Tag Archives: US

When America has recovered from the coronavirus crisis and people are back to work, Rep. Adam B. Schiff thinks Congress should consider a 9/11-style independent commission to examine why the nation was so unprepared for the pandemic. By David Ignatius Schiff, a California Democrat, told me in an interview Monday that his …

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will pardon 10,000 prisoners including political ones in honor of the Iranian new year on Friday, state TV reported. “Those who will be pardoned will not return to jail … almost half of those security-related prisoners will be pardoned as well,” judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein …

Countries around the world on Saturday continued to close borders, impose strict entry and quarantine requirements and restrict large gatherings in efforts to contain the spread of the new coronavirus. Apple Inc (AAPL.O) said it will close all its retail stores worldwide, outside Greater China, until March 27. Apple reopened …

Britain has increased its security and readiness at military bases in the Middle East after the United States killed Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani, Sky News reported on Friday without citing sources. Britain has about 400 military personnel in Iraq, who help provide training in the country. They are mostly located …

Iran promised harsh revenge after a U.S. air strike in Baghdad on Friday killed Qassem Soleimani, commander of Iran’s elite Quds force and architect of its growing military influence in the Middle East. Soleimani was a general who was regarded as the second most powerful figure in Iran after Supreme …

Turkey will carry out an operation east of the Euphrates river in northern Syria, in an area controlled by the Kurdish YPG militia, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday. Turkey has been running out of patience with the United States, which made an agreement with Ankara to implement a …

Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar met military officials on Thursday to discuss a possible offensive east of the Euphrates River in Syria as Ankara ramped up warnings of a cross-border operation. A Turkish military tank is seen near Mount Barsaya, northeast of Afrin, Syria January 23, 2018. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi The …

Four progressive Democratic members of Congress vilified by U.S. President Donald Trump are “fantastic”, U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said on Thursday. Trump tweeted over the weekend that the representatives known as “the squad” – Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and …

The United States said on Wednesday that it was removing Turkey from the F-35 fighter jet program, a move long threatened and expected after Ankara began accepting delivery of an advanced Russian missile defense system last week. The first parts of the S-400 air defense system were flown to the …

Germany on Monday rejected demands by the United States to deploy ground troops in Syria, a stance likely to anger President Donald Trump who wants Chancellor Angela Merkel to commit to a bigger military role in the Middle East. “When I say the government envisages sticking to the current measures …

Saudi Arabia’s flyadeal will not proceed with a provisional order for 30 Boeing 737 MAX jets, the U.S. planemaker said on Sunday after the airline announced it would operate an all Airbus A320 fleet. Flyadeal began reconsidering a commitment to order the Boeing jets after two MAX aircraft crashed in …

Qatar’s ruling emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington on July 9 to exchange views on the latest regional and international developments, Qatar’s state news agency said on Saturday. The White House said in June the visit would deal with economic and …

Israel’s financial system faces significant risks from falling U.S. bond yields and high global debt levels, the Bank of Israel said on Sunday in a semi-annual financial stability report. The central bank noted that global growth and rate forecasts continued to moderate in the first half of 2019, while major …

Forces allied to Libya’s internationally recognized government based in Tripoli captured sophisticated U.S. and Chinese rockets as well as drones when they seized a town from eastern forces last week, officials said on Saturday. On Wednesday, Tripoli’s forces took Gharyan, south of the capital, which eastern forces loyal to Khalifa …

The National Bureau for Defending Land and Resisting Settlements said in his latest weekly report , that the Israeli occupation government proceeds with its settlement plans in the West Bank and works day and night to seize more lands. The percentage of confiscated land has increased to a high degree …

Iran will ask Japan to mediate between Tehran and Washington to ease oil sanctions imposed by the United States, Iranian officials said on Wednesday, as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe arrived in the country for a two-day visit. Abe, the first Japanese leader to visit Iran since its 1979 Islamic …

A Lebanese businessman detained in Iran since 2015 for alleged anti-state activity left the country on Tuesday, a Lebanese official said, after Beirut secured his release. Nizar Zakka, who has U.S. residency, flew to Beirut with Lebanon’s security chief Abbas Ibrahim, the official told Reuters. Zakka, who also holds U.S. …

Throughout history certain metals have been critical for defense.  During the Greek era, it was bronze.  During the Roman Empire, it was iron.  In the late 19th Century and early 20th Century, it was copper. In fact, copper was so critical during the American Civil War that the Confederates sent …

Iran has no plans to leave the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said in an interview published by the Iranian parliament news site ICANA on Saturday. “Iran has no plans to leave OPEC…and regrets that some members of OPEC have turned this organization into a …

Igor Sechin, CEO of Russian oil giant Rosneft, accused the United States of using energy as a political weapon and said on Thursday that the U.S. golden age of energy had become an “era of energy colonialism” for other countries. Speaking at an economic forum in St Petersburg, Sechin said …

A Russian fighter jet made a dangerous high-speed pass that put a U.S. Navy surveillance aircraft at risk during an intercept over the Mediterranean Sea on Tuesday, the U.S. Sixth Fleet said, but Moscow said its pilot had behaved responsibly. “While the Russian aircraft was operating in international airspace, this …

A delegation of the Expo Centre Sharjah headed by Sultan Shattaf, Director, Business Development and Marketing, is participating in the JCK Las Vegas 2019, jewellery industry’s largest North American trade event, beginning tomorrow in Los Vegas, United States. The participation is aimed at introducing the benefits of the Watch & …

