Special Interest: World Politics
RFK Jr sacks entire US vaccine committee
US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has removed all 17 members of a committee that issues official government recommendations on immunisations.
Reported - 10/06/25
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clyge27y2g9o
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/10/rfk-jr-cdc-vaccine-panel
Mass protests in LA
Protests against mass immigration deportations have been taking place in Los Angeles.
US President Donald Trump has deployed the national guard and on duty Marines to combat the protests, against the wishes of California Governor Gavin Newsom.
Reported - 09/06/25
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cgr5vgexj1gt
Trump bans travel from 12 countries to the US
From Monday, citizens from 12 countries - Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen - will be banned from travelling to the US.
Reported - 05/06/25
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cvgqwyxxpzgt
US steel tariffs begin
US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order increasing US tariffs on steel and aluminium imports to 50%, up from 25%.
The UK is currently exempt from the rise though, with the levy remaining at 25% for now.
Reported - 04/06/25
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c308v53v4e6t
Dutch government collapses
The Dutch government has collapsed after Geert Wilders withdrew his far-right party from the governing coalition.
Reported - 03/06/25
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0r1x5yyd5wo
Poland elects new President
Karol Nawrocki has been elected Poland's new president.
Nawrocki won 50.9% percent of the votes, ahead of Warsaw's mayor Rafal Trzaskowski on 49.1% percent.
Reported - 01/06/25
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx27897vedno
US government report cites non-existent sources
A US government report on children's health cited "totally fabricated" studies to back up its findings, academics wrongly listed as the authors of those studies have said.
Reported - 30/05/25
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdj98vrzpyvo
Trump battles courts
An appeals court has ruled that Donald Trump can keep collecting import taxes for now, just a day after a trade court judged that most of his global tariffs are illegal.
Reported - 29/05/25
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c93ywvl7yy5o
US halts student visa appointments
Donald Trump has ordered embassies to stop scheduling appointments for student visas in addition to expanding social media vetting of applicants.
Reported - 27/05/25
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy75eenl46eo
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/27/international-student-visa-trump
Trump ambushes South African President
US President Donald Trump has seemingly ambushed South African President Cyril Ramaphosa during a visit to the White House.
In front of the press, Trump brought in a TV to play footage allegedly showing proof of an anti-white genocide happening in South Africa.
Reported - 22/05/25
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c753rlw4430o
US Supreme Court lets Trump end deportation protections
The US Supreme Court has said it will allow the Trump administration to terminate deportation protections for some 350,000 Venezuelans in the US.
Reported - 19/05/25
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg78471n85o
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/19/supreme-court-ruling-venezuela-tps-trump
Merz becomes Chancellor
Friedrich Merz has won a parliament vote to become Germany's next chancellor at the second attempt.
Merz had initially fallen six votes short of the absolute majority he needed on Tuesday morning.
Reported - 06/05/25
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvgp22zlrgko
Trump removes Waltz as national security adviser
US President Donald Trump has removed Mike Waltz from his post as national security adviser, and will nominate him as ambassador to the United Nations.
Reported - 01/05/25
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx20zw32lpgo
Ukraine signs US minerals deal
Ukrainian officials have signed a rare earth minerals deal with America, aimed at securing further US support.
Reported - 01/05/25
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c20zj5l4jpdt
Liberal Party wins Canada election
Mark Carney's Liberal Party wins the Canadian election.
Defeated Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre is projected to lose his seat.
Reported - 29/04/25
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cr5d13e4r2rt
Hegseth shared Yemen attack details in second Signal chat
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth shared information about US air strikes on Yemen in a second private group on the Signal app.
Reported - 21/04/25
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g8r701lrno
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/20/pete-hegseth-signal-chat-yemen-attack
US Supreme Court halts deportation of detained Venezuelans
The US Supreme Court has ordered the Trump administration to pause the deportation of a group of alleged Venezuelan gang members.
Reported - 19/04/25
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czd3rdjn81lo
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/18/supreme-court-aclu-venezuela
Hungary's parliament votes to limit rights
Hungary's parliament has backed a range of constitutional amendments which will limit the rights of LGBTQ+ people and dual nationals.
The amendments, which the government says are aimed at protecting children's physical and moral development, will enable it to ban public LGBTQ+ gatherings.
Reported - 14/04/25
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5yrpe51pkwo
China raises tariffs on US goods to 125%
China has raised tariffs on US goods to 125% as the trade war with the US escalates.
The move is in response to President Donald Trump further increasing the tariffs on some Chinese goods to 145%.
Reported - 11/04/25
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cn4jjw30d5qt
Trump partially reverses tariffs
Financial markets in Asia and Europe make gains after Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause for countries hit by higher US tariffs.
A blanket 10% tariff will remain in place for most countries, except for China, which has a tariff of 125% in place.
Reported - 10/04/25
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cn4jjw30d5qt
White House fires National Security Agency chief
The Trump administration has fired the head of both the National Security Agency and US Cyber Command, General Timothy Haugh.
Reported - 03/04/25
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckgerl183j3o
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/04/03/nsa-director-fired-tim-haugh/
Trump introduces tariffs
Global stocks have sunk, a day after President Donald Trump announced sweeping new tariffs on most of the world.
Reported - 03/04/25
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cly1g63x7q8o
Marine Le Pen guilty
French National Rally leader Marine Le Pen has been barred from running for office for five years after being found guilty of embezzlement of EU funds.
She also received a 4 year prison sentence, of which 2 will be suspended.
Reported - 31/03/25
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy0ylgjew1xo
Major US defence security failure
A journalist was inadvertently added to a secret group chat where senior US officials discussed plans for a strike against the Houthi group in Yemen.
