Top World News

Apr 17, 2025 - World

Donald Trump was up early on Thursday morning, launching a fresh attack on Fed chair Jerome Powell for ignoring his demand to lower interest rates while threatening him with termination. In apparent reaction to reports that the European Central Bank (ECB) is poised to cut interest rates for the seventh time in a year today, the president –– reeling from criticism about his handling of the economy –– tried to shift the blame to Powell. Coming a day after Powell instead warned about the tariff war Trump began, and stated, "Without price stability, we cannot achieve the long periods of strong labor market conditions that benefit all Americans,” hinting at no rate reduction on the horizon, Trump flipped out on Truth Social.ALSO READ: 'Dictatorship, not a town hall': Families 'distraught' as MTG disruptors tased and jailed Early Thursday, he wrote, "The ECB is expected to cut interest rates for the 7th time, and yet, 'Too Late' Jerome Powell of the Fed, who is always TOO LATE AND WRONG, yesterday issued a report which was another, and typical, complete 'mess!'" He then insisted that, "Oil prices are down, groceries (even eggs!) are down, and the USA is getting RICH ON TARIFFS. Too Late should have lowered Interest Rates, like the ECB, long ago, but he should certainly lower them now."Trump also added, "Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough!" You can see his post here.

Apr 17, 2025 - World

Nora Aunor, considered by many Filipinos as their country's greatest actor and singer, has died aged 71, the government and her family said Thursday.Proclaimed a "National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts" by the Philippines in 2022, the once child snack vendor will be honoured with a state funeral."It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of Nora Aunor, our beloved mother, celebrated television and movie actress," her adopted daughter Lotlot de Leon announced Thursday on her Instagram page.The cause of death, which took place Wednesday, was not disclosed.Aunor starred in 170 films and got her first break when cast in 1967's "All Over the World", a typical teen comedy of the era.With a darker skin tone compared to the half-Caucasian actors that dominated local cinema at the time -- Aunor brought a relatability to audiences, earning her the nickname Ate guy, or big sister guy. She would become a sensation as part of a studio-manufactured "love team" with actor Tirso Cruz III. Together they were known as "Guy and Pip".Critical acclaim followed nearly a decade later with starring roles in the dramas "Tatlong Taong Walang Diyos" ("Three Years Without God") and "Minsa'y Isang Gamu-gamo" ("Once a Moth"), both released in 1976.- 'Splendid career' -Aunor also recorded hundreds of songs, including 1971's "Pearly Shells", said to be one of the Philippine's top-selling singles ever.On Thursday, President Ferdinand Marcos described her as "a gift to the Filipino nation", and the government's National Commission for Culture and the Arts said she would receive a state funeral.Aunor's daughter Leon later posted on Instagram that the funeral will take place on April 22 at the National Heroes Cemetery."Throughout her splendid career that spanned more than 50 years, she was our consummate actress, singer, and film producer," Marcos said."Her golden voice was a balm for all. Her genius was a gift to the Filipino nation."The fourth of five children from a family in the poverty-stricken Bicol region southeast of Manila, Aunor, born Nora Villamayor, helped the family make ends meet by selling cold water and snacks at a train station.Her grandmother taught her to sing, and at 14, she won a nationwide singing contest.She married Filipino actor Christopher de Leon in 1975, and the couple had one biological child and four adopted children before separating two decades later.Aunor later immigrated to the United States, and in 2005 was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport for drug possession. She underwent a court-directed drug diversion programme that kept her out of prison.She returned to Manila in 2011 to resume her acting and singing career.cgm/cwl/rsc© Agence France-Presse

Apr 17, 2025 - World

Findings from Tanzania’s Kilimanjaro region indicate traditional eating habits in rural Africa can boost the immune system and reduce inflammationPlantains, cassava and fermented banana drink should be added to global healthy eating guidelines alongside the olive oil, tomatoes and red wine of the Mediterranean diet, say researchers who found the traditional diet of people living in Tanzania’s Kilimanjaro region had a positive impact on the body’s immune system.Traditional foods enjoyed in rural villages also had a positive impact on markers of inflammation, the researchers found in a study published this month in the journal Nature Medicine. Continue reading...

Apr 17, 2025 - World

Russia remains a key arms supplier in South-east Asia, and Trump’s unstable leadership is providing more opportunities to make inroadsA defence industry report claiming that Russia requested a permanent base for its warplanes in Indonesia’s remote Papua region, right on Australia’s northern doorstep, sent Canberra into a tailspin. But in Indonesia, it was the frenzy whipped up in Australia’s tight election campaign that came as the real surprise.Foreign policy and defence experts are highly sceptical about the prospect that Jakarta would ever acquiesce to such a Russian request, and besides, it is hardly new. Moscow has sought permanent basing rights for its planes at Indonesia’s Biak airfield in Papua for almost half a century – and not once has it won approval. Continue reading...

Apr 16, 2025 - World

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg has the tools to proceed with criminal contempt charges against President Donald Trump's administration — and can also enforce a sentence if they are found guilty, a legal analyst said Wednesday.Slate senior writer Mark Joseph Stern addressed Boasberg's ruling regarding the government's response to his court order.The issue involved deportation flights to El Salvador that the judge ordered to turn around and return to the United States. The judge said at the time that the individuals deported did not have the due process to which they were entitled. They, however, landed in the Central American country, and the occupants were transferred to the infamous CECOT megaprison.In his 46-page opinion, Boasberg found that "probable cause exists to find the Government in criminal contempt."Writing about the matter, Stern explained that the only way out is that the government could "purge" the contempt by “asserting custody of the individuals” taken to the country without allowing them due process. ALSO READ: 'We know where this leads': How Trump’s crackdown puts Jewish people in peril"The Supreme Court unanimously agreed that migrants have a right to file these challenges, called habeas petitions, just last week," Stern pointed out. In a different case, a Maryland man was deported to El Salvador. The government acknowledges that doing so was its mistake. The government has said that they have no control over anyone once they arrive in El Salvador. "Boasberg is, in effect, calling the government’s bluff," wrote Stern. "He will forgo contempt proceedings if officials let CECOT detainees vindicate their rights. But by doing so, these officials will have to acknowledge that they do exercise constructive custody over these individuals. And this acknowledgment would puncture the fiction that they have no practical authority to bring Kilmar Ábrego García, or anyone else, back from El Salvador."If the Justice Department refuses the offer, Stern said that Boasberg will "'proceed to identify the individual(s) responsible' for defying his orders, through 'live witness testimony' if necessary."MSNBC legal analysts Lisa Rubin and Barbara McQuade said on Wednesday that there is precedent for a judge appointing an attorney to prosecute the government if the Justice Department refuses to do so. "If Boasberg orders the defendants arrested and jailed, federal marshals are responsible for carrying out the task," wrote Stern. He cited a recent report from Democracy Docket saying, "If the Justice Department instructs marshals to stand down, Boasberg can appoint other law enforcement officers, including state police, to seize and detain the federal officials who defied him."The U.S. Supreme Court could intervene, however. "Simply as a matter of preserving the judiciary’s independence, the justices should back him up and decline to condone such brazen defiance of judicial authority," Stern asserted. "But this Supreme Court keeps dodging conflicts with Trump at the expense of its own power."Another possibility, he said, is that Trump could pardon anyone accused of criminal contempt, even preemptively. Read the full report here.