Morn news

US President Donald Trump visited the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, the last stop on his deal-making swing through the Gulf states. The White House said Trump has secured 200 billion dollars in investments from the UAE.

He met with the country’s president, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The two nations agreed to build AI data centers in Abu Dhabi operated by American companies. The Trump administration pledged to boost the UAE’s position as a global hub for cutting-edge research.

Trump said he appreciated such a large investment, adding that “we’re going to treat you very, as you should be, magnificently.”
One of the agreements with the UAE includes a 14.5-billion-dollar commitment from Etihad Airways to invest in Boeing jets powered by GE engines.

Trump unveiled several big deals during his four-day trip to the region. He announced a pledge by Qatar Airways to purchase up to 210 Boeing jets, and a promise by Saudi Arabia to invest 600 billion dollars in the US.

The Saudi investment includes a 142-billion-dollar arms package, which the White House is calling the largest in US arms deal in history.

Israel has qualified for Eurovision’s grand final on Saturday, hours after protesters tried to disrupt the country’s dress rehearsal.

Yuval Raphael, 24, was performing New Day Will Rise during a preview show on Thursday afternoon when six people with whistles and “oversized” Palestinian flags obstructed her act. Under the arena rules, all flags are allowed but there are limits on size.

Swiss broadcaster SRG SSR, which is organising the event, said the audience members were quickly ejected from the St Jakobshalle arena.

Israel’s participation in Eurovision has been a source of controversy, as its military intensifies its bombardment of Gaza, and enforces blockades of all food and other humanitarian supplies

Israel qualifies for Eurovision final amid protests

Getty Images Yuval Raphael performs at the Eurovision Song ContestGetty Images
Yuval Raphael told the BBC she had practiced singing to the sound of people booing to prepare for Eurovision
Israel has qualified for Eurovision’s grand final on Saturday, hours after protesters tried to disrupt the country’s dress rehearsal.

Yuval Raphael, 24, was performing New Day Will Rise during a preview show on Thursday afternoon when six people with whistles and “oversized” Palestinian flags obstructed her act. Under the arena rules, all flags are allowed but there are limits on size.

Swiss broadcaster SRG SSR, which is organising the event, said the audience members were quickly ejected from the St Jakobshalle arena.

Israel’s participation in Eurovision has been a source of controversy, as its military intensifies its bombardment of Gaza, and enforces blockades of all food and other humanitarian supplies.

Getty Images Yuval Raphael is pictured on stage while a protester in the audience holds up a large Palestinian flagGetty Images
Protesters unfurled a large Palestinian flag during dress rehearsals on Thursday
In recent weeks, broadcasters in Spain, Ireland and Slovenia have called for a debate on Israel’s involvement, and there have been small protests in the streets of Basel, Switzerland where this year’s contest is taking place.

The incident during Thursday’s dress rehearsal did not disrupt Raphael’s performance, and her appearance in the televised semi-final passed without further demonstrations.

Speaking to the BBC earlier this week, Raphael said her team had played audience noises over her rehearsals, “so I can practice when there is distractions in the background.”

The singer clasped her hands together, then blew a kiss towards the sky when it was announced she would progress to the final.

Despite the ongoing tension, her song is currently among the favourites to win, according to bookmakers.

Chris Brown arrested over alleged bottle attack

Chris Brown rose to fame two decades ago and is known for hits such as Ayo, Beautiful People and No Air

US singer Chris Brown has been arrested in the UK in connection with a bottle attack at a London nightclub in 2023.

Brown was arrested at a hotel in Manchester in the early hours of Thursday, and held on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm to music producer Abe Diaw at the Tape nightclub in Mayfair.

The Sun said it became aware of Brown’s presence in the UK on Wednesday, at which point it alerted the Met Police.

The Met said a 36-year-old man remains in custody. Representatives for Brown have been approached for comment.

Toronto man pleads guilty to 2 charges in connection with Canada’s ‘largest terrorism financing scheme’

A 36-year-old man has plead guilty to two charges in connection with Canada’s “largest terrorism financing scheme” in history, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).

On Wednesday, the RCMP said Toronto resident Khalilullah Yousuf plead guilty to financing terrorist acts overseas by sending cryptocurrency and money transfers from September 2019 to December 2022.

As part of a plea deal, Yousuf admitted to raising $15,000 through GoFundMe and contributed $35,000 to several people in connection with Daesh, also known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

“This is the largest terrorism financing conviction to date in Canada in terms of monetary value. This conviction is also the first successful terrorism financing conviction in Canada where the accused used cryptocurrency and the first where they used online crowdfunding,” the RCMP said in a release on Thursday.

