World news

Subterms

    More stories

    • 138 Shares169 Views

      in US Politics

      Questions dog Trump pick for Middle East adviser with inconsistent résumé

      by

      President-elect Donald Trump’s appointee to advise him on Middle East affairs, Massad Boulos, is reported to have significant discrepancies between his public profile and documented business background, casting doubt on the thoroughness of the former president’s vetting process.Corporate records reviewed by the New York Times reveal that Boulos, father-in-law to Tiffany Trump, is frequently described as a billionaire mogul, but actually manages a truck dealership in Nigeria that generated less than $66,000 in profit last year. The company, SCOA Nigeria PLC, is valued at approximately $865,000, with Boulos’s personal stake worth just $1.53, according to the securities filings in the Times report.The advisory position, which does not require Senate confirmation, follows Boulos’s prominent role in Trump’s 2024 campaign outreach to Arab American voters, particularly in key swing states like Michigan. Boulos positioned himself as a critical intermediary, helping Trump navigate complex political sentiments within Arab American communities – and doing Arab-language interviews with media in the region.While Boulos has been active in Arab American political circles, his murky business background and lack of diplomatic and policy expertise raises questions about the depth of the vetting process conducted by Trump’s team – who were also said to be caught-off guard by accusations against Pentagon nominee Pete Hegseth.During the campaign, Boulos pounded the pavement in Michigan to tout Trump’s foreign policy record, claiming he was “the only president in modern US history who did not start any wars”, despite Trump resupplying Saudi Arabia with an arms package, including precision bombs and munitions, for its brutal war in Yemen.Boulos’s political connections are multifaceted. He’s reported to maintain relationships with various Lebanese political figures, including Christian politician Sleiman Frangieh, an ally of Hezbollah whom the militant group endorsed for president.Boulos’s own background includes a failed parliamentary run in Lebanon in 2009. It was his son Michael’s marriage to Tiffany in Mar-a-Lago in 2022 that significantly elevated the family’s political profile.A May meeting with dozens of Arab American leaders in Michigan highlighted the challenges of Boulos’s political positioning. The gathering, which included Trump adviser Richard Grenell, reportedly became tense when Grenell repeated controversial comments about removing Palestinians from Gaza’s “waterfront property”, causing frustration among attendees.Trump announced the appointment on Truth Social in early December, describing Boulos as “a skilled negotiator and a steadfast advocate for PEACE in the Middle East”.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionIf appointed, Boulos would inherit a Middle East in profound crisis, with Israel’s destructive and more than year-long war in Gaza leading to at least 45,000 dead Palestinians and international arrest warrants for the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, former defense minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas leader Mohammed Deif. The portfolio also includes a new era for Syria as rebels toppled longtime autocrat Bashar al-Assad and war-torn Lebanon with ongoing strikes between Hezbollah and Israel.The appointment also follows a pattern of Trump selecting family-connected individuals for key positions, with Boulos joining Ivanka Trump’s father-in-law, Charles Kushner, who was named as the potential US ambassador to France. More

