per The Athletic. “There are many cases: Iranian colleagues, African colleagues, some of whom have been given single entries, so if their team goes to play in Canada or Mexico and they follow it, they can no longer return to the States. The cases are countless and, I repeat, unacceptable. Politicians always say that sport unites and builds bridges between young people in countries in conflict, but in this case, we are going in the opposite direction. “We believe it is important to allow colleagues to attend the event and work, because their presence will be crucial to the image of sport and what itrepresents, especially in a country like the United States of America, where freedom of the press is a must. “I hope FIFA can do everything possible to secure visas. We’re already significantly behind schedule, and many colleagues have already lost the opportunity to use plane tickets booked on time, and they’ll also face significant additional expenses.” The 48-team FIFA World Cup begins Thursday and runs through July 19 with matches in the U.S., Mexico and Canada.Iran is competing in the tournament despite an ongoing armed conflict with the US. African teams in the field include Algeria, Cape Verde, DR Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia. Several teams, including Ivory Coast and Tunisia, require multi-entry visas because they have games scheduled in the United States as well as in Canada or Mexico. As of yesterday’s morning, the US State Department had not responded to a request for comment from The Athletic. Source link
US President Donald Trump is facing widening opposition within his own party as Republican lawmakers in Congress, long reluctant to defy him, are showing a greater willingness to break ranks with the US president. Just over the past week, multiple factions of Republicans in the Senate and House of Representatives have stepped forward to rebuke his war against Iran, reject $1bn in funding tied to his White House ballroom, force a retreat on his $1.8bn “anti-weaponisation” fund and block his legislation on domestic spying. The House also defied Trump by passing a bill on Thursday to provide aid to Ukraine and impose new sanctions on Russia, a measure that seems destined for a veto by the president. Republicans and Democrats are skeptical that Trump faces an actual revolt. But a growing coalition of Republicans is showing a willingness to break with him, including those Trump has personally helped to drum out of office, and could pose a threat to his most ambitious initiatives between now and Election Day. “I think what you’re seeing as you get closer to the election is that people are going to vote the way they think their constituents want them to,” said Republican Senator Thom Tillis, who announced his retirement from the Senate last year after opposing the president’s so-called One Big Beautiful Bill. Democrats largely dismissed the idea, saying there has been no evidence that the party at largeis willing to defy him on major issues. “The people that are breaking with him are ones that were put out by Trump,” said Senator John Fetterman, a Democrat who sometimes supports Trump-backed initiatives.“That actually demonstrates his absolute control over the party.” One White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, chalked Republican dissent up to “election-year politics.” “Not every single member will absorb the political cost on every single issue,” the person said. “While the media and Democrats attempt to sow nonexistent divisions, we look forward to continuing this close relationship to continue fulfilling President Trump’s agenda,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said. For years, Republican lawmakers have shown public fealty to Trump by backing controversial cabinet picks, showing little or no resistance to his executive orders and supporting his signature legislation despite misgivings about the ballooning deficit and cuts to the Medicaid healthcare program for low-income Americans. Lawmakers and aides say frustration and resentment have grown since Trump opposed the re-election bids of Republican Senators Bill Cassidy and John Cornyn and endangered the Republican agenda in Congress with a series of badly timed announcements. The inflection point came just before the US Memorial Day holiday, when Trump’s decision to oppose the re-election of Cornyn and the announcement of his “anti-weaponisation” fund forced Senate Republicans to abandon a $70bn immigration enforcement funding bill and leave town in a mood of anger and frustration. “That was kind of like a perfect storm of events,” a Senate Republican aide said. The Senate ultimately passed the immigration enforcement funding bill on Friday, and Republicans voted against a Democratic amendment to block the fund, even as some worry it could be used to pay January 6Capitol rioters and other Trump political allies. Trump seems determined to push to nominate loyalist Bill Pulte to replace Tulsi Gabbard as a temporary Director of National Intelligence, even though key Republicans