Category: World

Harvard University has announced to expand its financial aid programme to offer free tuition to students that belong to families earning $200,000 (£154,000) or less per year. The initiative, which will be launched from the 2025-26 academic year, aims to make a Harvard education more accessible to a broader range of students. The Ivy League institution has one of the largest academic endowments in the world. It is valued at over $53 billion and has long provided financial aid to lower-income families. Previously, only the families with annual income of…

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WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump says he plans to speak to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Tuesday about ending the war in Ukraine, adding discussions are already ongoing about “dividing up certain assets” between the warring parties. US officials had expressed optimism Sunday that a Ukraine-Russia ceasefire deal could be reached in weeks after Washington proposed a halt in fighting in the three-year war after talks in Saudi Arabia, which Kyiv accepted. “I think we’ll be talking about land… we’ll be talking about power plants,” Trump said aboard Air…

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The United States has expressed optimism that a ceasefire agreement between Ukraine and Russia could be reached in the coming weeks, as Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are expected to discuss the matter, AFP reported. Washington has proposed a halt in hostilities following recent talks in Saudi Arabia, which Kyiv has accepted. The US and its European allies are now urging Moscow to agree. However, Putin has not provided a clear response, instead raising concerns and setting conditions. Trump’s envoy for the conflict, Steve Witkoff, who recently met with Putin, told CNN that…

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At least 33 people were killed as tornadoes swept through the central United States, overturning large trucks and causing widespread destruction, authorities reported on Saturday. Local media broadcast scenes of extensive damage, including overturned vehicles and wrecked buildings, while forecasters warned that further tornadoes were likely in the coming days. In Kansas, eight fatalities were confirmed following a collision involving more than 50 vehicles, triggered by severely reduced visibility during a “severe dust storm”, according to police. Eight people died in Kansas in a crash involving more than 50 vehicles,…

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LONDON: UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said Russian President Vladimir Putin will eventually have to come to the negotiating table, as he called on world leaders to strengthen support for Ukraine and keep up the pressure on Moscow. The British leader told around 26 fellow leaders in a group call he hosted that they should focus on strengthening Ukraine, protecting any ceasefire, and maintaining pressure on Moscow. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky had, he said, “shown once again, and beyond any doubt, that Ukraine is the party of peace” by…

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WASHINGTON: The Trump administration has cut funding for US-backed media outlets, including Voice of America and Radio Free Asia, in a move that has raised international concerns over press freedom and America’s ability to counter foreign propaganda. Hundreds of reporters and other staff at VOA, Radio Free Asia, Radio Free Europe and other outlets received a weekend email saying they will be barred from their offices and should surrender press passes, office-issued telephones and other equipment. Trump, who has already eviscerated the US aid agency and Education Department, on Friday…

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WASHINGTON: As part of new ban by Donald Trump’s administration, Pakistan has been included in a group that would be considered for partial suspension of visa issuance if their governments “do not make efforts to address deficiencies within 60 days”. The Trump administration is considering issuing sweeping travel restrictions for the citizens of dozens of countries, according to sources familiar with the matter and an internal memo seen by Reuters. A total of 41 countries divided into three separate groups was listed by the memo. The first group of 10 countries,…

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A United States appeals court on Friday allowed the President Donald Trump’s administration to temporarily enact a ban on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programmes at federal agencies and businesses with government contracts, overriding a prior ruling by a Maryland judge. The 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, expressed that President Trump’s directives, which include urging the Department of Justice to investigate companies with DEI policies, are likely constitutional. However, two judges on the panel voiced reservations, stating that they disagree with the substance of Trump’s orders…

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WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Friday launched a bitter attack against the “illegal” media and his political enemies, as a speech at the Department of Justice turned into a grievance-filled diatribe. Trump, who is the first convicted felon to sit in the White House, was meant to be talking about law and order at an organisation supposed to be insulated from political pressure. But instead the 78-year-old Republican spent much of his time rehearsing complaints that predecessor Joe Biden had “weaponised” the department against him and pledging to “expose”…

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WASHINGTON: The United States has expelled South Africa’s ambassador, accusing him of showing hostility towards President Donald Trump, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. “South Africa’s Ambassador to the United States is no longer welcome in our great country,” Rubio posted on X on Friday. “Ebrahim Rasool is a race-baiting politician who hates America and hates @POTUS,” he said, referring to Trump by his White House X account. “We have nothing to discuss with him, and so he is considered PERSONA NON GRATA.” The expulsion is the latest development…

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