Author: potus

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The United States government is formally designating eight Latin American organized crime groups that also operate in the U.S. to be “foreign terrorist organizations.” They are involved in drug trafficking, migrant smuggling and extend their territory through violence.The Trump administration is applying a “terrorist” designation that’s normally reserved for groups like the Islamic State group or al-Qaida that use violence for political ends — not for money-focused crime rings such as the Latin American cartels. The aim is to increase pressure on the groups and anyone who the U.S. sees as aiding them. The designation will…

The Russian government’s top investment manager, who has Harvard and McKinsey credentials and fluent English, brought a simple printout to Tuesday’s talks with the Trump administration in Saudi Arabia.Its message: By pulling out of Russia in outrage over the invasion of Ukraine, American companies had walked away from piles of cold, hard cash.“Losses of U.S. companies by industry,” read the document, which Kirill Dmitriev, the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, showed to a New York Times reporter. “Total losses,” one of the columns said. The sum at the bottom: $324 billion.In appealing to President Trump, the Kremlin has zeroed…

In 2019, two North Korean fishermen confessed to murdering 16 shipmates ​before they fled to South Korea by boat​ and sought asylum.​ The then-progressive government in ​the South denied them refugee status ​or a trial there and, in an unprecedented move, sent them back to the North​.​That decision triggered ​not only a political firestorm at the time​ but also criminal charges against four senior officials prosecuted after the current conservative government, with a more hard-line stance against North Korea, took power in Seoul in 2022.On Tuesday, a three-judge panel in the Seoul Central District Court found the four top national…

Cambridge, United Kingdom – The fate of Ukraine and the future of European security hangs in the balance as United States and Russian diplomats prepared to discuss an accelerated peace plan this week. The uncertainty and dreadful possibilities of this historical moment, with Russia occupying a fifth of Ukrainian soil, dominated the atmosphere of Firewalling the Future, a conference on the future of Ukraine held at Cambridge University on Monday. Organised by programme leader Victoria Vdovychenko and professor of Ukrainian studies Rory Finnin under the auspices of the Centre for Geopolitics, it brought together Ukrainian, European and British diplomats, soldiers…

Cricket-mad Pakistan’s nearly three-decade wait to host a major global championship ended on Wednesday, but the celebrations have been laced with disappointment because of the absence of a familiar rival: India.Eight of the top teams in cricket’s 50-over format will compete for the Champions Trophy from Feb. 19 to March 9, but only seven of them will play in Pakistan. India will play its matches in the United Arab Emirates after refusing to travel to Pakistan.The subtext-laden Pakistan-India cricket rivalry is one of the greatest and fiercest in sports. Hundreds of millions of people around the world tune in to…

The Trump administration has promised to prioritize the “worst first” when it comes to arrests and deportations of immigrants, but the number of detainees in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody without a criminal conviction or pending criminal charges increased by more than 1,800 in the first two weeks of February, representing 41% of the 4,422 total new detainees in that period, according to new data obtained by NBC News.During federal fiscal year 2024, the Biden administration made 113,431 immigration arrests, and of those, only 28% were of people who had no criminal convictions or pending criminal charges. Asked for comment on…

WASHINGTON — A Republican-led Senate committee is scheduled to hold a hearing Wednesday on President Donald Trump’s nominee for labor secretary, Lori Chavez-DeRemer.Chavez-DeRemer, a former congresswoman from Oregon who served one term, is an unconventional pick for a GOP president. She supported a bill called the PRO Act, a top priority of labor unions, and is endorsed by the Teamsters Union.“Working people need someone with her experience leading the agency that is tasked with protecting workers, creating good union jobs, and rebuilding our nation’s middle class,” Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien, who spoke at the Republican National Convention last…

Department of Government Efficiency staffers were at the Pentagon on Tuesday and receiving lists of the military’s probationary employees, U.S. officials said.However, it was not clear that all probationary personnel would be let go — instead, some might be exempted due to the critical nature of their work. The military services each had until end of business Tuesday to identify their probationary employees.The affected personnel would include defense civilians who are still new to their jobs, not uniformed military personnel, who are exempt, according to the four officials who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to…

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans’ confidence in air travel and the federal agencies tasked with maintaining air safety has slipped a little from last year, following a recent crash in Washington, according to a new poll, but most still believe air transportation is generally safe.The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that 64% of U.S. adults say plane travel is “very safe” or “somewhat safe.” That’s down slightly from last year, when 71% said that. About 2 in 10 U.S. adults now say air transportation is very or somewhat unsafe, up from 12% in 2024. Faith…

The Yindjibarndi Ngurra Aboriginal Corporation filed the landmark case against Western Australia’s state government.An Aboriginal group is seeking 1.8 billion Australian dollars ($1.15bn) in damages from Western Australia’s state government after it allowed a mining firm to establish an iron ore project on its ancestral land without a land use deal, according to court filings. The Federal Court of Australia filings, revealed on Wednesday, showed that the Yindjibarndi Ngurra Aboriginal Corporation (YNAC) claimed that activity at the Solomon hub, run by global mining firm Fortescue, has severely damaged its land and people. The case could prove a landmark one in…