Barack Obama has ended a longstanding US policy that allowed Cuban nationals who reached the US to be eligible automatically for residency, putting a final stamp on his foreign policy legacy. “Effective immediately, Cuban nationals who attempt to enter the United States illegally and do not qualify for humanitarian relief will be subject to removal, consistent with US law and enforcement priorities,” the White House said in […]
By Patricia Zengerle | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON The Obama administration on Thursday announced the repeal of a measure granting automatic residency to virtually every Cuban who arrived in the United States, whether or not they had visas, ending a longstanding exception to U.S. immigration policy. The end of the “wet foot, dry foot” policy, which allowed any Cuban who reached U.S. soil to stay but returned any picked […]
The US Department of Justice inspector general said on Thursday that he is investigating actions taken by DoJ and FBI officials, including FBI director James Comey, during the 2016 presidential election. The surprise probe was launched in response to calls from Congress and members of the public, who have questioned whether Mr Comey’s statements in the final weeks of the campaign were politically motivated, according to a […]
Vladimir Putin is trying to break the north Atlantic alliance and his policies represent one of the key threats to the global order that has prevailed since the second world war, James Mattis, the retired general nominated to be secretary of defence, has told a Senate committee. In testimony that struck a notably harder line on Russia than that of Donald Trump, Mr Mattis said the US […]
Having publicly trashed the US economy’s performance during the presidential campaign, Donald Trump has become its most prominent cheerleader. The president-elect has in recent weeks claimed credit for surging consumer confidence, stellar equity prices and stronger end-of-year household spending, arguing there was “no hope” before he arrived on the scene. To Barack Obama’s supporters, claims from Mr Trump that the US was cloaked in economic gloom before […]
Top US lawmakers are challenging Wells Fargo to explain a recent rise in overdraft charges, signalling a new regulatory battle for the bank still reeling from a fake accounts scandal. On Wednesday a group of Democrats on the Senate banking committee wrote a letter to Tim Sloan, the bank’s chairman and chief executive, asking him to explain whether the bank’s recent surge in income from overdraft charges […]
To an outsider, it looked preposterous. The archaeologists were cataloging and storing absolutely everything, treating this physical material as though it were digital information — JPEGs of itself. And yet they couldn’t afford not to: Everything a Neanderthal came into contact with was a valuable clue. (In 28 years of excavations here, archaeologists have yet to find a fossil of an actual Neanderthal.) “This is like putting […]
It is a new year and already it is back to business on the big runways with London Fashion Week Men, in a season that is experiencing a complete shake-up in the schedule, with more designers combining their men’s and women’s lines into one presentation. Missing from the line-up are Burberry, Coach and McQueen, while Paul Smith, who often hosts an event in London, will add women’s […]
Donald Trump angrily denied claims that Russia sought to cultivate and compromise him, after unverified allegations about his personal conduct and ties to Moscow spilled out into the open, just 10 days before his inauguration. US media reported that intelligence agency officials shared a written synopsis of a dossier containing lurid but unsubstantiated personal claims about Mr Trump, allegedly compiled by Moscow, when they met the president-elect […]
Sonos has promoted former BlackBerry manager Patrick Spence to take over as chief executive from founder John MacFarlane, after the rise of streaming music services propelled the wireless speaker maker to further growth last year. The change comes as 15-year-old Sonos repositions itself to take advantage of a new wave of voice-controlled “virtual assistants” such as Amazon’s Alexa and connected-home technologies. Mr Spence joined the California-based company […]
BAGHDAD: Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi said on Tuesday relations with northern neighbor Turkey could “not move forward one step” without a withdrawal of Turkish forces from a camp in northern Iraq, state television reported.Turkish forces have been stationed at Bashiqa camp near Mosul since before the start of an offensive against Daesh. Meanwhile, Iraqi forces pushed Daesh back further in Mosul on Tuesday in a renewed […]
Submitted by Mike Krieger via Liberty Blitzkrieg blog, The true patriotism, the only rational patriotism is loyalty to the nation all the time, loyalty to the government when it deserves it. – Mark Twain, The Czar’s Soliloquy” At this point, pretty much everyone in America has seen the results of Hillary Clinton media pet, John Harwood’s recent Twitter poll. Who do you believe America? — John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) January 6, […]
Jeremy Corbyn has backed a cap on high earnings as a way to reduce income inequality, as the Labour leader makes a fresh pitch to UK voters. Mr Corbyn told the BBC on Tuesday: “I would like there to be some kind of high earnings cap, quite honestly.” The Labour leader described the UK as a bargain basement economy on the shores of Europe. “We have the […]
Submitted by Soeren Kern via The Gatestone Institute, Sharia courts administering Islamic justice in Britain are run by clerics who believe some offenders should have their hands chopped off, according to Muslim scholar Elham Manea. She described the prevailing attitude as “totalitarian” and as more backward than some parts of Pakistan. Teaching children fundamental British values is an act of “cultural supremacism,” according to the National Union […]
January 10, 2017 by: Henry Mance, political correspondent Boris Johnson has claimed Britain is “first in line” for a post-Brexit trade deal with the US, following meetings with Republican congressional leaders including Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan. The foreign secretary visited New York and Washington, paving the way for an official trip by Theresa May to meet Donald Trump later this year. For Mr Johnson, the visit […]
John Krafcik, CEO of Waymo, the autonomous vehicle company created by Google’s parent company, Alphabet introduces a Chrysler Pacifica hybrid outfitted with Waymo’s own suite of sensors and radar at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Sunday, Jan. 8, 2017. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya) Waymo, Google’s self-driving car division, will start testing its new fleet of minivans on public roads in California and Arizona later this […]
Meryl Streep brought politics back to Hollywood at the Golden Globes on Sunday evening with a powerful acceptance speech that excoriated Donald Trump and his mocking of a disabled reporter during the election campaign. Ms Streep, Hollywood’s most decorated and revered actress with three Oscar wins, was accepting the Cecile B DeMille award for lifetime achievement when she tore into Mr Trump. In front of a primetime audience […]
Who would now warn publicly against “Islamic fascism,” when the hard-liners sought to influence elections? Who would state openly that there should be a nuclear compromise? Continue reading the main story Mr. Rafsanjani said things others would not dare to say, all agreed, and his voice had at least created some tolerance for debates. “Hard-liners will be happy, but this is the start of a period of […]
Mere weeks after Waymo became a company independent from Google’s X, it has already released an updated version of its automated driving system. The technology, which was announced Jan. 8 at the on-going North American International Auto Show, will hit the roads onboard a fleet of Chrysler Pacifica minivans. Latest Waymo Improvements The new development came from John Krafcik, Waymo’s CEO and involves two important points. The first is […]
Some analysts say Russia appears to have arrived at an accommodation in which the Turks are moving to establish a security zone in northern Syria to preclude Syrian Kurds from setting up an autonomous region. In return, the Turks appear to be backing off their efforts to unseat President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, who, with Russian help, is strengthening his hold on the country’s major cities to […]
Israel’s ambassador to the UK has apologised after a senior member of his embassy staff was recorded saying he wanted to “take down” the Foreign Office minister Sir Alan Duncan. Shai Masot, the Israeli embassy’s senior political officer, said he was disappointed that Sir Alan, an outspoken critic of settlement building in the occupied West Bank, had not been “neutralised”. The official claimed, according to a recording […]
Russian President Vladimir Putin personally approved cyber attacks aimed at interfering with last year’s presidential election motivated by “a clear preference” for Donald Trump, according to a newly declassified report by the US intelligence community. “Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the US presidential election,” the report concluded. “Russia’s goals were to undermine public faith in the US democratic process, denigrate […]
Never mind football’s alarmingly martial terminology. What Saban, who cut his coaching teeth on defense, noticed and passed along helped Alabama find solutions that led to 269 rushing yards — more than twice the average Washington had allowed in games this season. Continue reading the main story “It’s good for the offense,” Bobby Williams, a special assistant who has held several coaching jobs on Saban’s staffs, said […]
By Isabel Coles and Saif Hameed | NORTH OF MOSUL, Iraq/BAGHDAD NORTH OF MOSUL, Iraq/BAGHDAD Elite Iraqi troops bridged a river under the cover of darkness to seize a district of Mosul in an unprecedented night raid early on Friday, part of a new phase in the battle to capture the city from Islamic State after weeks of slowed momentum. Since last week, Iraqi forces have launched […]
