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An Israeli airstrike rocked southern Beirut on Sunday soon after the military issued an evacuation warning for the Lebanese capital.

Footage from Reuters showed a huge plume of smoke rising from the area shortly after 6:00 p.m. (11 a.m. ET). It is unclear if the attack caused damage or casualties.

The target of the strike was a Hezbollah facility in Beirut which stored precision missiles, according to a joint statement from Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz.

The attack came after Israel Defense Forces spokesman Avichay Adraee advised civilians to evacuate from the Hadath neighborhood. Adraee said Hezbollah was using facilities in the area and said civilians should move 300 meters away.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned Israel for attacking the area and urged the US and France to “compel Israel to immediately halt its aggressions.”

Since a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah went into effect in November, the IDF has carried out a number of strikes, regularly targeting southern Lebanon. The IDF says these strikes have targeted Hezbollah militants and facilities.

Strikes in the capital of Beirut have been rare however. On April 1, the IDF struck a target in the Dahieh area in Beirut. Only days before, the Israeli military had conducted another attack in Beirut.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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A man accused by police of carrying out a deadly car-ramming in Vancouver has been charged with murder, as Canadian Filipinos mourn the attack on their community.

Kai-Ji- Adam Lo allegedly plowed his car into a crowd at a street festival celebrating Filipino heritage on Saturday night, killing at least 11 people and injuring dozens.

The suspect, who was detained on the scene, had a history of mental health-related interactions with authorities, police said.

Here’s what we know so far.

What happened?

Filipinos in south Vancouver had gathered for a community street party on Lapu Lapu Day, an event commemorating an Indigenous leader who fought against Spanish colonization of the Philippines.

But what had begun as a joyous occasion turned into a horrific scene when a black Audi SUV was driven into the large crowd at around 8 p.m. local time. The driver is thought to have operated alone and was the only person in the vehicle, police said.

Festival attendees and bystanders helped chase the driver down and he was later arrested at the site, according to Vancouver Police.

Who is the suspect?

Lo, a 30-year-old Vancouver resident, has been charged with eight counts of second-degree murder, according to police statement on Sunday. He has appeared in court and remains in custody.

Vancouver police said more charges are expected.

The police statement did not give further identifying information, such as Lo’s ethnicity, or possible motives – but authorities had earlier said there was no sign the attack was an act of terrorism.

Who were the victims?

Eleven people, ranging in age from 5 to 65, were killed in the attack, police said. The names of the those who died have not yet been released and some have yet to be formally identified, the statement said.

Some of the injured remained in critical condition on Sunday, police said at a news conference.

The street festival on Saturday was a family-friendly affair, with parents and children browsing street food stalls and attending traditional dance performances.

The Filipino community in the state of British Columbia has been left reeling, with the event organizers expressing “deep heartbreak brought on by this senseless tragedy” in a statement on Instagram. A vigil took place on Sunday evening, with photos showing crowds lighting candles and laying flowers near the site of the attack.

What have Filipino authorities said?

Authorities in both Canada and the Philippines have condemned the attack and shared their sympathies with the families affected.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said those killed in the “unspeakable tragedy” would “not be forgotten,” and that Filipino diplomats and staff in Vancouver have been instructed to assist the victims and coordinate with the Canadian authorities.

The Philippine Consulate General in Vancouver also shared a statement on Instagram. “As we await more information about the incident, we pray that our community remains strong and resilient imbued with the spirit of bayanihan during this difficult time,” the consulate said, using the Tagalog word referring to the spirit of helping one another as a community, especially in times of need.

There are about 925,500 ethnic Filipinos in Canada, according to the latest national census in 2021. The Philippines is the second-largest source of immigrants to Canada, behind India.

The Filipino population in Canada is most densely concentrated in Manitoba province, followed by Alberta, Yukon, Saskatchewan and British Columbia.

What about the election?

The tragedy happened just days before Canada’s crucial federal election on Monday, raising fresh questions about public safety. In response, authorities have tried to soothe anxieties and voiced confidence in existing security plans.

“Our first priority is and will always be protecting the residents of Vancouver,” said Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim, stressing that Vancouver “is still a safe city” where a “vast majority” of events happen without incident. He had directed a full review of safety measures after the attack, he said.

Vancouver Police interim chief Steve Rai also said authorities had conducted a risk assessment prior to the festival, which was largely held on the grounds of a school that was not directly accessible through public roads.

He added that they found no “threats to the event or to the Filipino community,” and decided that police officers and heavy vehicle barricades would not be deployed on site.

“While I’m confident the joint risk assessment and public safety plan was sound, we will be working with our partners at the City of Vancouver to review all of the circumstances surrounding the planning of this event,” Rai said.

On Sunday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he was “deeply heartbroken” over the attack, while stressing authorities do not believe there is any “active threat” to Canadians.

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, Carney’s chief rival in the election, also extended his condolences to the victims and their families.

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The Russian military is planning to increase the use of small squads on motorcycles and quadbikes on the frontlines in Ukraine as it plans fresh offensives, according to the Ukrainian military and analysts of the conflict.

