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A t least two people were killed when firefighters tackling a blaze were ambushed by an unknown number of gunmen in an ongoing standoff in the northwestern US state of Idaho on Sunday, the local sheriff said. The blaze was still raging on the mountainside in Kootenai County as law enforcement exchanged gunfire with the shooter or shooters, Sheriff Robert Norris told reporters. “We now have two deaths. We have an unknown amount of casualties. We still have civilians that are coming off of that mountain… We are actively taking sniper fire as we speak,” he said at a press conference. The shooter showed “no evidence of wanting to surrender,” he continued, adding: “As soon as somebody has a clear shot, I encourage them to take that shot to neutralize the threat.” He said authorities believed the two people who were killed were firemen. Earlier, local fire chief Pat Riley described himself as “heartbroken” by the attack.

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday he believed the war between Iran and Israel was finished, as both sides were keen to end the fight. Asked why he was confident the conflict was over, Trump told reporters: “I dealt with both and they’re both tired, exhausted.” “They fought very, very hard and very viciously, very violently, and they were both satisfied to go home and get out,” said Trump. VANGUARD NEWS

The French Senate passed a bill late on Wednesday that includes lack of consent in the country’s criminal definition of rape , paving the way for its official adoption in the coming months. The vote comes several months after a court in Avignon found a French man guilty of drugging his wife so he and strangers could rape her. The case drew renewed attention to the widespread crime of rape and the issue of consent. The bill passed this week redefines all sexual assaults — including rape — as “any non-consensual act”. France’s lower house of parliament approved a slightly different version of the bill in April. Wednesday’s vote is not the final legislative hurdle. A joint committee of senators and lower-house MPs is expected to draft a joint text prior to the final adoption of the law in both houses. “Consent is not saying no,” said Equality Minister Aurore Berge, but “saying yes, an explicit yes, freely, without constraint or ambiguity”. The vote is a “decisive step towards a genuine cu...

F rench President   Emmanuel Macron   touched down in Greenland on Sunday, for an official visit designed to bolster European support for the Danish territory, which is still batting away advances from the Trump administration to   acquire it for the United States . Macron is the first foreign leader to visit the resource-rich island since US President   Donald Trump   began his campaign to buy or annex Greenland, which he insists the US needs for national security purposes. Asked about Trump’s ambitions as he arrived in Greenland, Macron is cited by Reuters as saying: “I don’t think that’s what allies do… it’s important that Denmark and the Europeans commit themselves to this territory, which has very high strategic stakes and whose territorial integrity must be respected.” A source at the Élysée Palace said ahead of the visit that the French president’s trip had a “dimension of European solidarity and one of strengthening sovereignty and territorial integrity,...

The   United States   is intensifying efforts to strengthen economic relations with Nigeria and other African nations through increased trade and private sector investment, according to U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria,   Richard Mills . Speaking in Lagos during a policy address and fireside chat at the Lagos Business School, with the theme: “Toward a Robust U.S.-Nigeria Commercial and Investment Partnership,” Mills outlined Washington’s renewed focus on Africa’s economic potential. He emphasised that the new U.S. administration under President Donald Trump is recalibrating its Africa strategy, notably through the State Department’s recently launched commercial diplomacy framework for sub-Saharan Africa — a move the ambassador described as a “new chapter in U.S.-Africa relations.” “This strategy is built on a commitment to expanding economic opportunity, deepening commercial engagement, and fostering long-term mutual prosperity,” Mills said. Highlighting the significance of Nig...

  US President, Donald Trump on Thursday refuted Chinese claims that no discussions have taken place to ease the ongoing trade war, saying trade talks between the US and China were underway. Trump debunked the claims while speaking to reporters. “They had a meeting this morning. It doesn’t matter who ‘they’ is. We may reveal it later, but they had meetings this morning, and we’ve been meeting with China,” he said. DAILY POST reports that China on Thursday, said  it had not held trade talks with Washington  despite repeated comments from the US government suggesting there had been engagement. “China and the United States have not conducted consultations or negotiations on tariffs, let alone reached an agreement,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told reporters at a news briefing, calling reports of such information false news. Meanwhile, an official in the White House, speaking to reporters on the condition of anonymity, said lower level in-person talks as ...

T he recent “50501” protests, during which thousands of Americans rallied across all 50 states, mark a significant moment in the US’s political landscape. Coinciding with the 250th anniversary of the American Revolutionary War , the demonstrations highlight a growing dissatisfaction with President Donald Trump’s policies and leadership. The movement, named for its unifying theme of “50 protests, 50 states, 1 movement,” underscores the increasing polarisation and civic engagement in the United States. Protesters carried signs reading “No Kings,” a symbolic nod to the Revolutionary War and a critique of perceived authoritarian tendencies in Trump’s governance. While the demonstrations were largely peaceful, a video shared by Representative Suhas Subramanyam showed a man holding a Trump sign aggressively confronting protesters, reflecting the tensions that continue to divide the nation. In Boston, the protests coincided with commemorations of the battles of Lexington and Concord, further ...

With sunken cheeks, knobbly knees on stick-thin legs and ribs jutting out of his chest,   6-year-old Osama Al-Raqab hardly resembles a photo that showed the young boy smiling into the camera. "He used to be happy and full of life," Osama's aunt, Nour Sameer Al-Raqab, told NBC News' crew in southern  Gaza 's  Bani Suheila  on Sunday as she held up the image from a few months before the war began   next to the boy's face. “Now, he looks like a skeleton.” Osama's grandmother Um Ahmad Al-Raqab called on Israeli authorities to allow her grandson to be evacuated out of Gaza for treatment for cystic fibrosis. The boy had the ailment, which can make it difficult to maintain a healthy weight, when the war began and is now suffering with acute malnutrition. "If he stays like this, he will die," she said. He is among many struggling to survive in the besieged Palestinian enclave as it endures a month-and-a-half-long blockade that has halted the flow of aid ...

