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A United States judge has struck down a policy introduced by the administration of President Donald Trump suspending the issuance of immigrant visas to applicants from 75 countries, saying the policy exceeded Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s statutory authority.   Judge Jeannette Vargas of Manhattan said in her ruling on Friday in the Southern District of New York that the policy was “patently unlawful” and conflicted with federal immigration law, which explicitly stripped the secretary of state of authority over consular officers’ adjudication of immigrant visas.  “The Policy, which categorically prohibits the issuance of immigrant visas based upon the nationality of the applicant, represents a direct abrogation of this statutory scheme,” she wrote.   Vargas, an appointee of Democratic former President Joe Biden, issued the ruling in a lawsuit filed by immigrant rights groups Catholic Legal Immigration Network and African Communities Together, along with app...

French president Emmanuel Macron is on Sunday hosting Saudi Arabia's crown prince and de facto ruler, Mohammed bin Salman, for a two-day visit whose agenda ranges from e-sports to the war in the Middle East.   Several agreements covering health, transport and energy are to be signed on Monday, the second day of the visit, according to an official at the French presidency, underscoring the strength of relations between Paris and Riyadh.  The leaders are expected to address the "major economic and strategic issues that underpin the Franco-Saudi partnership", the Élysée said, notably in energy, aerospace and defence.  According to the Élysée, the visit "reflects the vitality of the dialogue between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and France, and will help to strengthen the strategic partnership that binds our two countries.  To that end, the President of the Republic and the crown prince will for the first time hold a meeting of the Franco-Saudi Strategic Partnershi...

Mike Pence, who served as vice president in Donald Trump’s first administration, argued on the 23rd for the indirect deployment of South Korean-made interceptors to Ukraine, which faces Russian ballistic missile attacks, via the U.S. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently mentioned North Korea’s troop reinforcements and stated,  “We hope to receive support from South Korea in the field of air defense systems, where we are lacking,” adding,  “Although there are legal constraints, we expect such cooperation and diplomatic authorities are in contact.”   Pence, who is visiting Kyiv, Ukraine, appeared on CNN on the same day and said, “As winter approaches, Ukraine will face serious vulnerabilities.”  This pointed to the severity of the situation where Ukraine is not receiving sufficient interceptors due to the U.S. exhausting its air defense missile stockpiles amid the Iran situation.  However, when asked if Ukraine is suffering damage because the U...

Ariana Grande has once again criticized the Trump administration for using one of her songs in a social media post.  This time, the administration used 'We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)' as the soundtrack for a video shared on the Team Trump TikTok account on August 20.   The video showed the US president walking toward a podium, with text across the top of the clip reading: “Me and my truth we sit in silence… Men can’t have babies and should never compete in women’s sports.” The caption read, “This shouldn’t be controversial! #trump #arianagrande #maga.”  Grande then responded in the comment section, condemning the use of her 2024 hit:  “Never use my music again. Also, your truth is false.” The song has since been removed from the video. This is the second time in two months that Grande has pushed back against the administration for using one of her songs on social media.  In June, the White House used a version of her 2024 song 'Bye' in a TikTo...

 SEOUL, Aug 19 (Reuters) - North Korea's Kim Yo Jong, sister of ​leader Kim Jong Un, on Wednesday denied Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's ‌claim that Pyongyang plans to send up to 50,000 more troops to Russia to fight for its ally. Kim Yo Jong, a top official in North Korea's ruling ​party, said in a statement published by state media KCNA that ​Zelenskiy's estimate was "groundless" and "a self-staged incident." Zelenskiy made his claim in ⁠a post on X this month, and he called on South ​Korea to provide support for his country's air defences.  Kim Yo Jong said ​responsibility for the outbreak and for the prolongation of the Ukraine crisis lay entirely with the United States and the West. North Korea sent an estimated 14,000 soldiers to ​Russia's Kursk Region in 2024, under a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty agreed ​during Russian President Vladimir Putin's June 2024 visit to Pyongyang. She added that she wa...

Washington DC and Seoul, South Korea —    President Donald Trump announced Sunday that the United States would reduce military exercises with key regional ally South Korea, just hours before that were due to get underway, citing his positive relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Seoul’s lack of assistance with Iran. “Based on my very good relationship with Kim Jong Un, of North Korea, I am not happy with the fact that the United States has, long ago, agreed to participate in Joint Military Exercises with South Korea,” Trump wrote on Truth Social  “These exercises are not only costly, with much of these costs paid for by the United States of America (as usual!), but send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile, to a Country that, as long as Donald J. Trump has been President, has been unthreatening and respectful,” South Korea has been a close American ally for over 70 years and the two nations have a mutual defense treaty, primarily...

