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US President Donald Trump will sign an executive order Wednesday barring transgender athletes from women’s sports, in his latest move targeting transgender people since returning to office.The move honors a pledge that Republican Trump made before returning for his second term in office with a radical right-wing agenda.The White House said in its daily guidance that Trump would sign a “No Men in Women’s Sports Executive Order” in a ceremony at 3:00 pm (2000 GMT).”Today, President Trump will deliver on his promise to PROTECT WOMEN’S SPORTS!” Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly said on X.Kelly said the order would “end the dangerous and unfair participation of men in women’s sports.”Trump repeatedly returned to the theme of transgender athletes during an election campaign that also specifically targeted Democratic rival Kamala Harris over her support for trans issues.The 78-year-old billionaire has repeatedly targeted gender non-conforming people in his blitz of executive orders and other moves since returning to office on January 20.Trump signed an order to rid the military of what he called “transgender ideology” and effectively ban transgender troops. He also issued an order to restrict gender transition procedures for people under age 19.His latest executive order comes after the Republican-led House of Representatives in January passed a bill severely restricting transgender athletes from participating in girls’ and women’s sports.Republicans hammered Democrats on transgender issues — especially when it came to youth and sports — ahead of the 2024 election, capitalizing on a broader culture war over LGBTQ rights.As transgender people — a small minority of the population — have become a more visible presence in the United States, sparking questions around gender norms and fairness, many conservatives have rallied around women’s sports.

Donald Trump’s stunning proposal that the United States could take control of the Gaza Strip has drawn criticism from governments around the world.But the US president’s apparent plan — announced at the White House alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — remains thin on details.It came in the context of mediated negotiations between Israel and Hamas to reach the “second phase” of a ceasefire deal that would bring a more permanent end to the devastating war in Gaza.This is what Trump said at Tuesday’s news conference:- ‘Long-term ownership’ -“The US will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it, too. We’ll own it. And be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site.”Level the site, and get rid of the destroyed buildings, level it out, create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area.”Pressed for details, he added later: “I do see a long-term ownership position, and I see it bringing great stability to that part of the Middle East and maybe the entire Middle East.”- Palestinian displacement -“It should not go through a process of rebuilding and occupation by the same people that have really stood there and fought for it and lived there and died there and lived a miserable existence there.””The only reason the Palestinians want to go back to Gaza is they have no alternative,” Trump said.He later said: “I envision world people living there. The world’s people. I think you’ll make that into an international, unbelievable place… And I think the entire world, representatives from all over the world, will be there.”Palestinians, also, Palestinians will live there. Many people will live there. But they’ve tried the other and they’ve tried it for decades and decades and decades. It’s not going to work. It didn’t work. It will never work.”- US troops -The president hinted his plan could require US boots on the ground in Gaza “if necessary.””As far as Gaza is concerned, we’ll do what is necessary. If it’s necessary, we’ll do that,” Trump said when asked if American troops would be involved. – ‘Riviera of the Middle East’ -Trump said the Gaza Strip could become “the Riviera of the Middle East. This could be something that could be so magnificent.”He added: “We’re going to take over that piece, and we’re going to develop it, create thousands and thousands of jobs, and it will be something that the entire Middle East can be very proud of.”Trump later said, “I think the potential in the Gaza Strip is unbelievable.”- Support from Arab leaders? -Trump claimed that Arab leaders supported his plan, despite their overwhelming opposition after his announcement. “I can tell you, I spoke to other leaders of countries in the Middle East, and they love the idea. They say it would really bring stability, and what we need is stability.”

