WASHINGTON (AP) — Biden says Israeli efforts to boost aid into Gaza are still not enough and US waiting for Netanyahu to meet commitments.
Israel is determined to launch a ground offensive against Hamas in Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost town, a plan that has raised global alarm because of the potential for harm to more than a million Palestinian civilians sheltering there. Israel has approved military plans for its offensive and has moved troops and tanks to southern Israel in apparent preparation — though it's still unknown when or if it will happen.
Under the deal the US would give the Saudis security guarantees by sidestepping Israel's Gaza war.
After Israel-Iran tensions, the clock may be ticking for Lebanon, with a possible Israeli offensive looming that would be devastating to Biden administration, writes Hussein Ibish.
Chinese President Xi Jinping heads to Europe for the first time in five years next week in a visit that may lay bare European divisions over trade with Beijing and how the continent positions itself as a pole between the United States and China. Xi travels to France, Serbia and Hungary at a time when the European Union is threatening to hammer China's electric vehicle and green energy industries with tariffs over huge subsidies the bloc says gives manufacturers in China an unfair edge. With China's economy facing headwinds and the U.S. closing itself off to Chinese firms, the European Union could have some leverage over Beijing.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged Tuesday to launch an incursion into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are sheltering from the almost 7-month-long war, just as cease-fire negotiations between Israel and Hamas appear to be gaining steam. Netanyahu's comments came hours before U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was to arrive in Israel to advance the truce talks — which appear to be one of the most serious round
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States on Wednesday issued hundreds of fresh sanctions targeting Russia over the war in Ukraine in action that took aim at Moscow's circumvention of Western measures, including through China. The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on nearly 200 targets and the State Department designated more than 80 in one of the most wide-ranging actions against Chinese companies so far in Washington's sanctions aimed at Russia. The U.S. imposed sanctions on 20 companies based in China and Hong Kong, following repeated warnings from Washington about China's support for Russia's military, including during recent trips by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to the country.
Iran is willing to "expend every Arab life" in its efforts to end Western influence in the Middle East and destroy Israel, a former US national security adviser has said. HR McMaster, who held the position between 2017 and 2018 during the Trump presidency, told Sky News that there is still a risk of escalation between Iran and Israel after the two nations carried out attacks on each other in April. Iran said its attack on Saturday 13 April was a retaliation after two of its generals were killed in a strike in Syria's capital, Damascus, which Tehran blames on Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is coming under fierce pressure from far-right members of his government not to strike the ceasefire proposal currently on the table, which could prevent an Israeli military offensive in Rafah from moving forward.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States on Wednesday imposed new sanctions on hundreds of companies and people tied to Russia's weapons development program, more than a dozen Chinese entities accused of helping Moscow find workarounds to earlier penalties, and individuals linked to the death of Kremlin opposition leader Alexei Navalny. The actions by the departments of Treasury and State target Russia’s military-industrial base, chemical weapons programs and people and companies in third countries t
Hamas is considering a new framework proposed by Egypt that calls for the group to release as many as 33 hostages kidnapped from Israel in exchange for a pause in hostilities in Gaza, an Israeli source familiar with the negotiations and a foreign diplomatic source told CNN.
A senior U.S. official on Thursday urged China and Russia to match declarations by the United States and others that only humans, and never artificial intelligence, would make decisions on deploying nuclear weapons. State Department arms control official Paul Dean told an online briefing that Washington had made a "clear and strong commitment" that humans had total control over nuclear weapons, adding that France and Britain had done the same. "We would welcome a similar statement by China and the Russian Federation," said Dean, principal deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of Arms Control, Deterrence and Stability.
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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Jordan's top leaders Tuesday in Amman, where he is working to secure more humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip and a cease-fire in the war between Israel and Hamas.
South Korea is considering sharing advanced military technology with the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia through the so-called AUKUS partnership, South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik said. Shin said the possibility was discussed during two days of meetings between South Korea and Australia’s defense and foreign ministers that ended in the Australian city of Melbourne on Wednesday.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro says Israel’s actions are “genocidal.” Israel’s foreign minister responds by calling Petro a “hate-filled, antisemitic president.”
The United States imposed sanctions on more than a dozen companies in China and Hong Kong for their support of Russia’s war in Ukraine as part of a tranche of nearly 300 new sanctions unveiled Wednesday.
South Korea has held talks about joining part of the AUKUS defence deal between the U.S., Britain and Australia, Defence Minister Shin Won-sik said on Wednesday, only weeks after the pact said it would consider including Japan. Formed in 2021, AUKUS is a two-stage security pact to counteract China's growing power in the Asia Pacific region. While a first stage to give Australia nuclear submarine technology is limited to the core trio, they have raised the possibility of other countries joining a second stage, or "Pillar 2", that aims to share other military technology.
Russia has been quietly shipping refined petroleum to North Korea at levels that appear to violate a cap imposed by the United Nations Security Council, the White House said on Thursday, suggesting new sanctions could result. The disclosure came on the first day after a U.N. panel of experts monitoring enforcement of longstanding U.N. sanctions against North Korea for its nuclear weapons and missile programs was disbanded after a Russian veto. "At the same time that Moscow vetoed the panel's mandate renewal, Russia has been shipping refined petroleum from Port Vostochny to the DPRK (North Korea)," White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters.
The Foreign Secretary said it was vital to keep open direct diplomatic channels with Tehran.
The expected withdrawal of U.S. forces from Niger will endanger U.S. counter-terrorism operations and hand Russia more influence in Africa as American and western ties on the continent fracture. Around 1,000 troops in Niger are expected to eventually withdraw from the country after the conclusion of ongoing high-level talks between Niamey and Washington following a…
