US AND CANADA

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The U.S. military said Tuesday it shot down an Iranian drone that aggressively approached the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln while the ship was operating in international waters in the Arabian Sea. The incident came amid heightened regional tensions as President Donald Trump weighs diplomatic options alongside the possibility of military action against Tehran.

According to U.S. Central Command, the unmanned aircraft flew toward the carrier with unclear intent while the Lincoln was roughly 500 miles from Iran's southern coast. American forces attempted de-escalatory measures, but the drone continued to maneuver toward the vessel. An F-35 fighter jet launched from the carrier destroyed the drone in what officials described as an act of self-defense. No U.S. personnel were injured and no equipment was damaged.

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President Donald Trump announced on Monday that the United States had reached an initial trade arrangement with India, easing months of tariff tensions between the two countries while pointing to broader cooperation on energy and global security.

The deal, revealed through a social media post, was short on formal detail but outlined immediate tariff reductions and new commitments from New Delhi.

Under the proposed arrangement, U.S. tariffs on Indian goods would fall from 25 percent to 18 percent, effective immediately, according to Mr. Trump.

In return, he said India had agreed to reduce its own tariffs and non-tariff barriers on American products, while also pledging to significantly increase purchases of U.S. goods, particularly in energy, technology, agriculture, and coal.

Mr. Trump also claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had committed to halting India's purchases of Russian oil, a move the president framed as both an economic and geopolitical win.

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William Stevenson, the former husband of Jill Biden, has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of his wife, Linda Stevenson, who was found unresponsive in their Delaware home late last year.

The New Castle County Police Department confirmed that Stevenson, 77, was indicted by a grand jury on February 2 following what authorities described as an "extensive weeks-long investigation." He was taken into custody without incident and later arraigned. Police said he is currently being held at the Howard R. Young Correctional Institution after failing to post $500,000 bail.

Linda Stevenson, 64, was discovered in the living room of the couple's home in the Oak Hill area of Wilmington on December 28, after officers responded to a call reporting a domestic dispute. According to police, officers "immediately administered life-saving measures; however, despite their efforts, Linda was later pronounced deceased." Her body was turned over to the Delaware Division of Forensic Science for an autopsy, though authorities have not disclosed her cause of death.

Following the incident, detectives from the department's Criminal Investigations Unit took over the case. Police have not said whether Stevenson has entered a plea or retained legal counsel.

Stevenson was previously married to Jill Biden from 1970 to 1975. At the time, Jill Biden was a student at the University of Delaware, and Stevenson was a college football player. After their divorce, she later married Joe Biden in 1977. Joe Biden went on to serve as the 46th president of the United States.

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The iconic Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. will undergo a two-year renovation, effective July 4th, by presidential decree. President Trump used Truth Social on Sunday to declare the closure a tribute to America's 250th anniversary. The announcement comes as the institution, now known as the "Trump Kennedy Center," faces a growing boycott from artists protesting its recent renaming, raising questions about its future cultural programming.

Shortly after taking office, the presid

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French prosecutors raided the offices of Elon Musk’s social media platform X on Tuesday as part of a preliminary investigation into a range of alleged offences, including spreading child sexual abuse images and deepfakes.

The investigation was opened in January last year by the prosecutors’ cybercrime unit, the Paris prosecutors’ office said in a statement. It’s looking into alleged “complicity” in possessing and spreading pornographic images of minors, sexually explicit deepfakes, denial of crimes against humanity and manipulation of an automated data processing system as part of an organized group, among other charges.

Prosecutors also asked Elon Musk and former CEO Linda Yaccarino to attend “voluntary interviews” on April 20. Employees of X have also been summoned that same week to be heard as witnesses, the statement said. Yaccarino was CEO from May 2023 until July 2025.

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One of Canada’s most prominent businessmen, 93‑year‑old billionaire Frank Stronach, is on trial in Toronto this week in a judge‑alone proceeding over more than a dozen historical sexual‑assault accusations that cover almost five decades. Stronach made his fortune building a global automotive‑parts empire; the charges relate to alleged incidents from across his long public life.

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FIFA President Gianni Infantino has defended his controversial decision to award a peace prize to United States President Donald Trump, while dismissing calls for a boycott of the upcoming World Cup.

Infantino faced widespread criticism after presenting Trump with the honour on behalf of FIFA during the 2026 World Cup draw held in Washington DC in December. The decision attracted further scrutiny following recent US foreign policy actions and renewed controversy surrounding Trump’s statements on global security issues.

However, speaking to Sky News on Monday, February 2, Infantino insisted the award was justified, describing Trump as deserving of FIFA’s inaugural peace prize.

“Objectively, he deserves it,” Infantino said. “Whatever we can do to help peace in the world, we should be doing it. For some time, we have been thinking about rewarding people who contribute in this direction.”

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US President Donald Trump has said he may sue comedian Trevor Noah after a joke linking him to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein was made during the  Awards broadcast.