The Russian Defense Ministry published video on Saturday showing units practising tactics in groups of two or three motorbikes, with a rider seen navigating a course to the sound of a pulsating electronic soundtrack.

Russian forces have used motorbikes and quads in several areas of the frontlines in an effort to evade Ukrainian drones for more than a year. But the Institute for the Study of War in Washington says the latest Russian video “indicates that the Russian military is likely developing a tactical doctrine for systematic offensive motorcycle usage and may be preparing to issue an increased number of motorcycles.”

Ukraine expects a major Russian offensive in the next few months as Moscow tries to capture more territory before any ceasefire agreement.

The Ukrainian military calls the motorbike assaults ‘banzai attacks.’ One Ukrainian commander, Andriy Otchenash, said earlier this month that the motorcycles are designed for a quick blitzkrieg. “They can advance very quickly, get behind the lines,” he said, but losses on the Russian side were very high.

“It indicates that the enemy does not have a large amount of military offensive equipment, but on the other hand, it is an adaptation to the conditions of war,” said the Ukrainian Center for Strategic Communication.

On Saturday, the Ukrainian military said it had repelled a Russian assault on the village of Bahatyr on the Donetsk frontlines, destroying 15 motorcycles and killing about 40 Russian soldiers. It distributed video of drones eliminating a number of motorbikes in open countryside.

The Ukrainian military reported in February the Russians were using more quadbikes around Chasiv Yar, also in Donetsk, where the frontlines have barely moved over the past year.

One Ukrainian military spokesman, Lt. Col. Pavlo Shamshyn, said the use of motorbikes was a mixed blessing for Russian troops. Their speed and manoeuvrability helped them to evade Ukrainian drones, but the noise of a bike prevented riders from hearing drones.

Russian state media has been promoting the advantages of motorbike units. Russia Today reported last week that motorcyclists were planting mines and interviewed a soldier with the 39th Guards Motorised Rifle Brigade, who is part of a new motorised group.

“Our main advantage is that we can drive directly into [the enemy’s position] and neutralise everyone,” he said. The enemy “hear the roar of the motorcycles, and it causes panic among them. They simply abandon their positions and run away.”

The Russian military is also using motorbikes to evacuate the wounded. The Telegram account of the Defense Ministry’s publication Zvezda reported last week that Russian marines fighting in the Kursk region were using all-terrain motorcycles to evacuate civilians and wounded soldiers. Video showed a soldier being put on the back of a bike in muddy fields.

Last year, the UK’s Defense Ministry said the Russians were increasingly using off-road bikes and all-terrain vehicles for night-time attacks. But it noted that Ukrainian FPV drones, which fly into their target, had already demonstrated how vulnerable such unprotected vehicles were.

Late in 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin inspected Chinese-made all-terrain vehicles being procured for the Russian army. At that point some 500 were already in service, and the Defense Ministry ordered around 1,500 more.

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Ceding large swathes of Ukrainian land to Russia under a peace proposal suggested by US President Donald Trump would be “a capitulation,” Germany’s defense minister warned on Sunday, as North Korea acknowledged for the first time it had deployed troops to fight for Moscow.

Ukraine knew that it may have to cede some territory to reach a lasting ceasefire deal “but they will certainly not go as far — or should not go as far — as the latest proposal by the American president,” Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told German public broadcaster ARD.

“Ukraine on its own could have got a year ago already what was included in that (Trump proposal), practically through a capitulation,” he said. “I cannot discern any added value.”

Trump has been frustrated that his efforts to broker a peace deal between Moscow and Kyiv after three years of war have so far fallen short, and the White House has since mounted an increasingly urgent push to strike a deal.

A US peace plan includes American recognition of Russia’s control over Crimea – the southern Ukrainian peninsula that Moscow illegally annexed more than a decade ago – and would grant Russia additional Ukrainian territory occupied since its full-scale invasion began in 2022, according to officials familiar with the plan.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday conceded that Ukraine lacks the military might needed to retake Crimea by force but has long made it clear that making territorial concessions is a red line. Recognizing Crimea as Russian would also be illegal under Ukraine’s constitution.

“This [territory] is not my property. This is the property of the Ukrainian people,” he said at a Friday briefing.

Following Trump and Zelensky’s remarkable face-to-face meeting at the Vatican before Pope Francis’ funeral on Saturday, the US president said they briefly discussed the issue of Crimea and that he believes Zelensky “wants to make a deal.”

Trump also criticized President Vladimir Putin in some of his strongest comments against the Russian leader to date.

“I want him to stop shooting, sit down and sign a deal,” Trump said Sunday as he returned to Washington to begin what aides say will be a critical week in determining the future of US-led efforts to broker an end to the war. “We have the confines of a deal, I believe, and I want him to sign it and be done with it and just go back to life.”

In a post on his Truth Social platform sent as he returned from Rome, Trump raised the prospect of applying new sanctions on Russia after its deadly assault on Kyiv last week, and questioned whether Putin is interested in peace, saying, “it makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along.”

