Israeli officials are in talks with US President-elect Donald Trump and Jared Kushner to negotiate an immediate ceasefire deal in Lebanon with the help of Western and Russian cooperation, and create an early foreign policy win for Trump, according to a report citing three current and former Israeli officials briefed on the meeting. The Washington…
It is up to the United States to decide what to do with Taiwan’s decommissioned HAWK anti-aircraft missiles, the island’s Defense Minister Wellington Koo said on Wednesday, when asked if they would be transferred to Ukraine. The United States and its allies have provided billions of dollars of weapons to Ukraine since Russia attacked the country two…
Arab and Muslim leaders concluded a landmark summit in Riyadh on Monday with a unified demand for Israel to withdraw from all occupied Palestinian territories, calling it a prerequisite for regional peace. The meeting, hosted by the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, served as a definitive moment of solidarity against the backdrop of…
US President-elect Donald Trump said on Tuesday he has picked as his secretary of defense Pete Hegseth, a Fox News commentator and veteran who has expressed disdain for the so-called “woke” policies of Pentagon leaders including its top military officer. Hegseth, if confirmed by the US Senate, could make good on Trump’s campaign promises to…
Yemen’s Houthis attacked two US destroyers today with at least eight one-way attack drones, five anti-ship ballistic missiles and three anti-ship cruise missiles, the Pentagon said Tuesday. Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a press briefing that the US military successfully downed them all. Ryder also rejected the Houthi claim that they also targeted…
The US State Department said Tuesday that North Korean troops have begun “engaging in combat operations” alongside Russian forces on the border of Ukraine. “Today I can confirm that over 10,000 DPRK soldiers have been sent to eastern Russia, and most of them have moved to the far western Kursk Oblast, where they have begun…
President-elect Donald Trump has started to choose the people he wants to carry out his “America First” policies on the border, trade, the economy and more. Several of them are likely to be very tough on China, namely Beijing-sanctioned Senator Marco Rubio who’s expected to be secretary of state, and Congressman Mike Waltz as national…
Donald Trump is expected to tap US Senator Marco Rubio to be his secretary of state, sources said on Monday, putting the Florida-born politician on track to be the first Latino to serve as America’s top diplomat once the Republican president-elect takes office in January. Rubio was arguably the most hawkish option on Trump’s shortlist for…
US President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday named Elon Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to lead a newly created Department of Government Efficiency, rewarding two of Trump’s well known supporters from the private sector. Musk and Ramaswamy “will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and…
US top diplomat Antony Blinken will meet with NATO and EU officials Wednesday to urgently discuss ramping up support for Ukraine before Donald Trump reclaims the White House — potentially jeopardizing future aid. After landing in Brussels late Tuesday, the secretary of state’s one-day visit will see him meet NATO chief Mark Rutte, European Union…
Iran-backed Lebanese group still has ability to conduct attacks abroad, official adds A top US intelligence official said Tuesday that Hezbollah’s capabilities had been significantly degraded, but their ground forces along the border with Israel remain largely intact. The official also said that the Lebanese group, armed and funded largely by Iran, still had the ability to…
Putin has no specific plan to speak to president-elect, says spokesperson, after reports Trump urged him not to escalate Ukraine war. The Kremlin has denied reports that the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, spoke to the US president-elect, Donald Trump, calling the media reports “pure fiction”. The Washington Post first reported that a call had taken place, citing unidentified sources,…
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said on Sunday that at least 43,603 people have been killed in more than 13 months of war between Israel and Palestinian militants. The toll includes 51 deaths in the previous 24 hours, according to the ministry, which also said 102,929 people have been wounded in the Gaza Strip…
China firmly opposes the Philippines’ Maritime Zones Act, which it says “severely infringes on” its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights in the South China Sea, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Sunday in a statement. This follows China’s release of a statement on the baseline of “territorial waters” around the disputed Scarborough Shoal, which China…
UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi will visit Iran next Wednesday and start consultations with Iranian officials the following day, state media reported on Sunday. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Wednesday he might head to Iran in the coming days to discuss its disputed nuclear program and that he…
