Israeli intensifies Gaza bombardment as Trump visits region

Israeli intensifies Gaza bombardment as Trump visits region

By Nidal al-Mughrabi CAIRO (Reuters) - Israeli military strikes killed at least 50 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, local health authorities said, in a significant escalation of the bombardment as U.S. President Donald Trump continued his visit to the Middle East. Medics said most of the dead, including women and children, resulted from a barrage of Israeli airstrikes that targeted several houses in the Jabalia area in northern Gaza. The Israeli military had no immediate comment and said it was trying to verify the reports. Israeli press reports on Wednesday cited security officials as saying they believed Hamas military leader Mohammad Sinwar and other senior officials had been killed in a strike on Tuesday on what the Israeli military described as a command and control bunker under the European Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis. There was no confirmation either from the Israeli military or Hamas. On Wednesday, witnesses and medics said an Israeli airstrike hit a bulldozer that approached the area of the strike at the European Hospital, wounding several people. Late on Tuesday, Islamic Jihad, an Iranian-backed militant group in Gaza allied with Hamas, fired rockets towards Israel. Shortly before the Israeli strikes began in response, the military issued evacuation orders to residents in the area of Jabalia and nearby Beit Lahiya. The Israeli escalation came against Palestinian hopes that the Trump visit might provide pressure for a deescalation of violence. Hamas on Monday released Edan Alexander, the last known living American hostage, ahead of Trump's trip. Speaking in Riyadh on Tuesday, Trump said more hostages would follow Alexander and added that the people of Gaza deserved a better future. Efforts to agree a ceasefire have faltered in recent weeks, with Hamas and Israel exchanging blame. Hamas talked to the United States and Egyptian and Qatari mediators to arrange the release of Alexander, and Israel has sent a team to Doha to begin a new round of talks. On Tuesday, Trump's special envoys Steve Witkoff and Adam Boehler met hostage families in Tel Aviv and said they could now see a better chance of an agreement for their release following the deal over Alexander. The U.S. has also presented a plan to reopen humanitarian aid deliveries in Gaza using private contractors. Israel, which imposed a total blockade of supplies going into Gaza from March 2, has endorsed the plan. But it has been rejected by the United Nations and international aid agencies and key details, including funding and donors, remain unclear. Israel began its invasion of Gaza in retaliation for the Hamas-led attack on communities in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, that killed around 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies, and saw 251 taken as hostages into Gaza. The Israeli campaign has killed more than 52,900 Palestinians, according to local health officials, and devastated the small coastal enclave. Its population of around 2.3 million people is on the brink of famine, according to aid groups and international agencies. (Reporting and writing by Nidal al-Mughrabi; Editing by Aidan Lewis)

byRicky Wilson

in

May 14, 2025

Israeli intensifies Gaza bombardment as Trump visits region

Israeli intensifies Gaza bombardment as Trump visits region By Nidal al-Mughrabi CAIRO (Reuters) - Israeli military strikes killed at least...

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Indian billionaire Ambani to meet Trump, Qatar emir in Doha, sources say

Indian billionaire Ambani to meet Trump, Qatar emir in Doha, sources say

By Sarita Chaganti Singh and Aditya Kalra NEW DELHI (Reuters) -Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani will meet U.S. President Donald Trump and the emir of Qatar in Doha on Wednesday, two sources told Reuters, as his company Reliance Industries looks to foster ties with authorities in both nations. Qatar's sovereign wealth fund, QIA, has invested in Reliance businesses over the years, and Ambani, who is Asia's richest man, has many business partnerships with the likes of U.S. tech giants such as Google and Meta. Ambani will attend a state dinner for Trump at the Lusail Palace in Doha, but did not plan to hold any investment or business discussions, said the first source, who had direct knowledge of the matter. Another London-based Indian business leader close to the Trump and Qatar administrations will also attend, said both the sources, without identifying the individual. Further details of Ambani's agenda were not clear. Reliance did not immediately respond to Reuters' queries. In February, Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani visited India, where his country has committed to invest $10 billion across various industries. Trump will travel to the United Arab Emirates from Qatar on Thursday in a trip that is focused on investment rather than security matters in the Middle East. (Reporting by Aditya Kalra; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

byRicky Wilson

in

May 14, 2025

Indian billionaire Ambani to meet Trump, Qatar emir in Doha, sources say

Indian billionaire Ambani to meet Trump, Qatar emir in Doha, sources say By Sarita Chaganti Singh and Aditya Kalra NEW DELHI (Reuters) -Ind...

