Month: November 2017

U.S. House of Representatives Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi called on her colleague John Conyers, the longest-serving member of Congress, to resign over allegations of sexual harassment. “Congressman Conyers should resign,” Pelosi said of her colleague, adding the women who spoke out against him were “brave” and deserved justice. “As deemed, Congressman Conyers has served our Congress for more than five decades and shaped some of …

Pakistan says high-level discussions “away from public glare” are under way with the United States to bridge differences stemming from the new Afghan strategy U.S. President Donald Trump announced in August. Pakistan did not agree with the U.S. policy because “there was a difference in understanding and perceptions on both sides,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Faisal Thursday, while discussing the dialogue process at his …

French President Emmanuel Macron fears Islamist militants have scored military and symbolic victories in West Africa while a regional military force has struggled to get off the ground, a French presidential source said on Thursday. To help get the new G5 Sahel force operating effectively, he said, France has invited the United States to a summit with the five participating countries as well as the …

U.S. President Donald Trump within the next several weeks could name Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo to replace Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, according to media reports quoting senior administration officials on Thursday. Several U.S. news outlets reported that the shakeup of Trump’s top national security team has been under consideration for some time now, although it was not clear that Trump has made …

The Kremlin voiced dismay Thursday over the withdrawal of a Russian state-funded TV station’s credentials in the U.S. and warned of a quick retaliation.   A committee that governs Capitol Hill access for broadcast journalists on Wednesday withdrew credentials for Kremlin-funded RT after the company complied earlier this month with a U.S. demand that it register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. President Vladimir Putin’s …

Broadcast reporters for Russian state-funded TV channel RT will no longer be able to report daily from the U.S. Capitol. A committee that governs Capitol Hill access for broadcast journalists has withdrawn credentials for RT after the company complied earlier this month with a U.S. demand that it register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The law applies to people or companies disseminating information in …

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley warned Wednesday that North Korea’s latest intercontinental ballistic missile launch “brings the world closer to war, not further from it.” “We have never sought war with North Korea and still today we do not seek it,” Haley told an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council. But she warned that if there is war, it will be because …

The future of almost 800,000 undocumented young people in the United States is hanging in the balance in an end-of-year legislative pileup on Capitol Hill that could result in the shutdown of the federal government. The government will run out of money December 8 unless Congress approves a new budget or budget extension. While the focus this week has been largely on the Senate’s approval …

U.S. and Chinese generals engaged in an unusual set of security talks on Wednesday, just hours after North Korea’s most powerful missile test yet, focused on how the mighty American and Chinese militaries might communicate in a crisis. As President Donald Trump greeted the North’s launching of another intercontinental ballistic missile with familiar demands for China to get tougher with its ally, the low-profile and …

Opposition has grown among Americans to a Republican tax plan before the U.S. Congress, with 49 percent of people who were aware of the measure saying they opposed it, up from 41 percent in October, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday. Congressional Republicans are trying to rush their tax legislation to a vote on the Senate floor before the end of the week. …

Irwin Steven Goldstein, President Donald Trump’s nominee for under secretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs, is a communications and marketing executive with experience at large corporations as well as in government. Goldstein is the senior vice president of BP Global Solutions, a New York consulting firm. According to the bio on his company’s website, Goldstein “has a passion for building compelling brands …

The Air Force’s failure to report the Texas shooter’s domestic abuse offenses to civilian law enforcement was not an isolated incident, the military branch said Tuesday. Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said Tuesday preliminary findings from a review after this month’s deadly shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas, by a disgraced former airman showed similar reporting lapses occurred at other Air Force bases. The Air Force …

Eni US could begin work on oil exploration in federal waters off Alaska as soon as next month after the Trump administration on Tuesday approved permits for leases the company has held for a decade, the Interior Department said. The department’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, issued Eni US, a unit of Italy’s Eni, a permit to explore for oil from an artificial island …

The Washington-based Atlantic Council is calling for a permanent American military presence in the Balkans to stabilize southeastern Europe amid increased Russian efforts to exert political influence across the region. In a report published Tuesday, the nonprofit international affairs group said that announcing the arrival of U.S. troops, ideally at Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo, “would demonstrate an enduring U.S. commitment to security in the region …

The U.S. State Department said on Tuesday that a new law allowing Russia’s Justice Ministry to list foreign media outlets as “foreign agents” posed a threat to free press and it urged Moscow not to use the measure to tighten control over the media. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement on Tuesday, “Freedom of expression, including speech and media which a government …

U.S. President Donald Trump is heading to Capitol Hill to meet Tuesday with Republican senators as he rallies support for a tax reform bill set to come to a vote later this week. After talks with the president on Monday, Senate leaders confirmed their intention to vote on the massive plan that would permanently cut corporate taxes, temporarily cut income taxes, and add more than …