Author: Robert Jones

BANGKOK (AP) — Shares in Europe and Asia advanced Friday, shrugging off another decline on Wall Street, with markets in China gaining after state-run banks and other financial institutions were ordered to do more to help spur more consumer spending. Germany’s DAX rose 0.4% to 22,667.45, while the CAC 40 in Paris climbed 0.7% to 7,996.78. Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 0.4% at 8,577.97.U.S. stocks looked primed for gains, with the future for the S&P 500 up 0.7% while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.5% higher. In Asian trading, Hong Kong’s benchmark jumped 2.1% to 23,959.98, while…

CNN  —  Americans are skeptical that President Donald Trump’s approach to the war between Russia and Ukraine will bring peace to the region, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS. Most Americans view Trump’s handling of the conflict negatively, and 50% say his approach to the war is bad for the United States. US diplomats are currently working to persuade Russia to agree to a temporary ceasefire in the war that has dragged on for more than three years since Russia’s invasion. While the Biden administration strongly backed Ukraine and unambiguously blamed Russia for the conflict, Trump has…

Your support helps us to tell the storyFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The…

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer signaled Thursday that he is ready to move forward with a Republican-led government funding bill, despite deep divisions within his party over whether to impose limits on the Trump administration just hours before a possible government shutdown.On the Senate floor, Schumer said he would vote to advance the continuing resolution (CR) bill when it comes up for a vote on Friday, just hours before the midnight deadline. The Republican-backed government funding bill, recently passed by the House, proposes to fund federal operations through September 2025, thereby averting an immediate government shutdown.”I believe it is my…

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Two federal judges handed down orders requiring President Donald Trump’s administration to rehire thousands, if not tens of thousands, of probationary workers let go in mass firings across multiple agencies Thursday, slowing down for now the president’s dramatic downsizing of the federal government.Both judges separately found legal problems with the way the mass terminations were carried out and ordered the employees at least temporarily brought back on the job. The Trump administration has already appealed the first ruling. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt cast it as an attempt to encroach on the president’s power to…

Outgoing Prime Minister Mute Egede says ‘disrespect’ for Greenland must stop as US president again says he wants Arctic island.Greenland’s outgoing Prime Minister Mute Egede has called for a stronger rejection by local politicians of United States President Donald Trump’s promise to take over the strategically-located island, warning that “enough is enough”. “This time we need to toughen our rejection of Trump. People cannot continue to disrespect us,” Egede wrote on Facebook after Trump reiterated on Thursday his desire to annex the autonomous Danish territory. “The American president has once again evoked the idea of annexing us. I absolutely cannot…

Your support helps us to tell the storyFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The…

Columbia University announced on Thursday that it expelled or suspended some of the students who occupied a campus building last year in protest of Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.The Ivy League school in New York City also said it had temporarily revoked the diplomas of some students involved in the protests who have since graduated but did not provide additional information.The ContextColumbia’s announcement came amid widespread protests over the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a university graduate and pro-Palestinian activist, over the weekend.Khalil was initially held in New Jersey but has since been moved to Louisiana.What To KnowColumbia…

Federal agencies will begin to vacate hundreds of offices across the country this summer under a frenetic and error-riddled push by Elon Musk’s budget-cutting advisers to terminate leases that they say waste money.Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency maintains a list of canceled real estate leases on its website, but internal documents obtained by The Associated Press contain a crucial detail: when those cancellations are expected to take effect. The documents from inside the General Services Administration, the U.S. government’s real estate manager, list dozens of federal office and building leases expected to end by June 30, with hundreds more slated…

Officials say US military’s Southern Command exploring multiple options, from working with Panama to military action.The Pentagon is reportedly exploring military options for the Panama Canal to ensure ongoing US access to the strategically important waterway, following a request from the White House. The Reuters news agency reported on Thursday that a US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said a document, described as an interim national security guidance by the new Trump administration, called on US forces to look at military options to safeguard access to the Panama Canal. Responding to reports of possible US military action, Panama’s…