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Pope Leo says he will make 'every effort' for world peace

Pope Leo says he will make 'every effort' for world peace

By Alvise Armellini VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Leo XIV, the first American to head the global Catholic Church, pledged on Wednesday to make "every effort" for peace and offered the Vatican as a mediator in global conflicts, saying war was "never inevitable". Leo, who was elected last week to succeed the late Pope Francis, has made repeated calls for peace in the early days of his papacy. His first words to crowds in St Peter's Square were "Peace be with all you". He returned to the issue while addressing members of the Eastern Catholic Churches, some of which are based in conflict-ridden places such as Ukraine, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq and often face persecution as religious minorities. "The Holy See is always ready to help bring enemies together, face-to-face, to talk to one another, so that peoples everywhere may once more find hope and recover the dignity they deserve, the dignity of peace," Leo said. "War is never inevitable. Weapons can and must be silenced, for they do not resolve problems but only increase them. Those who make history are the peacemakers, not those who sow seeds of suffering," he added. Pope Leo warned against the rise of simplistic narratives that divide the world into good and evil. "Our neighbours are not first our enemies, but fellow human beings," he said. On Sunday, the pontiff called for an "authentic and lasting peace" in Ukraine, a ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all Israeli hostages held by militant group Hamas, and welcomed the fragile ceasefire between India and Pakistan. Leo spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Monday in his first known conversation with a foreign leader as pope. He offered to facilitate peace talks as world leaders come to his inauguration mass, the Ukrainian leader said. Zelenskiy hopes to be present for the event in St Peter's Square on May 18 and is ready to hold meetings on the sidelines, the Ukrainian leader's chief of staff Andriy Yermak told Reuters on Tuesday. (Reporting by Alvise Armellini; Editing by Crispian Balmer and Timothy Heritage)

byRicky Wilson

in

May 14, 2025

Pope Leo says he will make 'every effort' for world peace

Pope Leo says he will make 'every effort' for world peace By Alvise Armellini VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Leo XIV, the first Amer...

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Birthright citizenship dispute at the Supreme Court has broad implications for Trump's agenda

Birthright citizenship dispute at the Supreme Court has broad implications for Trump's agenda

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court could give a major boost to the Trump administration's muscular use of executive power when it hears arguments Thursday over his plan to end birthright citizenship. The court is not actually using a trio of cases before it to give the final word on whether Trump can radically reinterpret the long-understood meaning of the Constitution's 14th Amendment. Instead, it will focus on the power of judges to block presidential policies across the country. Trump's plan to limit birthright citizenship to people born to at least one parent who is a U.S. citizen or permanent legal resident is likely to ultimately be struck down,most legal experts say. The 14th Amendment states: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States." But for now, the Supreme Court — which has a 6-3 conservative majority, including three Trump appointees — is focusing only on the question of whether lower-court judges had the authority to block the policy nationwide, as three did in different cases. The administration and its allies have for months raged at judges for issuing "universal injunctions" that have stymied Trump's aggressive use of executive power. Republicans in Congress quickly introduced legislation on the issue, whichwas approvedby the House of Representatives last month. It has not come up for a vote in the Senate. "Universal injunctions issued by district court judges ... continue to fundamentally thwart the president's ability to implement his agenda," a Justice Department official said Tuesday in a call with reporters. The administration sees such rulings as a "direct attack" on presidential power, the official added. There have been 39 such rulings so far during Trump's second term, according to the Justice Department. Injunctions have, among other things, blocked some federal funding cuts and federal employee firings instituted under the direction of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency. In other litigation, two courts blocked Trump's transgender military ban nationwide before the Supreme Courtintervenedand allowed it to go into effect. The administration is asking the court to limit the scope of the birthright citizenship injunctions so that they apply only to individual people, organizations that sued or potentially the 22 states that challenged Trump's executive order. If the Supreme Court agrees, the Trump administration may be able to implement the policy in part, even as litigation continues and more people sue to obtain rulings that apply to them. "The birthright citizenship case is a good example of what is at stake," Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, a Democrat who joined one of the legal challenges, said in an interview. "If you literally have to bring separate cases for every single plaintiff, you are limiting the ability of courts to declare what the law is and protect people." He said the Trump administration is seeking to "limit judicial oversight over illegal action." Broad injunctions against presidential policies are a relatively new phenomenon but have not uniquely targeted Trump. The Obama and Biden administration chafed at similar rulings on issues such as immigration policy. ACongressional Research Service reportfound that there were 28 universal injunctions in the four years of the Biden administration and 86 during the first Trump administration, although it conceded a precise number is difficult to pin down. Previously, the Justice Department reported there were 19 such injunctions during the eight-year Obama administration, the report said. Although all recent presidents have sought to use executive power to circumvent a deadlocked Congress, Trump has been particularly expansive, especially in his second term, which helps explain the high number of injunctions against his administration. Five of the six members of the Supreme Court's conservative majority have, in various cases, raised concerns about universal injunctions and suggested that they should be curbed in certain circumstances. In a2024 opinion, conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote that it was a "question of great significance that has been in need of the court's attention of some time." The key issue is whether judges have the authority to issue injunctions that sweep beyond the parties directly involved in the litigation. Samuel Bray, a professor at Notre Dame Law School, has argued against nationwide injunctions and is cited in the birthright citizenship court papers. He said in an interview that a universal injunction "circumvents normal legal process," in part because it does not allow for a legal issue to be fully fleshed out by different courts before it reaches the Supreme Court, which has the final word. "A court doesn't decide the question for the country just because they are the first," he added. If the Supreme Court does curb universal injunctions, it would encourage lawyers to bring class-action lawsuits instead, which could include all people affected by a specific policy and would be the appropriate mechanism, Bray said. Such suits could be brought by people who would be directly affected by the birthright citizenship order, such as pregnant women who entered the country illegally. In recent years, presidential administrations of both parties have rushed to the Supreme Court when a policy is blocked nationwide, leading to the justices intervening sooner than they otherwise would, sometimes without full briefing. That practice could change somewhat if the court limits the scope of injunctions. GianCarlo Canaparo, a legal fellow at the Trump-allied Heritage Foundation, predicted that curtailing the power of judges to issue universal injunctions would lower the stakes in certain cases. But, he added, "the litigation will still proceed with as much vigor and speed."