TOKYO/BEIJING — Typhoon Dolphin lashed Japan’s southern Okinawa prefecture on Saturday, injuring six people and cutting power to ⁠more than 50,000 buildings, while China shut ports and halted ferries ahead of the storm’s expected arrival on its east coast.  Five elderly people, three of whom fell due to strong winds, suffered non-life-threatening injuries in Okinawa while another person was injured in Kagoshima prefecture, authorities said.   Nearly 39,000 buildings were without power in Kagoshima while just over 12,000 were affected in ⁠Okinawa.  Domestic airlines, ANA and Japan Airlines, cancelled flights to and from ⁠Okinawa. The typhoon had maximum sustained winds of 162 kph (89.5 mph) with gusts reaching 216 kph. Okinawa and Amami island in Kagoshima prefecture are the main areas expected to be affected in ⁠Japan.   In China, where the typhoon is expected to make landfall between late Sunday and early Monday, authorities have designated ⁠Dolphin a...

London — In a glittering ballroom in central London, around 200 people in the energy industry gathered to discuss a proposition that, a mere eight months ago, seemed unthinkable:  investing in Venezuelan oil. “The time is now,” Greig Gilbert, chief executive of Apertura Energy, an investment firm, told the crowd on Thursday evening at The Langham hotel.  Gilbert’s company hopes to make big-ticket investments in Venezuela’s dilapidated oil sector. Apertura Energy changed its name and overhauled its strategy just months after the United States removed then-President Nicolás Maduro in January — laying the groundwork for foreign investors to move into an industry long dominated by a state-run oil company.   Apertura was among the flock of investors, trading houses, and oil and gas companies at the event. It was a taster for Venezuela Energy Week, a much bigger conference scheduled for October in Caracas.   But there are huge risks for firms attempting to ca...

In mid-July, fintech firm Stripe made an unsolicited $53 billion bid for PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL). That's good news for the crypto market overall, and potentially even better news for Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC). For much of the year, Bitcoin has been in a dismal tailspin, down 25% year to date. But after the $53 billion Stripe bid , Bitcoin perked up. It's now up more than 5% since news of the deal broke. And some analysts now think Bitcoin could be on the way to reaching $80,000 by the end of August. Crypto goes mainstream The big theme of the Stripe-PayPal deal is that digital currencies are suddenly going mainstream. The future of payments will now almost certainly include a mix of traditional cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, as well as dollar-pegged stablecoins . That's because Stripe and PayPal, in addition to being fintech giants, are both heavily involved in the stablecoin business. So Bitcoin's recent market gains can largely be chalked up to the fact ...

Infantino sends congratulatory message to Tapia In a surprising development, a private correspondence from Infantino to Argentine FA president Claudio Tapia has been made public. Despite the scenes of aggression that marred the conclusion of the tournament in New York - where the 2022 champions failed to manage a single shot on target in the final and turned their backs as Luis de la Fuente's side lifted the trophy - the FIFA chief chose to focus on the positive impact of the South American giants. The letter, which was first brought to light by media outlets in Argentina and subsequently verified by the Daily Mail ,  expressed gratitude for the nation's contribution to the tournament's atmosphere and success on the global stage. Infantino wrote: "Dear Mr. President, Yesterday, Sunday, July 19, 2026, at the magnificent New York New Jersey Stadium, Argentina won the silver medal of the FIFA World Cup 2026, after an exciting final against Spain. I would like ...

RABAT, July 24 (Reuters) - Morocco's economic growth is expected to slow to 4.2% in 2026, after ​growing 4.9% last year, the highest rate ‌in a decade, the World Bank said on Friday. Last year's growth was spurred by 2030 World ​Cup-linked infrastructure spending and a rebound ​in agricultural output, the bank said in ⁠a report. The government is investing more than ​190 billion dirhams ($20 billion) to build and expand ​rail, road, airports, stadiums and other urban infrastructure ahead of the 2030 tournament which it will co-host ​with Spain and Portugal. The 2026 forecast reflects ​a continued investment push and improving domestic demand, despite ‌higher ⁠energy costs resulting from the Middle East conflict, the Bank said. "Over the longer term, recurrent drought poses a continued risk to agricultural ​output and ​water-dependent sectors," ⁠it said. Morocco's growth also remains sensitive to the pace of economic ​recovery among its main European tr...

