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5/14/2025, 6:28:40 AM

1️⃣ *Donald Trump* enjoyed a *lavish welcome in Saudi Arabia* as he opened the *first state visit of his second term,* with the *US president eyeing major business deals* even as *progress on the Middle East's hotspots* will likely be *harder to reach.* 🇸🇦 🇺🇸 *Saudi fighter jets escorted Air Force One* as *Trump landed in Riyadh* on Tuesday, the *first stop on a tour of Gulf monarchies* that will also *take him to Qatar* and the *United Arab Emirates.* *Trump pounded his fist in the air* as he *looked out on a military honour guard* with *Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler,* Crown Prince *Mohammed bin Salman,* walking the tarmac to *shake the president's hand.* *Trump will later address an investment forum* expected to be *attended by US business leaders* including his *friend and adviser Elon Musk.* His decision to *bypass traditional Western allies* to *travel first to the Gulf states* underscores their *increasingly crucial geopolitical role* -- along with *his own business relations in the region.*

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5/14/2025, 6:28:37 AM

👋 Hello! Here are three of our top stories today.

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5/14/2025, 10:57:12 AM

👋 Hello! Here are three of our top stories today.

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5/14/2025, 6:28:43 AM

2️⃣ A group of *around 50 white South Africans* have *arrived for resettlement* in the *United States* after President *Donald Trump granted them refugee status* as victims *of what he called a _"genocide."_* 🇺🇸 🇿🇦 *Trump essentially halted refugee arrivals* after taking office, but is *making an exception for the Afrikaners* despite *Pretoria's insistence that they do not face persecution* in their homeland. *_"Welcome to the land of the free,"_ Deputy Secretary of State Chris Landau said* on Monday as he greeted the group, *several of whom were waving American flags,* at *Dulles Airport in Virginia.* *Trump,* whose *tycoon ally Elon Musk* was born in South Africa, *said white farmers were being killed in the country* and *repeated an allegation of _"genocide"_* that has been *widely dismissed as absurd.* South African *President Cyril Ramaphosa rejected claims Afrikaners were being persecuted* and said he *recently told Trump what he is being told* about their situation *_"is not true."_*

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5/13/2025, 5:36:02 AM

The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has announced its dissolution, saying it is ending its armed struggle against the Turkish state and drawing a line under its deadly four-decade insurgency. Founded in the late 1970s by Abdullah Ocalan, the PKK took up arms in 1984, beginning a string of attacks against the Turkish state that would cost more than 40,000 lives. 📸 Delil SOULEIMAN

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5/14/2025, 6:28:45 AM

3️⃣ A-list celebrity *Kim Kardashian is to testify in a Paris court,* an eagerly awaited appearance *nearly a decade after masked men robbed her* at gunpoint of *millions of dollars of jewellery* during the *French capital's fashion week.* 🇺🇸 🇫🇷 *Ten suspects have been on trial since late April* over the *2016 armed robbery,* which saw *jewellery worth some $10 million stolen* from the reality TV star and influencer. ⚖️ The trial has *attracted huge media attention,* with *close to 500 reporters accredited* and crowds *flocking to the courthouse on Paris's historic Ile de la Cite* early Tuesday as *fans hoped for a glimpse* of the celebrity. Some *50 camera teams were setting up* in the court hallway, while the *few dozen seats reserved for reporters* were attributed within minutes. *_"We are fans of Kim and we want to support her,"_* said Clement Treboutte, waiting for access with a group of friends. _*"Let justice be done."*_

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5/14/2025, 10:57:19 AM

2️⃣ *Lyle and Erik Menendez,* who have *spent more than three decades behind bars* for the *shotgun murders of their parents* in the family's *Beverly Hills* home, *could soon walk free* after a *judge reduced their life sentences.* 🇺🇸 ⚖️ *The ruling on Tuesday* came after an *emotional court hearing in Los Angeles* during which the *men took full responsibility for the 1989 double killing.* _*"I do believe they've done enough over the last 35 years* that *one day they should get that chance"*_ *to be freed,* Judge Michael Jesic said, *reducing the men's original sentences* of *life without the possibility of parole* to a term of *50 years to life.* The *time they have already spent behind bars* means they are *already eligible to apply for parole,* with a hearing *scheduled for next month.* The *pair have spent two years trying to get their sentences reduced,* with a *public campaign bolstered by celebrity support* and *supercharged by a hit Netflix* miniseries.

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5/14/2025, 10:57:16 AM

1️⃣ *Donald Trump* became the *first US president in 25 years* to *meet a Syrian leader* after he *offered sanctions relief* in *hopes of offering a new path* to the *war-battered country.* 🇺🇸 🇸🇾 🇸🇦 *Trump,* in *Riyadh* on the *first state visit of his second term,* met on Wednesday with *Ahmed al-Sharaa, an erstwhile Islamist guerrilla* turned interim president after the *December overthrow of longtime strongman Bashar al-Assad.* The two held *brief talks* ahead of a *larger gathering of Gulf leaders in Saudi Arabia* during *Trump's tour of the region,* a White House official said. *No US president had met a Syrian leader* since *Bill Clinton saw Hafez al-Assad, Bashar's father, in Geneva in 2000* in a failed effort to persuade him to *make peace with Israel.* *Trump said* on Tuesday that he was *lifting _"brutal and crippling"_ Assad-era sanctions* on Syria in response to *demands from Sharaa's allies in Turkey* and Saudi Arabia -- in his *latest step out of tune with US ally Israel.*

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5/13/2025, 5:36:03 AM

3️⃣ *Opening statements are expected* in the *federal sex trafficking trial* of *Sean "Diddy" Combs,* the music mogul *accused of committing years of chilling abuse.* 🇺🇸 ⚖️ *Combs,* 55, has *pleaded not guilty on all counts,* which include a *racketeering charge alleging the hip-hop pioneer* was the *leader of a sex crime ring* that included *drug-fueled sex parties* by use of force, *threats and violence.* *If convicted* , the *one-time rap producer* and *global superstar,* often credited for his role in ushering hip-hop into the mainstream, could spend the rest of his life in prison. The panel of 12 jurors and six alternates responsible for determining Combs's fate is set to be finalised first thing on Monday, a process pushed back after Judge Arun Subramanian voiced concern candidates might get "cold feet" over the weekend. Last week potential jurors were vetted including on their ability to fairly hear evidence from hip-hop artists, sex workers and people involved in the use and distribution of drugs.

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5/13/2025, 5:36:02 AM

🇺🇸 🇨🇳 The United States and China have announced an agreement to drastically reduce tit-for-tat tariffs for 90 days, de-escalating a trade war that has roiled financial markets and raised fears of a global economic downturn. Donald Trump had unveiled eye-watering tolls on trading partners on 2 April, with the heftiest saved for Beijing, raising concerns of a trade war between the economic superpowers. The US president eventually hiked the measures against China to 145%, which were met with retaliatory rates of 125%. In a joint statement, the US side said it would now reduce tolls to 30% while Chinese tariffs on American goods would be cut to 10%. 📸 Frederic J. BROWN