byRicky Wilson

in

May 14, 2025

Birthright citizenship dispute at the Supreme Court has broad implications for Trump's agenda

Birthright citizenship dispute at the Supreme Court has broad implications for Trump's agenda WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court could give ...

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Trump's trade war wins so far: More talk, uncertainty and deadlines

Trump's trade war wins so far: More talk, uncertainty and deadlines

More than a month after PresidentDonald Trump's tariff-focused "Liberation Day," just about all America has won is more deadlines and assurances of ongoing talks. WithChina, the U.S. has secured no major changes other thanoffsetting step-downsof recent import duties and import restrictions. And anaccord with the U.K., announced last Wednesday, offered little beyond improved access for U.S. meats and ethanol. The White House has said both agreements are starting points. While it's been enough to soothe international markets andrestore U.S. stock gains, the Trump administration has little to show in the way of concessions gained from the agreements. The U.K. agreement saw British businesses win clear concessions from the Trump administration, including lower U.S. trade barriers for its vehicles, steel and aluminum products. Less clear were the immediate gains for America. Though the pact touted improved access to U.K. markets for American meat producers,methods of meat preparation common in the U.S. are banned in the U.K.— a stance it is not expected to change. Meanwhile, representatives for American auto firms — which have alreadystruggled to navigate Trump's tariffs— issued a rare statement blasting the deal. "We are disappointed that the administration prioritized the U.K. ahead of our North American partners," Matt Blunt, president of the American Automotive Policy Council, said in a statement. But the deal announcements kept coming. Days later, representatives from the U.S. and China said they had agreed to temporarily lower reciprocal tariffs, which had reached more than 120%. Again, the announcement was met with questions about its success. Capital Economics, a Wall Street consultancy, called it "another substantial retreat from the Trump administration's aggressive stance." The firm said in a note to clients that the deal does not include "any commitments by China on exchange rate policy or the bilateral trade imbalance." "They stood their ground," Marcus Noland, an economist and senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said of China. "They faced the bully and the United States backed down without any major concession." Chinahas hailedthe outcome of its negotiations, saying its resistance to Trump's tariffs had been "very effective." "The retaliatory measures have indeed had a significant impact on the U.S. side, which is why the U.S. government lowered the tariffs to the baseline level after the talks," asocial mediaaccount linked to China's national broadcaster CCTV said Monday. In a statement, a White House representative continued to hail the agreements while hinting that more progress was forthcoming. White House officials have also noted that recent economic data, like jobs and inflation, has continued to be solid. "Thanks to President Trump's tariffs and dealmaking, the U.K. has opened up billions in export opportunities for American ranchers and farmers while China has agreed to expand market access for American companies," White House spokesperson Kush Desai said. "And this is just the beginning, with many more deals and opportunities for American workers and farmers ahead." Trump has also touted the ability of tariffs to raise revenues. In April, the first full month that most of Trump's tariffs would have gone into effect, tariff income topped $16 billion,CNBC reported. While that is a record, it hardly dents the federal deficit, which totaled $1.05 trillion, 13% higher than a year ago. Net interest alone cost $38 billion on the month and is now $579 billion for the current fiscal year. At the same time, the tariffs that Trump has argued would generate significant revenues and encourage U.S. companies to bring production back to the U.S. are now being scaled back. Analysts warn that even as markets have responded positively to the overall set of developments, they risk being lulled into complacency given ongoing tensions and stumbling blocks. As part of the U.K. agreement, the U.S. insisted that it reduce its reliance on Chinese supply chains —something China denounced in a Tuesday Financial Times report. "I think we're in for a lot more turbulence and a lot more back-and-forth than the markets seem to grasp," Noland said.

byRicky Wilson

in

May 14, 2025

Trump's trade war wins so far: More talk, uncertainty and deadlines

Trump's trade war wins so far: More talk, uncertainty and deadlines More than a month after PresidentDonald Trump's tariff-focused ...

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