The next week will be “very critical” in determining whether the US can continue attempting to broker peace in Ukraine, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday, telling NBC that “we’re close” to a deal “but not close enough.”

North Korean troops in Kursk

On Monday, North Korea publicly acknowledged for the first time that it deployed troops to fight for Russia in its war with Ukraine, touting its combat sub-units’ contributions to “precious victory” in the invaded Russian region of Kursk.

“The operations for liberating the Kursk area to repel the adventurous invasion of the Russian Federation by the Ukrainian authorities were victoriously concluded,” North Korea’s Central Military Commission said, according to state-run news agency KCNA.

Putin on Saturday claimed his country’s forces have recaptured Kursk, the border region where Ukraine launched a surprise offensive last year, though Kyiv insists its troops are fiercely battling to preserve their foothold in the territory.

“Our Korean friends acted out of a sense of solidarity, justice and genuine comradeship,” Putin said in a statement Monday.

“We pay tribute to the heroism, high level of special training and self-sacrifice of the Korean soldiers who, shoulder to shoulder with Russian fighters, defended our homeland as their own,” he added.

North Korean soldiers have been supporting Russia’s battle to oust Ukraine’s forces from its borders, while Kyiv had poured precious resources into holding onto its territory there, with the view of using it as a key bargaining chip in any peace talks. The operation was also launched to relieve pressure from the embattled eastern front line.

Ukrainian officials and Western intelligence reports found that about 12,000 North Korean soldiers had been sent to fight in Russia, but Pyongyang had never confirmed their presence.

In March, South Korea’s military said 3,000 more North Korean soldiers had been sent to Russia, replacing the roughly 4,000 troops who were killed or injured in combat.

North Korea’s Central Military Commission said leader Kim Jong Un ordered the deployments based on a strategic partnership treaty with Russia, KCNA reported.

Putin and Kim signed a landmark defense pact in Pyongyang last year, as the two autocratic nations ramped up ties to a “new level,” and pledged to provide immediate military assistance in the event the other is attacked.

“They who fought for justice are all heroes and representatives of the honor of the motherland,” Kim reportedly said, adding that a monument would be erected to commemorate his troops’ actions.

Russia acknowledged the involvement of North Korean soldiers in its operations for the first time on Saturday. In a post on Telegram, Valery Gerasimov, chief of the Russian General Staff, thanked the North Korean soldiers, praising their “high professionalism, steadfastness, courage and heroism in battle.”

As well as troops, South Korea’s military said in March that North Korea has sent a “significant amount” of short-range ballistic missiles and hundreds of pieces of 170-millimeter self-propelled howitzers and 240-millimeter multiple rocket launchers.

The US Department of State said it was concerned by North Korea’s direct involvement in Russia’s war in Ukraine

North Korea’s “military deployment to Russia and any support provided by the Russian Federation to (North Korea) in return must end,” a State Department spokesperson told Reuters.

South Korea’s Defense Ministry said on Monday that North Korea had “effectively admitted to its criminal actions” by finally officially announcing the deployment.

“North Korea’s involvement in the war in Ukraine is a violation of UN resolutions and an illegal act that threatens world peace. This must be condemned by the international community,” the ministry added.

North Korea’s confirmation that its troops were fighting in Russia, months after they were deployed, mirrors Putin’s long-standing denials that Russian troops had been deployed to Crimea in 2014.

The crisis there started shortly after 2014 mass protests in Ukraine that toppled the country’s Russian-backed regime of Viktor Yanukovych. Russian soldiers dressed as civilians or in uniform without identifying insignia – at the time referred to as “little green men” – started popping up outside government buildings and military bases across Crimea.

While Moscow denied any involvement in the appearance of the little green men in Crimea, the territory held a sham referendum on joining Russia just weeks after the covert operation. Putin would later acknowledge he had deployed Russian troops there.

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Chinese leader Xi Jinping has not spoken to US President Donald Trump on the phone recently, Beijing said Monday, reiterating that no talks are taking place between the two countries to resolve their tariff war.

The statement from a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson is an outright rejection of Trump’s claim in an interview with Time magazine last week that Xi had called him, as the world’s two largest economies remain locked in a dispute over sky-high trade levies.

“As far as I know, there has been no recent phone call between the two heads of state,” Guo Jiakun told a regular news conference. “I want to reiterate that China and the United States are not engaged in consultations or negotiations on the tariff issue.”

China has maintained its tough public stance on the trade war even as Trump softened his tone last week, saying that astronomical US tariffs on Chinese goods will “come down substantially” and promising to be “very nice” at the negotiating table as he attempts to get Xi to initiate talks.

“He’s called. And I don’t think that’s a sign of weakness on his behalf,” Trump said, referring to Xi, in the Time interview published on Friday.

According to publicly available records, the last time the two leaders spoke by phone was on January 17, days before Trump’s inauguration for his second term.

Since last week, Trump has repeatedly said that his administration is talking with Chinese officials to strike a trade deal – only to be met with flat denials from Beijing each time.