    • 163 Shares199 Views

      in US Politics

      Ontario leader threatens to halt energy exports to US if Trump imposes tariffs

      by

      The leader of Canada’s largest province says he’s prepared to halt energy exports to the United States, warning that other premiers “need to be ready to fight” as threats escalate ahead of possible American tariffs.The Ontario premier, Doug Ford, says he’s weighing options to fight back against a 25% levy on all Canadian goods that the US president-elect Donald Trump has pledged to implement when he assumes office.Following a meeting with the nation’s premiers and the prime minister, Justin Trudeau, Ford said other leaders were also drawing up lists of exports that could be halted.“But we will go to the full extent, depending how far this goes, we will go to the extent of cutting off their energy, going down to Michigan, going down to New York state and over to Wisconsin,” said Ford. “I don’t want this to happen, but my number one job is to protect Ontario, Ontarians and Canadians as a whole.”Canada’s most populous province is also among the most vulnerable to American tariffs because roughly 85% of its exports – including billions in automotive parts – are sent to a handful of US states. As a result, Ford has emerged as the Canadian politician most vocal about the devastating effects the tariffs would have on hundreds of billions of shared trade.“We need to be ready. We need to be ready to fight,” said Ford. “This fight is coming 100% on January 20 or January 21.”Ford’s threat aims to highlight both the integrated nature of North American economies and also to put pressure on state governors. But is unclear how much Ford could follow through on his pledge to cut electricity exports, given that premiers do not make international energy policy.Canada supplies roughly 60% of all American oil imports and even more of its electricity imports. In 2022, Canada’s revenue from electricity exports to the United States hit a record high of C$5.8bn. Quebec is the largest exporter, with Ontario following second at 13.9m megawatt-hours of power sent south.“We will use every tool in our tool box to fight back,” said Ford. “We can’t sit back and roll over. We just won’t as a country. And isn’t this a shame, our closest friends and allies.”Trump threatened last month to apply the devastating levies of 25% on all goods and services from both Mexico and Canada, vowing to keep them in place until “such time as drugs, in particular fentanyl, and all illegal aliens stop this invasion of our country!”Last week, Trump seemed to take joy in the panicked response from Canadian officials, calling Trudeau Canada’s “governor” of a potential “51st” state. More

    • 138 Shares169 Views

      in US Politics

      Trump to attend Notre Dame reopening as Macron weathers political storm

      by

      The restored Gothic spire of Notre Dame is to provide a dramatic backdrop for Donald Trump’s return to the geopolitical stage this weekend, as the US president-elect prepares to make his first visit to Europe since the election to mingle with world leaders at an official reopening ceremony in Paris on Saturday.The medieval cathedral, which was ravaged by a fire in 2019, has been reconstructed in a painstaking €700m (£580m) effort that took just five years, involving the application of carpentry methods dating to the 13th century and enabled with donations from 150 countries.Festivities will stretch over two days, starting with an address by the beleaguered French president, Emmanuel Macron.Speaking before Saturday’s opening ceremony, Macron said: “The shock of the reopening will – I believe and I want to believe – be as strong as that of the fire, but it will be a shock of hope.”Macron had initially been expected to deliver the speech on the limestone forecourt outside the cathedral followed by a liturgical ceremony inside but late on Friday, Macron’s office and the Diocese of Paris said heavy winds would force the celebrations to be held entirely inside.The archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich, will strike the 850-year-old edifice’s heavy door with his crosier, accompanied by the singing of Psalm 121, to symbolise the cathedral’s reawakening. The service continues with the “awakening of the great organ”, which has not been heard since the fire, a solemn blessing and the singing of the Te Deum.On Sunday, which marks the annual feast of the Immaculate Conception, the archbishop will hold an inaugural mass that Notre Dame’s rector said would be attended by people in need: “the poorest among Parisians”. The new main altar will be consecrated in a special ritual and the relics of five saints, including Saint Catherine Labouré and Saint Charles de Foucauld, will be sealed into the altar.But for Macron, what should be a moment of triumph comes at a time of spiralling national crisis, just days after his prime minister was turfed out in a no-confidence vote and amid fears of a looming budgetary crisis.Compounding Macron’s misery, the European Commission on Friday finalised a long-delayed trade deal between the EU and South America’s Mercosur bloc that France says poses an “unacceptable” existential threat to its own farming industry.Soon after the office of Ursula von der Leyen, the commission’s president, said she was not planning to participate in Saturday’s opening ceremony, where approximately 50 world leaders, including the outgoing US president, Joe Biden, and his wife, Jill are expected. Pope Francis will also not be in attendance, having announced in September to some surprise that he would be making a historic visit to the French island of Corsica instead. Prince William will represent the UK.Trump’s attendance may also prompt a visit to the ceremony from Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is keen to enter a dialogue with the US leader over the future of his war-torn country. In the run-up to the US election, Trump promised he would be able to settle the conflict “within 24 hours” of taking office.The Republican was serving his first term as president when a fire erupted at Notre Dame on 15 April 2019. He commented on X, then known as Twitter: “So horrible to watch the massive fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Perhaps flying water tankers could be used to put it out?”Macron had an ambivalent relationship with Trump during the latter’s first term in office, with the French president initially setting out to woo and flatter his American equivalent in spite of their apparent political differences. He invited the US’s 45th president to the Bastille Day parade on the Champs-Élysées, leading Trump to hail him as “one of your great presidents”.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionBut the cordiality began to unravel in 2018, as Trump attacked Macron over plans to build up a European army, in spite of the fact that his own declared intention to withdraw defence commitments in Europe had triggered them. On the campaign trail this year, Trump mocked the French president’s accent as he recounted one of their meetings.After the US elections in November, Macron was one of the first global leaders to congratulate Trump, saying he was “ready to work together”.Announcing his visit on the Truth Social network on Monday, Trump lauded the French leader in uncharacteristically positive tones: “President Emmanuel Macron has ensured Notre Dame is restored to its highest glory – and even beyond,” he said. “It will be a very special day for all!”The Notre Dame fire was watched on live TV by millions of viewers around the world, who looked on as flames tore through the building, destroying most of the wood and metal roof and the spire. The precise cause of the blaze was never established but investigators believed it to be accidental, started by either a discarded cigarette or a short circuit in the electrical system.In a televised tour of the renovated interior on 29 November, Macron promised: “The shock of the reopening will be as great as that of the fire, but it will be a shock of hope.” He thanked the craftspeople and donors who contributed to the restoration effort for healing a “national wound”.Before the fire, about 12 million people a year visited Notre Dame. Visitor numbers are expected to be higher after the reopening. While entry to the cathedral will remain free, visitors will need to book a dedicated time slot through an online ticketing system. More

