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I'm VOA's Joe Ramsey with this worldwide news update.
U.S. President Donald Trump is just days into his presidency and is intensifying pressure on Russia to begin peace talks with Ukraine. VOA's Veronica Balderas Iglesias has the story. Newly sworn-in U.S. President Donald Trump renewed his calls Thursday for both parties to end the war. "Our efforts to secure a peace settlement between Russia and Ukraine are now hopefully underway. It's so important to get that done." On Wednesday, Trump wrote on his Truth social media platform that while he does not want to hurt Russia, it must reach a peace deal or face, quote "high levels of taxes, tariffs and sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States." Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the threats Thursday. "We do not see any particular new elements here. We remain ready for dialogue." Veronica Balderas Iglesias, VOA News. A U.S. federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked President Trump's order ending birthright citizenship. AP correspondent Sagar Meghani reports. Judges says the president's move is blatantly unconstitutional. He's issued an order blocking action the president took shortly after taking office in the first hearing of a multi-state challenge. Opponents argue the Constitution's 14th Amendment guarantees citizenship for those born and naturalized in the U.S. The president's order says kids of non-citizens don't qualify. Twenty-two states and some immigrants groups are part of five suits across the country challenging the president's order. Sagar Meghani, Washington. This is VOA News. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement only has a fraction of money it needs to detain people living in the U.S. illegally. AP correspondent Donna Warder reports. The Trump administration has not said publicly how many immigration detention beds it needs to house people in the U.S. illegally while they're being processed and arrangements are being made to deport them. But Immigration and Customs Enforcement has a budget only to detain about 41,000 people and there are an estimated 11.7 million people living in the U.S. illegally. The Department of Homeland Security estimates that it'll cost about $165 per day for a bed for one adult. Right now ICE detains immigrants at its processing centers, privately operated detention facilities, local prisons and jails. But it has no facilities to detain entire families. Families account for about a third of arrivals at the U.S. southern border. I'm Donna Warder. President Trump on Thursday promised global elites lower taxes if they bring manufacturing to the U.S. and threaten to impose tariffs if they don't. "My message to every business in the world is very simple. Come make your product in America and we will give you among the lowest taxes of any nation on earth. We're bringing them down very substantially even from the original Trump tax cuts. But if you don't make your product in America, which is your prerogative, then very simply you will have to pay a tariff." The president made the remarks in an address to the World Economic Forum. Hundreds of LGBTQ+ couples in Thailand on Thursday registered their marriages legally on the first day a law took effect granting them the same rights as heterosexual couples. AP correspondent Karen Chammas reports. As the Marriage Equality Act comes into law, Thailand has become the first country in Southeast Asia and the third place in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage. On Thursday, several hundred couples completed the formalities at a daylong gala celebration in an exhibition hall in central Bangkok. At the event, Raya Ruchaya Nillikan told the AP, "It means the world to everyone for Thai because now we can express our love in public." Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra addressed the crowd by video message and offered her congratulations, saying all couples can now live with honor and dignity in Thailand. Rights advocates have struggled for decades to pass a marriage equality law in a largely conservative society where members of the LGBTQ+ community say they face discrimination in everyday life. I'm Karen Chammas. That wraps up this update, but the world and news never stop. For additional updates, visit our website, voanews.com. I'm Joe Ramsey, VOA News. |