The RCMP says Yousuf also plead guilty to participating in terrorist activities, admitting to disseminating more than 3,800 hyperlinks for the direct purpose of “radicalizing, indoctrinating and recruiting” on behalf of Daesh.

Hwy. 401 express lanes closed in Mississauga after fatal crash
Toronto man pleads guilty to 2 charges in connection with Canada’s ‘largest terrorism financing scheme’

An RCMP patch is seen on the shoulder of a Surrey RCMP Officer in Charge on Friday, April 28, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

A 36-year-old man has plead guilty to two charges in connection with Canada’s “largest terrorism financing scheme” in history, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).

On Wednesday, the RCMP said Toronto resident Khalilullah Yousuf plead guilty to financing terrorist acts overseas by sending cryptocurrency and money transfers from September 2019 to December 2022.

As part of a plea deal, Yousuf admitted to raising $15,000 through GoFundMe and contributed $35,000 to several people in connection with Daesh, also known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

“This is the largest terrorism financing conviction to date in Canada in terms of monetary value. This conviction is also the first successful terrorism financing conviction in Canada where the accused used cryptocurrency and the first where they used online crowdfunding,” the RCMP said in a release on Thursday.

The RCMP says Yousuf also plead guilty to participating in terrorist activities, admitting to disseminating more than 3,800 hyperlinks for the direct purpose of “radicalizing, indoctrinating and recruiting” on behalf of Daesh. The Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC) said he also created propaganda to justify terrorist attacks against foreign nationals located in Afghanistan.

From October 2020 and March 2021, officials said Yousuf spoke with an individual in the U.S., who was soon after convicted in that country for trying to provide some sort of material support to Daesh.

Yousuf has been sentenced to 12 years in prison, minus the time served in pre-trial custody. The PPSC says he will also be required to serve half of his time before being released on full parole.

Yousuf’s remaining charge was stayed as part of his guilty plea.

“At its core, terrorism is violence that seeks to justify itself. But the violence needs support by advocates, recruiters, and financiers as essential parts of the cycle of intimidation and destruction. The verdicts and sentences… represent how Canadian society in accordance with the rule of law, emphatically holds to account those who make the violence possible,” George Dolhai, director of public prosecutions for the PPSC, said in a release.

The RCMP credited various partners with Yousuf’s file, including international organizations like the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Spanish Guardia Civil Special Central Unit 2 and the Maldives Police Service.

US President Donald Trump arrived Thursday afternoon in the UAE, on the final stop of his Gulf tour, which he had described as a “historic” one.

President Donald Trump arrived in the United Arab Emirates Thursday for the last leg of his first major foreign trip. Air Force One was given a fighter jet escort into the country’s airspace, just as Saudi Arabia and Qatar offered on the first stops of his Mideast trip.

Trump was greeted by UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and later headed to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque — among the largest mosques in the world. He is to attend a state dinner at the presidential palace in Abu Dhabi.
The first major trip of his second term had been scheduled to end, but Trump hadn’t ruled out continuing on to Turkey if Russian President Vladimir Putin shows up for talks with Ukraine.

The US president arrived in the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi coming from Qatar.

He kicked off his trip to the region from Saudi Arabia where he held bilateral talks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. During his visit to both the Kingdom and Qatar, major announcements were made with more to be expected during his stay in the UAE.

All eyes on Cassie as the prosecution’s star witness testifies in Diddy’s trial

Cassie is the prosecution’s key witness and has testified graphic details of alleged sexual and physical abuse at the hands of Combs

Combs faces charges of racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution

The 55-year-old denies all charges. If found guilty, he could spend the rest of his life in prison
For the past half hour, defence attorney Anna Estevao has been taking Ventura back through the early stages of her relationship with Combs.

She has been trying to undercut the narrative from Ventura’s testimony yesterday, that she was naïve and young when she started to date Combs at age 21, him 17 years her senior.

Estevao notes that at that time Ventura was a successful musician with her own Manhattan apartment.

She noted that Ventura was already dating a music producer at the time, Ryan Leslie.

“It wasn’t the first time you’d been dating an older man, right?” Estevao asks her.

The lawyer also notes Ventura had a tattoo of Leslie’s initials.

The defence is now starting to get into the so-called “freak-offs” more directly – where Ventura says Combs directed her and male escorts to perform sex acts.

