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Trump administration to restore Global Entry program as DHS shutdown impacts travel

The Trump administration said international travel program Global Entry would be restored on Wednesday morning, reopening a fast-track system that had been halted last month during an ongoing partial shutdown  of the Department of Homeland Security. “As DHS continually evaluates measures it can take amidst the Democrats’ continued shutdown of the department, DHS will be reactivating Global Entry on March 11th at 5:00 AM ET. We are working hard to alleviate the disruptions to travelers caused by the Democrats’ shutdown,” a DHS spokesperson told CNN in a statement. The move was presented as a step to mitigate airport disruptions with the funding standoff in its fourth week. On February 22, the department  announced that it would stop processing Global Entry travelers at participating airports after its funding lapsed on February 14, when lawmakers failed to reach agreement on a spending bill. At the time, then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said personnel wo...

Abramovich's lawyers say he will fight any UK attempt to seize Chelsea sale money

LONDON, March 9 (Reuters) - Lawyers for Russian businessman Roman Abramovich warned the British government on ‌Monday that he would fight any attempt to seize the 2.5 billion pounds ($3.34 billion) from the sale of Chelsea soccer club,  saying the money belongs to him. The British government sanctioned Abramovich in a crackdown on ​Russian oligarchs following Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, triggering a rushed sale of ​the Premier League club in 2022. Almost four years later, the money remains ⁠frozen in a British bank account because of a dispute over how the money ​would be used. The British government warned Abramovich  last year he must release the cash, or ​he could be taken to court. Abramovich's lawyers at Kobre & Kim said the money from the sale remains "wholly owned" by their client and accused the government of "politically charged and highly publicised statements" on him. They said ​Abramovich remains fully committed to us...

Trump will welcome Iran at World Cup - Infantino

US President Donald Trump has said Iran are "welcome" to take part in this summer's World Cup despite the countries being at war, according to Fifa president Gianni Infantino. Posting on Instagram, Infantino said he met with Trump on Tuesday to discuss preparations for the tournament, which is being hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico and gets under way on 11 June. Infantino said he and Trump "spoke about the current situation in Iran". Iran are scheduled to play three matches in the US, but their participation has been in doubt since the US and Israel launched strikes on the country this month, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran responded by launching missiles and drones towards Israel and four Gulf Arab countries which host US military bases - Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. "During the discussions, President Trump reiterated that the Iranian team is, of course, welcome to compete in the tournament in the ...

Mixed messages from Trump leave more questions than answers over war's end

President Donald Trump and his administration have so far offered mixed messages and contradictory explanations on the joint US-Israeli military campaign against Iran. And Monday - the 10th day of an operation that has rattled allies and shaken markets - typified this confusion around the war's timeline and ultimate goals. After a tumultuous morning during which US shares indices dropped and oil prices surged, the American president began speed-dialling reporters in an apparent effort to soothe nerves. His comments, however, were lacking in clarity even when he was pushed for more detail. "I have a plan for everything, OK?" he told a reporter from the New York Post when asked about spiking oil prices. "I have a plan for everything. You'll be very happy." To CBS News, he said the war "is very complete, pretty much". "We're very far ahead of schedule," he added. When asked whether the operation could therefore end soon, Trum...

Woman charged with attempted murder after shots fired at Rihanna’s LA home

A woman has been arrested and charged with attempted murder after allegedly firing a gun toward singer Rihanna’s home in Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon, police say. The Los Angeles Police Department told CNN that the shooting incident happened at 1:20 p.m. PT on Sunday. Between five and seven shots were fired, hitting the outside gate to the house but not the house itself, according to the LAPD There were no injuries, although there were people in the house at the time of the incident, police said. A woman in her 30s was “located and taken into custody without further incident,” police added. On Monday, a spokesperson for the LAPD said the suspect, Ivanna Lisette Ortiz, was charged with attempted murder. She is being held on a $10.2 million bail. CNN has reached out to representatives for Rihanna and her partner A$AP Rocky. The best-selling artist and entrepreneur had her third child   just last September, having revealed the pregnancy  at last Ma...

Exclusive: Iran is ready for a long war with the US and only economic pain will end it, senior official tells CNN

Tehran  – A top Iranian official has warned that the government is prepared for a long war with the US and signaled that it is willing to continue attacking Gulf countries in an effort to persuade them to convince President Donald Trump to step back from  the conflict. The warning came in an exclusive CNN interview in Tehran with Kamal Kharazi, foreign policy adviser to the office of the Supreme Leader, who ruled out diplomacy for now and said the war would only end through economic pain – signaling a hardening of the government’s stance on day 10 of the conflict.   “I don’t see any room for diplomacy anymore. Because Donald Trump had been deceiving others and not keeping with his promises, and we experienced this in two times of negotiations – that while we were engaged in negotiation, they struck us,” Kharazi told CNN on Monday. “There’s no room unless the economic pressure would be built up to the extent that other countries would intervene to guarantee (th...

