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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday threatened bounties on the heads of Afghanistan’s Taliban leaders, sharply escalating the tone as he said more Americans may be detained in the country than previously thought.The threat comes days after the Afghan Taliban government and the United States swapped prisoners in one of the final acts of former president Joe Biden.The new top US diplomat issued the harsh warning via social media, in a rhetorical style strikingly similar to his boss, President Donald Trump.”Just hearing the Taliban is holding more American hostages than has been reported,” Rubio wrote on X.”If this is true, we will have to immediately place a VERY BIG bounty on their top leaders, maybe even bigger than the one we had on bin Laden,” he said, referring to the Al-Qaeda leader killed by US forces in 2011.Rubio did not describe who the other Americans may be, but there have long been accounts of missing Americans whose cases were not formally taken up by the US government as wrongful detentions.In the deal with the Biden administration, the Taliban freed the best-known American detained in Afghanistan, Ryan Corbett, who had been living with his family in the country and was seized in August 2022.Also freed was William McKenty, an American about whom little information has been released.The United States in turn freed Khan Mohammed, who was serving a life sentence in a California prison.Mohammed was convicted of trafficking heroin and opium into the United States and was accused of seeking rockets to kill US troops in Afghanistan.The United States offered a bounty of $25 million for information leading to the capture or killing of Osama bin Laden shortly after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, with Congress later authorizing the secretary of state to offer up to $50 million.No one is believed to have collected the bounty for bin Laden, who was killed in a US raid in Pakistan.- Harder line on Taliban? -Trump is known for brandishing threats in his speeches and on social media. But he is also a critic of US military interventions overseas and in his second inaugural address Monday said he aspired to be a “peacemaker.” In his first term, the Trump administration broke a then-taboo and negotiated directly with the Taliban — with Trump even proposing a summit with the then-insurgents at the Camp David presidential retreat — as he brokered a deal to pull US troops and end America’s longest war.Biden carried out the agreement, with the Western-backed government swiftly collapsing and the Taliban retaking power in August 2021 just after US troops left. The scenes of chaos in Kabul brought strong criticism of Biden, especially when 13 American troops and scores of Afghans died in a suicide bombing at the city’s airport. The Biden administration had low-level contacts with Taliban government representatives but made little headway. Some members of Trump’s Republican Party criticized even the limited US engagements with the Taliban government and especially the humanitarian assistance authorized by the Biden administration, which insisted the money was for urgent needs in the impoverished country and never routed through the Taliban.Rubio on Friday froze nearly all US aid around the world.No country has officially recognized the Taliban government, which has imposed severe restrictions on women and girls under its ultra-conservative interpretation of Islam. The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor on Thursday said he was seeking arrest warrants for senior Taliban leaders over the persecution of women.

Donald Trump has long ranted against wind energy — claiming turbines are unsightly, dangerous to wildlife and too expensive — with him threatening to upend decades of industry progress just a few hours after resuming power.”We’re not going to do the wind thing,” Trump said Monday as he returned to the Oval Office for the first time in four years as commander-in-chief.”Big, ugly windmills,” he said as he signed a series of executive orders that has brought the sector into crisis, adding that “they kill your birds, and they ruin your beautiful landscape.”Among the measures were a temporary freeze on federal permitting and loans for all offshore and onshore wind projects.Jason Grumet, president of the American Clean Power Association (ACP), quickly slammed the move, saying it “increases bureaucratic barriers, undermining domestic energy development and harming American businesses and workers.”After the announcements, wind-related stocks fell into the red.”It’s had a real cooling effect on the sector,” Elizabeth Wilson, an offshore wind specialist at Dartmouth University, told AFP.Conflict-weary developers are already “backing away from some of these projects,” she said.Coming at the same time as he has declared a “national energy emergency,” some observers have noted a contradiction in Trump’s assault on wind energy.Though not as robust as in Europe, wind energy in 2023 accounted for some 10 percent of US electricity production — more than twice as much as solar.Onshore wind power is also relatively inexpensive, according to experts, with the price per megawatt-hour ranging from $27 to $73 in 2024, far less than nuclear or coal — though rates could fluctuate in the future.Ember, an