White House says Trump withdrawing Musk ally as nominee to head NASA
US President Donald Trump is planning to withdraw his nomination of tech billionaire Jared Isaacman, a close ally of Elon Musk, to lead space agency NASA, the White House said Saturday.
'It's essential that the next leader of NASA is in complete alignment with President Trump's America First agenda and a replacement will be announced directly by President Trump soon,' the White House said, confirming a report by The New York Times that Isaacman's nomination was being withdrawn.
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US commerce secretary expects India trade deal soon
WASHINGTON: US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Monday voiced optimism for a trade deal soon with India to avoid tariffs threatened by President Donald Trump. 'You should expect a deal between the United States and India in the not too distant future,' he told the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum, which promotes relations between the two countries, calling himself 'very optimistic.' Trump has set a delayed deadline of July 9 for countries to avoid sweeping tariffs, as he seeks to shake up the global economy to correct what he says is unfairness to the United States. Lutnick, a strong advocate of tariffs, said he was a 'great fan' of India — but voiced longstanding concern about the emerging economy's use of tariffs. On tariff negotiations with India, 'bringing them down to a level that is reasonable and appropriate so we can be great trading partners with each other, I think is absolutely on the table,' Lutnick said. 'There were certain things that the Indian government did that generally rubbed the United States the wrong way. For instance, they generally buy military gear from Russia,' he said. But he said that Trump believed in raising concerns and 'the Indian government is addressing it specifically and directly.'
Arab News
an hour ago
- Arab News
FIFA's inaugural Club World Cup set to kick off in the US amid challenges
NEW YORK: FIFA's billion-dollar gamble to revolutionize club football begins a week on Sunday with plenty of cash up for grabs but questionable enthusiasm as 32 teams prepare to contest the expanded Club World Cup in 12 stadiums across the United States. The tournament — designed as a glittering showcase ahead of the 2026 World Cup — has had to contend with the prospect of empty seats along with controversial qualification rules and player welfare concerns after an exhausting European season. Lionel Messi's Inter Miami face Saudi Arabia's Al-Ahli in the opening fixture on June 15 at Miami's Hard Rock Stadium, with tickets still widely available days before kickoff. A glance at FIFA's website shows lots of tickets available, including for the July 13 final at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium. Messi's presence underscores the tournament's contentious foundations. Inter Miami gained entry by topping Major League Soccer's regular season standings, despite losing in the first round of the playoffs – a decision critics say shows FIFA's desperation to have the Argentina great at their inaugural showpiece. FIFA's decision to give the host nation a spot and award it to Inter Miami underlined the opaque nature of the qualifying criteria for the tournament, which won't feature Liverpool, Barcelona or Napoli who have all just been crowned champions of three of the most prestigious leagues in Europe. Apart from the winners of each confederation's premier club competitions, teams qualified according to a ranking based on their performances over a four-year period. There is also the case of Club Leon, the 2023 CONCACAF Champions Cup winners, who were excluded from the tournament just over a month ago due to having shared ownership with another qualifier. The spot has gone to MLS's Los Angeles FC. Rights deal Nailing down a last-gasp $1 billion TV rights deal with sports streaming platform DAZN six months before the tournament means a total of $2 billion in expected revenues. That led FIFA to announce a total prize pot of $1 billion, with the winning club to receive up to $125 million. That figure represents 25 perceent more than Paris St. Germain earned from their entire 17-match Champions League campaign. But this largesse has not quelled concerns about player welfare, with the global players union FIFPro taking legal action against FIFA over a tournament that further compresses the precious recovery time between gruelling seasons. Furthermore there is still concern over the playing surfaces after last season's Copa America, when many headlines focused on the sub-par conditions and smaller pitch dimensions. Those pitches, measuring 100 by 64 meters, were 740 square meters smaller than FIFA's standard size, prompting widespread discontent among players and coaches. FIFA has given assurances that this time the NFL stadiums hosting the matches will meet their specifications, confirming that all venues will feature natural grass and adhere to the standard regulation dimensions of 105 by 68 meters. Divided into eight groups of four teams, top contenders include Real Madrid, winners of six of the last 12 Champions League titles, plus German champions Bayern Munich and 2023 Premier League and Champions League winners Manchester City. European champions Paris St. Germain are the in-form team heading into the tournament after their historic 5-0 thrashing of Inter Milan in the Champions League final on Saturday. But they must survive a tough Group B featuring South American and Brazilian champions Botafogo and 2024 CONCACAF winners Seattle Sounders plus Spanish giants Atletico Madrid. Whether you call it soccer or football, for FIFA the tournament represents a dress rehearsal and a referendum on America's appetite for the sport and on the world governing body's vision for its commercial future ahead of the 2026 World Cup being co-hosted by the US, Mexico and Canada.
