US President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday said he was appointing former PayPal Chief Operating Officer David Sacks as his artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency czar, another step toward overhauling US policy. “He will work on a legal framework so the Crypto industry has the clarity it has been asking for, and can thrive in the US,”…
Burkina Faso’s ruling junta has dismissed interim Prime Minister Apollinaire Joachim Kyelem de Tambela and dissolved the government, a decree issued by the office of military leader Ibrahim Traore said on Friday. The decree did not give a reason for the dismissal of Tambela, who was appointed interim premier soon after Traore seized power in…
TikTok edged closer to being banned in the United States after it lost an appeal on Friday against a law requiring the video-sharing app to divest from its Chinese parent company by January 19. The potential ban could strain US-China relations just as president-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office on January 20. TikTok said…
The Syrian government lost control Friday of the symbolic southern city of Daraa and most of the eponymous province, which was the cradle of the country’s 2011 uprising, a war monitor said. “Local factions have taken control of more areas in Daraa province, including Daraa city… They now control more than 90 percent of the…
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday called for the protection of civilians and minorities in Syria, as Syrian opposition forces continued to seize swathes of territory from the control of President Bashar al-Assad’s forces. During a phone conversation with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, “Secretary Blinken emphasized the importance of protecting civilians, including…
David Perdue wrote strategic ambiguity needs to be addressed in September op-ed TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — US President-elect Donald Trump said he has chosen David Perdue as his China ambassador. The former senator has said the US’ strategic ambiguity policy on Taiwan should be clarified and once met ex-President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文). Trump said he picked Perdue via…
The popular American media figure sat down with the Russian foreign minister ahead of the change of power in Washington next month Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, in an exclusive interview with leading US media personality Tucker Carlson, has addressed a broad range of topics concerning global tensions, relations between Moscow and Washington, and the…
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday he hoped Syrian opposition forces will continue their advance against government forces in Syria, but voiced concern about what he said were terrorist organizations in their midst. Erdogan told reporters after Friday prayers he was closely following the push which he said was heading to the Syrian capital….
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday linked an arson attack on a synagogue in Australia to what he called Canberra’s “anti-Israel sentiment.” Police in the Australian city of Melbourne said mask-wearing arsonists attacked a synagogue before dawn on Friday. They were still searching for the suspects and said they did not know why the…
President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that Russia could deploy its new Oreshnik intermediate-range hypersonic missile on the territory of its ally Belarus in the second half of next year. Putin was responding to a request by his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko at a summit in Minsk, where the two leaders signed a mutual defense…
The Israeli military said Friday it was “reinforcing aerial and ground forces” in the occupied Golan Heights in response to sweeping advances by opposition forces in Syria. In a statement, the military said it was “monitoring developments and is prepared for all scenarios, offensive and defensive alike,” adding that it “will not tolerate any threat…
Representatives of European Union countries failed on Friday to approve a 15th package of sanctions on Russia, which included an extension for the Czech Republic to import Russian oil-based products coming mainly through Slovakia, diplomats said. Two member states blocked the passage over a disagreement about extending the time given to European companies disinvesting from…
The collapse of Russia’s ally Syria in the face of an assault from opposition groups shows Moscow cannot fight on two fronts, Ukraine’s foreign ministry said on Thursday while reiterating denials that Kyiv was involved in the fighting there. “We can see that Russia cannot fight on two fronts — this is clear from the…
Iran is multiplying the pace at which it is enriching uranium to close to bomb grade, mainly at its Fordow site dug into a mountain, the UN nuclear watchdog said in a confidential report to member states on Friday seen by Reuters. The International Atomic Energy Agency verified on Thursday that Iran had started feeding…
A Russian strike on Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region has killed at least seven people, the local governor said Friday. Zaporizhzhia governor Ivan Fedorov said a Russian attack had set a car garage and service station on fire, posting images of a fire blazing with debris strewn across the street. “The death toll has risen to…