energy think tank, warned on Thursday that the United States “risks being left behind in the clean industrial revolution” as major economies such as China are increasingly “embracing wind as a source of cheap, clean electricity.”It remains to be seen what the longterm effects of Trump’s actions will have on the sector, which has already faced struggles in the United States in recent years due to rising costs from inflation and interest rates, along with mounting local opposition to projects.The offshore wind industry, still in its infancy in the United States, is likely to be the hardest hit, according to Wilson, as the majority of exploitable marine areas are in federal waters subject to Trump’s measures.However, “most of the onshore development happens on private lands where the federal government doesn’t really have any control,” she added.- ‘I don’t want even one built’ -Days before taking office, Trump wrote on his Truth Social media platform: “I don’t want even one (windmill) built during my Administration.”That pledge has seriously spooked the sector, which is worried he could permanently block subsidies or the environmental approvals needed for certain projects.Such moves would likely be challenged in court and prompt political backlash.”Ninety-nine percent of onshore wind power projects are on private lands, and the private landowners generally like these wind farms, and they get a lot of economic benefit from them,” said Michigan Technological University professor emeritus Barry Solomon.He noted that the projects are also largely in Republican-led states such as Texas, Oklahoma, Iowa, Kansas and the Dakotas.The ACP also warned that restricting wind development would “increase consumer energy bills.”Despite the headwinds, some experts remain optimistic.”Ultimately… the economics is driving the desire for wind and solar,” said University of Delaware professor Jeremy Firestone.With artificial intelligence, he added, energy needs “are increasing a great deal. So there’s going to be a lot of pressure to continue to build out wind turbines.”

Britain’s Labour government hopes to stay in US President Donald Trump’s good books by mobilising the royal family and a former spin doctor dubbed the “Prince of Darkness”.Trump’s affection for his mother’s ancestral home, Scotland, where he owns two golf resorts, and a mooted second state visit to the UK could also help maintain good relations, observers say.”He’s liable to be buttered up, right? So anything you can throw at him (will help),” Steven Fielding, a politics professor at the University of Nottingham, told AFP.From the Russia-Ukraine war and possible trade tariffs to differences over climate change and China, the US-UK “special relationship” looks set for a rollercoaster ride over the next four years.Trump’s unpredictable nature threatens to derail UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s overarching ambition for his premiership — to fire up Britain’s anaemic post-Brexit, post-Covid economy.Added to the mix are unflattering comments about Trump made by senior Labour figures in the past, and recent verbal attacks on Starmer by Trump ally Elon Musk, the world’s richest man.- Charm offensive -Now a British charm offensive is under way, highlighted by Buckingham Palace revealing on Monday that King Charles III had sent a personal message of congratulations to Trump on his second inauguration.Trump is known to be a big fan of the royal family. Heir-to-the-throne Prince William was dispatched to Paris last month, where he chatted with Trump on the sidelines of the reopening of Notre Dame cathedral.”A good man, this one!” Trump said of William, adding: “He’s doing a fantastic job” as the prince laughed.The Times reported this week that senior royals were being lined up to visit the United States to boost relations with Trump. That may be in 2026, when America celebrates the 250th anniversary of the signing of its declaration of independence.The late Queen Elizabeth II hosted Trump and his wife Melania in 2019, when they were last in the White House, and the British government may be tempted to roll out the red carpet for another state visit.Trump’s son Eric has already said his golf-mad father plans to visit Scotland this summer for the opening of a new golf course at his club near the northeastern city of Aberdeen. Trump’s mother Mary Anne MacLeod was from the northwestern Isle of Lewis.- ‘Trump respects power’ -Crucial to smooth relations with the Trump administration will likely be Peter Mandelson. His work as Labour’s director of communications in the 1980s helped set the party on its way to three consecutive election wins under then prime minister Tony Blair.The UK government has nominated him as its next ambassador to the US, although Trump still needs to approve the appointment, and there is speculation that he could block it.Mandelson is renowned for his powers of persuasion and, as a former European commissioner for trade, would bring considerable deal-making experience to Washington.”What Trump respects is power and he will know that Mandelson is obviously a powerful player within British politics,” Patrick Diamond, a special adviser to Mandelson when Labour was last in government, told AFP.Centre-left Labour has spent recent months trying to build bridges with the US Republican’s team. Senior figures have love-bombed Trump with compliments to try and atone for previous unflattering comments.Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who once called Trump a “tyrant in a toupee”, this week praised his “incredible grace”, recalling a dinner he and Starmer had had with Trump in New York in September.”I think strategically they have to (row back) because Trump isn’t a particularly forgiving man,” said Evie Aspinall, director of the British Foreign Policy Group think tank.The British government has been noticeably careful not to criticise Trump’s first moves since he returned to the White House on Monday.Starmer’s official spokesman refused to condemn Trump’s decision to withdraw the US from the Paris climate accord and the World Health Organization — entities the UK supports.It remains to be seen how long the UK government can maintain that silence.Fielding noted that it was probably going to have to “live through a lot of degrading rhetoric”.”I think holding of tongues is what it will be,” Aspinall told AFP.”Even if we’re using diplomatic channels to persuade, our outward front will always be quite smiling and constructive,” she added.Fielding reckoned the British government should stress the “mutual benefits” of UK-US cooperation. It should put its case “as clearly and as transactionally as possible”, he said.”Don’t be craven. Don’t let him bully you. Just play it straight.”

The Central Intelligence Agency has shifted its official stance on the origin of Covid-19, saying Saturday that the virus was “more likely” leaked from a Chinese lab than transmitted by animals.The new assessment came after John Ratcliffe was confirmed Thursday as the CIA director under the second White House administration of Donald Trump.Ratcliffe, who served as the director of national intelligence from 2020-2021 during Trump’s first term, said in an interview published Friday that a “day-one” priority would be making an assessment on Covid’s origins.”The agency is going to get off the sidelines,” Ratcliffe — who believes Covid-19 leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology — told right-wing outlet Breitbart.”CIA assesses with low confidence that a research-related origin of the COVID-19 pandemic is more likely than a natural origin based on the available body of reporting,” a CIA spokesperson said in a statement Saturday.The agency had not previously made any determination on whether Covid had been unleashed by a laboratory mishap or spilled over from animals.”CIA continues to assess that both research-related and natural origin scenarios of the COVID-19 pandemic remain plausible,” the spokesperson noted.A US official told AFP the shift was based on a new analysis of existing intelligence ordered by previous CIA director William Burns, which was completed before Ratcliffe’s arrival this week.Some US agencies, like the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Energy, support the lab-leak theory, albeit with varying levels of confidence, while most elements of the intelligence community lean toward natural origins.Proponents of the lab-leak hypothesis highlight that the earliest known Covid-19 cases emerged in Wuhan, China — a major coronavirus research hub — roughly 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) from the nearest bat populations carrying similar SARS-like viruses.

The US Senate on Saturday confirmed South Dakota governor Kristi Noem to lead the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), a key agency in President Donald Trump’s push to clamp down on illegal immigration.The vote came a day after US lawmakers narrowly confirmed former Fox News co-host Pete Hegseth to be Pentagon chief, adding to previous national security posts already greenlit for Trump’s cabinet, including the secretary of state and CIA director.Noem, 53, a Trump ally and second-term governor of the north central US state, takes control of the US agency overseeing border enforcement and migrant deportations, but which also leads federal efforts on cybersecurity, terrorism and emergency management.Trump on Friday said he would sign an order seeking to scrap the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), after he harshly criticized its response to two devastating hurricanes during last year’s election campaign.Noem is best known internationally for sinking her chances of being Trump’s vice-presidential pick with her cheerful admission that she had shot her dog, Cricket, because it was “untrainable.”She is also known for making South Dakota — far from the border with Mexico — among the first Republican-led states to send National Guards troops to the frontier, earning plaudits from conservatives.During her confirmation hearing last week, Noem said the southern border would be a top priority, asserting America’s “responsibility to secure our borders against those who would do us harm,” while stressing that the system must be fair and lawful.Noem was also asked at the hearing to address the distribution of disaster aid.She vowed “there will be no political bias to how disaster relief is delivered to the American people.”But Trump on Friday, after expressing his intent to close FEMA, threatened to withhold assistance to California as it faces a historic wave of wildfires, unless the Democratic-led state changes its voting laws and environmental regulations.

