Category: World

WASHINGTON: The White House insisted Monday evening that US forces remained in a “defensive” posture in the Middle East, despite a military buildup over the Israel-Iran war and a shock warning from President Donald Trump to evacuate Tehran. Trump’s brief warning on social media, without further details, raised speculation that the United States may be… Continue reading US forces still in ‘defensive posture’ in Mideast: White House

TEHRAN: Israel and Iran traded missile fire for a fifth straight day Tuesday, as US President Donald Trump warned Tehran residents to “immediately evacuate” and left a G7 summit early. Despite growing calls for the longtime foes to end hostilities, neither Israel nor Iran showed any signs of cutting short the missile blitz kicked off… Continue reading Israel, Iran trade missile fire as Trump warns Tehran to ‘evacuate’

SAN FRANCISCO: The US Department of Defense on Monday awarded OpenAI a $200 million contract to put generative artificial intelligence (AI) to work for the military. San Francisco-based OpenAI will “develop prototype frontier AI capabilities to address critical national security challenges in both warfighting and enterprise domains,“ according to the department’s posting of awarded contracts.… Continue reading OpenAI wins $200 mn contract with US military

KANANASKIS: G7 leaders on Monday called for “de-escalation” in the Middle East starting with the Israel-Iran conflict, as US President Donald Trump hastily left the group’s summit. Trump, who was making his return to the international diplomatic calendar, departed the gathering in the Canadian Rockies a day early as ally Israel pounded Iran. After a… Continue reading G7 urges Iran de-escalation as Trump makes hasty summit exit

BOGOTA: Colombian presidential candidate Miguel Uribe, who was shot in the head while campaigning in Bogota earlier this month, was in an “extremely critical” condition, doctors warned Monday. Uribe, a 39-year-old conservative senator, was shot twice in the head and once in the leg by a 15-year-old suspected hitman while giving a speech on June… Continue reading Colombia presidential hopeful ‘critical’ after shooting

WASHINGTON: U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Fox News on Monday that President Donald Trump was still aiming for a nuclear deal with Iran even as hostilities have escalated between U.S. ally Israel and Tehran, while a White House aide said separately that Washington was not attacking Iran. “Of course,“ Hegseth said on Fox News’… Continue reading Pentagon chief says Trump still aiming for deal with Iran

KANANASKIS: World leaders at the Group of Seven summit in Canada on Monday pushed US President Donald Trump to back away from his punishing trade war, arguing that it poses a risk to global economic stability. At a summit where host Canada worked to avoid stoking Trump’s anger, and with attention on events in the… Continue reading G7 leaders urge Trump to ease off trade war

WASHINGTON: The United States is considering extending its travel ban to 36 more countries, a person who has seen the memo said Monday, marking a dramatic potential expansion of entry restrictions to nearly 1.5 billion people. The State Department early this month announced it was barring entry to citizens of 12 nations including Afghanistan, Haiti… Continue reading Trump mulls extending travel ban to 36 more nations: source

SAN JOSÉ: Former Nicaraguan president Violeta Chamorro, who brought peace to the Central American country after years of war, was laid to rest Monday in Costa Rica two days after her death at age 95. The first woman president of the Americas, who defeated ex-guerrilla leader and current president Daniel Ortega in 1990 elections, died… Continue reading Nicaragua ex-president Chamorro laid to rest in Costa Rica

KANO: Authorities in Nigeria’s northwestern Katsina state struck a peace deal at the weekend with criminal gangs to try to end years of violence, a government official said Monday. Katsina is one of several states in northwestern and central Nigeria terrorised by criminal gangs that the locals refer to as bandits. The gangs raid villages,… Continue reading Nigerian state signs peace pact with criminal gangs: official

WASHINGTON: U.S. Senate Republicans on Monday unveiled proposed changes to President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax-cut and spending bill that would make some business-related tax breaks permanent while making more limited the deduction for state and local income taxes, angering some colleagues in the House of Representatives. The different versions of the bill in the two… Continue reading US Senate Republicans change Trump tax-cut bill, setting conflict with House

TEHRAN: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted on Monday that Israel’s campaign against Iran was “changing the face of the Middle East”, as the two countries traded heavy strikes for a fourth day. The remarks came hours after a dramatic attack on an Iranian state TV building, which forced a presenter to flee mid-broadcast and prompted… Continue reading Netanyahu says ‘changing face of Middle East’ as Israel, Iran trade blows

BOSTON: A judge on Monday extended a restraining order pausing Donald Trump’s ban on Harvard bringing in and hosting foreign students as part of the US president’s escalating campaign against the elite university. Trump has tried a host of different tactics to block the Ivy League institution enrolling and educating international students. They have included… Continue reading Judge extends pause on Trump bid to block Harvard foreign students

WASHINGTON: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday did not rule out plans to assassinate Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, saying it would “end the conflict” between the two arch-foes. In a 20-minute interview with US network ABC News, the Israeli leader insisted his country’s deadly aggression to “defang” Iran was justified, and equated… Continue reading Netanyahu suggests killing Iran’s supreme leader would end conflict