Friday, April 4, 2025

BIG Wrap

Trump wins as Supreme Court sidesteps political landmines

(BBC News) The US Supreme Court has slammed the door on Colorado's effort to remove Donald Trump from its presidential primary ballot – and on every other state that has made, or is considering, efforts to disqualify him. The top court ruled that only Congress has the power to strike the former president from the ballot under the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. The unsigned, unanimous ruling is a significant win for Trump, whose presidential campaign...

Around 170 people executed in Burkina Faso attacks, regional official says

(Al Jazeera Media Network) Around 170 people were “executed” in attacks on three villages in northern Burkina Faso a week ago, a regional prosecutor has said, as violence flares in the country. Aly Benjamin Coulibaly said in a statement on Sunday that he had received reports of the attacks on the villages of Komsilga, Nodin and Soroe in Yatenga province on February 25, with a provisional toll of “around 170 people executed.” The attacks left others wounded and...

Haitian gangs free 4,000 inmates

(BBC News) Armed gangs have stormed the main prison in Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince, releasing many inmates. The vast majority of about 4,000 men held there have now escaped, a local journalist told BBC News. Among those detained were gang members charged in connection with the 2021 killing of President Jovenel Moïse. Violence in Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, has worsened in recent years. Gangs aiming to oust PM Ariel Henry control 80% of Port-au-Prince. The latest...

U.S. food airdrops in Gaza criticized by aid groups

(Al Jazeera Media Network) United States military cargo planes have air-dropped food into Gaza, in the first of a series of aid drops as humanitarian groups criticize Israel for blocking access to the besieged and bombarded strip. The U.S., together with Jordan’s air force, “conducted a combined humanitarian assistance airdrop into Gaza … to provide essential relief to civilians affected by the ongoing conflict,” US Central Command said in a statement on Saturday. The C-130 planes...

Russia publishes German military meeting on Ukraine

(BBC News) Germany has admitted the apparent hack by Russia of a military meeting in which officers discussed giving Ukraine long-range missiles and possible targets. Audio of the video-conference meeting was posted to social media by the head of Russia's state-run RT channel. The officers discuss how the missiles could hit the Kerch Bridge, which links Russia to illegally annexed Crimea. Russian politicians said the audio proved that its "sworn enemy" was planning attacks. Germany's chancellor Olaf Scholz on...

Iran Revolutionary Guard member and two others killed in attack in Syria

(Al Jazeera Media Network) A member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and two other people have been killed in a suspected Israeli attack in Syria, Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported. IRNA said Reza Zarei, a member of the IRGC, had been “killed at dawn today by the usurping Zionist regime” in the port city of Baniyas. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor corroborated the news of Friday’s attack. It said three explosions...

Deadly attack on Gaza aid-seekers condemned

(Al Jazeera Media Network) Palestinian leaders and neighbouring countries have condemned Israel’s targeting of unarmed Palestinians collecting aid in Gaza, in an attack that has reportedly killed more than 100 people. The office of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said an “ugly massacre conducted by the Israeli occupation army” had taken place, following reports on Thursday that Israeli forces opened fire on people receiving aid southwest of Gaza City. The Gaza Ministry of Health said at least 112 people were...

Putin says West sending troops to Ukraine would risk ‘destruction of civilization’

(BBC News) In his annual state of the nation address, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned western countries against sending troops to Ukraine. The consequences of such a decision would be "tragic", he said. Putin accused the West of trying to drag Russia into an arms race. At the same time, he said that Russia needed to strengthen its defences on its western border now that Sweden and Finland were joining NATO. Putin said the West "provoked" the conflict in Ukraine...

New Zealand moves to abolish Maori health authority

(Al Jazeera Media Network) New Zealand’s conservative government has introduced a new bill to dismantle an agency set up to improve health outcomes for the Pacific nation’s Maori people. Health Minister Shane Reti said on Tuesday the Maori Health Authority will be shut down by the end of June and that its functions will be absorbed by the national health system. The legislation heralds the “start of a new vision for Maori health,” he said. Known as...

NATO allies reject Macron’s idea of troops to Ukraine

(BBC News) Several NATO countries, including the U.S., Germany and the UK, have ruled out deploying ground troops to Ukraine, after French President Emmanuel Macron said "nothing should be excluded." Macron said there was "no consensus" on sending western soldiers to Ukraine. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has warned of direct conflict if NATO troops deploy there. Russian forces have recently made gains in Ukraine, and Kyiv has urgently appealed for more weapons. Macron told a news conference on...