By Arshad Mohammed | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON The State Department, which was criticized for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server, said on Wednesday it failed to meet an end-of-2016 deadline to manage all its email records electronically. The department, and other U.S. government agencies, had more than four years to meet the deadline under an Aug. 24, 2012, directive that aimed to […]
In the wake of the terror attacks in England, France, Germany and elsewhere, can we finally admit that the war on terror is an utter and complete failure? 10 Ways to Reduce Terrorism So if the war on terror has failed, what should we do to stop terrorists? I. Stop Overthrowing the Moderates and Arming Crazies We know it’s a difficult concept to grasp, but if we […]
By Patricia Zengerle and Dustin Volz | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON The Republican chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives intelligence committee set off a political firestorm on Wednesday when he said the communications of members of Donald Trump’s transition team were caught up in incidental surveillance targeting foreigners. Representative Devin Nunes said at a news conference that it was possible President Trump’s own communications were also intercepted and […]
It’s a scary thing, to hear something that’s been lurking over you for decades get a name. My therapist used words like “depression” and “anxiety.” Maybe some people take comfort in it. I didn’t. I met those labels face-to-face, for the first time, and no weight lifted from my shoulders. But it was a start. It’s also evidence of a pre-existing condition. And if Obamacare’s repealed, it’s […]
The euro came close to its highest level against the dollar in almost four months on Wednesday, as investors waited nervously ahead of Donald Trump’s first key legislative test over the repeal of Obamacare. This week the euro has gained 0.8 per cent against the US currency, taking its rise this month to 2.6 per cent and leaving it worth $1.0825 late on Wednesday. Euro strength is, […]
By David Morgan and Yasmeen Abutaleb | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON U.S. President Donald Trump and Republican congressional leaders worked on Wednesday to try to secure enough support in the House of Representatives to win passage of their Obamacare rollback bill, watched by wary investors in financial markets. Repealing and replacing Democrat Barack Obama’s 2010 Affordable Care Act is the first major test of Trump’s legislative ability and whether […]
New revelations reported Wednesday further intensify the spotlight on Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump’s former campaign chair and a longtime friend, who allegedly worked for years to advance the interests of Russian President Vladimir Putin in Ukraine and elsewhere. An Associated Press report says Manafort forged closer ties to the Kremlin and the formerly pro-Russian government in Ukraine than he had previously disclosed, casting another cloud over the […]
Rex Tillerson says he did not seek to be US secretary of state but was persuaded to take the job by his wife, who told him “God’s not through with you”. “I was supposed to retire in March, this month. I was going to go to the ranch to be with my grandkids,” the 64-year-old former oil executive told the Independent Journal Review in his first full-length […]
Stock markets suffered their worst falls since the election of Donald Trump as Wall Street worries about the prospects for the US president’s pro-business agenda triggered a rush for financial havens. US markets led the declines, with the benchmark S&P 500 index tumbling 1.2 per cent and breaking a run of 109 trading days without a drop of 1 per cent or more. The Dow Jones Industrial […]
Authored by Robert Parry via The Strategic Culture Foundation, The Kagan family, America’s neoconservative aristocracy, has reemerged having recovered from the letdown over not gaining its expected influence from the election of Hillary Clinton and from its loss of official power at the start of the Trump presidency. Former Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Victoria Nuland, who pushed for the Ukraine coup and helped pick […]
WASHINGTON Republicans considering whether or not to back U.S. President Donald Trump’s healthcare reforms in a crucial House of Representatives vote this week face a painful choice. If they vote against, they could face the wrath of a vengeful and combative president. If they vote for it, they risk retribution from the billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch and other powerful right-wing players whose money can be […]
Stock markets suffered their worst falls since the election of Donald Trump as Wall Street worries about the prospects for the US president’s pro-business agenda triggered a rush for financial havens. US markets led the declines, with the benchmark S&P 500 index tumbling 1.2 per cent — and breaking a run of 109 trading days without a drop of 1 per cent or more. The Dow Jones […]