    • 125 Shares149 Views

      in US Politics

      Ocasio-Cortez bids to become top Democrat on key House committee

      by

      Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez formally launched her bid to become the lead Democrat on the House oversight committee, setting up a race against the veteran representative Gerry Connolly for a crucial minority leadership position.The 35-year-old New York congresswoman’s announcement comes as Democrats are reshaping their committee leadership, with the oversight committee set to play a critical role in challenging potential actions during the next second Trump administration.In an official appeal to her colleagues, Ocasio-Cortez wrote that the role carries “a profound and consequential” responsibility. She argues that her generation of lawmakers is ready to take on leadership responsibilities, positioning herself as a fresh alternative to more established party members.Connolly, a 74-year-old longtime representative from Virginia, is Ocasio-Cortez’s primary challenger and represents the experienced counterpoint. With 16 years in Congress and touting a track record of protecting federal employees, he offers a more traditional approach to the committee leadership.The competition reflects broader dynamics within the Democratic party – a tension between political veterans and energetic progressive voices seeking to take the reins on political strategy.The contest will be decided by the Democratic caucus’s steering and policy committee through a secret ballot, followed by a full caucus vote. Outgoing oversight committee ranking member Jamie Raskin is staying neutral in the race.The oversight committee remains a powerful platform, even from the minority position. It is meant to examine government operations, and its jurisdiction spans a wide range of issues including potential government waste and corruption and investigating federal agencies and presidential administrations.While Democrats cannot control subpoenas or hearing agendas during the next session, the ranking member can still influence public discourse and push back against the Republican legislative agenda. The final decision is expected in the coming weeks. More

