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Trump goes on social media conspiracy posting spree

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Trump goes on social media conspiracy posting spree


US President Donald Trump gestures while delivering remarks as he hosts his second Rose Garden Club dinner in honour of Police Week at the White House in Washington, DC, US, May 11, 2026. — Reuters
US President Donald Trump gestures while delivering remarks as he hosts his second ‘Rose Garden Club’ dinner in honour of Police Week at the White House in Washington, DC, US, May 11, 2026. — Reuters 

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump went on an extraordinary social media spree into the early hours of Tuesday, posting dozens of conspiracy theories and crude memes attacking his opponents.

The intense outburst on Truth Social came amid growing public scrutiny of the 79-year-old Republican’s health.

As Trump deals with the economically damaging impasse with Iran and prepares to fly later Tuesday for a summit in China, his attention was elsewhere in the nighttime flurry.

Trump goes on social media conspiracy posting spree

In a span of just three hours around midnight Monday, Trump posted over 50 times, almost exclusively re-sharing videos and screenshots from supporters’ accounts, plus AI-created memes.

Two posts called former Democratic president Barack Obama a “traitor” and a “DEMONIC FORCE.” Others called for Obama and other Trump critics to be arrested.

Multiple posts urging prosecution tagged Todd Blanche, a former Trump criminal defense lawyer who has been appointed acting US attorney general and is reportedly working to accelerate prosecutions of Trump critics.

Many of Trump’s posts reiterated his false claim that the 2020 election was stolen from him, including made-up assertions that voting machine manufacturers switched ballots cast for him to the actual winner, Democrat Joe Biden.

“The CIA knew what these machines were capable of and brushed it under the rug to control election outcomes,” read one post on his account.

He also shared at least two original posts signed “President DJT”: one cryptically saying the US was “going to talk” with Cuba and another – over 400 words long – defending his costly renovation project of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

In a recent Washington Post/ABC News/Ipsos poll, 59% of respondents said they believed Trump lacked the mental capacity to lead the country, while 55% said he was not physically fit.

Trump, the oldest president ever elected to the presidency, insists he is in top shape.

“I feel the same as I did 50 years ago. It’s crazy,” he asserted on Monday.

The White House announced on Monday that the president would undergo a medical and dental examination on May 26 at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, near Washington.

It will be his third such visit since returning to the White House in a year and a half.





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US-Iran deal: Trump reaffirms Iran must not have nuclear weapons, praises Shehbaz, Munir for diplomacy

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US-Iran deal: Trump reaffirms Iran must not have nuclear weapons, praises Shehbaz, Munir for diplomacy



President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the United States will not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon, while praising Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir as “incredible people” amid progress in US-Iran peace talks.

President Trump earlier in the day said that the Iran issue is “not urgent,” urging patience and caution in ongoing negotiations during a telephonic interview with American media.

He said there was no need to rush into decisions or diplomatic steps, stressing that Washington should take its time in dealing with the matter.

Trump also said the US has imposed restrictions aimed at cutting off Iran’s access to funds, adding that Tehran must not be allowed to possess nuclear weapons, which he warned it could potentially use.

When asked whether Iran could be prevented from enriching uranium, Trump responded: “100 per cent, they are going to stop.”

He further claimed that Iran would have to deal with nuclear contamination at damaged facilities, saying their infrastructure had been destroyed by US Tomahawk missiles. He added that Iran lacks the capability to carry out such cleanup operations, suggesting that only China and the United States have the necessary expertise and equipment.



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Who could replace Keir Starmer as Britain’s prime minister?

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Who could replace Keir Starmer as Britain’s prime minister?


Britains Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets construction apprentices during a visit to London South Bank Technical College in London, Britain, May 12, 2026. — Reuters
Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets construction apprentices during a visit to London South Bank Technical College in London, Britain, May 12, 2026. — Reuters

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is under pressure to resign after more than 80 lawmakers in his Labour Party said he was not the right person to lead the country and win the next national election. He has vowed to stay on as no formal leadership challenge has yet been triggered.

If Labour were to choose a new leader, here is a list of those in the frame to replace Starmer:

Wes Streeting, 43

Streeting has served as health and social care minister since Labour came to power in July 2024 — a role that puts him in charge of the state-funded National Health Service with its budget of more than 200 billion pounds.

Streeting is seen as a centrist within the Labour Party, and has advocated fiscal restraint in line with the approach taken by Starmer. He has also supported the government’s policy to increase defence funding.

Streeting was seen as a protege of Peter Mandelson, the former UK ambassador to the US who was appointed by Starmer and then fired over his links to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Streeting has said he’s embarrassed to have known Mandelson but denied that they were close friends.

In his first year as health minister, he approved a 22% pay rise for resident doctors over two years in a bid to end a standoff over pay. Doctors have since resumed striking.

Streeting has represented a constituency in east London since 2015. The seat is tightly contested and in 2024 he won by just 528 votes, making it vulnerable for the next election.

He describes his upbringing as working class, and he would be Britain’s first openly gay prime minister. Born to teenage parents, he has described how his grandfather and grandmother both spent time in jail, with his mum born while his grandmother was in prison.

He attended Cambridge University — an education he says he funded himself with retail jobs — and is a former president of the National Union of Students.

Andy Burnham, 56

Burnham is the mayor of Manchester in northern England, and one of Labour’s most high-profile politicians.

He is currently unable to stand in any leadership challenge because he is not a member of parliament, but he has made recent efforts to return.

In January, he was blocked from running for a seat in the House of Commons by Labour’s National Executive Committee. His supporters, who tend to come from the left of the party, accused Starmer and allies of keeping out a potential leadership rival.