By Steve Holland | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON President Donald Trump argued on Tuesday that his 60 days in office have been a successful keeping of his campaign promises as he attempted to turn the page from a variety of controversies that have bedevilled his White House tenure. In a speech before the National Republican Congressional Committee, Trump sprinkled his remarks with jokes, mocked his critics and expressed optimism […]
Neil Gorsuch was emerging largely unscathed from an all-day marathon of sometimes hostile questioning from senators weighing his nomination for a lifetime Supreme Court post. The Denver-based federal appellate judge clashed with Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island in an exchange over the role of money in American politics. And he came under fire from another Democrat, Senator Al Franken of Minnesota, for what the lawmaker called his “absurd” […]
Tuesday 18:30 GMT What you need to know ● Sell off in financials drives S&P 500 down 1 per cent● Euro climbs to $1.08 and dollar index slips below 100● 10-year Treasury yield at lowest since start of month● Oil prices come under renewed pressure● Gold heads for fifth daily rise in a row——————- Overview A sharp and sudden sell-off for US financial stocks helped put the […]
NEW YORK New Jersey will give up to $1 million in grants to religious institutions and other non-profit groups vulnerable to attacks in the wake of a spate of threats against Jewish organizations around the country, Governor Chris Christie said on Tuesday. Organizations in nine New Jersey counties will be able to apply to the state’s Office of Homeland Security for grants of up to $50,000 each […]
By David Shepardson and Kylie MacLellan | WASHINGTON/LONDON WASHINGTON/LONDON The United States and Britain on Tuesday imposed restrictions on carry-on electronic devices on planes coming from certain airports in Muslim-majority countries in the Middle East and North Africa in response to unspecified security threats. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said passengers traveling from those airports could not bring devices such as tablets, portable DVD players, laptops […]
Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen, the two frontrunners in France’s election, clashed in the country’s first presidential debate over issues including Islam’s place in society, as initial polls indicated the former economy minister had held off his rivals. A little more than one month before the first round of voting, Monday’s three-hour debate was characterised by finger pointing and innuendo among the five leading hopefuls, with […]
BELFAST Martin McGuinness, a former Irish Republican Army commander who was deputy first minister of Northern Ireland for a decade, has died aged 66, his party, Sinn Fein, announced on Tuesday. A key figure throughout five decades of conflict and peace in the UK province, McGuinness had announced on January 19 that he was bowing out of politics and would not lead his nationalist party into elections […]
The former IRA commander turned Northern Ireland peace negotiator Martin McGuinness, has died at the age of 66. McGuinness had been in declining health for months and decided not to stand for re-election in last month’s Northern Ireland election, citing his worsening illness. Sinn Fein. the Irish republican party, said in a statement on Tuesday: “It is with deep regret and sadness that we have learnt of […]
“I think this administration wants to be more engaged in fighting terrorism,” Mr. Abadi added. “I sense a difference in terms of being head-to-head with terrorism.” Continue reading the main story Neither American nor Iraqi officials, however, explained what economic support might be provided by the United States and the international community to help rebuild Iraqi cities that have been damaged during the conflict. Nor did they […]
By Susan Cornwell and David Morgan | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON Congressional Republicans recrafted their Obamacare replacement bill on Monday in hopes of satisfying critics as U.S. President Donald Trump prepared to promote his first major legislative initiative on Capitol Hill. In a sign of deepening concern among Republicans about the bill’s future, Trump will speak to the party’s lawmakers in Congress on Tuesday about the healthcare overhaul, two […]
By Lawrence Hurley and Andrew Chung | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON Democrats raised questions on Monday about whether Neil Gorsuch, President Donald Trump’s U.S. Supreme Court nominee, would rule against abortion rights and gun control while favouring corporations as his Senate confirmation hearing began, with the court’s ideological balance at stake. Judiciary Committee Republicans praised Gorsuch, the conservative appeals court judge from Colorado nominated by Trump on Jan. 31, […]
NEW YORK Billionaire philanthropist David Rockefeller, former head of Chase Manhattan Corp and patriarch of one of the most famous and influential American families, died on Monday, a family spokesman said. He was 101. Rockefeller, who reportedly gave away nearly $2 billion in his lifetime, died in his sleep of congestive heart failure at his home in Pocantico Hills, New York, spokesman Fraser Seitel said in a […]
