March 11, 2025

US court halts Trump’s bid to deport pro-Palestine activist "A US federal judge has temporarily blocked the deportation of Mahmoud Khalil, a pro-Palestine activist and permanent resident, following his weekend arrest. The judge ruled that Khalil could not be removed from the US until further notice and scheduled a court hearing for Wednesday. Khalil's detention in Louisiana sparked nationwide outrage, with mass protests in New York and Washington. Earlier, President Donald Trump praised the arrest, warning it was the first of many. Khalil, who holds a master's degree from Columbia's School of International Affairs, had not been charged with any crime related to his activism." Syria reaches integration deal with SDF, led by YPG terror group "Syria has sealed a deal with the SDF, led by the YPG, the Syrian offshoot of the PKK terrorist organisation, declaring a nationwide ceasefire while reaffirming the country's territorial unity. Announced by the Syrian Presidency, the agreement integrates northeastern Syria into state institutions and rejects partition. It also ensures political participation for all Syrians, recognises Kurdish citizenship rights, and mandates control over key assets like borders, oil and airports." Boat capsizes in DRC, killing dozens, including football players "A boat tragedy in southwestern Democratic Republic of the Congo has left 25 dead, many of them football players, after capsizing on the Kwa River. The team was returning from a match in Mushie when disaster struck, possibly due to poor visibility, according to the provincial spokesperson. At least 30 survived as deadly boat accidents remain common as overcrowded vessels navigate DRC’s vast waterways." Elon Musk cites potential cyberattack as major outage hits X "The social media giant X, formerly known as Twitter, faced major disruptions, with thousands of users reporting outages. The company's owner Elon Musk said the platform was hit by a ""massive cyberattack,"" possibly from a coordinated group or even a nation-state. Complaints peaked at 40,000 users affected, according to reports. The outage, which lasted over an hour, hit hardest on the US coasts. In March 2023, similar issues plagued the platform, disrupting links, logins, and image loads." Global markets slump over Trump’s trade policies, recession fears "Stock markets tumbled as tech shares led the charge, spooked by concerns over President Trump’s trade policies potentially pushing the US into recession. Wall Street saw the Nasdaq drop over 3.6 percent, with Trump leaving the door open to a downturn. Meanwhile, global markets, including London and Paris, closed lower. Investors also reacted to weakening consumer confidence and rising trade uncertainties. Separately, China’s deflationary pressure deepens as tariffs escalate."