Reported by BBC News - 25/03/25
Istanbul mayor arrested ahead of election
The main rival to Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been formally arrested and charged with corruption.
Ekrem Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul, is expected to be selected as the opposition Republican People's Party's (CHP) 2028 presidential candidate.
Reported by BBC News - 22/03/25
Trump signs order to dismantle US education department
US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to dismantle the Department of Education.
Reported by BBC News - 20/03/25
South African ambassador 'no longer welcome' in US
The US is expelling South Africa's ambassador, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio describing him as a "race-baiting politician".
In a post on X, Rubio accused Ebrahim Rasool of hating America and the President and said the ambassador was "no longer welcome in our great country".
Reported by BBC News - 15/03/25
Greenland's opposition wins election
Greenland's centre-right opposition has won a surprise general election victory.
The Democratic party, which favours a gradual approach to independence from Denmark - achieved around 30% of the vote, near-complete results show. They will still need to enter into a coalition with other parties to form a government.
Reported by BBC News - 12/03/25
Ontario imposes 25% surcharge on US-exported electricity
Canada's province Ontario is imposing a retaliatory 25% surcharge on electricity it sends to US states in response to President Donald Trump's tariffs on Canadian goods.
Reported by BBC News - 10/03/25
Mark Carney to become Canada's next PM
Mark Carney, the former Bank of England boss, will become the next Prime Minister of Canada, replacing Justin Trudeau who resigned in January.
Reported by BBC News - 09/03/25
Trump sanctions International Criminal Court
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order sanctioning the International Criminal Court, accusing it of "illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel".
Reported by BBC News - 06/02/25
USAID at risk
The Trump administration, working with Elon Musk, marks its intention to merge USAID (the US government's main overseas aid agency) with the state department, as workers were asked to stay out of its Washington headquarters on Monday.
This latest shakeup of American government systems comes as Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency team have reportedly seized access to the personal information of millions of Americans (including medical history, national insurance numbers, work history and personal addresses).
Reported by BBC News - 03/02/25
Trump signs flurry of executive orders
US President Donald Trump has signed a number of executive orders in the first 2 days of his presidency, including:
- Withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accord
- Withdrawing from the World Health Organisation
- Pardoning over 1500 individuals convicted during the Capitol Building riots
- Ending birthright citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants
- The US will now only recognise 2 sexes, male and female
Reported by BBC News - 21/01/25
Donald Trump inaugurated
Donald Trump has been sworn in as the 47th President of the United States of America.
This is his second term in the office, where he served as the 45th President before the Biden administration.
Reported by BBC News - 20/01/25
Trump's US election win certified
Donald Trump's election win has been formally certified in Congress on 06/01/25. Current Vice-President Kamala Harris presided over the event as required by the US Constitution.
Reported by BBC News - 06/01/25
Biden issues record number of presidential pardons
US President Joe Biden has issued presidential pardons to 39 Americans convicted of non-violent crimes, and commuted the sentences of nearly 1,500 others, including several convicted of multi-million dollar fraud schemes.
Reported by BBC News - 12/12/24
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c30nq7r0v2mo
Federal cases against Donald Trump dropped
The special prosecutor who brought two key criminal cases against Donald Trump has asked judges to drop both of them after his victory in the 2024 presidential election. President Trump had pleaded not guilty to both of the cases.
Special counsel Jack Smith was overseeing cases accusing President Trump of trying to overturn the 2020 election results and improperly storing classified documents after he left office. Special counsel Smith said the cases should be closed because of a policy that bans the prosecution of a sitting president.
Reported by BBC News - 25/11/24
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gvd7kxxj5o
Trump's top team so far
President elect Donald Trump has nominated the following people to roles in his top team:
Chief of Staff - Susie Wiles
Department of the Interior - Doug Burgum
Health and Human Services - Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Director of National Intelligence - Tulsi Gabbard
Defense Secretary - Pete Hegseth
Secretary of State - Marco Rubio
Agriculture - Brooke Rollins
Treasury Secretary - Scott Bessent
Labour - Lori Chavez-DeRemer
Energy - Chris Wright
Secretary of Education - Linda McMahon
Commerce - Howard Lutnick
Housing and Urban Develpment - Scott Turner
Transportation - Sean Duffy
Head of Environmental Protection Agency - Lee Zeldin
Attorney General - Pam Bondi
National Security Adviser - Mike Waltz
Homeland Security - Kristi Noem
Veteran Affairs - Doug Collins
Solicitor General - Dean John Sauer
Border Czar - Tom Homan
Department of Government Efficiency - Elon Musk & Vivek Ramaswamy
United Nations Ambassador - Elise Stefanik
Surgeon General - Dr. Janette Nesheiwat
Director of CDC - Dr. Dave Weldon
Director of Office of Management and Budget - Russell Vought
Reported by BBC News - updated 24/11/24
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx24gze60yzo
Donald Trump wins 2024 US presidential election
Donald J. Trump is projected to have won the 2024 U.S. presidential election, where he faced Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic candidate. His victory is largely attributed to his appeal in conservative and swing states. While the election results are still being certified, Trump's return signals a potential shift back to his "America First" policies.
Widely report - 06/11/24
Republicans win complete control of US Congress
The Republican party (GOP) now control the presidency and both chambers of Congress - the House and the Senate - which means they will hold all the elected tools of power.
Reported by BBC News - 14/11/24
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c0lp93494g9t
Donald Trump cabinet nomination for Attorney General withdraws
Matt Gaetz, Donald Trump's pick for attorney general, has withdrawn from consideration for the role. He said the controversy surrounding his nomination had become a "distraction" for the president-elect.
Reported by BBC News - 21/11/24
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cm20pye11j3t