by Shaun TANDON HOUSTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday declared themselves united in a relentless fight against “terrorism,” vowing a close, personal alliance in front of tens of thousands of Indian-Americans. The two leaders, like-minded nationalists fond of fiery rallies and skeptical of traditional media, heaped praise on each other in an unusual joint appearance inside a football stadium in Houston. To the bhangra […]
Tag: US
Saudi Arabia reveals extent of damage to attacked oil plants
by Anuj Chopra Agence France Presse ABQAIQ, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Saudi Arabia on Friday revealed extensive damage to key oil facilities following weekend aerial strikes that were blamed on Iran, but vowed to quickly restore full production even as regional tensions soar. Yemen’s Tehran-linked Huthi rebels, who on Friday announced a sudden halt to attacks on Saudi Arabia, claimed the strikes on state giant Aramco’s facilities in Khurais and the world’s largest oil processing […]
Pentagon sending reinforcements to Gulf following attacks in Saudi
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Friday that the United States will send reinforcements to the Gulf region at the request of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, following attacks on Saudi oil facilities which it blames on Iran. The Pentagon chief said an Iranian attack on an American spy drone in June after Tehran seized a British oil tanker, combined with the attack on two Saudi oil installations […]
Zuckerberg meets US senators, rejects call to break up Facebook
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg met privately with members of Congress Thursday on a political reconnaissance mission to Washington, where he rejected calls for him to break up the world’s biggest social network. Zuckerberg’s visit with policymakers comes as Facebook faces a myriad of regulatory and legal questions surrounding issues like competition, digital privacy, censorship and transparency in political advertising. A Facebook spokesman said discussions were focusing in part on […]
Pompeo favors ‘peaceful resolution’ to crisis after Saudi oil attack
by Sarah Stewart with Anuj Chopra in Riyadh DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AFP) — The US wants a peaceful solution to the crisis sparked by attacks on Saudi oil installations, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday, after Iran raised the spectre of “all-out war”. Pompeo has blamed Iran for the dramatic weekend assault on two facilities, condemning an “act of war” which knocked out half the kingdom’s oil production. The rhetoric has raised the […]
Oil soars again on Mideast tension
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Oil prices shot higher Thursday on fresh supply concerns in the Middle East, while on most markets stocks climbed after the US Federal Reserve’s decision to cut interest rates. Brent oil jumped nearly 1.3 percent as traders seized on resurfacing tensions in the crude-rich Middle East. The market had surged at the start of the week after drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities on Saturday. Traders remain on red […]
Huawei in public test as it unveils latest high-end smartphone with no Google apps
by Daphne ROUSSEAU Agence France Presse BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Chinese tech giant Huawei launches its latest high-end smartphone in Munich on Thursday, the first that could be void of popular Google apps because of US sanctions. Observers are asking whether a phone without the Silicon Valley software that users have come to depend on can succeed, or whether Huawei will have found a way for buyers to install popular apps despite the constraints. The […]
Trump names hostage negotiator O’Brien national security advisor
by Sebastian Smith Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump on Wednesday named his pointman for hostage situations, Robert O’Brien, to replace his hawkish national security advisor sacked just as relations with Iran are entering a new crisis point. Trump made the announcement by Twitter and later appeared with O’Brien in front of reporters while traveling in California, where he said his new foreign policy aide was “highly respected.” […]
Saudi oil attacks, an Iranian ‘act of war’, says Pompeo
by Anuj Chopra with Sarah Stewart in Dubai Agence France Presse RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo denounced strikes on Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure as an “act of war”, as Riyadh unveiled new evidence it said showed the assault was “unquestionably” sponsored by arch-foe Iran. The comments raise the risk of a wider conflict in the tinderbox Gulf region after the weekend strikes on the heart of the kingdom’s […]
US eyes UN action over Saudi blasts
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States hopes that the UN Security Council takes up the attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure for which Washington blames Iran, a senior US official said Tuesday. The official said that Saudi Arabia, as the target of the weekend blasts, needed to take the lead in seeking action by the Security Council but that the United States first needed to prepare information for release. “We do see a […]
Pompeo heads to Saudi Arabia after US blames Iran
by Sebastian Smith WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was to fly to Saudi Arabia Tuesday to discuss possible retaliation after Washington said it had proof that attacks on Saudi oil installations originated in Iran. Vice President Mike Pence announced that Pompeo was on his way to Saudi Arabia to “discuss our response.” “As the president said, we don’t want war with anybody but the United States is prepared,” Pence […]
US swimmer criss-crosses English Channel in 54-hour feat
by Joe JACKSON Agence France Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — An American breast cancer survivor on Tuesday became the first person to swim across the English Channel four times non-stop in a 54-hour feat of endurance. Sarah Thomas, 37, an open water marathon swimmer from the US state of Colorado, could be seen in a video posted on Facebook arriving at Dover on the southern English coast with a group of supporters cheering […]





