North Korea’s Kim open to US talks, has ‘fond memories’ of Trump

SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un says he has “fond memories” of US President Donald Trump and is open to future talks with the United States — if he can keep his nukes. Kim met Trump three times for high-profile summits during Trump´s first term, before talks collapsed in Hanoi in 2019 over what concessions Pyongyang was prepared to make on its nuclear arsenal. The US demand that Kim give up his banned weapons has long been a sticking point between the two countries, with Pyongyang under successive rafts…

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Trump crowns Kirk ‘martyr for freedom,’ accuses radical left murderers

President Donald Trump on Sunday called conservative activist Charlie Kirk a “martyr for American freedom,” declaring at the memorial that he will press forward with Kirk’s mission. He also renewed his charge that the “radical left” was responsible for Kirk’s death. “The violence comes largely from the left,” Trump said without citing any evidence, in remarks that downplayed political violence from the right and often turned starkly partisan in contrast to the more solemn tone that most other speakers adopted. Trump has been blaming the left for the deadly shooting…

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Trump to ‘defend’ Poland, Baltic states if Russia intensifies hostilities

President Donald Trump on Sunday said he would defend Poland and the Baltic states in case of an escalation from Russia, following Moscow’s incursion into Estonia’s airspace. Asked whether he would help defend the EU members if Russia intensifies hostilities, Trump told reporters: “Yeah, I would. I would.” Estonia has requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Monday following Friday’s incursion. Three Russian MiG-31 fighters violated Estonian airspace over the Gulf of Finland, triggering complaints of a dangerous new provocation from the European Union and Nato but…

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Dismay, confusion among H-1B workers;Trump’s order triggers rush to US

Panic, confusion, and frustration emerged as H-1B visa holders from India and China had to cancel their travel plans and quickly return to the US following President Donald Trump’s introduction of new visa fees as part of his broader immigration policies. Tech firms and banks issued urgent notices to their employees, instructing them to return before a deadline of 12:01 AM Eastern Time on Sunday (4:01 AM GMT) and advising against leaving the country. A White House official on Saturday clarified that the order applied only to new applicants and not…

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Iran suspends cooperation with IAEA after European move on UN sanctions

TEHRAN: Iran’s Supreme National Security Council has said that action by Britain, France, and Germany to reimpose UN sanctions will “effectively suspend” its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN nuclear watchdog. “Despite the foreign ministry’s cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the presentation of plans to resolve the issue, the actions of European countries will effectively suspend the path of cooperation with the agency,” Iran’s top security body said in a televised statement. The announcement comes after the Security Council voted on Friday…

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India’s IT industry braces for jolts as Trump tightens H-1B visa rules

US President Donald Trump on Friday issued a new executive order tightening rules for the H-1B visa programme, a move that threatens India’s IT industry and other sectors heavily reliant on skilled foreign workers. India is the largest beneficiary of the H-1B programme, which allows US companies to hire skilled foreign workers. Industry analysts said the new restrictions could slow hiring, raise costs, and disrupt projects in the IT and technology sectors, potentially affecting thousands of Indian professionals currently working in the United States. Under the new order, applications for…

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UN Security Council votes to reimpose Iran nuclear sanctions

The United Nations Security Council voted Friday to reimpose deep economic sanctions on Iran over its resurgent nuclear program after Britain, France and Germany called for action which Tehran called “unlawful.” The three European nations are signatories to a 2015 deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) intended to stop Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons. The trio alleged that Iran has broken its promises under the treaty. Iran’s ambassador to the UN reacted angrily, calling the vote “unlawful”. “Today’s action is hasty, unnecessary and unlawful. Iran recognises…

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Trump imposes $100,000 fee for H-1B visa

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Friday ordered an annual $100,000 fee be added to H-1B skilled worker visas, creating potentially major repercussions for the tech industry where such permits are prolific. The new measure, which could likely face legal challenges, was announced alongside the introduction of a $1 million “gold card” residency program that Trump had previewed months earlier. “The main thing is, we’re going to have great people coming in, and they’re going to be paying,” Trump told reporters as he signed the orders in the Oval Office.…

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Trump bars Sadiq Khan from UK state banquet, calls him ‘worst mayor’

US President Donald Trump has reopened his long-running feud with London Mayor Sadiq Khan, telling British media that he had personally asked for Khan to be left out of the state banquet during his second official visit to the United Kingdom. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on his way back to Washington, Trump described Khan as “among the worst mayors in the world,” alleging he had overseen soaring crime rates and mishandled immigration. “I asked that he not be there,” Trump said. The president tied his demand to…

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Trump hopes to settle TikTok’s fate on Xi call

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump, who recently accused Xi Jinping of working to “conspire” against the United States, hopes to finalise the fate of video-sharing app TikTok and make progress on trade talks in a phone call with the Chinese leader on Friday. “I’m speaking with President Xi, as you know, on Friday, having to do with TikTok, and also trade,” Trump said Thursday in an interview with Fox News. “And we’re very close to deals on all of it. And my relationship with China is very good”. The call will be…

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