Top World News

Kenya, Tanzania suppress protests with heavy police deployments

Heavy police deployments in Kenya and Tanzania have suppressed planned protests on Tuesday

ArticleImg
Colombia's president-elect suspends transition after Petro alleges fraud

Colombia’s President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella has suspended the transition process with President Gustavo Petro's administration

Kazakhstan's top court rules that President Tokayev can seek another term

Kazakhstan’s top court has ruled that President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev can seek another seven years in office after a referendum on the constitution reset term limits for the office

ArticleImg
What will define Elon Musk’s legacy? Doge cuts to USAID Ebola programs

Experts say cuts have hindered the response to DRC’s Ebola outbreak and resulted in ‘significant numbers’ of deathsElon Musk has an Ebola problem. SpaceX stock dropped precipitously after its initial public offering, and Tesla faces a wave of lawsuits. But instead of focusing on his companies, Musk has posted frequently on X about the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which he helped dismantle – or, in his words, feed into the woodchipper – last year.“Elon’s USAID crash-out over the past week has been a thing to behold,” said Jeremy Konyndyk, a former top USAID official who oversaw the agency’s Ebola response in 2014-2015 and the president of Refugees International. “In a way, it’s helpful that Elon is doing this, because it’s putting attention back on the issue of what he did last year.” Continue reading...

Fear of Trump 'blow-up' has NATO officials on edge as talks set to begin

NATO allies admitted they will tiptoe around Donald Trump at this week's summit in Ankara, and they're not even trying to hide it, according to a report from Politico.European diplomats are pulling out all the stops to prevent a Trump "blow-up," using what one called "Trump management." Speaking with Politico, diplomats were upfront about tactics to be used: lavish praise on defense spending increases, avoid divisive topics, and signal "unwavering" support on Iran policy. In other words: whatever it takes to keep Trump satisfied."There's no alternative how to approach him but to be diplomatic and not to extremely offend him and saying that we're stepping up," Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken told Politico. "That's what we need to do and that's what we're doing."One senior NATO diplomat bluntly added, "The aim is to keep one person happy and satisfied"The problem is that Trump has a reputation for being fundamentally unpredictable. Grievances over defense spending, U.S. base access, defense funding, and the volatile Iran ceasefire could all ignite an explosion at any moment. "If this conflict flares up again — which can't be ruled out — and then Trump again puts [out] statements that Europeans should step up," explained Gerlinde Niehus, a security expert and longtime NATO official, "then that topic would of course overshadow everything else."Last week, Trump again attacked European allies over their defense commitments by writing on Truth Social: "Ridiculous for the U.S.A. to continue along this one-sided path when the relationship is not reciprocal."Even worse, German officials are now bracing for Trump to potentially derail the entire summit by demanding Europe contribute to a purported €300 billion reconstruction fund for Iran. That demand alone could explode the fragile consensus NATO has been working to maintain, Politico is reporting.