Author: Gulf News Week

NEW YORK (news agencies) — Just over three months ago, President Donald Trump unveiled his most sweeping volley of tariffs yet — holding up large charts from the White House Rose Garden to outline new import taxes that the U.S. would soon slap on goods from nearly every country in the world.But in line with much of Trump’s on-again, off-again trade policy playbook, the bulk of those “Liberation Day” levies were postponed just hours after they took effect in April. The 90-day suspension arrived in an apparent effort to quell global market panic and facilitate country-by-country negotiations. At that time,…

Minnesota Twins outfielder and Georgia native Byron Buxton was announced as the fourth participant in the Home Run Derby on Monday.The derby will take place next Monday, the night before the All-Star Game, at Truist Park in Atlanta.Buxton joins Nationals outfielder James Wood, Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. and Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh in the competition. Buxton, who has 20 homers this season, is from Baxley, Georgia, and was the second overall pick by the Twins in the 2012 draft.The 31-year-old Buxton becomes the eighth Twins hitter to take part in the derby. Justin Morneau won the event in 2008.New…

WASHINGTON (news agencies) — President Donald Trump is reshaping a student loan cancellation program into what some fear will become a tool for political retribution, taking aim at organizations that serve immigrants and transgender youth.Public Service Loan Forgiveness allows government employees, such as teachers and firefighters, plus many who work for nonprofits, to have their student loans canceled after they’ve made payments for 10 years. The Education Department is preparing an overhaul that would strip the benefit from organizations involved in “illegal activities,” with the final determination left up to the U.S. education secretary. A draft proposal released by the…

The move follows the lifting of sanctions on Damascus after the fall of the al-Assad government last year.The United States will revoke its designation of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) as a foreign terrorist organisation (FTO) as Washington softens its approach to post-war Syria following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government last year. The decision, which takes effect on Tuesday, comes as part of US President Donald Trump’s broader strategy to re-engage with Syria and support its reconstruction after more than a decade of devastating conflict. “This FTO revocation is an important step in fulfilling President Trump’s vision of a stable,…

WASHINGTON (news agencies) — Former federal officials and outside experts have warned for months that President Donald Trump’s deep staffing cuts to the National Weather Service could endanger lives. After torrential rains and flash flooding struck Friday in the Texas Hill Country, the weather service came under fire from local officials who criticized what they described as inadequate forecasts, though most in the Republican-controlled state stopped short of blaming Trump’s cuts. Democrats, meanwhile, wasted little time in linking the staff reductions to the disaster, which is being blamed for the deaths of at least 80 people, including more than two…

Now comes the U.S. national team’s version of “Survivor.”Having expanded his player pool during a CONCACAF Gold Cup that ended with a 2-1 loss to Mexico in Sunday’s final, coach Mauricio Pochettino has eight friendlies left from September through March to evaluate players to pick for the World Cup.“All the American players have the possibility,” Pochettino said. “We need analyze every single player, see the circumstances, the situations, performance, fitness level.”Following a CONCACAF Nations League flop with his A team in March, Pochettino had largely a B squad for the Gold Cup. Star Christian Pulisic wanted vacation time; Yunus Musah…

NEW YORK (news agencies) — A coalition of doctors groups and public health organizations sued the U.S. government on Monday over the decision to stop recommending COVID-19 vaccinations for most children and pregnant women.The American Academy of Pediatrics, American Public Health Association and four other groups — along with an unnamed pregnant doctor who works in a hospital — filed the lawsuit in federal court in Boston.U.S. health officials, following infectious disease experts’ guidance, previously urged annual COVID-19 shots for all Americans ages 6 months and older. But in late May, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced he was…

Arkady Renko now fumbles with his keys at the door as his Parkinson’s disease gradually grows worse.The legendary Russian detective has struggled to keep his declining health a secret, but the worsening symptoms have become impossible to hide. Still, Renko is determined to crack the case of a Russian defense official mysteriously murdered in his Moscow hotel room as Russia’s war on Ukraine rages.The murder takes place at the Hotel Ukraine, a well-known hotel in the heart of Moscow, one of the towering Stalin-era buildings known as the Seven Sisters.“Hotel Ukraine” is the 11th and last installment in the popular…

BISMARCK, N.D. (news agencies) — A federal appeals court won’t reconsider its decision in a redistricting case that went against two Native American tribes that challenged North Dakota’s legislative redistricting map, and the dispute could be headed for the U.S. Supreme Court.The case has drawn national interest because of a 2-1 ruling issued in May by a three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that erased a path through the federal Voting Rights Act for people in seven states to sue under a key provision of the landmark federal civil rights law. The tribes argued that the…

WASHINGTON (news agencies) — President Donald Trump on Monday placed a 25% tax on goods imported from Japan and South Korea, as well as new tariff rates on Malaysia, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Laos and Myanmar.Trump provided notice of the tariffs to begin on Aug. 1 by posting letters on Truth Social that were addressed to the leaders of the various countries. The letters warned them to not retaliate by increasing their own import taxes, or else the Trump administration would further increase tariffs.“If for any reason you decide to raise your Tariffs, then, whatever the number you choose to raise…