The US trade gap swelled last year to its second-largest on record, government data showed Wednesday, as deficits come under the spotlight with President Donald Trump’s return to the White House.In 2024, the overall US trade deficit grew to $918.4 billion, widening 17 percent from 2023 as imports ballooned more than exports, said the Commerce Department.The trade deficit in goods also reached a new record for the year, in official data going back to 1960.The high figures could attract renewed scrutiny under the new US administration, with Trump already threatening tariffs on major US partners over trade imbalances and other issues.Over the weekend, Trump announced fresh duties on the United States’ three biggest trading partners in goods — Canada, Mexico and China — before reaching deals with Canada and Mexico to halt the levies for a month as talks continued.Chief among his justifications were concerns over illegal immigration and the flow of deadly fentanyl across US borders, but he has previously also pointed to America’s trade deficits with its neighbors.Stock markets wavered as tariffs targeting Beijing came into effect Tuesday, with an accompanying suspension of duty-free exemptions for low value parcels sparking worry.With Beijing’s announced retaliation, economies are on edge over the prospect of broadening trade wars.For all of last year, imports jumped by 6.6 percent or $253.3 billion while exports increased 3.9 percent by $119.8 billion.Driving the growth in goods exports were products like computer accessories and semiconductors, while travel was a key factor behind services exports growth.Imports surged on the back of goods like consumer goods, computers and semiconductors, as well as foods.- Uncertain path ahead -“Looking forward, the path for trade remains uncertain due to the capricious nature of the Trump administration’s tariff policies,” said Matthew Martin, senior economist at Oxford Economics.”While Mexico and Canada may be spared, the tariffs on China stuck and we expect the European Union to be next in the cross-hairs,” he added in a note.Martin expects computer and electronic products from China would likely be impacted the most, adding that there are risks involving chemicals and manufacturing equipment from the EU.For all of 2024, the goods deficit with China — a major issue during Trump’s first administration — came in at $295.4 billion.This was wider than values for the trade gap with North American neighbors Canada and Mexico combined, and more than the gap with the EU as well, according to government numbers.In December alone, the US deficit rose by nearly 25 percent to $98.4 billion, said the Commerce Department.The figure was slightly above the consensus estimate by Briefing.com of $98.0 billion.Imports rose 3.5 percent to $364.9 billion while exports slipped 2.6 percent to $266.5 billion for the month.”The jump in import volumes may reflect companies efforts to accelerate imports to beat Trump import threats,” said Carl Weinberg and Mary Chen, of High Frequency Economics.But they added it was hard to prove, given that strong exports also indicate “a fast-growing economy that is near its full potential level of output.”Trump has threatened tariffs on the EU, previously saying they had treated Washington “very badly.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio was seeking cooperation on migration Wednesday in Guatemala, whose leader, an anti-corruption advocate, is eager to please the new US administration to bolster his standing at home.Rubio is touring Latin America on his first trip which has been overshadowed by jaw-dropping actions in Washington by President Donald Trump, including dismantling the US Agency for International Development (USAID), of which Rubio is now nominally the head.A former senator, Rubio is a Cuban-American and fierce opponent of Latin American leftists who has quickly sought in his new role to bolster US relationships with the region’s conservatives.An exception is Guatemala, where President Bernardo Arevalo is no ideological soulmate but has been eager to avoid friction with the new Trump administration.Arevalo welcomed Rubio to dinner Tuesday in Guatemala City’s old town and will hold further talks with him on Wednesday.A sociologist and former diplomat born in exile after a US-backed 1954 coup, Arevalo is the son of a former president and pulled off a surprise victory in 2023 on a platform of reform and rooting out corruption in one of the region’s poorest countries.Arevalo immediately faced pushback from Guatemala’s entrenched conservative elite which sought to prevent him from taking office.Right-wing parties made allegations of electoral fraud, without providing evidence, and found support in Washington from elements of Trump’s “Stop the Steal” movement that refused to acknowledge his 2020 defeat to Joe Biden.Since Trump’s political comeback, Arevalo has sought to avoid battles and has cooperated on the new US administration’s push to expel millions of migrants.Guatemala quickly accepted a military flight with deported citizens, shackled and flown in a military plane, unlike Colombia whose leftist leader pleaded for better treatment but backed down after Trump threatened massive retaliation.Arevalo’s administration “frankly in two weeks has turned out to be an extraordinary ally particularly in helping us deal with migration issues,” said Mauricio Claver-Carone, the US special envoy on Latin America.Guatemala also appeals to the Trump administration as it is the most populous country that still recognizes Taiwan, the self-governing democracy claimed by China.Rubio on a stop the day earlier to Costa Rica — which switched recognition to China in 2007 — vowed to support Latin American nations as they push back on China’s influence.China has wooed countries with major infrastructure projects in return for recognition, although Costa Rica has also faced economic retaliation after excluding Chinese telecom titan Huawei from consideration for its 5G network.- Deportation, not aid -Guatemala is one of the largest sources of migration to the United States after decades of poverty, violence and political instability.The United States under previous administrations sought to address the root causes of migration through on-the-ground support.USAID, whose officers around the world are being sent home by Trump, ran some $178 million in projects in Guatemala in 2023.Around 700,000 Guatemalans are estimated to live in the United States without documentation, and many more legally.Another source of migration is El Salvador, whose popular President Nayib Bukele has avidly courted the Trump administration.Meeting Rubio on Monday, Bukele made the extraordinary offer to take prisoners from the United States including US citizens, an outsourcing of the prison system that has no recent historic precedent for a democratic country.Bukele has succeeded in reducing crime through an unapologetic mass incarceration, which rights groups say has frequently included authorities without warrants rounding up innocent people.Rubio late Wednesday will head to the Dominican Republic, whose president, Luis Abinader, has championed a Trump-style hard line on chronically unstable and impoverished Haiti, including by starting work on a wall and ramping up deportations. The United States under Biden funded a multinational security force aimed at stabilizing Haiti, with Kenya taking the lead.The United Nations said Tuesday that the Trump administration was cutting off aid to the Haiti effort.

