Tag: America

Mattis wants to keep pressure on N. Korea

HONOLULU, United States (AFP) – The United States and South Korea are going to keep tightening the screws on Pyongyang so that the hermit state gives up its nuclear program, Pentagon chief Jim Mattis said Friday. “As two peace-loving nations, the Republic of Korea and America welcome the Olympic Games talks between the ROK and DPRK while at the same time remaining steadfast with the international economic pressure campaign to denuclearize the Korean peninsula,” Mattis said in […]

Trump says ‘Dreamers’ could earn citizenship in 10-12 years

by Michael Mathes Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump said Wednesday he was prepared to back a deal that would provide a pathway to citizenship to America’s so-called “Dreamer” immigrants over a period of 10 to 12 years. The latest approach by the White House suggests a key development in negotiations over some 700,000 immigrants who were brought to the country illegally as children, and face deportation as early as […]

US-Philippine ties: A history of ‘best friends’ fighting

A meeting between US President Donald Trump and President Rodrigo Duterte in Manila on Monday follows a stormy 16 months in their nations’ decades-long alliance. Here are five things to know about relations between the United States and one of its oldest allies in Asia. Former colony  The Philippines went from centuries of Spanish rule to becoming a US colony in 1898 under the Treaty of Paris that was signed to end the Spanish-American war. The colonial period […]

US strikes IS in Somalia for first time

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – The US conducted a pair of drone strikes against Islamic State fighters in Somalia on Friday, the first time America has hit the jihadists in the Horn of Africa nation, officials said. The strikes occurred in northeastern Somalia and killed “several terrorists,” the US military’s Africa Command said in a statement. According to Voice of America, which cited the chairman of the town of Qandala in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, six […]

McCain takes swipe at Trump military service record

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – Senator John McCain has taken a barely-veiled jab at President Donald Trump’s avoidance of military service, sharply escalating their war of words. Republican McCain was interviewed by broadcaster CSPAN on the 50th anniversary of his being shot down over Vietnam, which led to his five-year stay as a prisoner in the infamous “Hanoi Hilton” prison. “One aspect of the conflict, by the way, that I will never ever countenance is that […]

PHL, handang makipagtulungan sa Amerika, China at Russia kontra terorismo

(Eagle News) — Umapela si Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte sa Amerika, China at Russia na magtulong-tulong sila para kontrahin ang bantang nuclear war ni North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un. Sa kanyang pagbisita sa Australian ship na Her Majesty’s (HMAS) Adelaide, sinabi rin ng Pangulo sa Australian Navy na bantayang maigi ang lider ng North Korea. “I hope that in the coming days, we could stay together, especially the alliance between us…the Philippines, America, and even […]

President Duterte says he “would rather be friendly” with the US now; says Americans “redeemed themselves a lot”

  (Eagle News) — After directing his anger many times at the country, President Rodrigo Duterte said on Thursday he would “rather be friendly” with the United States now. Speaking during the 116th Balangiga Encounter Day in Eastern Samar, he said he was “under advice” by the Department of Foreign Affairs that he should “temper (his) language and avoid cursing,” something which he said he was “prone to do if (he gets) emotional.” Besides, Duterte […]

Watch: Awe-inspiring photos show eclipse sweeping across America

MADRAS, OREGON, United States (Reuters) — Millions of Americans armed with protective glasses caught a glimpse of a historic eclipse along a slender ribbon of land cutting diagonally across the United States on Monday (August 21). It marks the first total solar eclipse to unfold from coast to coast in nearly a century. After weeks of anticipation, the sight of the moon’s shadow passed directly in front of the sun, blotting out all but the […]

America’s total eclipse a ‘once in a lifetime event’ – NASA scientist

(Reuters) — America’s coast-to-coast total solar eclipse on Aug. 21 is a must-see, “once in a lifetime event,” a National Aeronautics and Space Administration scientist said on Wednesday. Michelle Thaller also urged the public to use safety glasses or other homemade devices to avoid looking directly at the sun. “It’s never safe to look at the sun with unprotected eyes. If even a little bit of the sun’s surface is still exposed you can hurt […]

Pentagon may boost support to PHL counterterrorism ops: official

The United States is weighing additional support to the Philippine military as it fights an Islamist insurgency in the south, a US defense official said Tuesday. Discussions are “pretty advanced” and would see the US provide increased surveillance drone capabilities and training for local forces, the official told AFP on condition on anonymity. “Those (drones) are there for ISR and support,” the official said, using an abbreviation for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. Philippine President Rodrigo […]

Duterte rides high after first year in office

Rodrigo Duterte ends his first year as Philippine president on Friday as a hugely popular leader. The 72-year-old has upended decades of foreign policy, steering away from traditional ally the United States while bringing the Philippines closer to China and Russia. An overwhelming majority of Filipinos support him, according to a series of surveys by pollsters over the past 12 months, with the most recent one showing 75 percent were satisfied with his administration’s performance. “People […]

North Korea says American detainee Warmbier released on humanitarian grounds

Reuters — North Korea said on Thursday (June 15) it had released American citizen Otto Warmbier “on humanitarian grounds” after he had been held prisoner for 17 months. Warmbier, 22, a University of Virginia student from suburban Cincinnati, was medically evacuated to the United States on Wednesday (June 14). His family said he arrived in a state of coma. The North’s KCNA news agency said in a one-sentence dispatch that Warmbier’s release followed a court […]