Pope Leo XIV makes a strong appeal for peace during his Sunday Angelus prayer
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Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Malaysians urge government to reject ‘Zionist' Nick Adams as US envoy
Malaysians are urging their government to reject Donald Trump's appointment of conservative provocateur Nick Adams as the US ambassador to their country. Political parties, parliamentarians and members of the public are pressing Anwar Ibrahim's government to reject the MAGA commentator as ambassador to the majority Muslim country over his 'vocal support of Israel's Zionist regime'. Mr Adams, 40, a provocateur with a reputation for making incendiary social media posts, including one in which he referred to pop star Taylor Swift as a 'woke jezebel", was nominated by Mr Trump last week. Mr Adams was born in Sydney before immigrating to the US in 2012. If confirmed by the senate, he would replace Edgard Kagan, who took the job less than 16 months ago. Although Mr Adams, who became a US citizen in 2021, does have prior political experience, he has never been a diplomat. He was a member of Australia's Liberal Party before being driven out over an offensive rant about a journalist. 'Nick Adams is not a diplomat, not a statesman,' Mus'ab Muzahar from Amanah party, a member of the ruling coalition, said. 'He's merely an extreme right-wing propagandist, a Trumpist and vocal supporter of Israel's Zionist regime. His social media rhetoric is full of hatred, racism and Islamophobic sentiments which veer far from mature bilateral relations.' Mr Muzahar warned that Malaysia was "not a testing ground for US political puppets'. Mohamed Sukri Omar, an official of Parti Islam Se-Malaysia, said the government should take a firm and clear stance against the nomination. "Nick Adams is not just a controversial figure. He openly spreads hatred towards Islam and supports the Zionist colonial regime without consideration," Mr Omar said, according to The Star. He said Mr Adams once pressured a restaurant in the US to fire a waitress simply for wearing a "Free Palestine" pin. "This is an inhumane act that demonstrates extreme and hateful attitudes towards the oppressed Palestinian people's struggle," he said in a statement on Monday. His statement referred to a post of X, where Mr Adams proudly claimed to have gotten a waitress fired for wearing a "Free Palestine" pin. "I won't tolerate being served by those who support terror, I stand with Israel," Mr Adams wrote in the post dated 5 August 2024. Malaysia has openly supported the Palestinian people since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October 2023. Parti Keadilan Rakyat's Youth International Relations Bureau warned that Mr Adams's nomination was being viewed with concern due to his "extremist ideologies and divisive rhetoric", which stood in contrast to the Malaysian government. "Such a rejection should not be misconstrued as hostility but rather seen as a necessary measure to safeguard the integrity of bilateral relations and ensure that diplomatic envoys can contribute constructively, in a manner aligned with the shared aspirations of both nations," the bureau's chief, Arief Izuadin, said. The choice of Mr Adams as America's envoy to Malaysia reflected a lack of respect for and understanding of the nation, said Dr Bridget Welsh, a political analyst specialising in Southeast Asia. "Trump's focus on loyalty and political appointees, rather than professional diplomats or regional expertise, will inevitably undercut US engagement with the region,' she told The Straits Times. Malaysia last week said it planned to 'continue discussions' with the US to reach a 'balanced and mutually beneficial trade agreement" after Mr Trump threatened to impose a 25 per cent tariff on the country from 1 August.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
China steps in as US pulls back from diplomacy, report says
By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) -China is increasing its diplomatic reach as President Donald Trump's administration pares back America's international presence, Democrats from the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee said in a report released on Monday. The report, the result of months of staff travel and research, was released as the Trump administration makes deep cuts to the State Department, including beginning on Friday to fire more than 1,350 U.S.-based employees, part of a total reduction of nearly 3,000 people for the U.S.-based workforce. The administration has also cut billions of dollars in foreign aid, effectively shutting down the U.S. Agency for International Development, leading to the firing of thousands of its employees and contractors. Critics said the cuts would undermine Washington's ability to defend and promote U.S. interests abroad. Research published in The Lancet medical journal said the cuts to USAID and its dismantling could result in more than 14 million additional deaths by 2030. The Trump administration says its changes help align foreign policy with Trump's "America First" agenda, and are part of a push to shrink the federal bureaucracy and cut what Trump officials say has been wasteful spending. The Democrats' 91-page report listed ways, from broadcasting to health programs and development efforts, that committee researchers said China is expanding its influence. "China is pursuing a clear vision for the international order while the Trump Administration seeks to diminish America's engagement globally," the report said. It lists dozens of cases in which the committee researchers found that China had stepped in as the U.S. eliminated or cut back international programs, from funding vaccines and providing food to infrastructure development. For example, in Africa, as the U.S. terminated food assistance programs, China in March donated $2 million in rice to Uganda. In May, after the U.S. terminated a $37 million HIV/AIDS grant in Zambia, China said it would help the African nation fight HIV/AIDS, including by donating 500,000 rapid HIV testing kits and planning more meetings to discuss its continued partnership on the issue. In Southeast Asia, Chinese President Xi Jinping embarked on a tour to meet with leaders in Vietnam, Cambodia and Malaysia, the report said. The trip yielded an agreement in Vietnam for railroad connections, 37 cooperation agreements in Cambodia in sectors including energy, education and infrastructure and technical and manufacturing exchanges in Malaysia. And in Latin America, China in May hosted the "China-Latin American and the Caribbean Forum" and announced it would provide a $9 billion credit line and additional infrastructure investments for the region.
Washington Post
3 hours ago
- Washington Post
In his words: Trump's rhetoric about Zelenskyy and Putin has evolved
U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly said during his campaign that, if elected to a second term, he would be able to end the war between Russia and Ukraine 'in 24 hours.' But since his Jan. 20 inauguration, the road to a peace deal has been fraught with changing dynamics between the U.S. leader, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin .
