Tag: US

US State Dept approves potential $2.2 billion arms sale to Taiwan

by W.G. Dunlop WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US State Department has approved the potential sale to Taiwan of $2.2 billion in arms, including Abrams tanks and Stinger missiles, the Pentagon said on Monday. The announcement is likely to anger Beijing, which views Taiwan as part of its territory and has previously expressed “serious concerns” about the possible sale. Congress has been notified about the potential deal, which would include 108 M1A2T Abrams tanks, […]

First Democratic candidate drops from White House race

by Elodie CUZIN WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Congressman Eric Swalwell became the first candidate to drop out of the Democratic Party race for the White House Monday, as debates and fundraising drive a narrowing of voter focus on the sprawling field. The 38-year-old California representative never garnered more than one percent support in polls, according to Real Clear Politics — though he got a slight boost in the June 26-27 party debates when he […]

Iran to face more ‘isolation, sanctions’: Pompeo

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Iran will face further sanctions in response to its expected breach Sunday of a uranium enrichment cap, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said. “Iran’s latest expansion of its nuclear program will lead to further isolation and sanctions,” the top US diplomat said on Twitter. Iran said earlier it was hours away from breaching the cap set by an endangered nuclear deal reached with international powers but from which the […]

Trump: Migrant detention centers to open to media

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump on Sunday said migrant detention centers that have come under criticism for overcrowding and poor conditions will be opened to visits by journalists. “I’m going to start showing some of these detention centers to the press. I want the press to go in and see them,” Trump told reporters in Morristown, New Jersey. “We’re going to have some of the press go in because they’re crowded, […]

NDF’s Sison says US can easily remove Duterte from power; Palace dismisses “wishful thinking” from “old revolutionary”

  (Eagle News) – The National Democratic Front of the Philippines chief political consultant Jose Maria Sison said that the United States could easily overthrow President Rodrigo Duterte and install Vice-President Leni Robredo as the country’s new leader. In a statement in reaction to President Duterte’s challenge to the US to be the first to fire a shot in the South China Sea dispute, Sison said that there was “no need for the US to […]

Iran set to exceed nuclear deal uranium enrichment cap

  TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Iran said Sunday it was set to breach the uranium enrichment cap set by an endangered nuclear deal within hours as it seeks to press signatories into keeping their side of the bargain. The Islamic republic also threatened to abandon more commitments unless a solution is found with parties to the 2015 agreement. The move to start enriching uranium above the agreed maximum purification level of 3.67 percent comes despite […]

Trump celebrates US might, avoids politics in rousing July 4 speech

by Lucie AUBOURG WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump sang the praises of the US military and American heroes of the past two and a half centuries Thursday as he skirted politics in a rousing Independence Day speech in Washington. “What a great country,” Trump exclaimed in an address saturated with patriotism and exceptionalism. “For Americans, nothing is impossible.” As combat aircraft, including the rarely seen B2 stealth bomber flew overhead, Trump scrolled […]

Trump discussed detained Canadians with Xi: Trudeau

MONTREAL, Canada (AFP) — US President Donald Trump raised the issue of two Canadians detained in China with President Xi Jinping in a recent meeting, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed on Thursday. Trudeau had earlier said he was “confident” that Trump discussed with Xi the detention of ex-diplomat Michael Kovrig and consultant Michael Spavor, who are being held in China on suspicion of espionage. “I can confirm that Mr. Trump did speak to his […]

Facebook services back online after worldwide outage

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Facebook said it was “back at 100 percent” Wednesday evening after an outage on all of its services affected users in various parts of the world. Online monitoring service DownDetector reported earlier the outage began around 1200 GMT and affected Facebook as well as its Instagram and WhatsApp services. “The issue has since been resolved and we should be back at 100% for everyone,” the company tweeted at 0006 […]

US ambassador calls on South China Sea claimant countries to “refrain from provocative” actions

  (Eagle News) – United States Ambassador Sung Kim urged all countries with varying claims on the South China Sea to “refrain from provocative unilateral actions” even as he slammed China for its continuous military action in the region. During the Embassy’s pre-celebration of the 243rd US Independence Day, Ambassador Kim said that this had always been the US government’s position. “We always say we urge all countries to refrain from provocative unilateral actions that’s […]

Mexico deports 33% more migrants after deal with US

MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP) — Mexico deported 33 percent more foreigners month-on-month in June, officials said Tuesday, after the country agreed to take “unprecedented” steps to reduce migration in order to avoid US President Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs. The total number of deportations from Mexico in June was 21,912, up from 16,507 in May, according to preliminary figures from the national migration authority. The upswing came after Trump threatened in May to impose tariffs on […]

Trump abandons controversial census change that could affect Filipinos living in US

  US President Donald Trump’s government on Tuesday gave up a controversial attempt to put a question about citizenship on next year’s census, handing a victory to those who argued the new item would lead to discrimination against minority residents including Filipinos living in the US. The decision followed a Supreme Court ruling that the case for adding the citizenship question was not convincing. Trump’s initial reaction to the ruling had been to call for […]