The Federal Bureau of Investigation , FBI, has accused North Korea of orchestrating the hack of Bybit, the world’s second-largest crypto exchange by trading volume. The agency declared that DPRK coordinated the theft of approximately $1.5 billion USD in virtual assets from the cryptocurrency company, which serves more than 50 million users. The cyber attack occurred on or about February 21; the FBI identified the specific North Korean malicious activity as “TraderTraitor.” The FBI said the actors have converted some of the stolen assets to bitcoin and other virtual assets dispersed across thousands of addresses on multiple blockchains. “It is expected these assets will be further laundered and eventually converted to fiat currency,” the public service announcement added. The statement advised private sector entities and other virtual asset service providers to block transactions with or derived from addresses TraderTraitor are using. The PSA further listed dozens of Ethereum addresses ...

US President Donald Trump has fired the independent inspector general for the US Agency for International Development (USAID), US media outlets reported on Wednesday. Paul Martin’s dismissal came a day after his office issued a report critical of the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the agency, the Washington Post, CNN and others reported. They cited a two-sentence email from the White House sent on Tuesday to Martin telling him his position was “terminated, effective immediately,” but with no explanation of the reasons for the decision. His office’s report had warned that more than $489 million in food assistance was at risk of spoilage or potential diversion after the Trump administration implemented an aid freeze and stop-work order. The report said it had long “identified significant challenges and offered recommendations to improve Agency programming to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse.” “However, recent widespread staffing reductions across the Agency… coupled with unce...

President Donald Trump on Friday revoked his predecessor Joe Biden’s security clearance in a blizzard of new orders, while escalating his campaign to dismantle the US humanitarian agency charged with helping the world’s poorest and extending American influence around the globe. In a new series of rapid-fire power plays, the 78-year-old billionaire also froze aid to South Africa, where his top donor Elon Musk was born, and named himself head of one of Washington’s premier cultural venues, the Kennedy Center. “There is no need for Joe Biden to continue receiving access to classified information,” Trump said on his Truth Social network, adding that he was “immediately” revoking the Democrat’s security clearances and ending his daily intelligence briefings. “JOE, YOU’RE FIRED,” he added in all caps. US presidents are traditionally given the right to receive intelligence briefings even after they step down. Trump also stepped up his assault on the United States Agency for International Deve...

United States President Donald Trump's announcement of a plan to take over Gaza has drawn widespread condemnation from world powers, including Russia, China, and Germany.  The plan, which aims to resettle Palestinians and transform Gaza into the “Riviera of the Middle East,” has sparked outrage across the Middle East, Reuters reports. Following Trump's statement, Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz instructed the army on Thursday to draft a plan for the “voluntary departure” of Gaza residents.  “I welcome President Trump's bold plan, Gaza residents should be allowed the freedom to leave and emigrate, as is the norm around the world,” Katz was quoted as saying by Israel’s Channel 12. When asked where Palestinians should be resettled, Katz pointed to countries critical of Israel’s military actions.  “Countries like Spain, Ireland, Norway, and others, which have levelled accusations and false claims against Israel over its actions in Gaza, are legally obligated t...

Nigeria has expressed its sincere condolences to the government and people of Germany, and especially to family, friends, and political associates following the death of former President Horst Köhler. A statement on Sunday by Kimiebi Imomotimi Ebienfa, the acting spokesperson, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the demise of Köhler is a great loss not only to Germany but to the global community, which benefited immensely from his leadership, vision, and dedication to international cooperation and development. “The departed German leader, during his tenure as President from 2004 to 2010, and also in his previous role as Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), demonstrated an unwavering commitment to fostering global economic stability, sustainable development, and multilateralism. “More so, his contributions to strengthening Germany’s relations with Africa, including Nigeria, were particularly noteworthy, as he championed initiatives to promote peace, economic growth,...

Japan saw a record number of suicides among school pupils in 2024, health ministry data showed Wednesday. The latest data among those in elementary through high school edged up to 527 from 513 cases in 2023, the ministry said. The total number of people of all ages dying by suicide fell 7.2 percent to 20,268, sharply lower from the record high of 34,427 cases in 2003. The number among people aged younger than 20, including those at school, also fell to 800 in 2024 from 810 in 2023, the latest data showed. “We regard this very seriously,” Keiichiro Tachibana, deputy chief cabinet secretary, told a regular press briefing. “We will continue do our utmost to take measures to protect children’s lives and to realise a society where no one is pressed into taking their own life.” The health ministry was expected to issue its analysis of the data in March after more figures become available. Japan annually sees the number of teen suicides rise at the end of every summer break in late August thr...

O ver 30,000 residents have been told to evacuate their homes as a massive wildfire, fuelled by extreme winds, swept through Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, United States, forcing thousands to flee.    Among the evacuees are celebrities like Ben Affleck, James Woods, and the Kardashians, Mail Online reports.   The inferno, now encompassing 2,900 acres, consumes over three football fields of land every minute.  "This is pretty much the worst possible scenario for a firefight," said firefighter David Ortiz, warning residents to obey evacuation orders.   Mandatory evacuations extend to Malibu and Calabasas, with areas like Las Lomas Avenue severely affected.    Witnesses report "dozens" of homes destroyed, with million-dollar properties reduced to rubble. Distressing images show structures crumbling under relentless flames. Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state-wide emergency, while President Joe Biden pledged federal assistance. "My Administration will ...