On Friday, hours before Trump’s interview with Time was published, China’s Foreign Ministry urged the US not to “mislead the public” on trade negotiations between the two sides.

Trump’s apparent willingness to deescalate the trade war has been brushed off by Beijing, which has instead demanded the US remove all tariffs on China.

Since returning to the White House, Trump has imposed levies of 145% on Chinese goods, though he exempted imports of electronics such as smartphones and computers from his so-called “reciprocal” tariffs.

China has raised tariffs on US imports to 125%, but it has also quietly rolled back the levies on some semiconductors made in the United States, according to import agencies, as Beijing tries to soften the blow of the trade war on its all-important tech industry.

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China and the Philippines have each unfurled their national flags on tiny sandbars in the South China Sea, staking competing sovereignty claims in strategic waters seen as a potential flashpoint for global conflict.

The rival photo opportunities unfolded on Sandy Cay, a string of three uninhabited sandbars which lie near a Philippine military outpost in the disputed Spratly Islands.

The release of the images comes as US and Philippine forces hold their largest-ever annual joint military drills in nearby waters – and just weeks after US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth vowed to enhance America’s military alliance with the Philippines to “reestablish deterrence” to counter “China’s aggression” in the region – during his first trip to Asia.

Bracketed by China and several Southeast Asian nations, parts of the vital South China Sea are claimed by multiple governments, but Beijing has asserted ownership over almost all of the waterway, in defiance of an international court ruling.

Over the past two decades, China has occupied a number of obscure reefs and atolls far from its shoreline across the South China Sea, building up military installations, including runways and ports.

The public relations wrestling match over Sandy Cay risks further stoking long-running tensions between the Philippines and China. It also poses a key test to the Trump administration on how it will respond, especially as key cabinet officials have repeatedly emphasized the need for the US to focus its attention and resources on countering China’s ambitions in the Indo-Pacific region.

Competing claims

The latest maritime dispute surfaced last week, when China’s state-controlled media claimed that China Coast Guard “implemented maritime control” and “exercised sovereign jurisdiction” over Tiexian Reef – the Chinese name for Sandy Cay – in mid-April.

A photo aired on China’s state broadcaster Saturday showed four Chinese officers in black uniforms walking along the white sandbar as a fifth officer held an inflatable boat by the water. Another photo showed four officers holding up a Chinese flag in what the broadcaster described as “a show of sovereignty.”

“China Coast Guard officers landed on Tiexian Reef to conduct patrols and recorded video evidence of the illegal activities carried out by the Philippine side,” said the state broadcaster CCTV. It added that the officers also cleaned up leftover plastic bottles, wooden sticks and other debris on the reef.

The Philippines was quick to unleash its own publicity move in response, sending teams to multiple sandbars.

On Sunday, a spokesperson for the Philippines Coast Guard said the country’s navy, coast guard and police deployed four teams in rubber boats to Pag-asa Cay 1, Cay 2 and Cay 3 – names the Philippines uses to refer to Sandy Cay.

During the inter-agency operation, the officers “observed the illegal presence” of a nearby China Coast Guard vessel and seven Chinese maritime militia vessels.

An image posted by Philippines Coast Guard spokesperson, Jay Tarriela, on X showed five officers holding the national flag on a white sandbar.

In a statement late on Sunday night, a spokesperson for the China Coast Guard said six personnel from the Philippines had “illegally landed” on the Tiexian Reef despite “warnings and dissuasion” from the Chinese side.

“China Coast Guard law enforcement officers then boarded the reef to verify and deal with the situation in accordance with the law,” spokesperson Liu Dejun said, urging the Philippines to “immediately stop its infringement.”

At a press conference Monday, Tarriela said each team had brought with them a Philippine flag to pose for photos on the sandbars on early Sunday morning.

“The other objective of our operation is to check whether the Chinese government installed different infrastructure or monitoring devices or whatsoever,” Tarriela told reporters.

“(From) the photos and videos we have already, we can totally debunk the lie and disinformation the People’s Republic of China that they have already occupied the Pag-asa cays.”

Military alliance

Confrontations between China and the Philippines in the contested waters have become increasingly fraught in recent years, fueling fears of a global conflict that could drag in the US, a mutual defense ally of Manila.

Sandy Cay lie near Thitu Island, known as Pag-asa Island by Manila and the site of a Philippines military facility. In 2023, Manila opened a coast guard monitoring base there to counter what it called Chinese aggression in the vital waterway.

Under the Biden administration, US officials repeatedly assured the Philippine that the US would come to its defense if attacked in the South China Sea.

US President Donald Trump is a more mercurial figure who has long viewed historical US agreements through a more mercantile lens and has called for allies to pay more for protection.

But Trump’s cabinet contains vocal China hawks, notably Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who have both spoken publicly on needing to push back against China’s growing assertiveness in the South China Sea.

On April 21, the US and the Philippines kicked off their annual Balikatan – meaning “shoulder to shoulder” – military exercises, which are expected to run for three weeks and have grown in scale each year.

