Category: World

Michelle Obama is inviting fans to check out her new podcast with her brother, Craig Robinson. In a fun teaser video shared on Instagram, she said, “We are so excited for you to listen to our brand new podcast!” The podcast is called “IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson” and it will start on Wednesday.

In each episode, Michelle and Craig will talk with special guests about big questions in life. The first two episodes will be available on YouTube, and you can listen to them wherever you like to get your podcasts. They want to help listeners with their own life challenges because these times can feel lonely and confusing for everyone.

The teaser video showed clips of upcoming guests like actor Seth Rogen and actress Keke Palmer. While they say they might not have all the answers, they definitely have “plenty of opinions!” They want listeners to send in their questions for future episodes.

This podcast is made by Higher Ground Media, the production company started by Michelle and Barack Obama. According to The New York Times, Michelle and Craig will share advice from their own lives and won’t really talk about current events or politics.

The second episode will feature actress Issa Rae, where they will discuss how to keep adult friendships, based on a listener’s question.

On Monday, President Donald Trump called Canada a “tariff abuser” after Ontario raised electricity prices for three U.S. states. Trump said the U.S. doesn’t need energy from Canada anymore.

“Ontario has just put a 25% tax on electricity,” Trump said, claiming that Canada shouldn’t be allowed to do this. He added that the U.S. will not pay for Canada’s products anymore.

“We don’t need your cars, lumber, or energy, and soon you’ll see that,” Trump said.

These comments came after Ontario announced a higher export tax that affects around 1.5 million American customers in Minnesota, New York, and Michigan. Ontario’s Premier, Doug Ford, warned he might increase the tax or even cut off electricity if the U.S. retaliates.

“I feel bad for the American people who didn’t start this trade war; it’s all President Trump’s fault,” Ford said.

Trump has previously suggested absorbing Canada and caused confusion in trade between the two countries since he took office, according to reports.

The Kremlin warned Russians not to get too excited about recent actions by U.S. President Donald Trump regarding Ukraine. Speaking at a school in Moscow, spokesman Dmitry Peskov told people to avoid seeing things only in a positive light. He mentioned concerns about Elon Musk possibly cutting off the Ukrainian military from his Starlink internet service, as well as Trump’s recent choice to stop military aid to Ukraine.

“Don’t rush to think everything is great,” Peskov said. “We should hope for the best, but also be ready for tough times. We need to protect our own interests.” His warning came as U.S. officials were set to meet with Ukrainian leaders in Saudi Arabia, partly to see if Ukraine would agree to make any concessions to Russia to help end the war.

Peskov stated that Russia is still achieving its goals on the battlefield in Ukraine, no matter what the U.S. decides. He claimed that Ukraine has so many weapons that it can keep fighting for months, even with the pause in U.S. military support.

Former President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines was taken into custody when he landed at Manila airport. This happened because the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for his arrest. Duterte is being accused of crimes against humanity because of his “war on drugs” policy during his time as president. This policy, which started in 2016, is linked to many cases where unarmed people suspected of using drugs were killed by both police and vigilantes. The ICC began looking into these accusations in 2019.

Duterte spoke at a rally in Hong Kong, expressing that he would cooperate if the ICC wanted to arrest him. He defended his actions, saying he did them for the good of the people. He asked, “If I did them for my own sake or my family, why would I do it? I did it for you, your children, and our country.” He insisted, “What’s my crime? I worked hard for peace and a better life for all Filipinos.”

On Monday, Elon Musk, who owns the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), said that Ukrainian forces might be behind a major cyberattack that caused the site to go down. A hacking group called Darkstorm claimed they were responsible for taking X offline. In a chat with Fox News, Musk explained, “We don’t know exactly what happened, but there was a huge cyberattack on X coming from IP addresses in Ukraine.”

In a post on X, Musk said, “There is a big cyberattack against X. We get attacked every day, but this one took a lot of resources. It looks like a large team or a nation is involved.”

Many people reported problems using X, including around 2,000 users in India, 18,000 in the US, and 10,000 in the UK. Darkstorm, which supports Palestine and often targets countries that back Israel, said they were behind the attack.

As tensions grew between the US and Ukraine, Musk shared worries about Ukrainian groups that might be working with USAID, and even mentioned that some officials from the Trump administration were being targeted. However, Musk assured that his Starlink communications service would keep running in Ukraine no matter what. “To be clear, even if I disagree with Ukraine’s policies, Starlink will never shut down,” Musk stated.

The Philippines is anxious as news spreads that the International Criminal Court (ICC) might issue a warrant to arrest former President Rodrigo Duterte over his controversial “war on drugs.” This policy led to the deaths of many Filipinos during his presidency.

