🇺🇸Judge blocks Musk team access to Treasury Department records

A federal judge has blocked Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) from accessing the personal financial data of millions of Americans in Treasury Department records, according to court documents.

US District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer issued a preliminary injunction on Saturday to prohibit access, ordering Musk and his team to immediately destroy any copies of records.

The move comes after 19 state attorneys general sued the Trump administration after Doge, a cost-cutting initiative led by Musk, was given access to the records.

They argued access for Musk, a "special government employee", and Doge, which is not an official government department, violated federal law.

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🇨🇩African summit urges immediate DR Congo ceasefire

Leaders from east and southern Africa have called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire to end the deadly fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

At a crisis summit in Tanzania, the Southern African Development Community and East African Community (EAC) blocs urged all warring parties to hold peace talks within five days, including with the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels.

The rebels - fighting government forces - have seized vast swathes of land in the eastern DR Congo, including the city of Goma. Their push towards Bukavu has raised fears of a wider regional war.

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🇺🇸Trump administration to cut billions from overheads in biomedical research

President Donald Trump's administration has announced it will slash billions of dollars from overheads in grants for biomedical research as a part of broader cost-saving measures, a move some scientists say will stifle scientific advancements.

In a statement on Friday, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) said it would cut grants for "indirect costs" related to research - such as buildings, utilities and equipment.

"The United States should have the best medical research in the world," NIH said in its announcement. "It is accordingly vital to ensure that as many funds as possible go towards direct scientific research costs rather than administrative overhead."

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🇸🇩Sudan army plans new government as it advances in capital

The Sudanese military has called for diplomatic support for a new government that it says it wants to form after it recaptures the capital, Khartoum, from rival forces.

The Sudanese army has been regaining control of areas in the city previously held by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in recent weeks.

Army leader Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan told a meeting of politicians who back the army over the weekend that he would form a "technocratic" wartime government with a prime minister.

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🇪🇨Ecuador election ends in a 'tie' prompting run-off

Ecuador's presidential election will go to a second round after a closely contested first-round result failed to produce an outright winner.

The electoral authorities called it a "technical tie" after the incumbent centre-right Daniel Noboa and his main left-wing challenger Luisa Gonzalez received nearly identical percentages of the vote.

The pair will now face a run-off in April.

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🇺🇸Trump wants to end birthright citizenship.

President Donald Trump's executive order to end birthright citizenship in the US has sparked several legal challenges and some anxiety among immigrant families.

For nearly 160 years, the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution has established the principle that anyone born in the country is a US citizen.

But as part of his crackdown on migrant numbers, Trump is seeking to deny citizenship to children of migrants who are either in the country illegally or on temporary visas.

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🇷🇴Romania president resigns after impeachment pressure over cancelled vote

Romania's President Klaus Iohannis has resigned, a day before he faced an impeachment vote sparked by the cancellation of the country's presidential election last year.

Opponents had been pushing to suspend him over his decision to remain in office until a new vote in May.

Romania's top court in December controversially annulled the election because of Russian state meddling allegations Iohannis had helped raise.

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🇳🇿New Zealand and Cook Islands fall out over China deal

New Zealand has accused the Cook Islands government of a lack of transparency over its plans to strike a partnership deal with China.

The tiny Pacific Island nation's leader, Mark Brown, is this week making his country's first ever state visit to Beijing in order to sign the agreement.

However, New Zealand says it was not properly consulted over the plans, leading to what Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has described as a "dispute".

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🇺🇸Trump says no exemptions with metal tariffs to start in March

President Donald Trump has ordered a 25% import tax on all steel and aluminium entering the US in a major expansion of existing trade barriers.

The tariffs, which will increase the costs of importing the metals into the US, come despite warnings of retaliation from some political leaders in Canada - America's biggest supplier of the metals - as well as other countries.

US businesses dependent on the imports have also raised concerns, but Trump has said his plans will boost domestic production.

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🇨🇫CAR leader launches meme-coin 'experiment'

Central African Republic President Faustin-Archange Touadéra has launched a meme-coin in a bid to raise the profile of the country, which is one of the world's poorest.

Meme-coins are used to build popularity for a viral internet trend or movement and fans are inspired to collect and give them value, but they are extremely volatile investments.

Touadéra announced the launch, known as $ CAR, on his X account over the weekend and on Monday said it had been a "success". But the value of the coin had a significant price drop of up to 90%, according to specialist websites.

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🇺🇸Hegseth orders Fort Liberty be renamed Fort Bragg

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered military base Fort Liberty, located in North Carolina, be reverted to Fort Bragg.

The order contravenes a measure backed in Congress that led to the renaming of the army base in 2023, which was part of a wider initiative to rename military installations commemorating figures linked to the Confederacy.

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🇺🇸🇯🇴Trump insists US will take Gaza as he meets Jordan's King Abdullah

President Donald Trump has once again insisted the US will take control of the Gaza Strip, as he met Jordan's King Abdullah at the White House on Tuesday.