This year, the US military has deployed an anti-ship missile launcher for the first time on the northern tip of the Philippine archipelago, just across the strait from Taiwan, a self-governing democracy Beijing has vowed to take by force if necessary.

The Philippines also hosted Japanese forces as full-fledged participants for the first time as party of the multinational military drills, a sign of strengthening security cooperation between Manila and Tokyo.

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Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Monday alleged a US airstrike hit a prison holding African migrants, killing at least 68 people and wounding 47 others. The US military had no immediate comment.

The strike in Yemen’s Saada governorate, a stronghold for the Houthis, is the latest incident in the country’s decadelong war to kill African migrants from Ethiopia and other nations who risk crossing the nation for a chance to work in neighboring Saudi Arabia.

It also likely will renew questions from activists about the American campaign, known as “Operation Rough Rider,” which has been targeting the rebels as the Trump administration negotiates with their main benefactor, Iran, over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program.

The US military’s Central Command, in a statement early Monday before news of the alleged strike broke, sought to defend its policy of offering no specific details of its extensive airstrike campaign. The strikes have drawn controversy in America over Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s use of the unclassified Signal messaging app to post sensitive details about the attacks.

“To preserve operational security, we have intentionally limited disclosing details of our ongoing or future operations,” Central Command said. “We are very deliberate in our operational approach, but will not reveal specifics about what we’ve done or what we will do.”

It did not immediately respond to questions from The Associated Press about the alleged strike in Saada.

Graphic footage shows aftermath

Graphic footage aired by the Houthis’ al-Masirah satellite news channel showed what appeared to be dead bodies and others wounded at the site. The Houthi-run Interior Ministry said some 115 migrants had been detained at the site.

The rebels’ Civil Defense organization said at least 68 people had been killed and 47 others wounded in the attack.

Footage from the site analyzed by the AP suggested some kind of explosion took place there, with its cement walls seemingly peppered by debris fragments and the wounds suffered by those there.

A woman’s voice, soft in the footage, can be heard repeating the start of a prayer in Arabic: “In the name of God.” An occasional gunshot rang out as medics sought to help those wounded.

African migrants caught in middle

Ethiopians and other African migrants for years have landed in Yemen, braving the war-torn nation to try and reach Saudi Arabia for work. The Houthi rebels allegedly make tens of thousands of dollars a week smuggling migrants over the border.

Migrants from Ethiopia have found themselves detained, abused and even killed in Saudi Arabia and Yemen during the war. An Oct. 3, 2022, letter to the kingdom from the U.N. said its investigators “received concerning allegations of cross-border artillery shelling and small arms fire allegedly by Saudi security forces, causing the deaths of up to 430 and injuring 650 migrants.”

Saudi Arabia has denied killing migrants.

Monday’s alleged strike recalled a similar strike by a Saudi-led coalition battling the Houthis back in 2022 on the same compound, which caused a collapse killing 66 detainees and wounding 113 others, a United Nations report later said. The Houthis shot dead 16 detainees who fled after the strike and wounded another 50, the U.N. said. The Saudi-led coalition sought to justify the strike by saying the Houthis built and launched drones there, but the U.N. said it was known to be a detention facility.

“The coalition should have avoided any attack on that facility,” the U.N. report added.

That 2022 attack was one of the deadliest single attacks in the years long war between the coalition and the Houthi rebels and came after the Houthis struck inside the UAE twice with missiles and drones, killing three in a strike near Abu Dhabi’s international airport.

US military: 800 strikes conducted so far

Meanwhile, US airstrikes overnight targeting Yemen’s capital killed at least eight people, the Houthis said. The American military acknowledged carrying out over 800 individual strikes in their monthlong campaign.

The overnight statement from Central Command also said “Operation Rough Rider” had “killed hundreds of Houthi fighters and numerous Houthi leaders,” including those associated with its missile and drone program. It did not identify any of those officials.

“Iran undoubtedly continues to provide support to the Houthis,” the statement said. “The Houthis can only continue to attack our forces with the backing of the Iranian regime.”

“We will continue to ratchet up the pressure until the objective is met, which remains the restoration of freedom of navigation and American deterrence in the region,” it added.

The US is targeting the Houthis because of the group’s attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, a crucial global trade route, and on Israel. The Houthis are also the last militant group in Iran’s self-described “Axis of Resistance” that is capable of regularly attacking Israel.

US discusses deadly port strike

The US is conducting strikes on Yemen from its two aircraft carriers in the region — the USS Harry S. Truman in the Red Sea and the USS Carl Vinson in the Arabian Sea.

On April 18, an American strike on the Ras Isa fuel port killed at least 74 people and wounded 171 others in the deadliest-known attack of the American campaign. Central Command on Monday offered an explanation for why it hit the port.

“US strikes destroyed the ability of Ras Isa Port to accept fuel, which will begin to impact Houthi ability to not only conduct operations, but also to generate millions of dollars in revenue for their terror activities,” it said.

