Tag: politics

Much to be done on China trade: US Trade Rep Lighthizer

Washington’s chief trade negotiator on Wednesday said there remained much to do before reaching a new trade agreement with China despite “real progress” so far. After months of negotiating with Beijing, “now we are making real progress,” US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said in congressional testimony. However, “Much still needs to be done both before an agreement is reached, and more importantly after it is reached if one is reached.” Citing progress toward a new […]

Ex-Trump lawyer brands US president a ‘conman’ and ‘racist’

by Elodie CUZIN Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen called the president a conman, a cheat and a racist in explosive testimony prepared for a hearing in Congress Wednesday. He said Trump directed him in an illegal scheme to pay hush money to a porn star, and knew in advance in 2016 that WikiLeaks would publish dirt on Hillary Clinton, despite Trump’s denials of both. He also said Trump directed negotiations for a Trump […]

Trump, Kim optimistic over nuclear talks

by Sebastian Smith US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un smiled, shook hands and dined Wednesday in Hanoi, expressing optimism that their highly personal brand of diplomacy will lead to a deal on the totalitarian state’s nuclear weapons. At the start of around two hours of talks and dinner at a luxury hotel in the Vietnamese capital, Trump predicted a “very successful” summit, now due to resume Thursday. The two-day get-together […]

Venezuela’s Guaido and Pence agree to tighten noose on Maduro

by Hector Velasco Agence France Presse BOGOTA, Colombia (AFP) — US Vice President Mike Pence and Venezuela opposition leader Juan Guaido agreed on a strategy to tighten the noose around President Nicolas Maduro following a meeting with regional allies in Colombia on Monday. “We hope for a peaceful transition to democracy but President Trump has made it clear: all options are on the table,” said Pence, who passed on Trump’s “100 percent” support to Guaido. […]

Cuba votes in referendum on new constitution

  by Carlos Batista / Rigoberto Diaz Agence France Presse HAVANA, Cuba (AFP) — Cubans voted in a referendum on a new constitution Sunday with the backdrop of mounting pressure from the United States and continued support for Venezuela’s socialist regime. Results of the vote, which the government turned into a plebiscite on the “irrevocable” role of socialism in the island nation, are expected late Monday. “We Cubans are voting for our new constitution, we’re […]

Guaido ramps up pressure after deadly Venezuela border clashes

by Esteban Rojas with Rodrigo Almoncid in Cucuta International pressure mounted against Venezuela’s leader Nicolas Maduro on Sunday, with Washington vowing to “take action” after opposition efforts to bring humanitarian aid into the country descended into bloody chaos. Self-declared interim president Juan Guaido called on the international community to consider “all measures to free” Venezuela after clashes at the border crossing left at least two people dead. Guaido announced he would participate in Monday’s Lima […]

Japan’s Okinawa to vote on controversial US base move

Residents of Japan’s Okinawa go to the polls Sunday in a closely watched referendum on the controversial relocation of a US military base to a remote part of the island. The vote is seen as highly symbolic but is also non-binding, raising questions about what effect it will have, even if opponents of the move, including Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki, prevail. The ballot will ask residents whether they support a plan to reclaim land at […]

Venezuela border tensions turn violent amid aid distribution bid

President Nicolas Maduro’s security forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets Saturday on a crowd awaiting the distribution of humanitarian aid at the Venezuela-Colombia border as tensions spiked ahead of an opposition deadline to bring in food and medical aid. “We want to work!” people chanted as they faced Venezuelan National Guard riot police blocking the crossing at the Urena border bridge to Colombia, one of several ordered closed Maduro late Friday. In the confusion, […]

Trump rules out reducing US troops from South Korea

President Donald Trump on Friday ruled out reducing US forces from South Korea as part of a deal in his upcoming summit with North Korea. “No, it’s not. That is not one of the things on the table,” Trump said when asked if he would consider pulling some of the 28,500 troops from South Korea. Trump, answering questions as he met at the White House with a senior Chinese official, said that he would not […]

Pompeo to visit Philippines amid China flirtation

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will travel next week to the Philippines, the State Department said Friday, as the former US colony increasingly flirts with regional giant China. Pompeo will travel to Manila on February 28 and March 1 for talks with President Rodrigo Duterte, State Department spokesman Robert Palladino said. The top US diplomat will be paying the visit on his way back from Hanoi where he is joining President Donald Trump for […]

US aid for Venezuela lands in Curacao

WILLEMSTAD, CuracaoA plane carrying food and medical aid from the United States landed on the Caribbean island of Curacao Thursday en route for Venezuela, whose government has vowed to block it. AFP reporters saw the jet land at the airport in Curacao, one of the focal points of a volatile standoff between Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and self-declared head of state Juan Guaido. A dozen Venezuelan opposition supporters cheered and sang their national anthem as the […]

US Coast Guard officer arrested for mass murder plot

by Chris Lefkow A US Coast Guard officer who espoused white supremacist views and drafted a target list of Democratic politicians and prominent media figures has been arrested on firearms and drug charges. Christopher Paul Hasson, 49, an admirer of Norwegian mass murderer Anders Breivik, was arrested last week and a powerful arsenal seized from his home in a Washington suburb, according to court documents unsealed Wednesday. “The defendant intends to murder innocent civilians on a scale rarely […]