Category World News

Rahmanullah Lakanwal pleads not guilty in US National Guard shooting

By in News, World News

Published On 2 Dec 2025

The man who is accused of shooting two National Guard members in an assault in Washington, DC, the capital, has entered a not-guilty plea to first-degree murder and assault.

Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national, struggled to keep his eyes open during his first court appearance on Tuesday, when he made an appearance remotely from a hospital bed while wearing a hospital gown. Lakanwal was shot in the head as well, and his defense obtained a not-guilty verdict.

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According to a judge in Washington, the shooting on Wednesday “sheer terror” in the nation’s capital and placed a warrant for Lakanwal’s release on bond. He formerly served with a CIA-trained unit in his native Afghanistan during US occupation.

The attack targeted two National Guard members as part of a countercrime operation that the Trump administration had deployed to Washington, DC.

Sarah Beckstrom, a 20-year-old specialist, was killed in the shooting, which Republicans quickly used to call for tighter immigration controls. Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe, a 24, was also hurt in the incident.

According to the prosecution, Lakanwal allegedly travelled from Washington, D.C., to Washington, DC, where he carried out the deadly attack and yelled “Allahu akbar!” (God is greatest) as he opened fire.

After the US-backed government collapsed in 2021, Lakanwal, who had been evacuated from Afghanistan, had become increasingly uncertain about the course of his life, becoming distant, and causing associates to worry about his mental state.

In a recent interview, Shawn VanDiver, president of the organization Afghan Evac, said that “they]the Trump administration seem to be using this horrifying attack as a political cudgel to carry out the vile immigration plans that they had anyway.

OECD warns tariffs, AI will test resilience of the global economy

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by Reuters

According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the rise in artificial intelligence (AI) investment helps offset some of the shock caused by US tariff increases.

However, the Paris-based organization warned on Tuesday that if any new trade tensions arise, global growth could suffer, and investor optimism about AI could cause a stock market correction if expectations are not met.

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The OECD’s Economic Outlook predicted a modest slowdown in global growth from its previous estimates in September, with its projections unchanged from its most recent projections, which were 3.2% in 2025 and 2.9% in 2026. In 2027, it forecast a 3.1 percent rebound.

According to OECD head Mathias Cormann, the trade shocks that US President Donald Trump’s tariff increases have so far been moderate, but they are likely to cost more.

As businesses reduce their built-up inventories, he said at a press conference, “the full effects of those higher tariffs since the start of the year will become clearer.”

The US economy is projected to increase by 2% in 2025, up from 1.8 percent in September, before easing to 1.7 percent in 2026, up from the 1.5 percent forecast in September.

The OECD reported that AI investment, fiscal support, and anticipated US Federal Reserve rate cuts are assisting in reducing the impact of tariffs on imported goods, as well as job losses and reduced immigration.

However, it warned that the Trump administration had put US fiscal policy on a “significant adjustment” in the upcoming years due to the country’s growing debt and budget deficits.

Slowing global trade growth

As fiscal support declines and new US tariffs on imported goods from China are looming, China’s growth is projected to increase to 5 percent in 2025, up from 4 % in September, before slowing to 4.4 percent in 2026, unchanged from September.

The eurozone’s 2025 growth forecast was increased from 1.2 percent to 1.3 percent, thanks to stronger labor markets and increased public spending in Germany. Growth is anticipated to decrease to 1.2 percent in 2026 from the previous estimate of 1%, as budget tightening in France and Italy affects the outlook.

Japan’s economy is projected to grow by 1.3 percent in 2025, up from 1.1 percent, thanks to strong corporate earnings and investment, before contracting at 0.9 percent in 2026.

As investment and consumption are affected by the full effects of tariffs, the global trade growth is anticipated to decrease from 4.2% in 2025 to 2.3% in 2026. The likelihood of a recovery is constrained by high trade policy uncertainty.

Most of the world’s major economies are projected to have reached their mid-2027 target of gradual reinvention of inflation. In the US, tariff pass-through before easing is anticipated to cause inflation to peak in mid-2026. In China and some emerging markets, excess production capacity is thought to decrease, but inflation is anticipated to increase modestly.

Is this the end of the internet?

By in News, World News

The internet, which was made freely accessible in 1991, has quickly changed from a free, creative web to one that tech companies have concocted. While social media has turned into a swarm of advertisements and AI content, artificial intelligence is now filling search results and drowning out human voices. Many creators are completely quitting the platforms after being exhausted by doomscrolling.

Presenter: Stefanie Dekker

Guests:

Aidan Walker, meme researcher and creator

Peter Zezas, a news and policy analyst,

Published On 2 Dec 2025

Costco sues Trump administration for US tariff refund

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Before the US Supreme Court weighs in on the legality of tariffs, Costco has filed a lawsuit against the administration of US President Donald Trump.

The lawsuit also calls for the imposition of import duties to be blocked.

