LATEST STUDIO

Germany's conservative election winner Friedrich Merz came a step closer Saturday towards forming a government which he has pledged will revive Europe's top economy and its armed forces with massive new spending. The bold moves are part of his plan to rebuild Berlin's standing in Europe, which Merz has said must respond to the sweeping changes driven by US President Donald Trump that have rocked the transatlantic alliance. Merz's CDU/CSU bloc and the Social Democrats (SPD) of defeated Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday announced they had wrapped up exploratory talks and would now move onto the next, decisive stage of full-fledged coalition negotiations. "We concluded the consultations between CDU/CSU and SPD and we have drawn up a joint exploratory paper," Merz said. He praised the "extremely good and very collegial atmosphere" of the talks that had passed a major hurdle less than two weeks after the February 23 elections. Merz said both sides s...

US President Donald Trump said Friday that he finds it "easier" to deal with Russia than with Ukraine in efforts to end the war in the pro-Western country -- and that he trusts Vladimir Putin. "I believe him," he said in a televised press conference at the White House. "I'm finding it more difficult frankly to deal with Ukraine and they don't have the cards," he said. "It may be easier dealing with Russia." Trump has pushed Ukraine hard, as it struggles to fend off Russian invasion after three years of war, and has ordered a pause in US military and intelligence assistance to Kyiv in order to apply more pressure. Despite threatening new sanctions on Russia earlier Friday, Trump said he understood why Putin's forces had inflicted a massive bombing campaign across Ukraine overnight. "I actually think he's doing what anybody in that position would be doing that right now," Trump said. "I've always had a good ...

The US trade deficit surged to a new record in January, government data showed Thursday, as imports spiked while tariff worries flared in the month of President Donald Trump's inauguration. Trump returned to the White House this year with pledges to ease cost-of-living pressures for voters, but on the campaign trail he also raised the possibility of sweeping levies across US imports. The overall trade gap of the world's biggest economy ballooned 34 percent to $131.4 billion, on the back of a 10 percent jump in imports for the month, said the Commerce Department. This was the widest deficit for a month on record, dating back to 1992, and the expansion was more than analysts anticipated. The latest figures came after the US economy saw its goods deficit hit a fresh record too for the full year of 2024 -- at $1.2 trillion. In January, imports came in at $401.2 billion, and this was $36.6 billion more than the level in December, Commerce Department data showed. US exports, me...

A 32-year-old man, Jaythan Lawrence Glider, was arrested for allegedly stealing two pairs of diamond earrings worth over $769,000 from a Tiffany & Co. store at the Mall at Millenia in Orlando on February 26. According to the Orlando Police Department, Glider took the unusual step of swallowing the stolen earrings. According to a police report obtained by WFLA , Glider allegedly gained access to the expensive jewellery at Tiffany & Co on February 26 by posing as a representative for an Orlando Magic player. This ruse reportedly allowed him to access the high-end items, which he then stole. Here is surveillance footage shared by police: NEW: Man accused of eating $700K worth of Tiffany jewelry during heist in Orlando Jaythan Lawrence Gilder, 33, from Texas, claimed to represent an Orlando Magic player Gilder was eventually taken to a VIP room where he was shown several pieces of jewelry totaling nearly $1.4… pic.twitter.com/Bau8tAI3Om — Unlimited L's (@unlimited_ls) M...

Just days after a stunning public clash with US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky today underscored that he wants to "make things right" with Trump and wanted to work under his "strong leadership" to secure a lasting peace in Ukraine. "Our meeting in Washington, at the White House on Friday, did not go the way it was supposed to be. It is regrettable that it happened this way. It is time to make things right. We would like future cooperation and communication to be constructive," Mr Zelensky posted on X in his first public comments since Trump halted US military aid to Ukraine. Russia said the suspension of US-Ukraine aid was the "best contribution" to peace, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that it was a "solution which could really push the Kyiv regime to a peace process". Any disruption in the flow of US arms to the front line would rapidly weaken Ukraine's chance of ...

Russia has permanently banned nine Japanese citizens from entering the country, according to a list published by the Russian Foreign Ministry on Monday. The ministry said that the decision was made in response to Japan's sanctions against Russia related to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The list includes Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwai, the president and representative director of carmaker Isuzu Shinsuke Minami, and Shohei Hara, senior vice president of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). In late July 2024 Russia took similar measures against another 13 Japanese nationals, including the chairman of another carmaker, Toyota Motor. Tokyo has protested against that decision. Entry bans for foreigners are a common measure employed by Moscow in retaliation for sanctions or other opposition against Russia's military campaign in Ukraine. Similar lists exist for several countries, including the US and Canada and include hundreds of people. (Except for the head...

Britain and France are working with Ukraine on plans to end the fighting with Russia, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Sunday, as European leaders gathered for crisis talks after a blowout between Kyiv and Washington. Speaking ahead of a summit in London with more than a dozen European leaders seeking a way forward on the three-year-old conflict, Keir Starmer urged world leaders to "work together", saying "nobody wants to see" scenes like Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US counterpart Donald Trump's clash in the Oval Office on Friday. "We have to find a way that we can all work together. Because, in the end, we've had three years of bloody conflict. Now we need to get to that lasting peace." Keir Starmer told the BBC. "The United Kingdom, along with France and possibly one or two others, will work with Ukraine on a plan to stop the fighting, and then we'll discuss that plan with the United States." Italian Prime Ministe...

A second email asking US federal workers to justify their jobs was sent late Friday, as part of President Donald Trump's initiative to slash spending. It came a week after Elon Musk, the billionaire appointed by Trump to downsize the government, engineered a first mass emailing to the federal government's two million employees, ordering them to justify their work or risk being fired. That first message, sent from the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the government's human resources department, had created confusion among an already anxious workforce, as multiple federal agencies told staff to ignore it.  Friday's email again asked staff to respond with around five bullet points describing their week's accomplishments and added that it would become a weekly task. The latest round of emails, carrying the subject line "What did you do last week? Part II," went to workers at various federal agencies. "Please reply to this email with approx. 5 ...

Israel said Sunday it endorsed a proposal to temporarily extend the truce in Gaza as a bridging measure after the first phase of its ceasefire with Hamas drew to a close. The proposal, put forward by US President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, would cover Ramzan, due to end late March, and Passover, lasting through mid-April, according to a statement from the Israeli prime minister's office released just after midnight. The first phase of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas was set to expire over the weekend without any certainty as to the second phase, which is hoped to bring a more permanent end to the Gaza war. Negotiations have so far been inconclusive, with the fate of hostages still held in Gaza and the lives of more than two million Palestinians hanging in the balance. According to the Israeli statement, the extension would see half of the hostages still in Gaza released on the day the deal comes into effect, with the rest to ...

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Saturday gave Volodymyr Zelensky a warm welcome to his Downing Street offices, a day after the Ukrainian leader's clash with US President Donald Trump. "You're very, very welcome here in Downing Street," Starmer told Zelensky. "And as you've heard from the cheers street outside, you have full backing across the United Kingdom, and we stand with you with Ukraine for as long as it may take." Starmer said both leaders wanted to achieve "a lasting peace for Ukraine, based on sovereignty and security for Ukraine -- so important for Europe and so important for the United Kingdom". Zelensky responded that had seen the hundreds of supporters gathered outside Downing Street, and that "I want to thank you, the people of the United Kingdom, for such big support from the very beginning of this war". "I'm very happy that his majesty the king accepted my meeting tomorrow and we are very happy in Ukrain...