Donald Trump\u2019s so-called \u201cboard of peace\u201d has been announced as the US president seeks to manage the reconstruction of Gaza and its transitional administration amid a fragile ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.<\/p>\n
The seven-member board includes US secretary of state Marco Rubio, former British prime minister Tony Blair, Trump\u2019s son-in-law Jared Kushner<\/a>, Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff and World Bank president, Ajay Banga. Trump himself will serve as chair, with further appointments expected in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n Each board member will manage \u201ca defined portfolio critical to Gaza\u2019s stabilization and long-term success, including, but not limited to, governance capacity-building, regional relations, reconstruction, investment attraction, large-scale funding, and capital mobilization\u201d, a White House statement said<\/a>.<\/p>\n Since the ceasefire, Israel has also demolished thousands of structures<\/a> that survived the war, including homes and greenhouses, in the part of Gaza is still controls.<\/p>\n Hamas has yet to publicly commit to full disarmament \u2013 a key Israeli demand and one of the most contentious elements of the longer-term settlement.<\/p>\n White House announces Gaza \u2018board of peace\u2019<\/p>\n The list was made public a day after Trump announced<\/a> the formation of the \u201cboard of peace\u201d as part of phase two of the US-brokered plan to end the conflict in Gaza. Characteristically effusive, the president described it as the \u201cGreatest and Most Prestigious Board ever assembled at any time, any place\u201d.<\/p>\n Seth Masket, a political scientist at the University of Denver, suggested that the board\u2019s name was undermined by Trump\u2019s bellicose actions. \u201cI hope he can find time to attend Board of Peace meetings between meetings about invasions of Venezuela, Iran, Greenland, Canada, and Minneapolis,\u201d Masket observed<\/a> on social media.<\/p>\n Read the full story<\/a><\/p>\n The US justice department is investigating Minnesota\u2019s political leaders for allegedly conspiring to obstruct the Trump administration\u2019s controversial immigration crackdown there, according to multiple reports.<\/p>\n Read the full story<\/a><\/p>\n Machado giving Trump her Nobel peace prize medal is \u2018absurd\u2019, say Norwegian politicians<\/p>\n Political leaders in Norway have condemned the Venezuelan opposition leader Mar\u00eda Corina Machado\u2019s \u201cabsurd\u201d decision to present her Nobel peace prize medal to Donald Trump, accusing the US president of being a \u201cclassic showoff\u201d who takes credit for other people\u2019s work.<\/p>\n Read the full story<\/a><\/p>\n Trump threatens tariffs against those who oppose him taking Greenland<\/p>\n After a tense week in which Nato<\/a> allies deployed troops to the largely autonomous territory, which is part of the Danish kingdom, the US president announced he might punish countries that do not support his plans to take over Greenland, using force if necessary.<\/p>\n Read the full story<\/a><\/p>\n US mixed messaging on flu shots alarms experts<\/p>\n As the US reaches record-breaking rates of illness and hospitals scramble to care for flu patients, officials have stopped fully recommending the flu<\/a> shot, casting doubt on the necessity and effectiveness of the vaccine<\/a>.<\/p>\n Read the full story<\/a><\/p>\n Trump set to pardon ex-Puerto Rico governor after \u2018political prosecution\u2019<\/p>\n Donald Trump<\/a> reportedly intends to pardon Puerto Rico\u2019s<\/a> former governor Wanda V\u00e1zquez Garced, who was indicted in 2022 on federal corruption charges surrounding her earlier gubernatorial campaign.<\/p>\n Read the full story<\/a><\/p>\n Trump administration says detaining college student trying to surprise family was a \u2018mistake\u2019<\/p>\n The Trump administration<\/a> apologized in court for a \u201cmistake\u201d in the deportation<\/a> of a Massachusetts college student who was detained trying to fly home to surprise her family in Texas for Thanksgiving.<\/p>\n Read the full story<\/a><\/p>\n Trump\u2019s economic adviser expects there is \u2018nothing to see\u2019 as justice department investigates Fed<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s<\/a> top economic adviser, Kevin Hassett, said he expected there was \u201cnothing to see here\u201d as the US Department of Justice pursues its criminal investigation of Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve chair.<\/p>\n Read the full story<\/a><\/p>\n What else happened today:<\/p>\n Donald Trump has issued a fresh ultimatum to Hamas<\/a>, adding to calls for the group\u2019s disarmament as the second phase of the US-brokered ceasefire with Israel begins, even as key elements of the first phase remain unfulfilled.<\/p>\n New incident reports from the Minneapolis police and fire departments, along with transcripts of 911 calls, <\/a>provide new details about the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Good last week by a federal immigration officer<\/a>.<\/p>\n Family and friends of a Los Angeles<\/a> man who was killed by an off-duty US ICE<\/a> officer over the holidays <\/a>are urging local officials to arrest and prosecute the federal agent.<\/a><\/p>\n Astrid Tuminez, Utah Valley University\u2019s seventh president, will step down from her role in May as the school still reckons with Charlie Kirk\u2019s murder on the campus last year<\/a>.<\/p>\n For the first time, more US adults now support eliminating ICE than those who oppose it<\/a>, according to a new Economist\/YouGov poll<\/a>.<\/p>\n The justice department is not entitled to sensitive information on California<\/a> voters, a federal judge ruled this week<\/a>, writing that the administration\u2019s efforts to obtain the information on voters in the state is a threat to democracy<\/a>. The Trump administration has filed similar lawsuits in nearly half<\/a> of US states.<\/p>\n