    • 138 Shares169 Views

      in US Politics

      Trump pick a threat to US military’s counter-extremism effort, experts warn

      by

      Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s embattled choice for secretary of defense, will struggle to handle the serious problem of extremism in the US military due to his own far-right political views, experts in the subject have warned.“I think it’s going to be an absolute disaster,” said Kristofer Goldsmith, an Iraq war veteran and the CEO of nonprofit watchdog Task Force Butler. “Pete Hegseth is a domestic extremist.”One of president Joe Biden’s earliest policy initiatives was tackling extremism among government workers, including soldiers in the military.Fresh off January 6, when scores of active duty or former US servicemen were caught participating in trying to overthrow the Capitol, current secretary of defense Loyd Austin issued a historic “stand-down order” in February 2021, demanding all servicemen in every branch of the military reflect on the issue of extremism.Not long after that, the DoD rolled out expanded guidelines, a broad definition of extremism and extremist activities while in uniform, policing of soldiers’ social media accounts and new recruitment requirements. But Republicans, clearly sensing a campaign issue, began attacking the Pentagon’s working group and criticizing its counter-extremism activities as a recruitment killer.“They gave it a good start, but the lack of backing for many efforts, and the failure to support the extremism working group left the effort rather bereft,” said Heidi Beirich, the co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism (GPAHE). “Just as the insurrection was downplayed by Republicans, so too has extremism in the military.”Though the Biden administration made some of the first real attempts at addressing the issue, it didn’t go far enough, says Beirich, particularly as Trump is set to take back control of the government in January and will decide if any of those initiatives live on.“Also a new screening database for tattoos was created, some tightening up of clearances, and some more investigative clarity, but a more fulsome effort should have been on the table,” she said. “Of course, Republicans are far more to blame as they politicized the whole process, made light of the problem and claimed efforts to root out extremists were giving the military a bad name.”As for Hegseth, there has been public speculation about some of his tattoos of crosses and medieval imagery and whether they would disqualify him from recruitment today.Hegseth, an Iraq and Afghan war veteran, was barred from attending Joe Biden’s 2021 inauguration after a fellow national guardsman accused him of being an “insider threat” and an extremist with problematic tattoos.Goldsmith continued: “I know that there’s been a lot of attention on his crusader tattoos. There hasn’t been enough attention on his actual books. He wrote a book that is titled American Crusade. The guy has tattoos … However, the bigotry and the hatred that he put in black and white, that is more important.”Hegseth’s 2020 book is replete with conspiracy theories and anti-Muslim rhetoric. His 2024 book, The War on Warriors, he also directly scorns the “woke” American generals pursuing counter extremism policies.“He’s made it clear he doesn’t care about this issue,” said Beirich. “I think we can assume whatever efforts that are happening are about to end. And that, to me, should be disqualifying for the position.”The problem with extremism in the American military and its veteran community dates as far back as the civil war. Following the end of the bloodiest conflict in US history, the Ku Klux Klan was founded and headed by Confederate veterans, while hundreds if not thousands joined in its earliest surges of racist violence during Reconstruction. After the world wars, the Klan targeted the recruitment of thousands of veterans, revitalizing their political significance in both eras.Historians have also well shown that stateside extremism, which includes white nationalism and neo-Nazism, booms after every major US war.For example, Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh was a soldier who served in Operation Desert Storm in the Gulf war before he planned his attack with conspirators who were also fellow veterans he had met during his service.In the contemporary era, neo-Nazis in groups like the Base and the now-disbanded Atomwaffen Division had members who had links to the US military. Both groups specifically sought out veterans and active duty servicemen for their combat and weapons training. Likewise, recent University of Maryland data found that at least 480 people with military service backgrounds were accused of extremist links between 2017 and 2023, which includes 230 people involved in the January 6 attacks.If successfully nominated, how Hegseth plans to prevent recruits with extremist backgrounds from joining up, has yet to be seen.Instead, Goldsmith forecasts Hegseth will be settling scores with whoever the former Fox News host sees as his political enemies.“If and when extremism is addressed by the department of defense under the Trump administration,” said Goldsmith, “I do think that they will take efforts to root out these imaginary communists that I’ve never fucking met in my life, and antifascists like myself.”Hegseth has long claimed he could easily address the Pentagon’s major recruitment shortfalls in recent years, but still advocates for halting the integration of women and transgender soldiers who are currently serving.“Trump wants to kick out everyone who’s trans,” said Goldsmith, “I think the number is 15,000, so if you overnight kick out 15,000 active duty troops just because of their gender identity, you’ve got an even bigger shortfall.“I think they are going to put ideology before national security.” More

