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WASHINGTON: Workers, unionized with AFGE and the Treasurers’ union, joined by their non-union colleagues, literally put their bodies on the line on Monday to block entrances into government buildings by operatives of Elon Musk who moved quickly to take over government servers in those buildings and seize control of major government agencies.

LONDON: NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte is on the warpath, much to the delight of Ukraine’s state-controlled mass media and politicians. Europe’s biggest-selling daily paper, Bild, reports his comments in the light of the Ukraine war: “I’ll tell you very clearly: we have to prepare for war.” Knowing that many of his German readers remain nervous about their country engaging directly in military conflict, he adds: “That is the best way to avoid war,” as though reciting an iron law of history.

Like many of his recent illogical Presidential orders or statements, President Trump is trying to drive out Palestinians from the occupied territories, into other Arab nations. But the story has a twist, as it has emerged that the Palestinian land in the West Bank is being sold illegally to American far-right Jews by Jerusalem-based companies, violating several laws.

Turkey’s proxy groups like the Syrian National Army (SNA) which is also part of a coalition of Syrian opposition groups led by Hayat Taheer Al-Sham (HTS) have been attacking the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in North Syrian since December 2024. In particular, fierce fighting along the Tishreen Dam has become the focal point.

WASHINGTON: In the history of modern states, no person has been able to convert their wealth into such global political influence. By buying Twitter, now rebadged X, Elon Musk has already hoisted himself into the US government. In doing so, he has made himself the chief amplifier of global authoritarianism. But it should also be recognized that while an amplifier strengthens sounds, it does not create them itself. What was previously a disturbing background noise has become noise broadcast across all channels.

On the eve of the fourth anniversary of the military coup in Myanmar, the ruling junta has floated the proposal to hold the national elections to form a new government in the country which is witnessing civil war between the junta and the forces of democracy for the last four years.

Nepal has decided to hike the permit fees to climb Mount Everest. It will certainly boost Nepal's revenues. Yet it raises the question about the ethics of commercialisation of scaling one of the world's most revered natural wonders. Issues pertaining to sustainability and overcrowding come up in the wake of the decision of increasing the permit fees. It has been upped from $11,000 to $15,000 during peak season. For Nepal, the economic stakes are significant.

The Chinese AI startup DeepSeek has brought down the market crashing, but it has done even more damaging things to the United States. Apart from challenging Silicon Valley’s technology dominance, the Chinese have exposed the limits of Trump’s tariffs, challenging Washington’s ability to restrain China’s technological advance.

LONDON: History may have been made this week when, for the first time, a Chinese technological development had the effect of wiping at least a trillion dollars off corporate values on the US stock market.

The U.S. President Donald Trump has intensified his attacks against the left wing regimes of Latin America as a part of the MAGA programme to weaken the Left in the region and bolster the far right forces which have been emboldened as a result of the coming of the Trump regime for the second time.