Author: Disha Mishra

U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has directed prosecutors to investigate officials who resist immigration enforcement efforts, intensifying a sweeping crackdown that Trump launched the day he took office. In a memo seen by Reuters, Trump’s acting deputy attorney general, Emil Bove, told Justice Department staff that state and local authorities must cooperate with the immigration crackdown and federal prosecutors “shall investigate incidents involving any such misconduct for potential prosecution.” The Justice Department could also challenge laws that complicate the effort, Bove wrote. The policy was issued as the new Republican administration prepared to step up policing of illegal immigration in…

The U.S. military will send 1,500 additional active-duty troops to the border with Mexico, the White House said on Wednesday, just two days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order on immigration. The additional troops include 500 Marines, as well as Army helicopter crews and intelligence analysts. They will join 2,200 active duty troops and thousands of National Guard that were on the border prior to Trump’s inauguration this week. During his first term, Republican Trump ordered 5,200 troops to help secure the border with Mexico. Democratic former President Joe Biden deployed active-duty troops to the border as well.…

Oil prices dipped in Asian trade on Thursday, extending losses amid uncertainty over how U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs and energy policies would impact global economic growth and energy demand. Brent crude futures fell 38 cents, or 0.5%, to $78.62 a barrel by 0716 GMT in a sixth straight day of losses, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) fell for a fifth day, easing 39 cents, or 0.5%, to $75.05. “Oil markets have given back some recent gains due to mixed drivers,” said senior market analyst Priyanka Sachdeva at Phillip Nova. “Key factors include expectations of increased U.S.…

The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the killing of a Chinese national in Afghanistan’s northern Takhar province, in a post on its Telegram channel late on Wednesday. Afghan police in the province had said on Wednesday that a Chinese citizen was murdered and a preliminary investigation had been launched, but it was not clear who was behind the attack. The Islamic State said it had targeted a vehicle carrying the Chinese citizen, which led to his death and damage to his vehicle. China was the first country to appoint an ambassador to Afghanistan under the Taliban and has said…

A vote due on Wednesday in the Irish parliament to elect a new prime minister was delayed by a day after opposition protests over speaking rights for independent lawmakers supporting the incoming coalition government derailed a chaotic sitting. Micheál Martin was due to be elected prime minister at around 1230 GMT following a coalition deal struck last week between the country’s two large centre-right parties and a group of independent lawmakers after a Nov. 29 election. The speaker of the lower house of parliament suspended the chamber on four separate occasions before adjourning it until 1000 GMT on Thursday when…

An executive order by U.S. President Donald Trump to suspend refugee admissions has magnified the fears of one Afghan American soldier who has long been worried about the fate of his sister in Kabul. The soldier is afraid his sister could be forced to marry a Taliban fighter or targeted by a for-ransom kidnapping before she and her husband could fly out of Afghanistan and resettle as refugees in the United States. “I’m just thinking about this all day. I can’t even do my job properly because this is mentally impacting me,” the soldier with the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne…

Iran delivered a conciliatory message to Western leaders in Davos on Wednesday, with a top official denying it wants nuclear weapons and offering talks about opportunities, days after its arch adversary Donald Trump’s return to the White House. However, the comments by Iran’s Vice-President for Strategic Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif coincided with a warning by the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog that Tehran is “pressing the gas pedal” in enriching uranium to near weapons-grade. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi has called for diplomacy between Iran and Trump, who in his first term, pulled the U.S. out of a nuclear…

U.S. President Donald Trumpon Tuesday vowed to hit the European Union with tariffs and said his administration was discussing a 10% punitive duty on Chinese imports because fentanyl is being sent from China to the U.S. via Mexico and Canada. Trump voiced his latest tariff threats in remarks to reporters at the White House a day after taking office without immediately imposing tariffs as he had promised during his campaign. Financial markets and trade groups exhaled briefly on Tuesday, but his latest comments underscored Trump’s longstanding desire for broader duties and a new Feb. 1 deadline for 25% tariffs against…

The United States, Australia, India and Japan recommitted to working together on Tuesday, after the first meeting of the China-focused “Quad” grouping’s top diplomats since President Donald Trump returned to the White House. In a joint statement after the talks in Washington, hosted by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on his first day in the job, the four nations said officials would meet regularly to prepare for an upcoming leaders’ summit in India, expected this year. The four countries share concerns about China’s growing power and analysts said the meeting was designed to signal that countering Beijing is a…

England begin their white-ball era under Brendon McCullum in a Twenty20 series against India beginning in Kolkata on Wednesday with the coach promising the same attacking brand of cricket that has been the hallmark of his coaching. McCullum injected an aggressive approach to the test squad after taking over in 2022, with Matthew Mott continuing to coach England in the shorter formats. However, Mott stepped down last year after England failed to defend their T20 and 50-overs World Cup titles in the space of seven months across 2023-24 and McCullum was tasked with reviving their limited-overs fortunes. “Obviously, we want…