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5 hours ago
- Arab News
Suspect in Colorado attack told police he researched for a year
BOULDER, Colorado: A man accused of throwing Molotov cocktails into a Colorado group that had gathered to bring attention to Israeli hostages in Gaza planned the attack for more than a year and specifically targeted what he described as a 'Zionist group,' authorities said in court papers unsealed Monday charging him with a federal hate crime. Witnesses in Boulder said the suspect, Mohammed Sabry Soliman, 45, yelled 'Free Palestine' and used a makeshift flamethrower and incendiary devices. Eight people were injured in the attack, some with burns, as a group was concluding their weekly demonstration. An FBI affidavit says Soliman confessed to the attack after being taken into custody Sunday and told the police he was driven by a desire 'to kill all Zionist people,' a reference to the movement to establish and protect a Jewish state in Israel. Federal court records don't list the name of an attorney who could speak on Soliman's behalf and no one answered the door at a Colorado Springs townhouse where public records show he lived. The burst of violence at the popular Pearl Street pedestrian mall, a four-block area in downtown Boulder, unfolded against the backdrop of a war between Israel and Hamas that continues to inflame global tensions and has contributed to a spike in antisemitic violence in the United States. The attack happened on the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, which is marked with the reading of the Torah and barely a week after a man who also yelled 'Free Palestine' was charged with fatally shooting two Israeli embassy staffers outside a Jewish museum in Washington. Six victims hospitalized The eight victims who were wounded range in age from 52 to 88 and the injuries spanned from serious to minor, officials said. Six of the injured were taken to hospitals, and four have since been released, said Miri Kornfeld, a Denver-based organizer connected to the group. She said the clothing of one of those who remains hospitalized caught on fire. The attack occurred as people with a volunteer group called Run For Their Lives was concluding their weekly demonstration to raise visibility for the hostages who remain in Gaza. Video from the scene shows a witness shouting, 'He's right there. He's throwing Molotov cocktails,' as a police officer with his gun drawn advances on a bare-chested suspect who is holding containers in each hand. Alex Osante of San Diego said he was having lunch on a restaurant patio across the pedestrian mall when he heard the crash of a bottle breaking on the ground and a 'boom' followed by people yelling and screaming. In video of the scene captured by Osante, people could be seen pouring water on a woman lying on the ground who Osante said had caught on fire during the attack. Molotov cocktails found After the initial attack, Osante said the suspect went behind some bushes and then reemerged and threw a Molotov cocktail but apparently accidentally caught himself on fire as he threw it. The man then took off his shirt and what appeared to be a bulletproof vest before the police arrived. The man dropped to the ground and was arrested without any apparent resistance in the video Osante filmed. Law enforcement found more than a dozen unlit Molotov cocktails near where Soliman was arrested. The devices were made up of glass wine carafe bottles or jars with clear liquid and red rags hanging out of the them, the FBI said. Inside his car, law enforcement found papers with the words 'Israel,' 'Palestine,' and 'USAID,' the affidavit says. Soliman told investigators he constructed homemade Molotov cocktails after doing research on YouTube and buying the ingredients. 'He stated that he had been planning the attack for a year and was waiting until after his daughter graduated to conduct the attack,' the affidavit says. Suspect hospitalized after attack Authorities said they believe Soliman acted alone. He was also injured and taken to a hospital. Authorities did not elaborate on the nature of his injuries, but a booking photo showed him with a large bandage over one ear. State and federal authorities planned to hold a news conference Monday afternoon. Soliman was living in the US illegally after entering the country in August 2022 on a B2 visa that expired in February 2023, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a post on X. McLaughlin said Soliman filed for asylum in September 2022 and was granted a work authorization in March 2023 that had expired. DHS did not immediately respond to requests for additional information. Public records listed Soliman as living in a modest rented townhouse in Colorado Springs, where local media outlets reported federal law enforcement agents were on the scene Sunday. Colorado Springs neighbors recognized suspect Shameka Pruiett knew Soliman and his family as kindly neighbors with five children, three young kids and two teenagers, who'd play with Pruiett's kids in front of their building, share food and hellos. Another neighbor, Kierra Johnson, who lives in the apartment next to Soliman's, said she could often hear shouting at night from his apartment and once called police because of the screaming and yelling. On Sunday, Pruiett saw law enforcement vehicles waiting on the street throughout the day until the evening, when they spoke through a megaphone telling anyone in Soliman's home to come out. Nobody came out and it did not appear anyone was inside, said Pruiett. An online resume under Soliman's name said he was employed by a Denver-area health care company working in accounting and inventory control, with prior employers listed as companies in Egypt. Under education, the resume listed Al-Azhar University, a historic center for Islamic and Arabic learning located in Cairo. Soliman also worked as an Uber driver and had passed the company's eligibility requirements, which include a criminal background check, according to a spokesperson for Uber. The war in Gaza Israel's war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting about 250 others. They are still holding 58 hostages, around a third believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israel's military campaign has killed more than 54,000 people in Hamas-run Gaza, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were civilians or combatants.