Meanwhile, the Houthis have increasingly sought to control the flow of information from the territory they hold to the outside world. It issued a notice Sunday that all those holding Starlink satellite internet receivers should “quickly hand over” the devices to authorities.

“A field campaign will be implemented in coordination with the security authorities to arrest anyone who sells, trades, uses, operates, installs or possesses these prohibited terminals,” the Houthis warned.

Starlink terminals have been crucial for Ukraine in fighting Russia’s full-scale invasion and receivers also have been smuggled into Iran amid unrest there.

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President Donald Trump shut down all diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) offices across the federal government during his first week in office and signed a number of executive orders to quickly undo former President Joe Biden’s efforts. 

The president, just hours after taking the Oath of Office on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, signed an executive order to eliminate all DEI programs from the federal government. He also quickly signed an order making it ‘the official policy of the U.S. government to only recognize two genders: male and female.’ 

A day later, the president directed the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to notify heads of agencies and departments to close all DEI offices and place those government workers in those offices on paid leave. 

That move quickly forced those offices to take down all outward facing media — websites, social media accounts, and more — for those DEI offices, and required the withdrawal of any final pending documents, directives, orders, materials and equity plans. 

Trump also canceled current and impending contracts focused on DEI initiatives, with Elon Musk, who heads up the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), saying that move saved the federal government $420 million. 

The president also issued two other executive actions that day targeting DEI. 

One was an executive order to end discrimination in the workplace and higher education through race and sex-based preferences under the guise of DEI. 

The other was a memo to eliminate a Biden administration policy that prioritized DEI hiring at the Federal Aviation Administration. 

In the memo rolling back Biden’s DEI hiring practices at the FAA, Trump ordered the secretary of transportation and FAA administrator to immediately stop Biden’s DEI hiring programs and return to nondiscriminatory, merit-based hiring.

Trump also required that the FAA administrator review the past performance and performance standards of all agency employees in critical safety positions and make it clear that anyone who fails to demonstrate adequate capability is replaced by someone who will ensure flight safety and efficiency.

‘Illegal and discriminatory diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) hiring, including on the basis of race, sex, disability, or any other criteria other than the safety of airline passengers and overall job excellence, competency, and qualification, harms all Americans, who deserve to fly with confidence,’ the memo read.

The memo stated: ‘All so-called DEI initiatives, including all dangerous preferencing policies or practices, shall immediately be rescinded in favor of hiring, promoting, and otherwise treating employees on the basis of individual capability, competence, achievement, and dedication.’

Trump also rescinded Biden’s order on diversity initiatives, ‘Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government,’ which he signed on his first day in office in 2021. 

In February, the Department of Education also warned state education departments that they must remove DEI policies or risk losing federal funding.

That move came after Trump signed executive orders directing agencies to provide a plan to eliminate federal funding for ‘illegal and discriminatory treatment and indoctrination in K-12 schools, including based on gender ideology and discriminatory equity ideology.’

 

The president’s efforts to end DEI across the federal government also prompted the cancellation of such programs across the private sector. 

Meta, in January, canceled its DEI programs, as did McDonald’s. And after the 2024 election, Walmart, Ford Motor Co., John Deere, Lowe’s and Toyota also ended DEI programs. 

As recently as April, according to Forbes, IBM, Gannett, and Constellation Brands Inc., made changes to DEI policies. Earlier this year, UnitedHealth Group, MLB, Victoria’s Secret, Warner Bros. Discovery, Goldman Sachs, Paramount, Bank of America, BlackRock, Citigroup, Pepsi, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Coca-Cola, Deloitte, PBS, Google, Disney, GE, PayPal, Chipotle and more scaled back or canceled their DEI programs. 

Meanwhile, in March, the National Institutes of Health rescinded the agency’s ‘Scientific Integrity Policy’ implemented during the last few weeks of Biden’s term, to peel back any DEI requirements. 

That Biden-era policy said that DEI was an ‘integral’ part of ‘the entire scientific process,’ and pushed NIH’s chief scientist and top scientific integrity official to ‘promote agency efforts regarding diversity, equity and inclusion.’ It also instituted agency-wide policy directives ordering supervisors at the NIH to ‘support’ scientists and researchers who are ‘asexual’ or ‘intersex,’ while imploring NIH leadership to ‘confer with relevant offices’ when additional DEI expertise is needed.  

‘The Biden administration weaponized NIH’s scientific integrity policy to inject harmful DEI and gender ideology into research,’ said Health and Human Services Department spokesperson, Andrew Nixon. ‘Rescinding this (scientific integrity) policy will allow NIH to restore science to its golden standard and protect the integrity of science.’      

The Biden administration also funded grants related to DEI, such as one for roughly $165,000 that was focused on ‘queering the curriculum’ for family medicine doctors to guide them in their treatment of transgender patients. Those grants have been canceled. 

And earlier this week, multiple federal agencies told Fox News Digital that they have dropped millions of dollars in contracts for LinkedIn services over the business social network’s embrace of DEI. 

The Departments of Treasury, Interior and Veterans Affairs dropped LinkedIn — a move to comply with the president’s executive orders banning federal agencies from contracting with companies that embrace DEI policies. 