Palestinian militant group Hamas lashed out Wednesday at President Donald Trump’s shock proposal for the United States to take over the Gaza Strip and resettle its people in other countries, seemingly whether they want to leave or not.Trump made his announcement to audible gasps during a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom he was hosting at the White House for talks.In a proposal that lacked details on how he would move out more than two million Palestinians or control Gaza, Trump said he would make the war-battered enclave “unbelievable” by removing unexploded bombs and rubble, and economically redeveloping it.”The US will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it, too. We’ll own it,” Trump said.He said there was support from the “highest leadership” in the Middle East and upped pressure on Egypt and Jordan to take the Gazans — despite both governments flatly rejecting the idea.Suggesting “long-term ownership” by the United States, Trump said his idea would make it “the Riviera of the Middle East. This could be something that could be so magnificent.”Hamas, which seized sole control of Gaza in 2007, rejected the proposal, branding it a” racist” idea.”The American racist stance aligns with the Israeli extreme right’s position in displacing our people and eliminating our cause,” Hamas spokesman Abdel Latif al-Qanou said in a statement.Much of Gaza was levelled in a 15-month war triggered by Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel, and Trump has repeatedly claimed credit for sealing a ceasefire agreement that took effect last month.Netanyahu, who has vowed to bring home hostages taken by Hamas and to crush its capabilities, said Trump’s plan could “change history” and was worth “paying attention to”.Netanyahu was making the first visit by a foreign leader to the White House since Trump’s return to power, for what were billed as talks on securing a second phase of the truce.- ‘Miserable existence’ -But it quickly turned into the shock revelation of a proposal that would, if implemented, completely transform the face of the Middle East.Trump, who also floated travelling to Gaza, appeared to suggest it would not be rebuilt for Palestinians.”It should not go through a process of rebuilding and occupation by the same people that have… lived there and died there and lived a miserable existence there,” he said.Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas also rejected the proposal.”President Mahmud Abbas and the Palestinian leadership expressed their strong rejection of calls to seize the Gaza Strip and displace Palestinians outside their homeland,” Abbas’s office said in a statement, adding that “legitimate Palestinian rights are not negotiable”.Palestinians in Gaza have also denounced Trump’s resettlement idea.”Trump thinks Gaza is a pile of garbage — absolutely not,” said 34-year-old Hatem Azzam, a resident of the southern city of Rafah.For Palestinians, any attempts to force them out of Gaza would evoke dark memories of what the Arab world calls the “Nakba”, or catastrophe — the mass displacement of Palestinians during Israel’s creation in 1948.Trump was vague on the details of how he would execute a takeover, but hinted that it could require US boots on the ground in one of the most volatile places on earth “if necessary.”Standing at a podium beside Trump, Netanyahu hailed Trump as Israel’s “greatest friend” and praised his “willingness to think outside the box”.The two have had tense relations in the past, but Netanyahu has seized on the Republican’s return to power after his ties with former president Joe Biden became strained over the death toll in Gaza.- ‘Winning the war’ -The Israeli premier would not rule out a return to hostilities with Hamas, or with its other foes in the region including Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Iran.”We will end the war by winning the war,” Netanyahu said, while vowing to secure the return of all hostages held by Hamas.He did voice confidence that a deal with regional rival Saudi Arabia to normalise relations was “going to happen”.But after Trump aired his proposal, Saudi Arabia said it would not formalise ties with Israel unless a Palestinian state is established. Trump’s Gaza proposal is set to face harsh opposition.Egypt, Jordan and ceasefire mediator Qatar have all rejected Trump’s suggestion of moving Palestinians from Gaza.Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said relocating Palestinians was something “neither we nor the region can accept”.China too hit out at the proposal, with its foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian saying: “China has always maintained that Palestinian rule over Palestinians is the basic principle of the post-war governance of Gaza, and we are opposed to the forced transfer of the residents of Gaza.”The Gaza war began when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, resulting in the deaths of 1,210 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.Israel’s retaliatory response has killed at least 47,518 people in Gaza, the majority civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. The United Nations considers the figures reliable.burs-ser/kir

The US Postal Service (USPS) said Tuesday it was temporarily suspending inbound parcels from China and Hong Kong, shortly after President Donald Trump’s imposition of fresh tariffs targeting Beijing.The halt will take place “until further notice,” and follows Trump’s order for an additional 10 percent levy on Chinese imports starting Tuesday.The order, unveiled over the weekend, also eliminated a duty-free exemption for low value packages.The “de minimis” exemption allows goods valued at $800 or below to come into the United States without paying duties or certain taxes.But it has faced scrutiny due to a a surge in shipments claiming the exemption in recent years.US officials pointed to the growth of Chinese-founded online retailers Shein and Temu as a key factor behind this increase — and Tuesday’s halt could delay parcels from both companies from entering the country.Washington has been looking to tighten the rule, saying the growth in shipments makes it harder to screen goods for security risks.However, the USPS gave no reason for its pause on Tuesday.Other retailers like Amazon might also be impacted.

