The US Department of Justice DOJ asked the Supreme Court late on Friday to reject President-elect Donald Trump’s request to delay implementation of a law that would ban popular social media app TikTok or force its sale by Jan. 19. Last week, Trump filed a legal brief arguing he should have time after taking office on Jan….
Israel has carried out airstrikes on dozens of alleged Hamas targets in Gaza over the past 24 hours, it said on Friday, in attacks that Palestinian health authorities said had killed more than 110 people in two days. The surge in operations and casualties comes amid a renewed push to reach a ceasefire in the 15-month-old…
China said on Friday it would take “all necessary measures” in response to the United States announcing it was considering restrictions on commercial Chinese drones for national security reasons. On Thursday, the United States Commerce Department said it was considering new rules to address risks posed by drones made with technology from foreign adversaries such…
International condemnation poured in Wednesday for the attack on a crowd of New Year’s Eve revelers in New Orleans, which killed at least 15 people and wounded dozens more. Here is a round-up of global reactions. Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia “condemns and denounces” the attack, its foreign ministry said in a statement on X. France “New Orleans,…
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said on Wednesday that he welcomed equal, dignified, healthy and orderly exchanges with China, but wondered whether there was goodwill from Beijing given what he said was their blocking of simple things like tourism. Lai, who took office in May, has regularly offered talks with China but been rebuffed. China views democratically…
France’s top diplomat and defense chief arrived on Monday in Lebanon, where a fragile truce since late November ended intense fighting between Israel and militant group Hezbollah. Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot and Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu met with Lebanon’s army chief Joseph Aoun, and on Tuesday are due to visit UN peacekeepers near the Israeli border. A…
The Israeli military on Monday said that it had intercepted a missile launched from Yemen before it crossed into Israeli territory. Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis have been firing missiles and drones at Israel and ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in what they describe as solidarity with Palestinians since the war in the Gaza Strip…
The United States on Monday announced nearly $6 billion in additional military and budget assistance for Ukraine as President Joe Biden uses his final weeks in office to surge aid to Kyiv before President-elect Donald Trump takes power. Biden announced $2.5 billion in additional security assistance for Ukraine. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the United States has…
The top diplomats of China and Iran agreed Saturday that the Middle East is “not a battleground for the big powers” and should not be an arena of geopolitical competition between countries outside the region. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi agreed that “the international community should respect the sovereignty, security,…
Qatar’s prime minister met a Hamas delegation in Doha on Saturday to discuss a “clear and comprehensive” ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza, a statement said. Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani held talks with a Hamas team led by senior official Khalil al-Hayya, the foreign ministry statement said. “During the meeting,…
Turkey’s top diplomat on Saturday said Syrian Kurdish fighters essential for the United States in the fight against ISIS cannot be sheltered in Syria, in a phone call with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told Blinken that “the PKK/YPG terrorist organization cannot be allowed to take shelter in Syria,” the…
The United States on Friday sanctioned Georgian billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, a former prime minister widely seen as the country’s de facto leader, saying he was undermining democracy and allowing Russia to benefit. Ivanishvili, who made billions in Russia in metals and telecoms in the 1990s, has spearheaded a turn away from the West in Georgia and…
Canada’s new finance minister Dominic LeBlanc and Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly met aides to US President-elect Donald Trump in Florida on Friday to discuss the risks of imposing new trade tariffs, the Canadian government said. Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on imports from Canada when he takes office in January unless the country…
The Israeli military said it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen early Saturday, a day after the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa was hit by fresh air strikes. Sirens sounded in areas of Jerusalem and the Dead Sea on Saturday as “a missile launched from Yemen was intercepted… prior to crossing into Israeli territory,” the Israeli military said….
Iran’s supreme leader denied Sunday that militant groups around the region functioned as Tehran’s proxies, warning that if his country chose to “take action,” it would not need them anyway. The remarks came after a year in which Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza suffered heavy losses in wars with Israel, and two…