    • 163 Shares199 Views

      in US Politics

      Trump’s cabinet picks aren’t just ‘loyalists’. They’re groveling, subservient yes-men | Robert Reich

      by

      The media has it all wrong about Trump’s picks for his administration. The conventional view is they’re “Trump loyalists” whom Trump “recruited”.Rubbish.First, they’re not loyalists; they’re subservient hacks.There’s a crucial difference.All politicians want their underlings to be loyal, but Trump wants them to be more loyal to him than to the nation, and he demands total subservience without regard to right or wrong.For the FBI, Trump has picked Kash Patel, who has pledged to prosecute Trump’s political opponents and “come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens who helped Joe Biden rig the presidential election”.Trump’s selection for attorney general, Pam Bondi, has said that when Trump returns to power, “the prosecutors will be prosecuted”.Moreover, Trump didn’t recruit these people or anybody else. They recruited him.Every one of his nominees campaigned for these jobs by engaging in conspicuous displays of submission and flattery directed toward Trump.Elise Stefanik, whom Trump has nominated to be US ambassador to the United Nations, repeatedly boasted that she was the first lawmaker to endorse Trump’s re-election bid.Before Trump tapped Kristi Noem to head the Department of Homeland Security, she sent him a 4ft replica of Mount Rushmore with Trump’s face next to those of Washington, Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Lincoln.Mike Waltz, whom Trump has picked for national security adviser, supported a move in Congress to rename Washington Dulles international airport the “Donald J Trump international airport”.Lee Zeldin, whom Trump has picked for EPA administrator, said publicly that the criminal prosecutions of Trump were akin to Putin’s persecution of the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.Stephen Miller, who will be a Trump White House adviser, said during a Fox News interview that Trump is the “most stylish president” in our lifetimes. “Donald Trump is a style icon!”Ten of Trump’s picks so far were Fox News hosts or contributors who repeatedly mouthed Trump’s lies about the 2020 election being stolen, about January 6 being a “peaceful protest” and about Biden being the force behind Trump’s prosecutions.Some of Trump’s picks showed up at his criminal trial in Manhattan, where they verbally attacked members of the presiding judge’s family on behalf of Trump, who was under a rule of silence.Some picks appeared at his campaign rallies, expanding on Trump’s lies and lavishing him with praise.Many made large donations to Trump’s campaign. Five of his picks so far are billionaires.All knew that Trump wanted people who would do whatever he asked of them. So they prostrated themselves to show their deference to him.All knew that Trump liked to be fawned over. So they debased themselves by giving him gushing compliments.They knew that Trump wanted people lacking an independent moral compass. So they went out of their way to demonstrate they have no integrity by retelling Trump’s lies in public with even more verve and intensity than he displayed when telling them.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionTime and again they have performed acts of cringeworthy subservience toward Trump, proving themselves reliable conduits for his scheming vindictiveness.This is a rare bunch. How many Americans would eagerly repeat to national audiences baldfaced lies spouted by an authoritarian – lies that undermine our democracy? How many Americans would publicly grovel before Trump, making it clear they’ll do whatever he asks of them regardless of consequence?To be a member of this unique group, one needs to be both colossally ambitious and profoundly insecure, willing to demean oneself to gain Trump’s favor.Trump didn’t find these people; these people found Trump. And to get in his good graces, they saw to it that he noticed their servile deference, fawning adulation and total submission.But these people will also bring about Trump’s downfall, and possibly the downfall of America.That’s because one of the most important things a president needs is accurate and useful feedback. These are in short supply even in the best of administrations.People who work for a president are often reluctant to be bearers of bad news. Presidents are typically surrounded by yes-men and -women afraid to say anything that will ruffle powerful feathers.As a result, presidents can make huge mistakes – invading Iraq and Afghanistan, deregulating Wall Street and then bailing it out when its gambling gets out of hand, pardoning Richard Nixon, waging war in Vietnam.Trump’s toadies are even less likely to cross him. To the contrary, they’ll egg him on.The years ahead would be dangerous enough if Trump sought out unprincipled enablers.The coming years will be even more perilous because unprincipled enablers have sought out Trump.