‘Every American taxpayer should be angry that the Biden administration wasted so much money on contracts like these,’ an Interior Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital. ‘Under the leadership of President Trump, we have been combing through hundreds of thousands of contracts here at the Department alone and are canceling wasteful, woke, and downright ridiculous contracts that do not align with the will of the American people.’ 

A LinkedIn spokesperson told Fox News Digital, in response, that: ‘Like every business, the organizations that use our products change, often driven by shifts in their budgets and priorities. We’re keeping our focus on helping our customers achieve the objectives they’ve set.’ 

Fox News Digital’s David Spector and Alec Schemmel contributed to this report. 

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Trump national security adviser Mike Waltz reiterated the administration’s support for Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Sunday, saying they ‘couldn’t be prouder’ of his early months in the role, despite a wave of high-profile controversies and resignations that have embroiled the department in recent weeks.

Speaking to Fox News host Maria Bartiromo on Sunday, Waltz was pressed about the alleged dysfunction inside the Pentagon’s top ranks— and whether, in his view, the current Pentagon is equipped to deliver on lofty foreign policy goals, including helping broker a negotiated settlement in Russia’s war in Ukraine.

‘Can you do this in what appears to be a chaotic, weakened Defense Department?’ Bartiromo asked Waltz on ‘Sunday Morning Futures,’ citing reports of chaos and dysfunction, including recent firings of Hegseth’s top aides, and reports he has been threatening polygraph tests for some staffers at the department.

‘I’ll tell you about a weakened Pentagon,’ Waltz fired back. ‘That was one that had a Defense Secretary that disappeared for two weeks just last year, and nobody knew about it.’ 

In contrast to his predecessor, Waltz said Hegseth is ‘leading from the front’ at the Defense Department, and praised what he described as Hegseth’s early efforts to reform the Pentagon.

‘He is leading the charge, and he has no tolerance for leaking,’ Waltz said, dismissing the alleged chaos or dysfunction as a ‘media narrative,’ and one he vowed they ‘are going to power through.’

Waltz also brushed off a question about the departures of senior aides, including Hegseth’s own chief of staff, Joe Kasper, last week.

The exodus of senior officials and other allegations of chaos from inside the Pentagon have prompted some Democrats to call for an investigation into his leadership.

But Waltz also brushed off these characterizations of dysfunction on Sunday. Asked by Bartiromo how he was going to replace the fired Pentagon officials, Waltz said in response: ‘Maria, there’s 20,000 people in the Pentagon.’

 ‘There is a record number of generals,’ he said. ‘And the other piece— there is accountability. We have had several general officers that weren’t getting the job done, and admirals get fired and get replaced… That’s what the Pentagon needs.’

Waltz argued that that is a stark contrast to the longtime culture at the Pentagon, where he said ‘no one ever gets fired, [and] there’s never a sense of accountability.’

‘And now there is,’ he told Bartiromo.

‘Whether it’s leaks, or not getting the job done, or failures in terms of procurement acquisition, now you have a leader that’s in charge,’ Waltz said. ‘And I couldn’t be prouder of Pete Hegseth.’

Waltz’s remarks come as Hegseth’s role has come under mounting scrutiny in recent weeks — both for his participation in at least one Signal group chat in March where he discussed a planned military strike against the Houthis, and the firing of several senior staffers earlier this month.

Hegseth earlier this month fired three top aides: including his aide, Dan Caldwell, his deputy chief of staff Darin Selnick, and the chief of staff to the deputy defense secretary, Colin Carroll. 

These oustings were described as both ‘baffling’ and alarming by John Ullyot, a former Pentagon communications official who resigned earlier this year.

‘The dysfunction is now a major distraction for the president — who deserves better from his senior leadership,’ Ullyot wrote in an op-ed for Politico.

The White House, however, has sought to emphasize its support for Hegseth in recent days, with both Vice President JD Vance and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt vehemently dismissing reports that the administration could be considering a possible replacement. 

‘Let me reiterate: The president stands strongly behind Secretary Hegseth and the change that he is bringing to the Pentagon, and the results that he’s achieved thus far speak for themselves,’ Leavitt told reporters at a briefing last week, describing the reports as a ‘smear campaign.’

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President Donald Trump’s 15th week in office will include his 100th day back in the White House, which he will celebrate by hosting a rally in Michigan – the last state he campaigned in before polls opened on Election Day of last year. 

‘President Trump is excited to return to the great state of Michigan next Tuesday, where he will rally in Macomb County to celebrate the FIRST 100 DAYS!’ White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in an X post announcing the rally. 

Trump’s presidential campaigns in 2016, 2020 and 2024 all ended with rallies in the battleground state of Michigan. Trump’s visit to Macomb County this week follows his final 2024 campaign rally in Grand Rapids, where he joined the crowds just after midnight in the final hours before his victory over then-Vice President Kamala Harris. 