Burnham was briefly Britain’s deputy finance minister in former Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s government in the 2000s, and has run twice to be the party’s leader, including losing heavily to left-wing veteran Jeremy Corbyn in 2015.

He became Manchester mayor in 2017 but has remained an influential figure for some centre-left groups within Labour, particularly those critical of Starmer’s more centrist stance.

He has tried to reassure investors that they would be safe under his economic vision after he was quoted as saying Britain needed to stop being “in hock to the bond market”. He said his comments were misinterpreted.

Angela Rayner, 46

One of the party’s most recognisable figures, Rayner stepped down from her role as deputy prime minister, deputy Labour Party leader and housing secretary in 2025 after admitting she had unintentionally underpaid taxes on a property purchase and was found to have breached the ministerial code of conduct.

The matter is yet to be fully resolved with authorities, hindering any potential leadership bid. Recently she has called for Burnham’s return to parliament, which may signal she will not run herself.

She is seen as closer to the party’s left-wing, trade union roots than the centrist Starmer. When in office she championed legislation that expanded workers’ rights, backed minimum wage increases and called for higher public investment.

While publicly falling in line with Labour’s calls for fiscal restraint, media reports in May 2025, when she was still a minister, said she had argued for higher taxes, and since leaving government has called for “bold action” to shield Britons from the effects of the Iran war.

Rayner grew up in relative poverty on a social housing estate in the town of Stockport, near Manchester. A teenage mother, she worked as a care worker and trade union official before entering parliament in 2015.

She credits this background for giving her authentic insight into the struggles faced by the poorest Britons, and is regarded by many in Labour as a strong communicator whose background means she can reach parts of the party that Starmer – a Londoner and former human rights lawyer – cannot.

Ed Miliband, 56

Energy Minister Miliband is one of Starmer’s most senior cabinet ministers who has been linked to a return to lead the party after an earlier 2010-2015 stint in opposition. He has said that experience “inoculated” him against wanting to do it again.

He has been the main proponent in government of pursuing net zero energy policies.

He previously served in government from 2006 to 2010 under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, and defeated both his brother David and Burnham in the 2010 leadership election, offering a more centre-left vision for the party than his centrist brother.

Shabana Mahmood, 45

A lawmaker since 2010, Mahmood has risen rapidly through the ministerial ranks and was promoted to home secretary in September after serving as justice minister. She is the first Muslim woman to hold either role.

Seen as on the right of the party, she has driven a tougher stance on immigration which she says is key to facing down the right-wing Reform UK party and addressing voters’ concerns on immigration.

However, critics have said her tough stance means Labour is losing the support of progressives who traditionally backed it to left-wing alternatives such as the Greens. She is also unpopular with the left wing of the party.

Al Carns, 46

Newly elected in 2024, junior defence minister Al Carns has been rumoured as an outside candidate who could prove popular among other first-time lawmakers who want a fresh voice.

He served in the Royal Marines and is an Afghanistan veteran who advised several Conservative defence ministers on military matters before coming into politics.

Last year he was part of a team that climbed Mount Everest in less than seven days trialling the use of xenon gas to help speed up acclimatisation.





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Singaporean, Indian firms face criminal charges over Maryland bridge crash

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Singaporean, Indian firms face criminal charges over Maryland bridge crash


View of the Dali cargo vessel which crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge causing it to collapse in Baltimore, April 4.— Reuters
View of the Dali cargo vessel which crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge causing it to collapse in Baltimore, April 4.— Reuters 

A Singapore-based company and another in India have been indicted on multiple criminal charges over a 2024 ship crash that destroyed a bridge in the US state of Maryland and left six people dead, officials said Tuesday.

Synergy Marine, based in Singapore, and Synergy Maritime, based in Chennai, India, are accused of conspiracy to defraud, making false statements to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and other charges.

An Indian national, Radhakrishnan Karthik Nair, 47, who worked for both companies as technical superintendent for the ship, the M/V Dali, is also named in the indictment unsealed on Tuesday.

US Attorney Kelly Hayes said Nair is not in custody and is believed to be in India.

The Dali, a 984-foot container ship, suffered a series of electrical problems in the early morning of March 26, 2024, and crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge over the Patapsco River, which collapsed like a house of cards, blocking the busy shipping channel for the port of Baltimore.

Six construction workers on the bridge, all Latin American immigrants, fell to their deaths.

The NTSB found that the probable cause of the disaster was a loss of electrical power due to a loose wire connection in a high-voltage switchboard, resulting in the vessel losing propulsion and steering as it approached the bridge.

“The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge was a preventable tragedy of enormous consequence,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement. “This indictment is a critical step toward holding accountable those whose reckless disregard for maritime safety regulations caused this disaster.”

FBI special agent Jimmy Paul said the indictment “reveals a pattern of deception and egregious violations that led to the unsafe operation of the Dali which recklessly endangered the public and resulted in the ship striking the bridge.”

“Synergy and Radhakrishnan Karthik Nair repeatedly failed to document, investigate and report significant safety risks and hazards aboard the Dali,” Paul said. “They forged safety inspections and certifications.

“They falsely claimed the ship was in good working order and then lied to investigators about their actions when they were questioned.”

The US Justice Department announced in October 2024 that it had reached a $100 million settlement with Singapore’s Synergy Marine and another company, Grace Ocean, to recover costs incurred in responding to the disaster and for removing tons of bridge debris from the channel leading to the port of Baltimore.

Maryland authorities have said it will cost more than $5.2 billion to rebuild the bridge with completion envisioned in 2030.





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