      Robert Reich, a former US secretary of labor, is a professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley, and the author of Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few and The Common Good. His newest book, The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It, is out now. He is a Guardian US columnist. His newsletter is at robertreich.substack.com More

    • 138 Shares99 Views

      in US Politics

      Trump picks venture capitalist David Sacks as AI and crypto ‘czar’

      by

      Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he was nominating podcaster and former PayPal chief operating officer David Sacks to be his White House artificial intelligence and crypto czar, continuing a pattern of rewarding big donors with political power.Sacks, a venture capitalist and Silicon Valley insider, hosted big spenders at his San Francisco mansion in June to support the Trump campaign, with tickets ranging up to $300,000 a head. The event reportedly raked in more than $12m.A host of the popular podcast All-In, Sacks shares the mic with Chamath Palihapitiya, Jason Calacanis and David Friedberg in weekly episodes that focus on “all things economic, tech, political, social and poker”.He has also been closely linked with Elon Musk and helped to back his bid to acquire Twitter, the social media platform renamed X. The two tech titans reportedly joined together to push the president-elect to name JD Vance as his running mate.Trump clearly heeded the advice. And now he has welcomed Sacks into the federal government to offer guidance and leadership to bolster the crypto industry and artificial intelligence, “two areas critical to the future of American competitiveness”, according to Trump’s post.Along with this new position as an advisor, Trump has tapped Sacks to head his council of advisors for science and technology, an independent committee of experts historically charged with helping presidents make important decisions and developing evidence-based recommendations on policy.Their work affects a range of specialized areas, from energy and the environment to public health and national security.The committee is currently co-chaired by three esteemed scientists, including Dr Arati Prabhakar, an engineer and applied physicist and former director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology.Sacks will take on a specific set of priorities, according to Trump’s post, which did not delve into if science will play a part.“He will safeguard Free Speech online, and steer us away from Big Tech bias and censorship,” Trump continued. “He will work on a legal framework so the Crypto industry has the clarity it has been asking for, and can thrive in the US.”The Sacks announcement came among a slew of posts shared in the evening on Thursday as Trump named other allies of his to the incoming administration.David Perdue, a former Senator and long-time Maga loyalist who faced federal scrutiny over his stock trading while in office, was named as the ambassador to China – a key diplomatic role as Trump stokes trade tensions.Rodney S Scott, the former chief of the US Border Patrol and a border-wall advocate, was picked for US Customs and Border Protection commissioner. Caleb Vitello, who currently serves as assistant director of the Office of Firearms and Tactical Programs was selected as acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice).Former Border Patrol agent Brandon Judd was named ambassador to Chile. Ice special agent Tony Salisbury was chosen for deputy homeland security adviser. More

    • 138 Shares169 Views

      in US Politics

      Senior Biden aide commits to giving Ukraine avalanche of military assistance

      by

      The White House has gamed out a last-minute strategy to bolster Ukraine’s war position that involves an avalanche of military assistance and sweeping new sanctions against Russia, according to a background briefing from a National Security Council spokesperson.National security adviser Jake Sullivan met with the head of the office of the Ukrainian president Andriy Yermak for more than an hour on Thursday, committing to provide Ukraine with hundreds of thousands of additional artillery rounds, thousands of rockets and hundreds of armored vehicles by mid-January, according to the briefing shared with the Guardian.The US is also pledging to support Ukraine’s manpower challenge, offering to train new troops at sites outside Ukrainian territory. This comes alongside a nearly finalized $20bn in loans, which will be backed by profits from immobilized Russian sovereign assets.The United States is tying that to a number of new sanctions to come in the coming weeks, all with the intent of complicating Russia’s ability to sustain its war effort and boosting Ukraine’s bargaining power at the negotiation table that could lay the groundwork for a future settlement.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionThe White House’s latest move comes a little more than a month in advance of Donald Trump’s inauguration, when the US may unload an all-new strategy for a ceasefire altogether.According to a Reuters report, the president-elect’s team is quietly developing a peace proposal for Ukraine that would effectively sideline Nato membership and potentially cede significant territory to Russia, signaling a dramatic shift from current US policy. Trump, for his part, has often stated that he would end the Ukraine and Russia war within 24 hours.Still, Ukrainian officials, including Yermak and Ambassador Oksana Markarova, have been meeting with key figures in Trump’s transition team this week, including JD Vance, Florida representative and potential National security adviser Mike Waltz and Trump’s pick for Russia and Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg, in a bid to secure continued support.These meetings carry heightened urgency, particularly after House speaker Mike Johnson blocked a vote on $24bn in additional aid to Ukraine. The Pentagon has nonetheless committed to sending $725m in military assistance this week, the largest shipment since April. More