The event is billed as a celebration of Trump’s ‘LEGENDARY start to his presidency,’ according to the Republican National Committee’s website. The rally will be held at Macomb Community College in Warren and will kick off at 6 p.m. ET on Tuesday. 

Trump wraps up his 100th day in office with more executive orders signed than any other president over the same period since President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Trump has signed at least 137 executive orders, ranging from dismantling the Department of Education, establishing the Department of Government Efficiency, and stripping diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives from the fabric of the federal government following the Biden administration. 

‘Very critical week’ for Russia and Ukraine peace talks 

Trump returned from Rome on Saturday after attending Pope Francis’ funeral mass at the Vatican with first lady Melania Trump. Trump met with Ukrainian President Vlodomyr Zelenskyy during the trip as the war between Russia and Ukraine continues to rage and negotiations for peace stall. 

‘There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social, shortly after he met with Zelenskyy at the Vatican on Saturday. 

‘It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!’ he added.

While on the campaign trail, Trump vowed to end the war between Russia and Ukraine in a matter of 24 hours, but negotiations have proven difficult. Trump’s Truth Social post on Saturday followed Russia launching a missile strike on Kyiv that injured dozens and killed at least 12. 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday during an appearance on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’ that the coming week will be ‘very critical’ as the White House weighs whether it wants to continue working towards a peace deal. Rubio warned this month that the U.S. might ‘move on’ from trying to secure a deal between Russia and Ukraine if progress was not made. 

‘I think this is going to be a very critical week,’ Rubio said on Sunday. ‘This week is going to be a really important week in which we have to make a determination about whether this is an endeavor that we want to continue to be involved in or if it’s time to sort of focus on some other issues that are equally, if not more, important in some cases. But we want to see it happen. There are reasons to be optimistic, but there are reasons to be realistic, of course, as well. We’re close, but we’re not close enough.’

Trade talks expected to advance following reciprocal tariff pause 

Trump put a 90-day pause on reciprocal, customized tariffs he had imposed on dozens of nations this month, sparking a trade deal negotiation blitz as dozens of nations began knocking on the proverbial doors of the White House in the hopes of striking more favorable terms. 

The White House has met and spoken with a handful of nations looking to make deals, including South Korea last week. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said negotiations with the Asian nation have progressed quickly and that the two countries could reach a trade agreement as early as this week. 

‘We had a very successful bilateral meeting with the Republic of South Korea today,’ Bessent said from the White House on Thursday. ‘We may be moving faster than I thought, and we will be talking technical terms as early as next week as we reach an agreement on understanding as soon as next week.’

‘So South Koreans came early. They came with their A game, and we will see if they follow through on that,’ Bessent continued. 

Congress reconvenes with eyes on passing Trump-backed budget

Congress will reconvene on Monday following a spring recess, with Republican lawmakers expected to resume talks on a budget plan to advance Trump’s first-year agenda, including extending Trump’s 2017 tax cuts and carving out millions in funds for border security.

Democrats on Capitol Hill protested on Sunday ahead of Republicans returning to the table for budget plan talks. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker took to the steps of the Capitol on Sunday morning while flanked by supporters to protest the budget plan. 

‘Republican leaders have made clear their intention to use the coming weeks to advance a reckless budget scheme to President Trump’s desk that seeks to gut Medicaid, food assistance and basic needs programs that help people, all to give tax breaks to billionaires. Given what’s at stake, these could be some of the most consequential weeks for seniors, kids and families in generations,’ the two Democrat lawmakers wrote in a statement of the protests. 

Trump has repeatedly called on Republican lawmakers to pass the ‘big, beautiful’ tax and spending package to advance his first-year agenda. 

Trump to deliver University of Alabama’s commencement speech 

Trump is expected to travel to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on Thursday where he will deliver a commencement speech to graduating students at the University of Alabama. 

‘I have agreed to do the Commencement Address at two really GREAT places, the University of Alabama and, WEST POINT. Stay tuned for times and dates!!!’ Trump posted to Truth Social last week. 

Trump is expected to deliver his speech from the school’s Coleman Coliseum arena on Thursday evening. 

‘The University of Alabama is honored to have been selected as one of the universities President Donald J. Trump will visit to deliver a spring commencement address,’ the university said in a statement this month.

Trump-funded American flags to be installed at White House 

Trump previewed last week that his administration is in the midst of purchasing and installing massive flag poles to feature Ol’ Glory on both the north side lawn and south lawn of the White House. Trump told the media he will personally fund the flags and said they could be ready sometime this week. 

‘We’re putting up a beautiful, almost 100-foot-tall American flag on this side and another one on the other side, two flags, top of the line,’ he told reporters on Wednesday outside the White House, adding they will be ‘paid for by Trump.’

‘They needed flagpoles for 200 years. It was something I’ve often said, you know, they don’t have a flagpole per se. So we’re putting one right where you saw us, and we’re putting another one on the other side, on top of the mounds. It’s going to be two beautiful poles.’

Trump added on Wednesday that the flags will ‘arrive in about a week or so.’ An American flag is currently only flown from the White House roof. 

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