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A United States judge has ordered the release of Columbia University student and pro-Palestine protester Mohsen Mahdawi as a case challenging his deportation proceeds, Aljazeera reported.

In Burlington, Vermont, on Wednesday, US District Judge Geoffrey Crawford ruled Mahdawi could leave the Northwest State Correctional Facility, where he had been held since immigration officials arrested him earlier this month.

Mahdawi walked out of the court with both hands in the air, flashing peace signs as supporters greeted him with cheers.

As he spoke, he shared a message for President Donald Trump, whose administration has led a crackdown on student protesters who have denounced Israel’s war in Gaza, according to Aljazeera.

The U.S. economy contracted for the first time in three years in the first quarter, swamped by a flood of imports as businesses raced to avoid higher costs from tariffs and underscoring the disruptive nature of President Donald Trump's often chaotic trade policy, Reuters reported.

The Commerce Department's advance gross domestic product (GDP) report on Wednesday, however, grossly exaggerated the economy's fading prospects. Though consumer spending slowed considerably from the fourth quarter, the pace of growth remained healthy. Businesses also boosted investment in equipment, mostly information processing and transportation.

Nonetheless, both consumer and business spending likely reflected front-loading before the import duties kicked in. As such, the report reinforced Americans' growing disapproval of Trump's handling of the economy as he marks 100 days in office.

Trump swept to victory last November on voter angst over the economy, especially inflation. Consumer confidence is near five-year lows and business sentiment has tanked, while airlines have pulled their 2025 financial forecasts, citing uncertainty over spending on nonessential travel because of tariffs, which economists said will raise costs for companies and households, according to Reuters.

Ukraine and the U.S. on Wednesday signed a deal heavily promoted by U.S. President Donald Trump that will give the United States preferential access to new Ukrainian minerals deals and fund investment in Ukraine's reconstruction, Reuters reported.

The two countries signed the accord in Washington after months of sometimes fraught negotiations, with uncertainty persisting until the last moment with word of an eleventh-hour snag.

The accord establishes a joint investment fund for Ukraine's reconstruction as Trump tries to secure a peace settlement in Russia's three-year-old war in Ukraine.

The agreement is central to Kyiv's efforts to mend ties with Trump and the White House, which frayed after he took office in January, according to Reuters.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko were shown signing the agreement in a photo posted on X by the Treasury, which said the deal "clearly signals the Trump Administration's commitment to a free, sovereign, prosperous Ukraine."

Nagarik Unmukti Party patron Resham Chaudhary, who was arrested this afternoon, has been released.

Chaudhary was arrested based on the 'unofficial letter' written by an officer of the Judgment Execution Directorate under the Supreme Court, Mahiman Singh Bista.

He was released after the SC informed that the letter was an unofficial one, said Spokesperson at the District Police Range, Kathmandu, and Superintendent of Police, Apil Raj Bohara. 

Clearing the uncertainty, the SC had sent a letter to the Central Jail, Dillibazaar, to release Chaudhary. 

Bohara added Chaudhary has been released, while officer Bista has been arrested in connection with the issuance of an unauthorized letter that led to Chaudhary's arrest.

Chaudhary was arrested from Nepal Academy premises at a time when he was going to attend a party unification program between the Janamat party and the Nagarik Unmukti Party.