Duterte, who is currently in Hong Kong, has stated he will accept arrest if the ICC goes through with the warrant. However, the current Philippine government, led by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., has not received any official news about an arrest warrant from Interpol.

Recently, a video showed the head of the Philippine National Police and an Interpol representative at the airport in Manila, which added to the speculation. Duterte’s “war on drugs” started when he became president in 2016. He promised to eliminate drug dealers, which led to serious accusations. Human rights groups claim that police and some vigilantes killed many unarmed people suspected of using drugs, while the authorities have denied these claims.

The ICC is investigating possible crimes against humanity linked to Duterte’s drug policy. Although Duterte pulled the Philippines out of the ICC, President Marcos’s government has indicated they could arrest him if necessary. A government spokesperson, Claire Castro, said the police are prepared to act if they receive an official request from Interpol.

Odell Beckham Jr. is in the news after being named in a serious lawsuit with Sean “Diddy” Combs. A woman has accused Odell and others, including comedian Druski and singer Jaguar Wright, of sexual assault, drugging, and kidnapping. The lawsuit was first filed last October, but it was recently updated to include Odell’s name. The woman is asking for $50 million as compensation for her claims.

On social media, Odell, who is 32 years old, expressed his shock at these accusations. The woman claims the attack made her feel powerless and unable to move. Both Odell and Druski deny the allegations. Odell responded to Druski’s post on X (formerly Twitter), expressing his disbelief and faith in God, saying, “This world makes no sense. I know who I am and who you are. Stay strong. The truth will come out.”

Druski, 30, added that he was not a well-known person back in 2018 when the alleged incident happened. He said he was poor and lived with his mom, which makes the accusation seem ridiculous. Druski said, “My heart goes out to real victims of abuse, but I’m sure the proof will show that this is false and that people are trying to take advantage of the legal system.”

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was interviewed by Margaret Brennan on “Face the Nation.” When they discussed how migrant families were treated at the border, Noem said that children of migrants have a “choice” about crossing the border illegally.

She claimed that everyone can choose to be in the country legally or illegally and can even leave the country voluntarily (“self-deport”). Brennan tried to correct her, saying that kids don’t really have a choice in this matter. Still, Noem insisted that children and their parents can decide to stay together or if the parents want to leave the kids behind, that’s a family choice.

When asked about separating families at the border, Noem said she wasn’t sure if that policy would come back. She blamed President Joe Biden, saying he ignored federal immigration laws, leading to consequences for people who break the law.

Rep. Jasmine Crockett from Texas disagreed with Noem. She said that entering the country without permission is not a crime; it’s a “civil matter.” Crockett pointed out that local police don’t ignore real crimes because of someone’s immigration status. Instead, they focus on serious crimes and shouldn’t waste time rounding up individuals just because they entered the country illegally.

Crockett also criticized Republicans for their stance on immigration and called former President Trump the “biggest criminal” to have been in office. She mentioned that people shouldn’t be concerned about immigrants when there are more serious criminals to catch.

Israel is sending a team to Doha on Monday to talk about extending a fragile ceasefire in Gaza. This comes after Israel cut off electricity to put pressure on Hamas. The first part of the ceasefire ended on March 1, and while both sides have not resumed fighting, they still disagree on how to move forward.

Hamas wants to start discussions for a new phase of the truce, but Israel prefers to extend the current situation. Israel has also stopped aid deliveries to Gaza and has cut off electricity to make Hamas release hostages. Energy Minister Eli Cohen announced this power cut, emphasizing that Israel will do everything it can to bring back the hostages.

Currently, many people in Gaza are living in tents because supplies are low, especially with nighttime temperatures dropping to about 12 degrees Celsius (54 degrees Fahrenheit). A top Hamas official criticized Israel for cutting off electricity, saying it’s a desperate attempt to weaken their resistance.

Hamas is asking for a second phase of the ceasefire that includes an exchange of hostages, a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, a permanent ceasefire, and reopening the borders. Former US President Joe Biden also supported a plan to get hostages back and remove Israeli forces from Gaza.

The US envoy, Adam Boehler, stated that a deal could happen soon. Out of 251 hostages taken during the October 7 attack, 58 are still held in Gaza. Boehler mentioned that they were close to reaching an agreement that could release all hostages.

Israel’s earlier proposal to remove Palestinians from Gaza faced backlash, leading to other plans that do not require displacing anyone. The previous phase of the ceasefire, which started on January 19, had reduced fighting and brought relief to the civilians in Gaza. However, after Israel cut off aid on March 2, the UN accused them of using hunger as a weapon. Many in Gaza now struggle without food and medicine, and the situation is challenging.