Foreign

Thousands of Christians gathered in the cavernous Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem for a centuries-old Holy Fire ceremony, Al Jazeera reports. Holding unlit candles, they packed into the sprawling 12th-century basilica built on the site where, according to tradition, Jesus was crucified and buried. The development came as Catholic Pontiff Pope Francis made a brief appearance in Rome before thousands of Catholic pilgrims gathered in St Peter’s Square for the Vatican’s open-air Easter Sunday mass. He urged for a ceasefire in Gaza. In near-total darkness, the Greek patriarch,at the Holy Fire ceremony, entered the Holy Edicule and emerged…

CNN United States Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is threatening to strip Harvard University of its ability to enroll international students if it doesn’t turn over records on international students’ “illegal and violent activities,” the agency said Wednesday. Noem “wrote a scathing letter demanding detailed records on Harvard’s foreign student visa holders’ illegal and violent activities by April 30, 2025, or face immediate loss of Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification,” DHS said in a news release. The certification allows universities to issue forms to admitted international students that they can then use to apply for visas to enter the…

Rescue workers in Myanmar and Thailand were scrambling to find survivors, hours after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake hit the centre of Myanmar. "We are digging out people with our bare hands," a team told the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in Mandalay, not far from the quake's epicentre. At least 144 people have been confirmed killed in Myanmar, many more unaccounted for and hundreds injured, an Army general said, with neighbouring countries also feeling the effects of the earthquake. In Thailand, an unfinished high-rise collapsed, leaving around 100 construction workers unaccounted for and six dead, according to Local Government officials. Drones,…

King Charles has been taken to hospital after suffering side effects from his cancer treatment, Buckingham Palace has confirmed. The monarch, 76, is now back at Clarence House after he visited hospital on Thursday afternoon. Buckingham Palace confirmed Charles experienced "temporary side effects" from his cancer treatment, and he has now pulled out of a string of engagements set for Friday. The Sun UK quoted sources who said the trip was not unexpected and that his treatment is heading in the right direction. A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: “Following scheduled and ongoing medical treatment for cancer this morning, The King…

The administration of United States President Donald Trump has turned to a federal appeals court to lift a block on its ability to use the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport undocumented immigrants,reports Al Jazeera on Monday, March 24. But at a tense hearing in Washington, DC, on Monday, one judge on the court appeared to baulk at the lack of due process given to undocumented people under Trump’s use of the law. “Nazis got better treatment under the Alien Enemies Act than has happened here,” Judge Patricia Millett told the court. Government lawyer Drew Ensign, representing the Trump…

Donald Trump’s silencing of the Voice of America serves him two ways: Attacking the press and doing a favor for dictators around the world he so admires. Since World War II, people worldwide have relied on the Voice of America for not only information about the United States but the world, as a news organization that has taken great pains to be robust and available even where other outlets have been banned or are targeted. Now those listeners and readers and viewers have found that their trusted source is offline, playing only music or nothing after Trump signed an executive…

Barely 24 hours after US President Donald Trump moved to broker a 30-day pause in fighting between Russia and Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russia traded blames today following mutual drone attacks, overnight, targeting both countries' energy facilities, in clear violation of yesterday's ceasefire. Zelensky accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of breaking a promise made during talks with Trump to halt attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure. Recall that during a call with Trump on Tuesday, March 18, Putin agreed to pause attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure for 30 days as part of a limited ceasefire - but rejected a…

Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to halt strikes on Ukraine energy targets for 30 days, Kremlin said after call with United States (US) President Donald Trump. Poland leader Volodymyr Zelensky said he supports the energy truce but insisted Russia isn't "ready" to end the war, in his first response to the call. The Russian President, however, set out several conditions for a fuller ceasefire during the 90 minute call, including that any settlement should "eliminate the root causes of the crisis", the Kremlin said. Fresh Ukraine peace talks will also begin in the Middle East immediately, the White House…

Donald Trump said he and Russian leader Vladimir Putin will discuss "land", "power plants" and "dividing up certain assets" when they hold Ukraine peace talks tomorrow,Tuesday,March 18, 2025. Moscow confirmed a call between the United States (US) and Russian leaders is being planned but would not be drawn on what they would discuss, according to bbc.com. US officials are trying to sound positive about doing a ceasefire deal - but the tone from Moscow was sounding extremely bullish. Meanwhile, European Union (EU) foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Russia does not really want peace, as talks about Ukraine take place…

South Africa has said the decision of the United States (US) to expel Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool is “regrettable”, but the country “remains committed to building a mutually beneficial relationship” with Washington. South Africa’s presidency urged “all relevant and impacted stakeholders to maintain the established diplomatic decorum in their engagement with the matter” in a statement issued on Saturday morning, just hours after US State Secretary Marco Rubio called Rasool a “race-baiting politician” who hates the US and President Donald Trump. Rubio wrote on X that Rasool was “no longer welcome in our great country”, adding: “We have nothing to discuss…