Former infantryman and Fox News personality Pete Hegseth was sworn in as US defense secretary Saturday, having narrowly won Senate confirmation despite allegations of alcohol abuse, sexual misconduct and concerns over inexperience.Pledging to “restore the warrior ethos” in the Pentagon, Hegseth in brief remarks thanked President Donald Trump for selecting him and Vice President JD Vance for his tie-breaking vote in the Senate that allowed his nomination to pass.Vance’s vote Friday evening was only the second time in history a vice president had to intervene to save a cabinet nominee and came after three Republicans — including former leader Mitch McConnell — cast ballots against Hegseth.The razor-edge result underscored concerns about Hegseth, who takes over the Pentagon with war raging in Ukraine, the Middle East volatile despite ceasefires in Lebanon and Gaza, and as Trump expands the military’s role in security on the US-Mexico border.The 44-year-old is a former Army National Guard officer and Bronze Star recipient with previous deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.Until recently, he worked as a co-host for Fox News — one of Trump’s favored television channels.Hegseth has a combative media personality, fierce loyalty and telegenic looks — common hallmarks in Trump’s entourage.Supporters say Hegseth’s deployments give him the insight to run the Defense Department better than more experienced officials who would normally be considered for the job.Speaking Saturday after his swearing in, Hegseth said he was thinking of “the guys that I served with on the battlefield, the men and women who I locked shields with and put my life on the line with.””We’re going to think about those warriors with every single decision that we make,” he said.In confirming him, Republicans brushed aside his lack of experience leading an organization anywhere near the size of the Defense Department — the country’s largest employer with some three million personnel.They also approved Hegseth despite allegations of financial mismanagement at veterans’ nonprofits where he previously worked, reports of excessive drinking, and allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman in California.Trump has stood by him, telling reporters on Friday that he’s “a very, very good man.”Asked during his confirmation hearing last week about criticism he has faced, Hegseth said there was a “coordinated smear campaign” against him, and that he is “not a perfect person, but redemption is real.”The thrice-married father of seven has frequently proclaimed his Christian faith, and began his remarks Saturday by saying “All praise and glory to God, his will be done.”He credited his successful nomination to “Jesus and Jenny” — his wife.

The United States has ceased issuing passports with a gender-neutral “X” option, the State Department said, following President Donald Trump’s order limiting government recognition of transgender identity.The move rolls back the option first introduced under former president Joe Biden’s administration and leaves an unknown number of people awaiting further guidance on the fate of their pending applications and already issued passports.Trump, shortly after taking office on Monday, signed an executive order requiring federal agencies to only give the option of male or female, as part of an array of actions aimed at quickly reversing policies enacted by his predecessor.”In line with that Order, the Department’s issuance of US passports will reflect the individual’s biological sex as defined in the Executive Order,” a US State Department spokesperson said Friday night.The spokesperson said the department “is no longer issuing US passports with X markers” and has “suspended processing of all applications seeking a different sex marker than that defined by the terms in the Executive Order.””Guidance regarding previously issued X sex marker passports is forthcoming,” the spokesperson added, saying updates will be posted on the department’s travel website.The State Department issued its first passport with the X designation in October 2021 after a long legal battle waged by a person from Colorado who is intersex. It began regular processing of X passports in early 2022.The department has not released figures for how many people have requested or been issued an “X” passport, but a study by the UCLA Law School’s Williams Institute estimated over 16,000 people would apply for one each year.On the campaign trail, Trump vilified transgender policies — particularly as they related to women’s sports and medical care for children — as part of a general broadside against diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.He ordered on Monday an immediate halt to federal DEI programs, anti-discrimination policies and recognition of transgender identity, drawing outrage from rights groups and creating immense legal uncertainty.The actions will almost certainly face legal challenges.Many states allow drivers’ licenses to be issued with a gender-neutral “X” option, while several countries have similar practices, including Australia, Canada and Germany.

