Politics

A divided US Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected the Trump administration's request to maintain a freeze on billions of dollars in congressionally approved foreign aid. The Court did not specify when the funds must be released, allowing the administration to continue challenging the issue in lower courts. The 5-4 ruling saw Chief Justice John Roberts joining Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ketanji Brown Jackson in the majority. Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh dissented. The majority noted that since a court-ordered deadline to disburse the funds had already passed, lower courts should clarify what obligations the government must fulfill to comply with the temporary restraining order. The ruling doesn't require immediate payment of up to $2 billion in foreign aid; it simply allows the district court to potentially compel those payments with […]

New Zealand has dismissed its most senior envoy to the United Kingdom following remarks that questioned US President Donald Trump's understanding of history. During an event in London on Tuesday, High Commissioner Phil Goff compared efforts to end the Russia- Ukraine war to the 1938 Munich Agreement, which permitted Adolf Hitler to annex part of Czechoslovakia. Mr. Goff recalled Sir Winston Churchill's criticism of the agreement, then said, "President Trump has restored the bust of Churchill to the Oval Office. But do you think he really understands history?" New Zealand's Foreign Minister Winston Peters called his comments "deeply disappointing" and said they made his position "untenable." Goff's remarks came after Trump paused military aid to Kyiv following a contentious exchange with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office last week. The High Commissioner contrasted Trump with Churchill who, while […]