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06:33
09/06/2025
LA immigration raid protests intensify after Trump deploys National Guard
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09/06/2025
Trump's travel ban: Citizens from 12 countries barred entry to US
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09/06/2025
Los Angeles: Residents protest Donald Trump's immigration policies
Americas
09/06/2025
LA immigration raid protests intensify after Trump deploys National Guard
Americas
09/06/2025
Protests intensify in Los Angeles after Trump deploys National Guard
Americas
09/06/2025
Protests intensify in LA: Governor compares Trump to 'a dictator'
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Colombian senator in critical condition after being shot, suspect arrested
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08/06/2025
Trump sends military force to LA: 'The knives are out' between federal and state govt
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08/06/2025
Colombian senator and presidential hopeful shot and wounded at rally
Americas

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France 24
an hour ago
- France 24
Trump makes G7 summit return in Iran crisis
The G7 summit starting Sunday in the Canadian Rockies town of Kananaskis marks the first major global gathering of Trump's second term, in which he has been even more brash in shattering diplomatic norms. Looking to avoid a dust-up, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney had set the agenda on largely uncontroversial themes such as building global supply chains for critical minerals. That agenda could now be upended as Israel launched a massive military campaign against Iran on Friday, saying it was taking pre-emptive action against its adversary's contested nuclear program. The Trump administration has closely aligned the United States with Israel, taking aim even at close allies who criticize its offensive in Gaza. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu openly defied Trump, who hours earlier had called for a diplomatic solution and whose friend and roving envoy Steve Witkoff had been due to hold new talks with Iran on Sunday just as the G7 opened. A senior Canadian official said there would be no attempt at the G7 to reach consensus on a joint communique on the issues of the day and that leaders instead would be asked to endorse "short, action-oriented statements." "Of course it would be desirable for a summit statement to be issued, but as the summit is being held in a very complex international situation, I believe that the unity of the G7 should be given the highest priority," Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said. New leader in '51st state' The last time Trump attended a G7 summit in Canada in 2018, he stormed out early and took to social media to disassociate the United States from the statement and brand then-prime minister Justin Trudeau as "dishonest and weak." The bad blood never ended, and Trump on returning to office mockingly said Canada should be the 51st US state. Trudeau handed over the premiership in March to Carney, a former central banker who told Trump firmly in the White House that Canada was "never for sale." Like Trump, "Trudeau liked being the center of attention," said John Kirton, founder of the G7 Research Group at the University of Toronto. Trudeau at least at first was seen as "young, handsome and -- I'm quoting others -- hot. Carney is none of these things," Kirton said. Carney has instead patched up with Trump through his analytical skills and competence, Kirton said. Trump also has an incentive to keep the peace in Kananaskis -- the United States will lead the G7 in 2027. "He doesn't want to kill the G7 golden goose before he can produce the 'biggest, best summit ever' for the whole world stage two years from now," Kirton said. 'America First' The G7 club of major industrial democracies -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States -- was formed in the 1970s to coordinate economic policy and grew in scope to take on some of the world's security hotspots. Trump since returning to the White House has upended the global economic system by imposing tariffs and has sought to negotiate with Russia over Ukraine -- an issue that will also figure prominently when he heads to a NATO summit in The Hague a week after Canada. The US president can be expected to push back in Kananaskis if allies seek to moderate him, said Rachel Rizzo, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. "He does not view these organizations as ways to deepen and expand American power and influence. He sees these fora as constraining America," she said. Europeans will observe Trump at the G7 to see how he treats their alliance, said Max Bergmann, director of the Europe, Russia and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "Our allies and partners in Europe are really questioning the US commitment and they are asking themselves, is this a relationship that is going to be maintained?" Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky plans to attend the G7 and hopes to meet Trump. The two clashed bitterly at the White House on February 28 but Trump since then has voiced frustration at Russia's reluctance on peace overtures. In a key step distancing himself from Trudeau, Carney has also invited Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Relations sharply deteriorated after Trudeau publicly accused India of masterminding the assassination of a Sikh separatist in Canada. © 2025 AFP