The Ukrainian president has called Russia’s low-level delegation sent to peace talks in Turkey merely “decorative.” He had challenged Russia’s leader to meet him in person to talk about ending the war. DW has more.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would decide on an approach after meeting with Turkey’s presidentImage:

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy is in Turkey to meet with his Turkish counterpart
Talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations are set to begin in Istanbul
NATO foreign ministers have also been holding an informal meeting in Turkey
Russian President Vladimir Putin is to skip the talks in Turkey

Nothing will happen on Ukraine until Putin and I get together, Trump says – BBC News

Trump suggests ‘nothing’ likely to come from Ukraine peace talks after Vladimir Putin no-show in Türkiye

Warring sides expected to hold direct talks in Turkiye
“
President Donald Trump suggests that significant progress in Ukraine peace talks is unlikely until he and President Putin meet in person.

As the pool reporter on board Air Force One, I asked Trump whether he was disappointed by the level of the delegation that Russia has sent to Turkey.

“Look, nothing’s going to happen until Putin and I get together. Okay?” Trump says.

“And obviously he wasn’t going to go. He was going to go, but he thought I was going to go.

“He wasn’t going if I wasn’t there and I don’t believe anything’s going to happen, whether you like it or not, until he and I get together, but we’re going to have to get it solved because too many people are dying
President Donald Trump is not going to Turkey to personally mediate Ukraine-Russia peace talks.

For days, Trump repeatedly stirred speculation that he might upend his Middle East travel schedule – one his team meticulously crafted for weeks — to join the Russians and Ukrainians at the negotiating table. He told reporters on Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin would “like me to be there.”

But shortly after the Kremlin released a list of their delegation attending the talks – signaling for the first time Putin would not be on hand – two White House officials told CNN that Trump would also not be attending.

Whether it was an effort to save face – or simply accepting the reality that Trump’s participation was always a lofty goal – the timing of both announcements signaled another chapter in the Trump-Putin relationship.

Changing Trump’s travel schedule at this point in his three-country trip to the Middle East would have been a logistical nightmare, officials said, never mind a major diplomatic challenge to prepare the president for such high-stakes talks in such short order.

Yet that didn’t stop Trump from continuing to drop hints that he might attend.

The former reality TV star seemed to be purposely injecting a “will he or won’t he” dynamic, one that kept his supporters and even some of his closest aides and allies guessing.

Putin would “like me to be there, and that’s a possibility. That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t do it to save a lot of lives and come back,” Trump said in response to a question from CNN’s Kaitlan Collins aboard Air Force One Wednesday.

He continued, “I don’t know that he would be there if I’m not there.”

Yet even as Trump toyed with going, Putin had not yet agreed to attend the talks despite proposing it himself. And Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said he wouldn’t hold talks with any Russian representative other than Putin himself.

Asked about Putin’s strategy and whether he still feels that the Russian leader is “tapping him along,” as he suggested in a previous post to social media, Trump told reporters he would let them know in a few days.

Trump first said on Monday that he was considering flying in to Turkey for the peace talks: “There’s a possibility of it, I guess, if I think things can happen.”

Trump is currently scheduled to be in Doha, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Thursday, before flying back to Washington on Friday, as the diminished peace talks get underway in Turkey.

Pennsylvania judge is first to rule Trump’s use of Alien Enemies Act is justified

President Trump’s push to remove people from the U.S. using the wartime Alien Enemies Act got a rare stamp of approval from a federal judge this week, as one of the more controversial parts of Mr. Trump’s immigration strategy faces a slew of court challenges.

U.S. District Judge Stephanie Haines of Pennsylvania, a Trump nominee, ruled Tuesday the president is legally allowed to use the 18th-century law to deport Venezuelan migrants accused of belonging to the gang Tren de Aragua. However, Haines also said the administration hasn’t given people facing Alien Enemies Act removal enough notice to bring court challenges.The ruling is fairly narrow: The case only applies to one person, a Venezuelan man who was arrested in central Pennsylvania and moved to Texas. But it further complicates a nationwide battle over the Alien Enemies Act, which Mr. Trump has used to rapidly expel hundreds of migrants and send them to a supermax prison in El Salvador.

What is the Alien Enemies Act?

The Alien Enemies Act of 1798 says the government can remove people during an invasion or a “predatory incursion” launched by a foreign nation. Prior to this year, the law had been invoked three times in history, during the War of 1812, World War I and World War II.

In all other cases, the law has been used for citizens of countries at war with the United States. But the Trump administration argued in a March proclamation that accused Tren de Aragua members count as “alien enemies,” claiming the gang — which Mr. Trump has deemed a foreign terrorist group — has extensive links to the Venezuelan government.

The use of the Alien Enemies Act has drawn controversy, with critics arguing the administration hasn’t given people an opportunity to challenge their cases in court. Many of the migrants who were sent to a Salvadoran prison don’t have clear criminal records, CBS News’ “60 Minutes” found last month. The Trump administration has stood by its use of the law, casting it as a necessary step to crack down on crime.