Camila Cabello Speaks Out Against ‘Oppressive Regime’ in Cuba: ‘People Are Starving’

Camila Cabello  is using her platform to raise awareness for her home country of Cuba .  In a Friday (Feb. 20) post on Instagram , the Fifth Harmony alum shared photos of herself as a young girl living in the Caribbean nation alongside present-day pictures of Cuban citizens protesting conditions under the current government. “There is so much going on here at home and so much I can say about the heartbreaking things the immigrant community is experiencing here in the US,” she wrote. “I also feel a personal responsibility to speak about what’s happening in Cuba, I still have family on the island that we speak to and send medicine, food and clothes to.” “It has been 67 years of a failing dictatorship and an oppressive regime,” Cabello continued. “The Cuban people are suffering in an echo chamber where no one can hear them because to speak is to risk your life. Many people are starving, looking for food in trash heaps, and the only way to survive is having relati...

Trump fires Noem as frustrations build among White House officials, GOP lawmakers

President Donald Trump said Thursday on social media  he was firing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and would name Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin to replace her. Trump thanked Noem for her service, saying in his Truth Social post she “has had numerous and spectacular results (especially on the Border!)” and that she “will be moving to be Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere.” He said Mullin would take over the position March 31. Trump loves watching Mullin on TV, aides said, which played a role in the president’s decision to tap him for the position. Trump has called Mullin following combative interviews to praise him and White House staffers have often dispatched the senator to do cable news hits around big moments for the administration. Noem thanked the president in a social media post shortly after the announcement. “The western hemisphere is absolutely critical for U.S. s...

Australia, Canada sign new deals on critical minerals

SYDNEY, March 5 (Reuters) - Australia and Canada said on Thursday they had signed new agreements ‌on critical minerals as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney made a landmark address to the Australian parliament, a sign of the developing bond between the "middle powers". Carney is on a multi-leg trip across the Asia-Pacific region also taking in Japan and India. His ​stop in Australia included the first address to Australia's parliament by a Canadian leader since 2007. "In ​a world of great power rivalry, middle powers have a choice: compete for favour ⁠or combine for strength," he told lawmakers. Introducing Carney in parliament, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his address ​represented the closeness of the ties between the two nations. "Australia and Canada are middle powers in a world ​that is changing. We cannot change it back, but we can back ourselves, back our citizens, and back each other," he said. G7 ALLIANCE Albanes...

US asked Ukraine for help fighting Iranian drones, Zelensky says

The US has asked Ukraine for help defending Gulf allies against Iranian drones, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky. He said Ukraine's partners had been reaching out and there had been "requests from the American side". Zelensky said he had given instructions "to provide the necessary means and ensure the presence of Ukrainian specialists who can guarantee the necessary security". Asked about the Ukrainian offer, US President Donald Trump said: "I'll take any assistance from any country." Earlier Zelensky had made clear Ukraine would help on condition that its own defence was not weakened and that there were diplomatic gains for Kyiv. He suggested, in particular, that Ukraine would be willing to swap its interceptor drones for more US Patriot air defences to protect against Russian ballistic missiles. The war in the Middle East has raised fears Ukraine could suffer if its allies are distracted by the conflict. There have also been...

Global order is 'breaking down', Carney tells Australian parliament

With the post-war "global architecture breaking down from consecutive crises" Australia and Canada should work together as "strategic cousins", Mark Carney has told the Australian parliament. The question for middle powers was whether they would write the new rules that determine security and prosperity or "let the hegemons dictate outcomes", the Canadian prime minister said. Carney said the two countries should co-operate further to boost sovereign capabilities including in the areas of critical minerals, defence and AI. The speech echoed previous statements, including a speech in Davos in January in which he said the "old order is not coming back" and urged middle powers to band together. Many countries were deciding to increase their sovereign autonomy, Carney said on Thursday, the first time a Canadian prime minister has addressed parliament in Canberra in almost 20 years. "This impulse is understandable when the rules no lon...

Mexican authorities meet FIFA to review World Cup security

MEXICO CITY -- FIFA representatives met with Mexican authorities on Wednesday to assess security for the World Cup  matches to be played in  Mexico .  Concerns arose following violent incidents last week in several Mexican states after a military operation led to the capture and death of drug lord Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias "El Mencho," leader of the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel. "We reviewed the intelligence, prevention, and operational deployment protocols that will be implemented during this international event," Federal Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch said on his social media accounts. Mexico, the  United States  and  Canada  are co-hosting the World Cup. Mexico is scheduled to host 13 matches, distributed among three cities: Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey. The tournament's opening match -- Mexico vs. South Africa  -- will be played June 11 at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City. The iconic Mexican v...

Developing Story ~ Trump's war on Iran: Shifting stories and unanswered questions

In the lead up to the 28 February strikes on Iran, President Donald Trump and his administration signalled that an attack was imminent. Since then, the president and his top officials have offered varying explanations for its actions in the war with Iran. The BBC's Analysis Editor Ros Atkins takes an in-depth look at how the Trump administration's narrative on the war with Iran has shifted, and the key questions that remain unanswered.