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Due to the December 15 deadline for refunding taxes that have already been paid, Costco claimed that the tariffs must be resolved right away. The lawsuit claims that US Customs and Border Protection refused to grant the company’s request for an extension of the deadline.

Costco did not specify how much money it thinks should be reimbursed.

According to the lawsuit, “Importers who have paid IEEPA duties, including Plaintiff, are not guaranteed a refund for those unlawfully collected tariffs in the absence of their own judgment and judicial relief.”

Costco is also asking for a pause in future collections, according to the lawsuit, which was filed in the US Court of International Trade.

According to the lawsuit, “Plaintiff seeks relief from the impending liquidations to ensure that its right to a full refund is not threatened.”

The wholesale warehouse giant joins other large corporations in bringing legal action against the administration, including Revlon and Ray-Ban, which produce eyeglasses. Crowell &amp, Moring, a law firm, represents Costco. The organization declined to comment on Al Jazeera’s request.

According to Gregory Shaffer, professor of international law at Georgetown University School of Law, “They are filing within the statutory deadline in order to receive the]refunds] for the tariffs that were [allegedly]collected illegally.”

According to Shaffer, businesses have 180 days to file a lawsuit over the liquidation or the owed funds.

The final, official calculation and assessment of the duties, taxes, and fees owed on imported goods are the “liquidation of tariffs.”

The lawsuit has been withdrawn by the White House.

This lawsuit highlights the enormous economic repercussions of President Trump’s lawful tariffs, according to the lawsuit. In a written statement to Al Jazeera, White House spokesman Kush Desai stated that the White House anticipates the Supreme Court’s swift and appropriate resolution of this dispute.

The looming Supreme Court decision

The Supreme Court is considering whether the IEEPA (International Emergency Economic Powers Act) grants the White House the authority to impose tariffs.

In the event of a national emergency, the law gives the US president the authority to impose restrictions on imports. Trump’s tariffs have largely raised questions about whether they adhere to those requirements. As justices heard arguments&nbsp nearly a month ago in early November, a decision is looming with an uncertain date.

According to Shaffer, there is a good chance that the court will rule in favor of the Trump administration.

According to Shaffer, “I got the impression that Justice Gorsuch would vote against, given his concerns,” referring to Supreme Court associate justice Neil Gorsuch, who was appointed by Trump during his first term as president.

The questioning raises the possibility that the choice will be made against the Trump administration.

Gorsuch objected to the administration’s interpretation of the IEEPA in oral arguments at the November hearing.

According to Gorsuch, “Congress can’t, in reality, give this power back once it’s been given to the president.”

It’s a one-way ratchet toward the executive branch’s gradual but permanent expansion of power away from the electorates of the people.

Guinea-Bissau’s electoral commission says coup destroyed election results

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Published On 2 Dec 2025

After armed men seized the ballots, tally sheets, and computers from its offices, and destroyed the results-storing servers, Guinea-Bissau’s electoral commission has declared it is unable to finish the November 23 presidential election.

One day before the commission was scheduled to release the preliminary results of the intensely contested vote, army officers took control on November 26. During the takeover, several structures, including the electoral commission’s headquarters, were attacked.

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Senior electoral commission official Idrissa Djalo said in a statement on Tuesday that “we do not have the material and logistic conditions to carry out the electoral process.”

According to him, “they confiscated the computers of all 45 staff members who were present at the commission that day,” adding that records from all regions had been seized and the server where the results had been stored had been destroyed.

Without the region’s tally sheets, Djalo said, “the electoral process cannot be completed.”

The election process was halted by Major-General Horta Inta-A’s swearing-in as the new transitional president on November 27. Since then, the military has imposed stricter restrictions, putting an end to strikes and demonstrations.

A 28-member cabinet, made largely of people connected to the deposed president, was appointed on Saturday after Inta-A promised a one-year transitional period.

Disputed votes and political repercussions

Three days after the presidential election, both main contenders, opposition candidate Fernando Dias da Costa and incumbent president Umaro Sissoco Embalo, claimed victory before the election’s preliminary results were due, leading to a coup. Since then, no conclusions have been made.

Embalo claimed that he had been deposed and detained while he was in charge of the takeover. Since then, he has fled to Brazzaville, the Republic of Congo’s capital.

Dias da Costa’s protection was cited as an “imminent threat to his life,” according to Nigeria.

Civil rights organizations criticized the PAIGC’s decision, which one of the country’s dominant political parties had blocked them from running in the election. They claimed it was part of a wider crackdown on the opposition.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is putting pressure on Guinea-Bissau’s new military authorities to reinstate constitutional rule and allow the election process to resume.

A high-level delegation from the bloc, led by its current chairman Julius Maada Bio and Sierra Leone’s president, met with military leaders and electoral commission officials in Bissau on Monday to demand a “complete restoration of constitutional order.”