Turkish-American former NASA scientist Serkan Golge, newly released from jail in Turkey, said on Thursday he would like to go back to the United States and get his job back, but the terms of his probation won’t allow it. Earlier this year Golge was found guilty of being a member …

U.S. forces have quietly sent at least 30 suspected foreign Islamic State fighters captured in Syria last year and in late 2017 to stand trial in Iraq, interviews with the men, Iraqi sources and court documents show. FILE PHOTO: Islamic state fighters and their families walk as they surrender in …

A network of fake social media accounts impersonated political candidates and journalists to spread messages in support of Iran and against U.S. President Donald Trump around the 2018 congressional elections, cybersecurity firm FireEye said on Tuesday. The findings show how unidentified, possibly government-backed, groups could manipulate social media platforms to …

The United States said it would oppose on Friday for the first time an annual resolution at the United Nations calling on Israel to rescind its authority in the occupied Golan Heights, drawing praise from Israeli officials. The Golan Heights form a buffer between Israel and Syria of about 1,200 …

Turkey takes a positive view of a U.S. move to offer rewards for information on three members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), the foreign ministry said on Wednesday, adding it expected to see concrete steps in the fight against the militia. The United States offered the rewards on …

U.S. fighter jets darted over the Western Pacific on Saturday as the nuclear powered USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier joined Japanese destroyers and a Canadian warship for the biggest combat readiness war game ever staged in and around Japan. Japan and the United States have mobilized 57,000 sailors, marines and …

The United States said on Friday it lifted sanctions imposed on two top officials in Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s cabinet, a sign of improved relations after Turkey freed an American pastor from detention three weeks ago. The United States had imposed sanctions on Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul and Interior Minister …

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Wednesday that if the United States deploys intermediate-range missiles in Europe, Russia will have to target the nations that would host them. The stern statement follows U.S. President Donald Trump‘s announcement over the weekend that he intends to opt out of a 1987 nuclear arms control pact over …

The Saudi government’s overnight announcement that Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi died in a fistfight at its consulate in Turkey was “insulting,” and provided another reason Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman is “gonna have to be replaced,” Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., told “Fox News Sunday.” Authorities in Saudi Arabia said 18 suspects were in …

The General Assembly on Tuesday voted by an overwhelming majority to temporarily grant the “State of Palestine” additional rights and privileges, allowing it to head the biggest bloc of developing countries at the United Nations. A whopping 146 states voted in favor of Resolution A/73/L.5, while only three countries — the …

Asian buyers of Iranian oil are gaining confidence they will win US consent for some imports to continue even after American sanctions snap back next month. Major Iranian customers South Korea, India and Japan are in talks with Washington for waivers, highlighting the specific reasons they need to continue purchases, …

By Graham E. Fuller — The grisly details of the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi security goons in their own consulate in Istanbul has riveted global attention like few other recent stories. Not surprisingly, the lurid descriptions of this single sensational case have far greater impact on …

Heather Nauert, the State Department spokeswoman who doubles as one of the US’s highest-ranking diplomats, came under fire after posting a photo of herself on Wednesday smiling outside a Saudi Arabian government complex during a visit to Riyadh to discuss the alleged torture and killing of a US resident and …

Parliamentary elections in Afghanistan are just days away, and the Taliban and ISIS fighters, countered by Afghan and U.S. troops, are doing all they can to disrupt voters. Nangarhar in Eastern Afghanistan was the deadliest province for Americans in 2017. Of the 11 American troops killed in Afghanistan last year, …

Investors should look beyond the upcoming U.S. midterm elections in gauging the tense geopolitical situation between the U.S. and China, according to Barclays’ head of macro research. The issues at the heart of U.S.-China relations go beyond trade tensions, which some analysts have said may ease after the U.S. midterm …

The Trump administration will seek to reform two parts of the nation’s policy to promote biofuels, marking its latest attempt to reach a mutually beneficial outcome for two of the president’s key constituencies: the fossil fuel industry and farm states. President Donald Trump will order acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler …

European carmakers are rolling out electric vehicles like the ones on view at the Paris Motor Show to burnish their reputations as technology leaders and to compete with Tesla. But also because EU regulations don’t leave them much choice.  New emission standards mean Europe will soon see an upsurge in …

Former US secretary of defense Chuck Hagel says the limited number of American troops in northeastern Syria can do nothing to drive Iranian forces out of the Arab country. “The US doesn’t even control half of Syria. You’ve got 2,000 [US] troops up in the northeast corner. I mean, come on, you’re …

National security adviser John Bolton defended calling Palestine a “so-called state,” saying Wednesday “it is not a state.” Bolton, speaking to reporters in the White House briefing room, said that denying Palestine’s statehood isn’t counterproductive as the Trump administration prepares to unveil a Mideast peace plan. “It’s not a state …

Russian spies have been accused of involvement in a series of cyber plots across the globe, leading the US to level charges against seven agents. The US Justice Department said targets included the global chemical weapons watchdog, anti-doping agencies and a US nuclear company. The allegations are part of an …

Kuwait has all but stopped shipping crude to the US for the first time since the aftermath of Saddam Hussain’s invasion in 1990, eroding an economic link between Washington and the Arab state. The halt is the latest sign that booming demand for oil in Asia, particularly as the US …

President Donald Trump’s accusation of Chinese meddling in upcoming U.S. elections marks a new phase in an escalating pressure campaign against Beijing that Washington is pursuing on multiple fronts, senior U.S. officials said on Thursday. National security adviser John Bolton, long considered a China hawk, has played a key role …