Europe to be excluded from Russia-Ukraine peace talks, US envoy confirms

The United States has announced a Gaza ceasefire deal could be struck as early as this week, though the Israeli military continues to hammer the Palestinian enclave to deadly effect. On Monday, outgoing US President Joe Biden said a ceasefire was within reach after more than a year of carnage. “In the war between Israel…

The administration of United States President Donald Trump has ordered federal agencies to work with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to prepare for mass firings of federal workers. In a memo released on Wednesday, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) said the layoffs will be…

Two groups representing the credit reporting and credit union industries have filed a lawsuit challenging a new rule adopted by US President Joe Biden’s outgoing administration banning the inclusion of medical debt in American consumers’ credit reports. The Consumer Data Industry Association and Cornerstone Credit Union League filed the lawsuit in federal court in Sherman,…

Russia has pledged to retaliate after it claimed to have shot down eight US-supplied ATACMS missiles fired by Ukraine at its border region of Belgorod. “On January 3, an attempt was made from Ukrainian territory to launch a missile attack against the Belgorod region using US-made ATACMS operational-tactical missiles,” the Russian Ministry of Defence said…

US top diplomat Marco Rubio arrives in Saudi Arabia ahead of Ukraine talks

The White House has said it will decide which journalists and media organisations can participate in press pools covering United States President Donald Trump’s administration, in a move critics have decried as an attack on press freedom. The pool system – which prioritises select television, radio, wire, print and photojournalists for coverage of smaller events…