It was their first meeting since Trump announced his proposal to take over the enclave and move its population of two million Palestinians to other countries in the region, including Jordan.

Earlier this week, Trump suggested he could withhold aid to Jordan and Egypt unless they agreed to take in those Palestinians from Gaza.

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🇷🇺🇸🇩'No obstacles' to Russian Red Sea base - Sudan

Sudan has said a final deal has been agreed with Russia to establish a naval base on the war-torn country's Red Sea coast, saying there were "no obstacles" to it.

An agreement was discussed under former President Omar al-Bashir, but the military government that overthrew him had later said the matter was under review.

Sudan's Foreign Minister Ali Youssef said on Wednesday a deal had been signed and they were in "complete agreement" with Russia over the establishment of the port. He said what remained was only the ratification of the deal.

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🇮🇳🇫🇷India and France plan small modular nuclear reactors

India and France plan to work together on developing small modular nuclear reactors, India's foreign ministry said after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the country.

Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron emphasised the importance of nuclear energy for "strengthening energy security" and transitioning towards a "low-carbon economy".

It comes days after Delhi announced plans to change its strict nuclear liability law, which holds operators accountable for accidents or incidents and has been blamed for delays to previous nuclear projects.

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🇬🇭Ghana's ex-finance minister declared a fugitive

Ghana's former finance minister Ken Ofori-Atta has been declared a fugitive by prosecutors over his alleged involvement in multiple corruption cases when he was in government.

Ofori-Atta had left Ghana to evade investigations, and all necessary steps would be taken to bring him back, Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyabeng said.

Ofori-Atta has been accused of causing financial losses to the state, including over a controversial national cathedral, which remains a hole in the ground despite the alleged spending of $58m (£46.6m) of government money.

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🇺🇸🇷🇺Ukraine war talks start now, Trump says after Putin call

US President Donald Trump has said he had a "lengthy and highly productive" phone call with Vladimir Putin on Wednesday in which the leaders agreed to begin negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said he and the Russian president had "agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately".

Later, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had spoken with Trump about a "lasting, reliable peace".

The calls with the warring sides came as both Trump and his defence secretary said it was unlikely Ukraine would join Nato, which will come as a bitter disappointment to Kyiv.

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🇱🇧Senior UN peacekeeper injured in convoy attack in Lebanon

The United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon says its outgoing deputy commander has been injured after one of its convoys was "violently attacked".

The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) said in a statement that the convoy was taking peacekeepers to Beirut airport when it was targeted and one of its vehicles set on fire.

Protesters have been blocking the road to the airport following a decision by the Lebanese government to bar two Iranian planes from landing.

Both Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun and the country's army condemned the attack on Unifil, and said they would work to arrest those involved.

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🇪🇬🇺🇸Gaza plans put Egypt-US relations to tough test

In the bustling heart of Cairo, coffee shops teem with Gazans who managed to flee at the start of Israel's devastating war on Hamas. Although they have found safety, they remain worried about loved ones back home.

In the past few days here, Egyptian intelligence officials have been meeting Hamas leaders to shore up the shaky ceasefire. Tens of millions of Egyptians - tuning into the constant news updates - already feel their country's intimate involvement in the war in Gaza.

But now - with President Trump's surprise post-war vision, which proposes displacing two million Palestinians to "a parcel of land" in Egypt and Jordan, so that the US can take over the territory - they fear an existential threat.

Egyptians flocking to Friday prayers say Trump's idea needs a reality check.

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🇳🇬🇨🇦Nigeria angered after military chief denied Canada entry

The Nigerian government has condemned Canada for denying visas to its senior military officers, including the head of the military.

Chief of Defence Staff Gen Christopher Musa said half of his delegation, who were supposed to be in Canada for an official assignment on Wednesday, were left in Nigeria after not getting the correct paperwork.

Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo condemned the action by Canadian officials, terming it "disrespectful" to the West African country.

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🇸🇬Pritam Singh: Singapore opposition leader guilty of lying to parliament

Singapore's opposition leader Pritam Singh has been found guilty of lying under oath to a parliamentary committee.

A court imposed the maximum fine of S$7,000 ($5,223; £4,148) for each of two charges. Singh said that he would appeal against the conviction and sentence.

The charges relate to Singh's handling of Raeesah Khan, a former lawmaker from his party, who lied to parliament in a separate case.

The verdict in this high-profile trial comes as Singapore is gearing up for its next general election, which must be held by November.

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🇰🇷S Korea removes Deepseek from app stores over privacy concerns

South Korea has banned new downloads of China's DeepSeek artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot, according to the country's personal data protection watchdog.

The government agency said the AI model will become available again to South Korean users when "improvements and remedies" are made to ensure it complies with the country's personal data protection laws.

In the week after it made global headlines, DeepSeek became hugely popular in South Korea leaping to the top of app stores with over a million weekly users.

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