The European Union has expressed concern about Donald Trump’s announcement regarding his intention to withdraw from the World Health Organization

“We see with concern the announcement to withdraw from the WHO by the United States and we trust that the U.S. administration will consider all this ahead of the formal withdrawal,” a spokesperson of the European Commission’s said, according to Reuters.

European Union’s climate policy chief Wopke Hoekstra says that it is unfortunate that US President Donald Trump has once again withdrawn the United States from the Paris climate deal.

“It is truly an unfortunate development that the world’s largest economy, and one of our closest allies in the fight against climate change, is withdrawing from the Paris Agreement”, Hoekstra writes on social media platform X.

President Donald Trump signed executive orders Monday rolling back protections for transgender people and terminating diversity, equity and inclusion programmes within the federal government in what he described in his inauguration speech as a move to end efforts to “socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life.”

A World Health Organization spokesperson said on Tuesday that it regrets US President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the global agency and hopes that it will change its mind.

“We hope that the United States will reconsider, and we hope that there will be constructive dialogue for the benefit of everyone, for Americans but also people around the world,” WHO spokesperson Tarik Jašarević told a Geneva press briefing.

Elon Musk has hit out at his critics after a controversy erupted over a gesture he made at the inauguration of US President Donald Trump, with some comparing it to a Nazi salute. READ MORE

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday congratulated Donald Trump on becoming U.S. President, saying in a statement the leaders could work to provide an impetus “for freedom, peace and security as well as for prosperity and economic development.”

Soon after his inauguration as the 47th President of the United States, Donald Trump arrived at the Commander-in-Chief Ball with First Lady Melania Trump, drawing a thunderous ovation from the crowd. READ MORE

Germany will try to talk US President Donald Trump out of his decision to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organisation, German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach says.

“The new US president’s announcement to withdraw from the World Health Organisation is a serious blow to the international fight against global health crises,” he says, according to Reuters.

Donald Trump news LIVE: Palestinian authorities have accused Trump of “inciting Israeli settler violence”, reports AFP.

Earlier on Monday, Trump said that he was not confident a ceasefire deal in Gaza would hold, despite trumpeting his diplomacy to secure it ahead of his inauguration.

Donald Trump news LIVE: Outgoing vice president Kamala Harris and her husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, have left Washington DC, following President Donald Trump’s inauguration.

For her final flight, Harris was supported by an all-female U.S. Air Force crew, operating a C-32 aircraft from Joint Base Andrews to Los Angeles. This marks the first time an all-female crew has flown the C-32 for the U.S. Air Force, per Politico. Read more.

Immigrant and civil rights advocates, including the American Civil Liberties Union, filed a lawsuit against a birthright citizenship executive order signed by newly sworn in US President Donald Trump after taking office on Monday, Reuters reported.

“Immigrants’ rights advocates today sued the Trump administration over its executive order that seeks to strip certain babies born in the United States of their US citizenship,” the report cited advocates’ statement that called the order unconstitutional.

Donald Trump ordered halting birthright citizenship, however, it is unclear whether his order will survive inevitable legal challenges, since birthright citizenship is enshrined in the US Constitution.

What is birthright citizenship?

Birthright citizenship is a legal principle that automatically grants citizenship to individuals at birth. According to americanimmigrationcouncil.org, there are two types of birthright citizenship: ancestry-based and birthplace-based.

Birthplace-based citizenship, known as jus soli (Latin for “right of the soil”), grants citizenship based on the location of birth.

In the United States, birthright citizenship is enshrined in the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which states, “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.” This principle was solidified by the 1898 Supreme Court case United States v. Wong Kim Ark, which ruled that children born in the U.S. to immigrant parents are US citizens, regardless of their parents’ immigration status.

The US follows a combination of:

Unrestricted birthplace-based citizenship (jus soli): Citizenship is granted to anyone born on US soil, regardless of their parents’ status, with exceptions like children of foreign diplomats.

Restricted ancestry-based citizenship (jus sanguinis): Citizenship is extended to children born abroad to US citizens, provided certain statutory conditions are met.

A prisoner swap between the United States and Afghanistan’s Taliban led to the release of two Americans in exchange for Khan Mohammed, a Taliban figure serving a life sentence in California on drug trafficking charges, officials confirmed Tuesday.

The deal took place as President Joe Biden, who oversaw the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, handed power back to President Donald Trump.

The Taliban hailed the swap as a step toward “normalising” relations with the US, though most nations continue to refuse recognition of the group’s rule. The Taliban’s Foreign Ministry in Kabul confirmed the exchange, noting that the two US citizens were traded for Khan Mohammed, who was sentenced to two life terms in 2008.