have misgivings.Senator Mitch McConnell made it clear he would not back Pulte as a permanent DNI, saying the law required nominees with extensive experience. “No nominee who falls short of this requirement will earn my vote,” he said in a statement.Republican opposition on the floors of the House and Senate have been mostly symbolic to date. Three electorally vulnerable Senate Republicans — Susan Collins, Jon Husted and Dan Sullivan — joined an attempt by Democrats to ban Trump’s “anti-weaponisation” fund on Thursday in a measure that didn’t pass, along with two other Republican attempts to end the fund. “This whole exercise is to pass President Trump’s top agenda item to secure the border, fund ICE. What’s happening on the floor right now shows the solidarity that we have with the president,” Republican Senator Jim Banks, a Trump ally, said as lawmakers voted this week. Trump’s next big challenge is likely to be his expected nomination of his former attorney Todd Blance as permanent US attorney general, a move that could face an uphill battle in the Senate.The first stop would be the Senate Judiciary Committee, a panel that includes Trump retribution casualty Cornyn, who said his support would depend on how Blanche answers certain questions.“The attorney general is not the president’s private lawyer,” Cornyn told reporters.“I want to make sure he understands the difference and is committed to making sure that the law is enforced.” Source link
Nearly 50 people died of thirst after a truck carrying them from Mali to Niger broke down in the Sahara desert, local authorities said. The Nigerien nationals were returning home to their families when the truck carrying them got lost and later broke down in a remote area near the borders of Mali and Algeria, according to a statement published on Thursday by the governor of Niger’s Agadez region. “Stranded without water and unable to repair the vehicle… the travellers found themselves trapped in the middle of a hostile environment where extreme temperatures and the lack of supply points make survival extremely difficult,” the statement said. Two men walked dozens of kilometres to reach the nearest town and alert authorities about the incident.The bodies of 49 people were found under the truck and in the surrounding area by responders who buried victims in mass graves on site. The responders also provided assistance to another truck stranded for three days with more than 60 people on board after their car battery failed.Young Nigeriens travel to Mali for work at artisanal mining sites despite risks from militant groups. Source link
US forces struck Iranian coastal radar sites yesterday after shooting down drones launched by Iran toward the Strait of Hormuz, the US military said, in the latest escalation complicating efforts to end the war between the two countries. The US military believed the four Iranian drones were targeting regional maritime traffic, a US official told Reuters. US Central Command said on X that the US then struck Iran’s surveillance sites in Goruk and Qeshm Island, both on the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s foreign ministry said the US action broke an April 8 ceasefire, adding that such repeated violations showed Washington had no intention of reducing tensions. It warned that the United States would bear responsibility for the consequences of its “illegal actions”. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had attacked US bases in Kuwait and Bahrain in retaliation for US strikes and fired at four tankers trying to cross the strait without its permission.Kuwait’s army said yesterday it engaged seven ballistic missiles that passed over residential areas, resulting in material damage but no casualties. In Bahrain, sirens sounded and residents were urged to seek shelter. Kuwait and Bahrain condemned the strikes. Iran later said it had hit US bases in both countries with ballistic missiles, but the U. military said six missiles were intercepted and a seventh did not reach its target. Iranian state media reported that Mohsin Naqvi, the interior minister of Pakistan, which has been mediating an end to the conflict, arrived in Tehran yesterday for talks with Iranian officials including Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi. A Pakistani source said Naqvi would carry a message from Pakistan to the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei. US President Donald Trump is facing mounting domestic political pressure due to rising gas prices to bring the unpopular war to an end. He told NBC that while most of Iran’s drone and missile manufacturing facilities had been destroyed, the Iranians still had access to about a fifth of their missiles. “They have some missiles, they have some drones. I would say percentage wise, maybe 21%-22% of their missiles. It’s a lot of missiles, but it’s not what it was when we first attacked,” Trump told NBC News’ Meet the Press program, according to excerpts released by the network on Friday. Source link
The Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS), through its Eid al-Adha Sacrifice Campaign 1447 AH, reached 247,344 beneficiaries in Qatar and 13 nations across Asia and Africa: Palestine/Gaza, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia, Niger, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Uganda, The Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau. In a statement issued yesterday, the QRCS said that this year’s campaign, launched under the slogan MakeTheirEid, achieved its primary objective of enabling the religious observance to be performed within its prescribed time, while also bringing joy and happiness to needy, underprivileged, displaced, and refugee families during the blessed days of Eid al-Adha in those countries. The QRCS said that the project was marked this year by efficient organisation and swift implementation through the co-ordination of qualified field teams with trusted local partners. This helped ensure that the sacrificial animals reached the intended communities, with slaughtering conducted in accordance with the requisite Sharia regulations, the statement reads, affirming that transportation and distribution operations were carried out in line with the highest standards of quality and safety to ensure timely delivery to beneficiaries. The distribution of sacrificial meat was marked by the joy of beneficiary families, who received their allocations either at their homes or through designated distribution points, the statement shared. QRCS managing board member and secretary-general Eng. Ibrahim bin Hashem al-Sada highlighted that the contributions of benefactors had a profound impact on bringing joy and relief to beneficiary families while reinforcing the values of humanitarian solidarity and social cohesion. He noted that the campaign was implemented based on a well-organised plan and clear mechanisms that ensured the sacrifices reached eligible beneficiaries in the targeted areas. Al-Sada said that the campaign was not confined to providing meat to beneficiary families; rather, it relayed a noble humanitarian message that helped mitigate the suffering of thousands of families afflicted by crises, conflicts, and disasters, while giving them a sense of care, support, and solidarity during the blessed Eid days. He added that such initiatives embody the values of compassion and solidarity encouraged by the teachings of Islam and contribute to strengthening the resilience of vulnerable communities and supporting their ability to cope with livelihood challenges. The official said that the QRCS will continue its humanitarian efforts to serve the most vulnerable communities, and called for sustained support for charitable and humanitarian campaigns that help improve the lives of beneficiaries and reinforce the spirit of giving and compassion across society. The statement further noted that the QRCS implemented the 2026 sacrifice project through a humanitarian partnership with Al Meera Consumer Goods Company.A total of 493 sacrifices were distributed to 619 families registered under community care programmes, benefiting almost 3,714 individuals. The project was carried out during the third and fourth days of Eid al-Adha, the statement said, which emphasised that the multiplicity of distribution sites helped ensure easy access for beneficiaries within their residential areas.The QRCS further affirmed that this initiative reflects its local-action approach, which serves as the primary driver of humanitarian response and emanates directly from its humanitarian mission and strategic vision aimed at strengthening community care, supporting priority groups, promoting a culture of social solidarity within Qatari society, and advancing effective partnerships with community institutions. Source link
The US is preparing a draft resolution condemning Iran ahead of next week’s meeting of the UN nuclear watchdog’s Board of Governors, diplomats said yesterday, a step that could complicate wider talks between the US and Iran.Washington and Tehran are negotiating an extension of their ceasefire that would pave the way for talks on issues including Iran’s nuclear programme, with US President Donald Trump insisting Iran must never develop a nuclear weapon.Iran says it never would.Israeli and US military strikes last June destroyed or badly damaged the three uranium-enrichment plants known to have been operating in Iran at the time. Much of its highly enriched uranium, however, is thought to have survived, though the UN nuclear watchdog has not had access to check.With a quarterly meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s 35-nation board taking place next week, Washington is preparing a text, though it has yet to circulate it and details are therefore unclear, diplomats accredited to the IAEA said.Iran has bristled at previous resolutions the board has passed against it, often retaliating by escalating its nuclear activities or scaling back cooperation with the agency. A more imminent concern this time are the talks with the US”I believe it may antagonize the Iranian side,” Russia’s ambassador to