AFP
2 hours ago
- AFP
Picture of Trump 'bestowing medal to S.Korean activist' is doctored
"At first I thought he was full of hot air, but then I saw this photo where Jeon Han-gil received a medal directly from President Trump and I began to believe Trump really is behind him," reads part of the Korean-language caption of a collage shared on Facebook on June 11, 2025. "Lee Jae-myung's government should realise that if it messes with Jeon, it will become enemies with President Trump." to activist Jeon's claims that the United States would if South Korea's newly elected president Lee Jae-myung targets him for supporting for impeached leader Yoon Suk Yeol (archived link). The collage shows various screenshots of Jeon talking about and a larger image of him apparently receiving a medal from the US president (archived link). Image Screenshot of the misleading Facebook post, captured on June 12, 2025 The same collage was shared in several Facebook groups supporting conservative politicians. "Wow, an award from Trump himself -- you are a hero to the Republic of Korea," reads a comment on one of the posts. "Any time a South Korean receives an award abroad should be a cause for great celebration," says another. But the image purportedly showing Trump giving Jeon a medal is a fabrication. A combination of keyword and reverse image searches led to a photo taken by a New York Times photographer on November 16, 2018 (archived link). The photo is captioned: "President Trump gave a Presidential Medal of Freedom to Miriam Adelson -- a doctor and philanthropist who, along with her husband, Sheldon Adelson, is a substantial donor to Republican candidates." Image Screenshot comparison of the altered image (left) and the New York Times' photo from November 2018 (right) Footage from the event was also posted on CBS News's YouTube channel, with the moment Trump awards Adelson the medal -- the highest US civilian award -- at the video's 25:05 mark (archived link). Adelson is listed among the official recipients of the medal on the Trump White House website (archived link). Jeon's name does not appear on the list. The image of Jeon used in the doctored image matches his profile picture from the website of a civil service cram school, where he previously taught Korean history (archived link). Image Screenshot comparison of the doctored image (left) and Jeon's profile image on a cram school website (right) other doctored images involving Trump and South Korean political figures, including similar manipulated visuals falsely showing Trump in a video conference with Yoon.


France 24
2 hours ago
- France 24
As Trump mulls sanctions, Russia's military economy slows
Huge spending on guns, tanks, drones, missiles and soldiers for the Ukraine campaign helped ensure Moscow bucked predictions of economic collapse after it launched its offensive in 2022. But as Kyiv's most important backers head Sunday to Canada for the G7, where US President Donald Trump will face pressure to hit Russia with fresh sanctions, the Kremlin's run of economic fortune is showing signs of fatigue. "It is no longer possible to pull the economy along by the military-industrial complex alone," Natalia Zubarevich, an economist at Moscow State University, told AFP. Government spending has jumped 60 percent since before the offensive, with military outlays now at nine percent of GDP, according to President Vladimir Putin. "Almost every other sector is showing zero or even negative growth," said Zubarevich. Russia's economy expanded 1.4 percent on an annualised basis in the first quarter -- down from 4.1 percent in 2024 to its lowest reading in two years. The central bank predicts growth of no more than 1-2 percent this year. Russia's economy "is simply running out of steam", Alexandra Prokopenko, a former central bank advisor and now analyst based outside Russia, wrote in a recent note. Oil reliance Putin, who has revelled in Russia's strong performance, has brushed off concerns. "We do not need such growth," he said at the end of last year, when the slowdown started. Rapid expansion risked creating "imbalances in the economy, that could cause us harm in the long run", he said. Top among those imbalances has been rapid inflation, running at around 10 percent. The Central Bank last week nudged interest rates down from a two-decade-high saying price rises were moderating. But those high borrowing costs -- combined with falling oil prices -- are the main factors behind the slowdown, economist Anton Tabakh told AFP. Russia's Urals blend of crude oil sold for an average of $52 a barrel in May, down from $68 in January -- a big reduction in energy revenues, which make up more than a quarter of government income. Russia this year has raised taxes on businesses and high earners, essentially forcing them to stump up more for the Ukraine offensive. But the new income "only covers the shortfall in oil sales", said Zubarevich. With tighter finances, Russia's parliament was this week forced to amend state spending plans for 2025. It now expects a budget deficit of 1.7 percent of GDP -- three times higher than initially predicted. Trump factor Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is urging Trump to whack a fresh set of economic sanctions on Moscow as punishment for rejecting ceasefire calls and continuing with its deadly bombardments of Ukrainian cities. "Russia doesn't really care about such human losses. What they do worry about are harsh sanctions," Zelensky said Thursday. "That's what really threatens them –- because it could cut off their funding for war and force them to seek peace," he added. Trump's intentions are unclear. He has publicly mulled both hitting Moscow with new sanctions and removing some of the measures already in place. Some US senators, including Republicans, have proposed hitting countries that buy Russian oil with massive tariffs, to try to dent the flow of billions of dollars to Moscow from the likes of China and India. In Moscow, officials flip between blasting sanctions as an "illegal" attack on Russia and brushing them off as an ineffective tool that has backfired on Europe and the United States. Russia has also talked up its ability to continue fighting for years -- whatever the West does -- and has geared its economy to serving the military. Moscow still has the cash to wage its conflict "for a long time", Zubarevich said. "Through 2025 definitely. 2026 will be a bit tougher but they will cut other expenses. This (military) spending will stay." © 2025 AFP