On Donald Trump’s order to withdraw the US from the World Health Organisation (WHO), former chief scientist at the WHO, Dr Soumya Swaminathan, said the US will “end up losing more than it can gain” out of the decision.

“…with this, the US will only end up losing more than it can gain. Not only will it not be able to influence or impart inputs on crucial health issues but by opting to opt out of the WHO network, not be able to get critical data, that may help prepare better for any future pandemic. Therefore, it is neither good for the US nor for the rest of the world,” Dr Swaminathan told the Financial Express.com.

US President Donald Trump fired four senior government officials appointed by his predecessor early Tuesday and warned “over a thousand more” faced imminent dismissal in a first post on Truth Social since his inauguration.

“My Presidential Personnel Office is actively in the process of identifying and removing over a thousand Presidential Appointees from the previous Administration, who are not aligned with our vision to Make America Great Again,” Trump said on the platform.

“Jose Andres from the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition, Mark Milley from the National Infrastructure Advisory Council, Brian Hook from the Wilson Center for Scholars, and Keisha Lance Bottoms from the President’s Export Council—YOU’RE FIRED!” Trump added.

(via AFP)

Marking his priorities for his second term, newly sworn in US President Donald Trump signed a slew of executive orders within hours of taking office to fulfil some of his campaign promises.

Donald Trump’s first executive order and actions targeted issues ranging from immigration and energy policy to national security and the federal workforce.

Click here for the list of top executive orders by Donald Trump

In an order addressing “birthright citizenship,” US President Donald Trump on Monday (US time) directed US agencies to deny citizenship to children born in the US unless at least one parent is a US citizen or permanent resident, with the new policy set to take effect in 30 days. The policy challenges an amendment to the US Constitution and is expected to face legal opposition.

Additionally, Donald Trump suspended US refugee resettlement for a minimum of three months and ordered a review of security measures to determine whether travelers from specific countries should face a travel ban.

Newly sworn in US President Donald Trump said on Monday he was not confident a ceasefire deal in Gaza would hold, despite trumpeting his diplomacy to secure it ahead of his inauguration.

Asked by a reporter as he returned to the White House whether the two sides would maintain the truce and move on in the agreement, Trump said, “I’m not confident.”

“That’s not our war; it’s their war. But I’m not confident,” Trump said.

Trump, however, said that he believed Hamas had been “weakened” in the war that began with its unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

(via AFP)

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday directing the US to resume processing export permit applications for new liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects.

This move is part of Trump’s broader effort to boost US energy production and roll back the climate policies of his predecessor Joe Biden.

The order reverses a halt on permits imposed by former President Joe Biden in early 2024. Biden had paused approvals to allow US national laboratories to assess the environmental and economic impacts of the rapidly growing LNG export industry.

(via Reuters)

India’s External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar shared pictures from the inaugural festivities in Washington, where Donald Trump was sworn in as US President.

Oil swung between gains and losses as traders digested a slew of pledges and executive orders from President Donald Trump, including the threat of tariffs on Canada and plans to boost domestic energy output.

Brent traded above $80 a barrel after three days of losses, while West Texas Intermediate was near $77. Trump flagged tariffs of as much as 25% on crude producers Canada and Mexico by the start of next month, and signed an order declaring a national energy emergency.

Still, Trump held off unveiling China-specific levies on day one in office, instead ordering his administration to address unfair trade practices globally, according to a fact sheet seen by Bloomberg.

(Via Bloomberg)

US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump along with US Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance shared their first dance at the Commander-In-Chief Ball.

President Donald Trump signed an execution order Monday on the death penalty that directs the attorney general to “take all necessary and lawful action” to ensure that states have enough lethal injection drugs to carry out executions.

Newly sworn in US President Donald Trump’s order, came just hours after he returned to the White House.

The order reportedly compels the Justice Department to not only seek the death penalty in appropriate federal cases but also to help preserve capital punishment in states that have struggled to maintain adequate supplies of lethal injection drugs.

(via AP)

External Affairs Minister (EAM) Jaishankar who represented India at the inauguration ceremony of Donald Trump as US President said he was ‘privileged’ to represent as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s special envoy at the event, where he was seen seated in the first row among other prominent global figures. Read full report

Newly sworn in US President Donald Trump said he is “fine with legal immigration”.

“I like it, we need people and I’m absolutely fine with it. We need it because we’re going to have a lot of companies coming in to avoid tariffs…,” Donald Trump said.