Ayoola Atitebi

US and Chinese officials are preparing for talks this week aimed at reducing tensions in an escalating trade war between the world's two largest economies. Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng will participate in discussions in Switzerland from May 9-12, according to China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will lead the US delegation. Since President Donald Trump's return to office, his administration has imposed tariffs up to 145% on Chinese imports. Beijing has responded with retaliatory duties of up to 125% on certain US goods. Global trade experts caution that negotiations could extend for several months. This meeting represents the first high-level engagement between the two nations since Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng attended Trump's January inauguration. Treasury Secretary Bessent expressed optimism about rebalancing the international economic system to better serve American interests. […]

Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Maulana Masood Azhar has claimed that 10 family members and four aides were killed in India's targeted airstrikes, conducted under Operation Sindoor as retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack, according to PTI reports. A statement attributed to Azhar details that those killed in the strike on JeM headquarters at Jamia Masjid Subhan Allah in Bahawalpur included his elder sister and her husband, a nephew and his wife, a niece, and five children from the extended family. "Ten members of my family were blessed with this happiness together tonight... five are innocent children, my elder sister, her honorable husband. My scholar Fazil bhanje (nephew) and his wife, and my beloved scholar Fazilah (bhanji) ... my dear brother Huzaifah and his mother. Two more dear companions," Azhar stated, referring to the deceased as "guests of Allah." Expressing neither "regret nor […]

Seven people, including a woman and two children, were killed and 38 others wounded Wednesday as Pakistan Army artillery and mortar fire struck dozens of villages along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir, officials told PTI. Officials reported that the Indian Army is responding proportionately to ceasefire violations by Pakistani forces. The shelling began following India's missile strikes against nine terrorist targets located in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. According to reports, Poonch district suffered the heaviest casualties with seven deaths and 25 injuries. Additionally, the Uri sector in Baramulla district saw ten people wounded, while three others were injured in Rajouri district. Earlier Wednesday, India launched "Operation Sindoor," conducting a series of precision strikes that destroyed nine terrorist bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The operation was executed jointly by the Army, Navy, and Air Force, entirely […]

President Donald Trump has expressed uncertainty about whether people in the United States are entitled to constitutional due process rights as his administration pursues aggressive deportation of immigrants who entered illegally and non-citizens, including some detained for pro-Palestinian activism and political speech. In an interview recorded Friday at Mar-a-Lago and aired Sunday on NBC's Meet the Press with Kristen Welker, Trump responded to a question about Secretary of State Marco Rubio's assertion that "of course" all people in the US are entitled to due process. "I don't know. I'm not, I'm not a lawyer. I don't know," Trump said, suggesting such requirements would necessitate "a million or two million or three million trials." The Fifth Amendment to the Constitution provides for "due process of law" during criminal prosecution, while the 14th Amendment states that no state can "deny to any […]

Saturday marks election day in San Antonio, with the mayoral race taking center stage as 27 candidates compete for the position being vacated by Mayor Ron Nirenberg, who has reached his term limit. The entire city council is also on the ballot, with four of the ten district seats having no incumbent running. Following charter changes approved last November, winners of both council and mayoral seats will now serve four-year terms instead of the previous two-year terms. In addition to city leadership positions, voters will decide on several school board races and bond propositions. Polling locations will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday. Voters can find their designated polling place through the county elections website. If no candidate receives a majority in any race, a runoff election will be scheduled. Early voting for potential runoffs would […]

President Donald Trump has embraced a strategy of labeling various opponents as "communists," extending a rhetorical tactic from his campaign into his second administration. This approach targets figures ranging from judges to educators, framing them as threats to American values. Trump revealed this strategy candidly in August last year when discussing how he planned to defeat Kamala Harris: "All we have to do is define our opponent as being a communist or a socialist or somebody who is going to destroy our country." After branding Harris "comrade Kamala" during the campaign, Trump secured victory with 77 million votes (49.9% of the total), and is now applying this rhetorical framework to his governance. The actual definition of communism—a system where government controls production and services instead of markets—bears little resemblance to the positions of those Trump targets. Raymond Robertson of Texas […]