Foreign
Trump says no US casualties in Iran, signaling de-escalation
January 9, 2020, 11:56 am
WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said no casualties have resulted from Iran's missiles attack against US forces in Iraq on Tuesday, adding that the United States would impose additional sanctions against Tehran. "No Americans were harmed in last night's attack by the Iranian… Read More
Ukraine to open criminal case following plane crash
January 8, 2020, 10:11 pm
MOSCOW -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday instructed the country's attorney general to launch an investigation into Wednesday’s deadly crash of a Ukraine International Airlines flight in Tehran, Iran’s capital. An investigative commission will be created with the… Read More
Israel warns of 'resounding blow' if Iran attacks
January 8, 2020, 10:01 pm
JERUSALEM -- Israel's prime minister on Wednesday warned Iran of a "resounding blow" if it attacked Israeli targets in the wake of increasing tensions in the region. "Anyone who attacks us will receive a resounding blow," Benjamin Netanyahu said in a conference organized by the Kohelet Policy… Read More
Iraq: No casualties in Iran missile strike
January 8, 2020, 9:01 pm
BAGHDAD -- Iraqi authorities on Wednesday reported that there had been no casualties following Iran's missile strike targeting two US military bases in Iraq. Iraq's state-run Security Media Network said in a written statement that 22 missiles had fallen on Iraqi territory. "Seventeen of these… Read More
Trump says ‘all is well’ after Iranian missile attacks
January 8, 2020, 2:27 pm
WASHINGTON DC -- President Donald Trump said he will be making a statement early Wednesday after Iranian missiles hit Iraqi military bases hosting US troops, adding "all is well". "All is well! Missiles launched from Iran at two military bases located in Iraq. Assessment of casualties & damages… Read More
Ukrainian aircraft with 180 people aboard crashes in Tehran
January 8, 2020, 2:25 pm
KIEV -- Passengers and crew of a Ukrainian plane that crashed at Tehran Airport were killed, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. "The passengers and flight crew are deceased," the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry’s consular service said in a statement on Facebook. Fars news agency… Read More
Iran launches missiles vs. US forces in Iraq, Pentagon confirms
January 8, 2020, 9:58 am
WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon confirmed Tuesday that Iran has launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles against US military and coalition forces in Iraq. "At approximately 5:30 p.m. (EST) on January 7, Iran launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles against U.S. military and coalition forces… Read More
Hundreds arrested for deliberately starting Australian bushfires
January 7, 2020, 2:17 pm
CANBERRA -- Hundreds of Australians have been arrested for allegedly deliberately lighting Australian bushfires in only a matter of months.Australia is currently enduring one of the worst bushfire crises in the nation's history, with at least 25 people having been killed since September.The… Read More
Trump warns Iraq of ‘very big’ sanctions if US forces expelled
January 6, 2020, 1:56 pm
WASHINGTON DC -- If the Iraqi government forces the removal of US forces, Baghdad will face “sanctions like they’ve never seen before,” President Donald Trump said Sunday. Trump said the prospective economic penalties would far outweigh the crippling sanctions the US has imposed on Iran.… Read More
Iraqi parliament decides to expel US troops
January 6, 2020, 1:19 pm
BAGHDAD -- The Iraqi parliament on Sunday decided to expel American troops from the country. In an extraordinary session, the parliament unanimously decided to send the US and foreign troops out of the country. In a statement, the parliament said the implementation of the decision is within the… Read More
US targets 52 Iranian sites if Tehran attacks: Trump
January 5, 2020, 12:18 pm
WASHINGTON DC -- US President Donald Trump threatened Saturday to hit Iranian targets for any attacks on Americans or the US in the wake of the killing of top Iranian general by an American airstrike. "Iran has been nothing but problems for many years. Let this serve as a WARNING that if Iran… Read More
UN chief urges restraint after US kills Iranian general
January 5, 2020, 12:14 pm
WASHINGTON -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for all parties to exercise "maximum restraint" in the Persian Gulf after the US assassinated a top Iranian general in Iraq. Guterres "is deeply concerned with the recent escalation," his spokesman Farhan Haq said in a statement. "This is… Read More
China boosts efforts to have ‘world-class’ state media
January 3, 2020, 5:44 pm
MANILA — China is beefing up its efforts to transform its state-owned broadcast firms into “world-class” mainstream media organizations. Shen Haixiong, president of China Media Group (CMG), made the statement in a New Year’s message to overseas audiences carried through China Radio… Read More
Protesters vacate US Embassy compound in Iraq
January 2, 2020, 6:10 pm
BAGHDAD -- Iran-backed militias on Wednesday withdrew from the compound of the U.S. Embassy in Iraq, the Iraqi army said. The protesters also dismantled their tents outside the Green Zone in Baghdad on the edge of the Tigris River, the Iraqi Ground Forces Command said in a written statement.… Read More
Hong Kong unrest enters 2020 with mass rally
January 2, 2020, 3:13 pm
HONG KONG -- More than a million residents in Hong Kong took to the streets on New Year's Day as the eight-month-long unrest continued into 2020. A major rally was held at the colonial era Victoria Park, local non-profit organization Civil Human Rights Front said. Protesters blocked barricades… Read More
HK gov't rejects foreign interference
January 1, 2020, 5:48 pm
HONG KONG -- The government of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) rejected foreign interference in Hong Kong's affairs. In a statement on Wednesday, which was made in response to an open letter from a group of overseas politicians and persons to the HKSAR chief executive, the… Read More
US to deploy more troops after embassy attack in Baghdad
January 1, 2020, 4:53 pm
WASHINGTON -- United States Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said Tuesday that the United States will deploy about 750 troops immediately to the Middle East, a move taken hours after demonstrators stormed the US Embassy in Baghdad. "Approximately 750 soldiers will deploy to the region immediately… Read More
Initial China trade deal to be signed next month: Trump
January 1, 2020, 4:33 pm
WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump said Tuesday he will sign an initial phase one trade deal with China next month in what could be a major milestone in a bilateral trade war. The ceremony on Jan. 15 at the White House will include top Chinese officials, the President said on Twitter. He did… Read More
World's oldest free-ranging female black rhino dies in Tanzania
December 30, 2019, 5:00 pm
DAR ES SALAAM -- Tanzanian conservation authorities said on Saturday the world's oldest free-ranging female black rhino has died in the Ngorongoro crater aged 57. Freddy Manongi, the Conservation Commissioner for the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA), said in a statement that the rhino… Read More
Israel discovers 1,200-year-old ‘piggy bank’ with gold coins
December 30, 2019, 2:14 pm
JERUSALEM -- Israeli archaeologists discovered a hoard of seven gold coins dating back to 1,200 years ago, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) reported on Sunday.The coins, from the early Islamic period, were discovered in a broken clay juglet during excavations in the city of Yavne in central… Read More
