Author: Press Room

Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the Veterans Affairs Committee, on Monday called on Doug Collins, the secretary of veterans affairs, to testify at an informal hearing next week to discuss how the Trump administration’s efforts to slash the federal work force have affected veterans and the federal agency that serves them.Mr. Collins is all but certain to decline the invitation from Mr. Blumenthal, who as a member of the minority party has no authority to call a hearing or set the panel’s agenda. His attempt to hold a so-called “shadow hearing” is the latest move by…

CF Montreal has fired head coach Laurent Courtois after a poor start to the Major League Soccer season. The club announced the move Monday, two days after Montreal (0-4-1) lost 3-0 at Nashville SC. Assistant coach Marco Donadel will take over on an interim basis.“CF Montréal would like to thank Laurent for his contributions to the club,” the team said in a brief statement.President and chief executive officer Gabriel Gervais was scheduled to speak with reporters at Montreal’s training complex Monday afternoon. Courtois is the first MLS coach to be dismissed this season.Montreal sits dead last in the Eastern Conference with a minus-seven goal differential, the worst…

The embattled mayor of Istanbul is the opposition party’s candidate for the next presidential election, scheduled to take place in 2028.The embattled mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, has been chosen as the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) candidate for the next presidential election, scheduled to take place in 2028. Imamoglu, who was detained on Wednesday, is widely seen as the top challenger of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. His arrest has prompted widespread protests, which have been ongoing for several days, primarily centred in major cities such as Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir. Below is a brief timeline of Imamoglu’s political career. (Al…

Washington — Congress returns Monday from a weeklong recess as the fallout continues from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s move to help Republicans advance a controversial spending bill earlier this month to avoid a government shutdown. As lawmakers left Washington following many weeks in session, a recess that Democrats initially hoped would be marked by a show of force against the Trump administration and Republican control of Washington was punctuated by handwringing over the party’s direction — and questions about its leadership. Democrats remained mum as they left Washington in the aftermath of the tense funding fight. And at town halls from…

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and US President Donald Trump have held a brief call to discuss progress on a new economic deal between the two countries, the prime minister’s spokesman says.The United Kingdom is hoping to negotiate a deal with the United States to avoid a broader round of reciprocal tariffs that Trump says he will announce next week.”The prime minister and president discussed progress in the talks on the ‘Economic Prosperity Deal’ between the US and the UK,” the spokesman told reporters on Monday.”The UK will only do a deal in the national interest, which reflects this government’s…

A high-ranking member of the violent Venezuelan street gang Tren de Aragua is behind bars for the alleged murders of two women in Illinois earlier this year. Ricardo Gonzales, 32, was arrested in Cobb County, Georgia last week in a joint operation led by the U.S. Marshals Service Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force, the Chicago Police Department and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to the Department of Justice. “This defendant’s crimes against American women are horrific, and he is exactly the type of Alien Enemy the Trump administration is fighting to remove from this country in order to make America safe…

Descrease article font size Increase article font size A new accessible washroom at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax has raised concerns with at least one advocate. While the space excels in some areas, Clayton Dauphinee says what’s missing is a sign of larger accessibility issues in the province.For starters, Dauphinee believes some safety features, such as a back support or toilet lid, have been overlooked.“Some people with disabilities don’t have the use of their legs, so therefore they could lean back or fall back, strike the flush valve, injure themselves,” he said. Get breaking National news For news impacting…

“Is it not a normal thing for countries to respect each other’s positions in their interactions with each other?” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said on Monday when asked about Japan’s protest. “As far as I know, this important and beneficial meeting and interaction between China and Japan embodied this spirit,” he said. The talks on Saturday followed a rare summit in May in Seoul and came ahead of a mooted state visit to Japan by China’s President Xi Jinping. Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said he, Wang and South Korea’s Cho Tae-yul “had a frank exchange of views…

Turkey has been plunged into a political crisis after the authorities arrested Ekrem Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul and the top rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on accusations of corruption and supporting terrorism.The biggest protests in more than a decade have erupted across the country, with Mr. Imamoglu ousted from his position and jailed hours before Turkey’s main opposition party designated him its candidate in the next presidential election.Mr. Imamoglu has denied the charges, calling them politically motivated. Many people have accused the government of using the courts to sideline a perceived political threat to Mr. Erdogan, who has…

By Aishvarya KaviPhotographs by Eric Lee and Kent NishimuraMs. Kavi, Mr. Lee and Mr. Nishimura witnessed the events at the Institute of Peace from outside the building on Monday, March 17. In the days that followed, Ms. Kavi continued reporting to confirm a more complete account of events.For nearly five hours last Monday, Elon Musk’s government cost-cutting team joined with private security and with law enforcement authorities for an extraordinary showdown at an iconic building alongside the National Mall.They were demanding access to the U.S. Institute of Peace. The group, a nonprofit created by Congress 41 years ago, supports diplomatic…