The Biden administration plans to announce Monday that it will ease restrictions on humanitarian aid for Syria, speeding delivery of basic supplies without lifting sanctions that restrict other assistance to the new government in Damascus, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. The step, approved by the administration over the weekend, authorizes the Treasury Department…
The Biden administration plans to impose more sanctions on Russia over its war on Ukraine, taking aim at its oil revenues with action against tankers carrying Russian crude, two sources with knowledge of the matter said on Sunday. President Joe Biden’s administration has sought to shore up support for Ukraine before President-elect Donald Trump takes…
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday that the United States believed Russia was expanding space cooperation with North Korea in exchange for its troop contribution in fighting Ukraine. “The DPRK is already receiving Russian military equipment and training. Now we have reason to believe that Moscow intends to share advanced space and satellite technology…
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday that Syria’s new leadership is determined to root out separatists there, as Ankara said its military had “neutralized” 32 members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, in the country. A rebellion by groups close to Turkey ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad last month. Since then,…
Russia said on Sunday that Ukraine had launched a counter-attack in the Kursk region, an area of western Russia from which Russian troops have been trying to eject Ukrainian forces for the past five months. Ukrainian troops broke across the border in a surprise incursion on Aug. 6 and have managed to hold on to…
Elon Musk said Nigel Farage should quit as leader of Britain’s right-wing Reform UK party in an abrupt withdrawal of support by the US billionaire for the Brexit campaigner who is trying to shake up the British political establishment again. “The Reform Party needs a new leader. Farage doesn’t have what it takes,” Musk said on…
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz accused Lebanese group Hezbollah on Sunday of not meeting the terms of a ceasefire, warning that if the militants continued to breach the deal, Israel would “be forced to act.” Katz issued his warning after visiting the military’s northern command and it followed a similar accusation against Israel by Hezbollah chief Naim…
Palestinian militant group Hamas has approved a list of 34 hostages presented by Israel to be exchanged in a possible Gaza ceasefire deal, a group official told Reuters on Sunday. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, also reiterated that any deal is contingent upon reaching an…
Syria’s new rulers said on Sunday that US sanctions on Syria were an obstacle to the war-torn country’s rapid recovery and urged Washington to lift them during a visit by Syrian officials to Qatar. “These sanctions constitute a barrier and an obstacle to the rapid recovery and development of the Syrian people who await services and…
Saudi Arabia’s Prince Faisal bin Farhan has met with US Envoy to Lebanon Amos Hochstein where the two discussed current regional issues, including developments in Lebanon. The meeting was held at the ministry’s headquarters in Riyadh, the Kingdom’s foreign ministry said in a statement early on Monday. The visit comes as Israel and Hezbollah accused…
Ortagus ‘will hopefully be an asset to Steve (Witkoff), a great leader and talent, as we seek to bring calm and prosperity to a very troubled region,’ says US President-elect. US President-elect Donald Trump on Friday appointed Morgan Ortagus as deputy special presidential envoy for Middle East peace. Ortagus is set to serve as deputy…
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives late Sunday in crisis-riven South Korea where he will seek delicately to encourage continuity with the policies, but not tactics, of the impeached president. Blinken will hold talks with counterpart Cho Tae-yul on Monday, the same day a warrant expires to arrest suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol who unsuccessfully tried to…
Honduras President Xiomara Castro’s comments earlier this week threatening to stop her country’s cooperation with the US military if President-elect Donald Trump follows through on promised mass deportations have generated political heat at home, even as the US government has remained silent. In a New Year’s Day speech on a national television channel, Castro said…
Thousands braved heavy snow in Seoul on Sunday to rally for and against arresting impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol, as South Korea’s political crisis appeared headed toward another high-stakes confrontation. With an arrest warrant against Yoon for alleged insurrection expiring at midnight (1500 GMT) on Monday, multiple groups held demonstrations near his official residence, some urging his…
British police have named one of the victims of the New Year’s Day attack in New Orleans as Edward Pettifer, a 31-year-old from London whose stepmother was a nanny to Prince William and Prince Harry. He was among 14 people killed by a US Army veteran who had pledged allegiance to ISIS and rammed a truck into…