The US government’s giant humanitarian agency USAID on Tuesday announced it was placing its staff in the United States and around the world on administrative leave as it moved to recall employees from overseas postings.The agency said in a statement on its website — which reappeared Tuesday after going dark over the weekend — that the staff leave will begin shortly before midnight on February 7. The administrative leave will hit “all USAID direct hire personnel… with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs.””Thank you for your service,” the statement read.The move is part of Trump’s — and his billionaire ally Elon Musk’s — radical drive to shrink the US government, which has shocked Washington and caused angry protests from Democrats and the human rights community. The aid arm of US foreign policy, USAID funds health and emergency programs in around 120 countries, including the world’s poorest regions.It is seen as a vital source of soft power for the United States in its struggle for influence with rivals including China, where Musk has extensive business interests.Musk has called USAID “a viper’s nest of radical-left marxists who hate America” and has vowed to shut it down.Among other criticisms, which Musk has not substantiated, he claims USAID does “rogue CIA work” and even “funded bioweapon research, including Covid-19, that killed millions of people.”The SpaceX and Tesla CEO — who has massive contracts with the US government and was the biggest financial backer of Trump’s campaign — said he had personally cleared the unprecedented move with the president.The assault on USAID comes in the context of long-running narratives on the hard-line conservative and libertarian wings of the Republican Party that the United States wastes money on foreigners while ignoring Americans.The agency describes itself as working “to end extreme poverty and promote resilient, democratic societies while advancing our security and prosperity.”As of 2023, the most recent year for which full data was available, the top three recipients of aid from USAID were Ukraine, Ethiopia and Jordan, according to the Congressional Research Service. Other top recipients of aid included the Democratic Republic of Congo, Afghanistan, South Sudan, and Syria. The scale of USAID’s funding for Ukraine is significant, with the war-torn European country receiving more than $16 billion in macroeconomic support, according to US government data.Founded in 1961, the agency’s budget of more than $40 billion is a small drop in the US government’s overall annual spending of nearly $7 trillion.The United States is the world’s largest provider of official development assistance, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Google on Tuesday updated its principles when it comes to artificial intelligence, removing vows not to use the technology for weapons or surveillance.Revised AI principles were posted just weeks after Google chief executive Sundar Pichai and other tech titans attended the inauguration of US President Donald Trump.When asked by AFP about the change, a Google spokesperson referred to a blog post outlining the company’s AI principles that made no mention of the promises, which Pichai first outlined in 2018.”We believe democracies should lead in AI development, guided by core values like freedom, equality, and respect for human rights,” read an updated AI principles blog post by Google DeepMind chief Demis Hassabis and research labs senior vice president James Manyika.”And we believe that companies, governments, and organizations sharing these values should work together to create AI that protects people, promotes global growth, and supports national security,” it continued.Pichai had previously stated that the company would not design or deploy the technology for weapons designed to hurt people or “that gather or use information for surveillance violating internationally accepted norms.”That wording was gone from the updated AI principles shared by Google on Tuesday.Upon taking office, Trump quickly rescinded an executive order by his predecessor, former president Joe Biden, mandating safety practices for AI.Companies in the race to lead the burgeoning AI field in the United States now have fewer obligations to adhere to, such as being required to share test results signalling the technology has serious risks to the nation, its economy or its citizens.Google noted in its blog post that it publishes an annual report about its AI work and progress.”There’s a global competition taking place for AI leadership within an increasingly complex geopolitical landscape,” Hassabis and Manyika said in their post.”Billions of people are using AI in their everyday lives.”Google’s original AI principles were published after employee backlash to its involvement in a Pentagon research project looking into using AI to improve the ability of weapons systems to identify targets.Google ended its involvement in the project.