President Donald Trump sacked at least a dozen internal government watchdogs late Friday, US media reported, the latest shake-up of the Republican’s second term after less than a week back in office.Independent inspectors general of at least 12 federal agencies were notified of their immediate dismissals via emails from the White House personnel director, The Washington Post reported, citing unnamed people familiar with the actions.Inspectors general have an oversight role to detect and deter fraud, waste and abuse by government employees.They are responsible for investigating violations of laws, regulations and ethical standards by employees, and conducting audits of contracts, finances and staff performance.Among the federal agencies affected by the ousters were the departments of defense, state, interior and energy, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency and Social Security Administration, the Post said.”It’s a widespread massacre,” said one of the fired inspectors general, according to the Post. “Whoever Trump puts in now will be viewed as loyalists, and that undermines the entire system.”Most of those fired were appointed by Trump during his first term, the newspaper added.The New York Times, citing three unnamed people with knowledge of the dismissals, said 17 inspectors general were fired, and one source said the Justice Department’s watchdog was not affected.Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts called the firings “a purge… in the middle of the night.””Inspectors general are charged with rooting out government waste, fraud, abuse, and preventing misconduct,” she said in a post on social media platform X.”President Trump is dismantling checks on his power and paving the way for widespread corruption.”On Tuesday, his first full day in power, Trump announced plans to weed out around 1,000 opponents from the US government.The 78-year-old Republican began his second term with a flurry of executive actions aimed at overhauling government policies on immigration, citizenship, gender, diversity and climate — some of which are being challenged in the courts.

The US Senate narrowly confirmed former Fox News co-host Pete Hegseth as Pentagon chief on Friday, despite allegations of alcohol abuse, sexual misconduct and other fears about his ability to lead the world’s most powerful military.Three Republican senators voted against Donald Trump’s pick as secretary of defense, resulting in a 50-50 tie that required J.D. Vance to cast the deciding ballot — only the second time in history a vice president has had to intervene to save a cabinet nominee.The razor-edged result underscored concerns about Hegseth, who will take over the Pentagon with war raging in Ukraine, the Middle East volatile despite ceasefires in Lebanon and Gaza, and as Trump expands the military’s role in security on the US-Mexico border.The 44-year-old is a former Army National Guard officer who until recently worked as a co-host for Fox News — one of Trump’s favored television channels.Hegseth has a combative media personality, fierce loyalty and telegenic looks — common hallmarks in Trump’s entourage.Supporters say Hegseth’s deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq give him the insight to run the Defense Department better than more experienced officials who would normally be considered for the job.He has pledged to focus the military on “lethality” and to bring back “warrior culture” to the Pentagon.In confirming him, Republicans brushed aside his lack of experience leading an organization anywhere near the size of the Defense Department — the country’s largest employer with some three million personnel.They also approved Hegseth despite allegations of financial mismanagement at veterans’ nonprofits where he previously worked, reports of excessive drinking, and allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman in California.Asked during his confirmation hearing last week about criticism he has faced, Hegseth said there was a “coordinated smear campaign” against him, and that he is “not a perfect person, but redemption is real.”Trump has stood by him, telling reporters Friday: “Pete’s a very, very good man.”Shortly after he was confirmed, Trump wrote on his Social Truth platform: “Congratulations to Pete Hegseth. He will make a great Secretary of Defense!”