Author: Disha Mishra
Micheál Martin was elected Irish prime minister for the second time by a coalition of the country’s two large centre-right parties and independent lawmakers on Thursday, a day later than scheduled after opposition protest derailed an initial vote. The coalition is the second in a row between historic rivals Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, who between them have led every government since the foundation of the state, with independents replacing junior coalition partner the Green Party, which lost most of its seats. The initially scheduled vote to elect Martin on Wednesday descended into chaos when the parliament was suspended four…
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Thursday urged the United States to keep supplying Ukraine with weapons to fight Russia’s invasion and said he was sure Europe was ready to pay the bill. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the NATO chief said Europe must invest more in defence, ramp up arms production and take a bigger share of spending on Ukraine aid. His comments came after U.S. President Donald Trump said earlier this week that the European Union should be doing more to support Ukraine. “On Ukraine, we need the U.S. also to stay involved,” Rutte said.…
A new wildfire that broke out north of Los Angeles on Wednesday rapidly spread to more than 9,400 acres (38 square km), fueled by strong winds and dry brush, forcing mandatory evacuation orders for more than 31,000 people. The Hughes fire, about 50 miles (80 km) north of Los Angeles, sent huge flames and plumes of smoke over a hilly area and further taxed firefighters who have managed to bring two major fires in the metropolitan area largely under control. In just a few hours on Wednesday, the new fire grew to two-thirds the size of the Eaton Fire, one…
Germany will eventually have to spend more than 2% of economic output on defence but must first reform its procurement system to get more bang for its buck, opposition leader Friedrich Merz, who is tipped to become the next chancellor, said on Thursday. “I want us to spend the necessary funds we spend much more efficiently; we can get more for our money and therefore the procurement system needs to be changed,” he told a gathering in Berlin. Merz dismissed the recent call by new U.S. President Donald Trump for Germany to spend as much as 5% of economic output…
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…