Thursday, April 3, 2025

BIG Wrap

US Chief Justice Roberts slams call to impeach federal judge

(Al Jazeera Media Network) The leading authority on the United States Supreme Court has issued a rare statement rebuking US President Donald Trump for calling for a federal judge’s impeachment. On Tuesday, Chief Justice John Roberts released two short lines, neither of which mention Trump by name. But his message was clear: Threatening a federal judge with impeachment is not acceptable. “For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response...

Putin agrees to halt strikes on Ukraine energy targets for 30 days, Kremlin says after call with Trump

(BBC News) Vladimir Putin has agreed to halt strikes on Ukraine energy targets for 30 days, after a lengthy phone call with Donald Trump. Volodymyr Zelensky says he supports the energy truce but says Russia isn't "ready" to end the war, in his first response to the call. The Russian president set out several conditions for a fuller ceasefire during the 90-minute call, including that any settlement should "eliminate the root causes of the crisis", the Kremlin says. ...

Israel conducting ‘extensive strikes’ on the Gaza Strip

A spokesperson for Gaza's Hamas-run Civil Defence agency – the strip's main emergency response service – told the BBC that at least 34 Palestinians have been killed and 70 others injured. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it was targeting what it called "terror targets" belonging to Hamas. This is the largest wave of airstrikes in Gaza since the ceasefire began on January 19. Talks to extend the Gaza ceasefire have failed to reach an agreement. Three...

‘Stranded astronauts’ Butch and Suni set to begin journey home

(BBC News) After an epic nine months in space, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are finally getting ready to head home. Their stay on the International Space Station (ISS) was supposed to last eight days, but their mission was dramatically extended after the spacecraft on which they arrived suffered technical problems. The pair are travelling back to Earth in a SpaceX capsule along with NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov. They are expected to...

Power outage in Cuba leaves millions in darkness

(Al Jazeera Media Network) Cuba’s national power grid has collapsed once again, leaving millions of people without electricity. The grid failed on Friday evening about 8:15 pm (00:15 GMT) after a breakdown at Diezmero substation in the capital, Havana, kicked off a chain reaction that shut down power generation across the island, according to officials at operator Union Electrica (UNE). At sunrise on Saturday, UNE said it was generating only a trickle of electricity – about 225...

Death toll from North Macedonia nightclub fire rises to 59

(BBC News) At least 59 people have been killed and more than 155 injured in a nightclub fire in North Macedonia, officials say. The blaze broke out around 02:30 (01:30 GMT) at the Pulse club in Kocani, a town around 100 km east of the capital Skopje, where 500 people were thought to be attending a concert by DNK, a popular hip-hop duo in the country. Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski called it a "difficult and very sad...

US launches wave of air strikes on Yemen’s Houthis

(BBC News) The US has launched a "decisive and powerful" wave of airstrikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen, President Donald Trump has said, citing the armed group's attacks on shipping in the Red Sea as the reason. "Funded by Iran, the Houthi thugs have fired missiles at US aircraft, and targeted our Troops and Allies," Trump wrote on his Truth social platform, adding that their "piracy, violence, and terrorism" had cost "billions of dollars" and put...

UK’s Starmer says coalition to beef up Ukraine security in any peace deal

(Al Jazeera Media Network) British Prime Minister Keir Starmer stresses the United Kingdom’s intention to provide “robust and credible” security guarantees to prevent Russia from attacking Ukraine again as Russian President Vladimir Putin has yet to sign up to a US-brokered truce proposal as fighting rages on the ground. “We will build up Ukraine’s own defences and armed forces and be ready to deploy as a ‘coalition of the willing’ in the event of a...

U.S. team headed to Moscow for Ukraine talks as Putin visits Kursk

(BBC News) US officials are headed to Russia to discuss a potential ceasefire in Ukraine, according to President Donald Trump. The news comes after Ukrainian officials agreed to a 30-day ceasefire following a highly anticipated meeting with American officials in Saudi Arabia. Earlier, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the "ball is truly in their court" and that the US believes the only way to end the fighting is through peace negotiations. The Kremlin has...

Trump says he will impose 50% tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminium

(Al Jazeera Media Network) US President Donald Trump has announced he will double planned tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminium imports to 50 percent, escalating a trade war with the United States’s northern neighbour. In a social media post on Tuesday morning, Trump said the increased tariffs come in response to a decision by the province of Ontario to put a 25-percent surcharge on electricity exports to some US states. He said the increased tariffs on...