- ‘Erratic and aggressive behavior’ -But three Republicans — senators Susan Collins, Mitch McConnell and Lisa Murkowski — were unconvinced and voted against him.Murkowski said on X the day before the Friday vote that “past behaviors Mr Hegseth has admitted to, including infidelity on multiple occasions, demonstrate a lack of judgment that is unbecoming of someone who would lead our armed forces.”Prior to his approval by the full Senate, lawmakers received an affidavit from Hegseth’s former sister-in-law Danielle Hegseth that added to the allegations against him.”I believe Hegseth has an alcohol abuse problem and was abusive to his ex-wife Samantha,” the affidavit said, though it noted that Danielle Hegseth did not personally witness physical or sexual abuse by the incoming defense secretary.Danielle Hegseth however said she “personally observed… Hegseth’s erratic and aggressive behavior over many years,” that she was subjected to emotional abuse by him, and that she was told by his ex-wife that she once hid from him in a closet because she “feared for her personal safety.”According to the affidavit, Hegseth also told his ex-sister-in-law that women should not work or have the right to vote, and said that “Christians needed to have more children so they can overtake the Muslim population.”During his combative confirmation hearing, Hegseth stuck to his opposition to diversity, equity and inclusion policies — long a bugbear for Republicans — saying they are “dividing troops inside formations, causing commanders to walk on eggshells, not putting meritocracy first.”But he sought to soften past remarks opposing women serving in combat, telling lawmakers that “women will have access to ground combat roles… given the standards remain high.”Three more of Trump’s most contentious nominees will soon be grilled by lawmakers.Kash Patel — Trump’s nominee to lead the FBI — Tulsi Gabbard, his pick for director of national intelligence, and Robert F Kennedy Jr, the president’s choice for secretary of health and human services, are expected to have Senate hearings next week.

US military planes carrying dozens of expelled migrants arrived in Guatemala, authorities said Friday, as President Donald Trump moved to crack down on illegal immigration.A total of 265 Guatemalans arrived on three flights — two operated by the military, and one a charter, the Central American country’s migration institute said, updating earlier figures.Washington also sent four deportation flights to Mexico on Thursday, the White House press secretary said on X, despite multiple US media reports that authorities there had turned at least one plane back.The Mexican government has not confirmed either the arrival of flights or any agreement to receive a specific number of planes with deportees.But Mexico’s foreign ministry said Friday it was ready to work with Washington over the deportation of its citizens, saying the country would “always accept the arrival of Mexicans to our territory with open arms.”The flights came as the White House said it had arrested more than a thousand people in two days with hundreds deported by military aircraft, saying that “the largest massive deportation operation in history is well underway.”Some 538 illegal immigrant “criminals” were arrested Thursday, it said, followed by another 593 on Friday. By comparison, under Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden deportation flights were carried out regularly, with a total of 270,000 deportations in 2024 — a 10-year record — and 113,400 arrests, making an average of 310 per day.- ‘Bad, hard criminals’ -The Guatemalan government did not confirm whether any of the migrants arrested this week were among the deportees that arrived Friday.”These are flights that took place after Trump took office,” an official in the Guatemalan vice president’s office told AFP.A Pentagon source told AFP that “overnight, two DOD (Department of Defense) aircraft conducted repatriation flights from the US to Guatemala.”Early Friday the White House posted an image on X of men in shackles being marched into a military aircraft, with the caption: “Deportation flights have begun.”And Trump told reporters that the flights were to get “the bad, hard criminals out.””Murderers, people that have been as bad as you get. As bad as anybody you’ve seen,”  he said.Friday’s deportees were taken to a reception center at an air force base in Guatemala’s capital, away from the media.Trump promised a crackdown on illegal immigration during the election campaign and began his second term with a flurry of executive actions aimed at overhauling entry to the United States. On his first day in office he signed orders declaring a “national emergency” at the southern border and announced the deployment of more troops to the area while vowing to deport “criminal aliens.”His administration said it would also reinstate a “Remain in Mexico” policy under which people who apply to enter the United States from Mexico must remain there until their application has been decided.The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said Friday on X that program had been reinstated, and that Mexico had deployed some 30,000 National Guard troops to its border.The Mexican foreign ministry did not confirm either claim in its statement.The White House has also halted an asylum program for people fleeing authoritarian regimes in Central and South America, leaving thousands of people stranded on the Mexican side of the border.