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says "everything is on the table depending on the outcome of the negotiations" as the country's trade dispute with the US heats up. Carney's comments come after he met his provincial and territorial counterparts on Thursday to discuss a response after the Trump administration announced new 50% tariffs on some C$20bn of Canadian imports. He said the trade talks with Washington are intensifying ahead of 19 August, when the new US tariffs will come into effect. Some provincial leaders have pushed for firmer action - and faster results - on trade negotiations by Ottawa. Carney said options included continuing to diversify trade away from the US and helping sectors most exposed to tariffs. In terms of a direct response, he said "there's a full range of things we can do in that regard" but did not elaborate on potential punitive measures. "We are going to support Canadian workers, families, businesses, full ...

A South African court has ruled in favour of President Cyril Ramaphosa's bid to temporarily halt a parliamentary inquiry looking into whether he should be impeached over what has been dubbed the "Farmgate" scandal. In 2022, an independent panel said Ramaphosa might have a case to answer after burglars stole huge sums of cash, hidden in a sofa, from his private farm. The president denied any wrongdoing. At the time MPs voted against establishing an impeachment inquiry, but in May the Constitutional Court ruled that parliament had acted unlawfully by shelving the panel's report. Ramaphosa is now challenging the findings of the panel in a separate court case to be heard in September. The Constitutional Court's ruling in May paved the way for parliament to revive the impeachment process. The make-up of parliament has radically changed over the last four years as Ramaphosa's African National Congress (ANC) party no longer holds a majority and governs as...

BEIJING, July 23 (Reuters) - China is seeking opinions from companies, business associations ​and local governments on proposed reciprocal tariff ‌cut arrangements with the United States on about $30 billion in trade, the Chinese commerce ministry said on Thursday. Teams ​from both sides have maintained close communication about ​the arrangements of the tariff reduction framework ⁠and the structure, functions and operating model of ​their  Board of Trade , a ministry official said at ​a press briefing. After reaching a trade truce late last year to halt their tariff war, China and the U.S. agreed ​this year to set up  the Board of ​Trade to explore areas where they could cut duties on ‌goods ⁠worth some $30 billion. China's commerce ministry had said in May that agricultural products  would be part of the tariff cut framework. "China is widely soliciting opinions from domestic ​enterprises, business ​associations, local ⁠governments, and U.S. busines...

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has called on the Federal Government to halt the importation of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), arguing that imported petrol now costs significantly more than locally refined products and is fuelling price instability in the downstream petroleum sector. The association said the continued issuance of petrol import licences by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) was undermining domestic refining, placing additional pressure on the naira and frustrating efforts to achieve stable fuel prices. Speaking with The PUNCH, IPMAN National Publicity Secretary, Chinedu Ukadike, said marketers were disappointed that imported petrol was selling for around ₦1,350 per litre, well above the prices offered by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, despite the policy being introduced to encourage competition. "Independent marketers have looked at the issues of price volatility, import licence...

The United States men's national team's performance at the 2026 World Cup was memorable for several reasons. Many will remember Mauricio Pochettino's team being torn apart by Belgium in the Round of 16 and breaking American hearts. However, they won more games (three) than at any other World Cup and won thousands of new soccer fans. Meanwhile, from Folarin Balogun  to Alex Freeman, several standout performers announced themselves on the global stage. But one USMNT  star has been rated the best midfielder at the tournament, ahead of Jude Bellingham and Rodri. Malik Tillman finished as the World Cup's highest-rated midfielder Malik Tillman was arguably the USMNT's best player at the World Cup , contributing two goals and one assist in five games. He scored a free-kick against Belgium to level the score at 1-1 that temporarily gave the USA team hope of a famous victory. Mobile sports app FotMob rated  Tillman's  performance at the World...

President Donald Trump continues to claim that the US will attack Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain – turning attention to the suspected underground nuclear site where Israel believes  Tehran has stored part of its enriched uranium stockpile and advanced enrichment centrifuges. “We’ll be hitting that area very probably pretty soon. And there’s not a thing they can do about it,” Trump  said on Tuesday .  In response, Tehran warned that that any US attack on Iranian nuclear facilities would be treated as an expansion of the war in the region, state media reported early Wednesday. Here’s what we know about Pickaxe Mountain. What is it? Pickaxe Mountain is a heavily fortified facility located deep underground in the center of the country, about a mile south of the Natanz uranium-enrichment facility previously bombed by the US and Israel – making it a difficult target for the US and Israel, and for any potential ground operation. The facility is buried at least 100 meters (3...