the IAEA, Mikhail Ulyanov, told reporters.Russia and China are the two countries that have opposed all recent resolutions against Iran at the IAEA board, which were submitted jointly by the United States, Britain, France and Germany, and have passed by a clear margin.”As far as I know, they are going to call upon Iran to provide access to the agency’s personnel to nuclear facilities on the territory of Iran,” said Ulyanov, while adding he did not believe the US would actually submit the draft.The U.S. mission to the IAEA declined to comment.The last time the IAEA passed a resolution against Iran was in November, to say Iran must inform the IAEA “without delay” of the status of its enriched uranium stock and bombed atomic sites, which it has yet to do.A resolution in June found Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations for the first time in almost 20 years, raising the prospect of reporting Tehran to the U.N. Security Council, but the board has yet to take that extra step. Source link
US Vice President JD Vance on Friday waded into a British dispute that has erupted over the murder of a student, blaming his death on what he said was civilizational decline and the failure to stop the ‘mass invasion of migrants’.Last year, Henry Nowak, an 18-year-old white man, was handcuffed by police as he lay dying from stab wounds after his killer falsely alleged a racist attack. The killer, a Sikh man, was sentenced on Monday to life in prison.Video footage showed officers ignoring Nowak's pleas as he lay dying, sparking questions over why the police had believed the allegation of racism and not Nowak who said repeatedly that he had been stabbed and could not breathe.’Henry Nowak died the same way a civilization dies: abandoned, handcuffed by authorities who neither trusted nor cared for him, and accused of hate crimes he did not commit,’ Vance said on X. ‘Each time a life like his is lost, the proper response — the only response — is righteous anger.’Vance said Nowak would be alive today ‘if the last few generations of European elites had stood their ground against the politics of self-hatred and the mass invasion of migrants, many of whom despise the West and the people who love it’.A spokesperson for Prime Minister Keir Starmer, responding to Vance's comments, said the Nowak family did not want his death to be used to create further division or hatred.’We should respect their wishes,’ the spokesperson said. ‘Even in the most terrible circumstances, our politics should bring people together. That is who we are as a country.’The case has sparked widespread anger in Britain, with populist political leader Nigel Farage and tech billionaire Elon Musk amplifying right-wing talking points that the country has ‘two-tier policing’ where fears of being called racist have led to ethnic minorities being given greater protections than others.Starmer has said police had serious questions to answer about their handling of the incident, including how accusations of racism informed police thinking, and an investigation is taking place.But he condemned a violent and disorderly protest that took place on Tuesday night and said it was ‘unforgivable’ to exploit the death to stir tension after Farage called for people to respond with ‘pure cold rage’.He also told Musk to stop interfering in British politics on Thursday after the tech boss posted repeatedly about the case and said it showed that police were biased against white people in Britain.The local police force has rejected accusations of any bias, but police chiefs have said they would review guidelines that were drawn up in response to decades of well-documented incidents of racism in policing on how officers should treat ethnicities differently.Relations between the US and Britain — historically close allies — have publicly deteriorated since the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran began in February, with President Donald Trump repeatedly mocking Starmer for failing to provide greater support.Vance has previously accused European leaders of censoring free speech and failing to control immigration, and the US State Department on Thursday condemned what it called ‘ideological conditioning and two-tiered policing’ in Nowak's treatment.A spokesperson for Starmer said on Friday that Britain's relationship with the US remained ‘incredibly strong’ but rejected the State Department comments.Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy told Sky News on Friday that he welcomed the fact that the US government had extended its condolences to the Nowak family but said he did not recognise ‘this caricature of Britain having a two-tier criminal justice system’. Source link
FILE PHOTO: Citizen candidates attend a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) naturalization ceremony at the Brooklyn Cyclones Maimonides Park in the Brooklyn borough of New…
Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway smiles as she arrives for a reception of the Norwegian athletes who took part in the Paralympics in Milano Cortina 2026,…