Tag: US

UK’s Johnson urges ‘end to hostilities’ in Iran call

  LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson talked to US President Donald Trump about Iranian missile attacks on Iraqi bases housing coalition forces, his spokesman said on Wednesday. “The PM underlined the importance of de-escalation to avoid further conflict” and “the need for a diplomatic solution” to the crisis, the spokesman told reporters. “Both leaders agreed to stay in touch,” he added. News of the conversation came as Foreign Secretary Dominic […]

California governor seeks $1.4 billion for homelessness crisis

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — California Governor Gavin Newsom is seeking $1.4 billion dollars from lawmakers to tackle the escalating homelessness crisis in his state and plans to use the money to open shelters, pay rent and provide health care, his office said. The Democratic governor, who plans to formally submit his proposal on Friday, this week also signed an executive order directing agencies to identify state-owned land that can be used as temporary […]

US House votes to limit Trump war powers against Iran

by Michael Mathes WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) –US lawmakers concerned about rushing to war with Iran adopted a measure Thursday aimed at reining in President Donald Trump’s ability to take military action against the Islamic republic. The resolution was introduced by Democrats after Trump’s order to kill an Iranian commander and retaliatory missile strikes by Tehran dramatically escalated tensions and raised fears of a devastating war between the two foes. The mostly symbolic but politically […]

China confirms negotiator to sign trade deal in US next week

by Beiyi SEOW BEIJING, China (AFP) — China said Thursday that Vice Premier Liu He will travel to Washington next week to sign the “phase one” deal with the United States that has lowered trade tensions between the world’s two biggest economies. The signing will cap a nearly two-year spat that threatened to throttle the global economy as the two countries exchanged tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of two-way trade. But US […]

Pentagon chief: US has restored ‘level of deterrence’ on Iran

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Wednesday that the United States has reestablished some deterrence toward Iran in the wake of the January 3 drone strike that killed Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad. “I think at this point with the strikes we took against KH in late December and then our actions with regard to Soleimani, I believe that we’ve restored a level of deterrence with them,” he told […]

NBA fines ‘reckless’ Portis after flagrant foul on Caldwell-Pope

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — New York Knicks forward Bobby Portis was fined $25,000 Wednesday for a nasty foul on Kentavious Caldwell-Pope that saw Portis ejected from the Lakers’ win over the Knicks on Tuesday. The fine announced by Kiki VanDeWeghe, executive vice president of basketball operations, was for “recklessly making contact above the shoulders of an airborne shooter.” Caldwell-Pope was driving for a basket in the second quarter, with the Lakers up by […]

Trump pulls back from war with Iran

by Sebastian Smith, with Maya Gebeily in Baghdad and Marc Jourdier in Tehran WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump pulled back from the brink of war with Iran on Wednesday, saying that Tehran appeared to be “standing down” after firing missiles — without causing casualties — at US troops based in Iraq. In a televised address to the nation from the White House, Trump emphasized there were “no Americans harmed” in the ballistic […]

Two rockets hit Iraqi capital’s Green Zone: security sources

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFP) — Two rockets crashed late Wednesday into the Iraqi capital’s Green Zone, the high-security enclave where foreign embassies including the US mission are based, security sources told AFP. Just before midnight, AFP correspondents in Baghdad heard two loud blasts followed by the wailing security sirens of the Green Zone. The attack came nearly 24 hours after Tehran launched ballistic missiles at Iraqi bases housing American and other coalition forces, which did not […]

US House to vote on preventing Trump from Iran war

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The Democratic-led US House of Representatives will vote Thursday to prevent President Donald Trump from waging war with Iran after he ordered the killing of a top general, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said. Pelosi said that the Democrats will move forward because their concerns were not addressed in a closed-door briefing to lawmakers Wednesday by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other top officials. “The president has made clear that he […]

Iran-US tensions likely to hamper Ukrainian jet probe

PARIS, France (AFP) — Clear international rules govern investigations into air crashes, but in the case of Wednesday’s Ukrainian passenger jet disaster in Iran they could fall victim to heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington. The Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800 crashed less than three minutes after taking off from Tehran’s airport, killing 176 people, mostly Iranians and Canadians. Tehran has already indicated it will not hand over to Americans the recovered flight recorders, the […]

Ukraine plane crash another challenge for Boeing

by John BIERS Agence France Presse The latest tragic plane crash involving another Boeing aircraft adds to the travails facing the company after its 737 MAX was grounded nearly a year ago following two deadly crashes. Details were limited Wednesday about the crash of a Ukraine International Airlines plane, a Boeing 737-800, near Tehran that killed 176 people. Yet the latest bad news involving a Boeing plane weighed on company shares, which were down 1.3 […]

Iran supreme leader says missile attacks are a ‘slap in face’ to US

  TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Iran’s supreme leader said a “slap in the face” was delivered to the United States, when the Islamic republic fired missiles at US troop bases in Iraq on Wednesday. “Last night, a slap in the face was delivered,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a speech broadcast live on state television. His remarks came after he had vowed “severe revenge” for a US drone strike that killed Iranian military commander Qasem […]