White House says 200 US troops to stay in Syria
Washington said on Thursday that it planned to leave some US forces behind in Syria, even after the bulk of American troops left the country.
World Headlines
China, Iran meet amid efforts to preserve nuclear deal
The Iranian foreign minister’s passionate defense of Iran’s interests at the Munich Security Conference has made him ‘a famous person’ in China, his Chinese counterpart told him Tuesday, as the sides met amid efforts to preserve the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran.
Islamic State closer to defeat in last Syrian enclave
Islamic State appeared closer to defeat in its last enclave in eastern Syria on Wednesday, as a civilian convoy left the besieged area where U.S.-backed forces estimate a few hundred jihadists are still holed up.
Secret Unveiled: The Vatican’s Rules for Children Born to Priests
The cloud hanging over the Catholic Church is getting darker, with a new report revealing the church produced secret documents to deal with children born to priests.
Death of internet? EU endorses killer copyright overhaul
Representatives of European Union governments have voted in favor of a plan in the EU Parliament to rewrite copyright rules, which critics say would effectively kill the Web there.
Venezuelan soldiers to guard border ahead of aid entry, minister says
Venezuelan troops will remain stationed along the country’s borders to prevent territorial violations, the defense minister said on Tuesday, ahead of the opposition’s plan to bring in humanitarian aid to alleviate an economic crisis.
White House pushed Saudi nuclear power plan, report says
Senior White House officials pushed a project to share nuclear power technology with Saudi Arabia despite the objections of ethics and national security officials, according to a new congressional report citing whistleblowers within the administration.
Trump administration launches global effort to end criminalization of homosexuality
The Trump administration is launching a global campaign to end the criminalization of homosexuality in dozens of nations where it’s still illegal to be gay, U.S. officials tell NBC News, a bid aimed in part at denouncing Iran over its human rights record.
State Department uses social media targeted at Iranian citizens to pressure ‘corrupt’ regime
The Trump administration on Tuesday made a direct appeal to the Iranian people to reject what it called the ‘corrupt religious mafia’ running their country, rolling out a targeted social media campaign to paint the government in Tehran as an oppressive force more focused on exporting violence and funding terrorism than caring for its own population.
Nigeria elections: Whomever wins, Christians hope for justice and security
As Nigerians are preparing to go to the polls tomorrow to elect a new president, Boko Haram has been stepping up attacks in the northeast of the country, making it difficult if not impossible for people to vote.
Iran-al Qaeda alliance may provide legal rationale for U.S. military strikes
Iran is providing high-level al Qaeda operatives with a clandestine sanctuary to funnel fighters, money and weapons across the Middle East, according to Trump administration officials who warn that the long-elusive, complex relationship between two avowed enemies of America has evolved into an unacceptable global security threat.
Trump calls on Venezuela’s military to turn on Maduro, decries socialism
President Trump urged Venezuela’s military leaders Monday to turn on leader Nicolas Maduro, casting the struggle in the troubled South American nation as a major test of whether the world can rid itself of a socialist stumbling block.
Iran says it has launched ‘cruise missile capable’ submarine
Iran on Sunday launched a new, locally-built submarine capable of firing cruise missiles, state TV said, in the country’s latest show of military might at a time of heightened tensions with the US.
IS ‘caliphate’ on brink of defeat in Syria as Trump urges Europe to do more
U.S.-backed fighters in Syria are poised to capture Islamic State’s last, tiny enclave on the Euphrates, the battle commander said on Saturday, bringing its self-declared caliphate to the brink of total defeat as U.S. President Donald Trump spoke of ‘100 percent victory’.
Venezuela unveils anti-US coalition at United Nations
It was almost a who’s who of America’s foes as Venezuela’s foreign minister, Jorge Arreaza, was surrounded on Thursday by some of the world’s most notorious human rights violators. He was announcing the formation of a group of countries that he said would defend the United Nations Charter.
Rouhani claims Israel, US behind deadly suicide bombing in Iran
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Thursday blamed the suicide bombing of a bus carrying Revolutionary Guards troops that killed 27 in southeastern Iran on Israel and the United States, vowing revenge against Jaish al-Adl, the ‘mercenary group’ that committed it.
Iran Claims to Have Formula for Nuclear Bomb
A senior Iranian official said over the weekend that the Islamic Republic has the chemical and technical know-how to produce a nuclear weapon, according to Farsi language remarks independently translated for the Washington Free Beacon.
US said to widen ‘secret program’ to sabotage Iran’s missiles
The US has escalated a clandestine program to sabotage Iranian missiles and rockets as part of an attempt to weaken the Islamic Republic’s military and cause economic damage, The New York Times reported Wednesday.
U.S.-Libya forces raid al Qaeda site in Libyan city of Ubari -Libyan official
Joint U.S.-Libyan forces raided an al Qaeda site in the Libyan city of Ubari on Wednesday, according to a statement by a Libyan official.
China, US start trade talks ahead of March tariff deadline
U.S. and Chinese negotiators began trade talks Thursday that President Donald Trump says will help decide whether he escalates a fight over Beijing’s technology ambitions by raising tariffs on $200 billion of imports from China.