US President Donald Trump’s approval rating held at 40 per cent in recent weeks, matching the lowest level of his current term amid weak ratings from Hispanic voters, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll that closed on Monday. The six-day poll was conducted as economic data showed signs the US labour market is weakening and as Trump oversees a sweeping immigration crackdown, while at the same time the Republican has been engaged in intense diplomacy to end the war between Russia and...

Russia has once again categorically rejected the deployment of troops from Nato countries in Ukraine amid US-led efforts to end the war. The United Kingdom has repeatedly suggested the possibility that foreign troops could be sent to Ukraine once a peace deal is reached. Bur Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said in Moscow that Britain was continuing to seek what she called “an escalation” in the conflict with such plans and was pushing Nato members to a dangerous limit,...

In a world increasingly defined by digital diplomacy and virtual communication, the persistent struggle over bricks and mortar might seem like an old-fashioned skirmish. However, the ongoing saga of China’s proposed new embassy in London, England, proves that physical buildings remain potent symbols of power, prestige and national ambition. The dispute over the diplomatic compound is more than just a planning row; it is a microcosm of the complex, often fraught relationship between the UK and...

A woman known as the “Ketamine Queen”, charged with selling Matthew Perry the drug that killed him, agreed to plead guilty on Monday. Jasveen Sangha becomes the fifth and final defendant charged in the overdose death of the Friends star to strike a plea agreement with federal prosecutors, avoiding a trial that had been planned for September. She agreed to plead guilty to five federal criminal charges, including providing the ketamine that led to Perry’s death on October 28, 2023, federal...

A leader of the union on strike against Air Canada said on Monday he would risk jail time rather than allow cabin crew to be forced back to work by a federal labour board, raising the stakes in a battle that has disrupted flights for hundreds of thousands of travellers during tourist season. The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) said the strike would continue until the carrier negotiates on wages and unpaid work, even after the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) declared the strike...

Hamas has accepted a new ceasefire proposal for Gaza, a senior member from the group said on Monday, after a fresh diplomatic push to end more than 22 months of war. Mediators Egypt and Qatar, backed by the United States, have struggled to secure a lasting truce in the conflict, which has triggered a dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza. But after receiving a new proposal from mediators, Hamas said it was ready for talks. “The movement has submitted its response, agreeing to the mediators’ new...

The conservative network Newsmax will pay US$67 million to settle a lawsuit accusing it of defaming a voting equipment company by spreading lies about US President Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss, according to documents filed on Monday. The settlement comes after Fox News Channel paid US$787.5 million to settle a similar lawsuit in 2023 and Newsmax paid what court papers describe as US$40 million to settle a libel lawsuit from a different voting machine manufacturer, Smartmatic, which also was...