As Palestinian leaders fight over Gaza, Israel worries Hamas will go to war

As Palestinian leaders fight over Gaza, Israel worries Hamas will go to war

GAZA CITY — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is pursuing a high-risk campaign in the Gaza Strip to squeeze his own people so hard that they might force the Islamist militant movement Hamas to surrender control of the isolated coastal enclave. The 82-year-old leader’s Palestinian Authority, which runs the West Bank but has only limited sway in […]

China claims U.S. ‘stabbed them in the back,’ while another Chinese diplomat attempts to explain trade increases with North Korea

China claims U.S. ‘stabbed them in the back,’ while another Chinese diplomat attempts to explain trade increases with North Korea

In recent months, United States defense officials and diplomats alike have repeatedly urged China to increase pressure on Kim Jong-un’s North Korean regime by way of economic sanctions, fully aware that China represents a robust ninety-percent of North Korea’s import and export markets.  As North Korea’s primary ally, China possesses what some believe to be […]

U.S., Qatar sign agreement on combating terrorism financing

U.S., Qatar sign agreement on combating terrorism financing

The United States and Qatar signed an agreement on Tuesday aimed at combating the financing of terrorism, as U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson visited Doha to try to end a month-long rift between Western-allied Arab states. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt imposed sanctions on Qatar last month, accusing it of […]

Tillerson arrives in Kuwait as part of shuttle diplomacy to ease Qatar crisis

Tillerson arrives in Kuwait as part of shuttle diplomacy to ease Qatar crisis

KUWAIT CITY — Secretary of State Rex Tillerson arrived in Kuwait on Monday night to help defuse a feud between Qatar and other Arab nations that the United States worries is hampering the fight against the Islamic State and bolstering Iran’s standing. After weeks of phone calls and meetings with Arab diplomats in Washington, urging them to set […]

U.S. aims for U.N. vote on North Korea sanctions within weeks: diplomats

U.S. aims for U.N. vote on North Korea sanctions within weeks: diplomats

United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley aims to put to a vote within weeks a U.N. Security Council resolution to impose stronger sanctions on North Korea over its long-range ballistic missile test, said several senior U.N. diplomats. Haley told some U.N. diplomats late last week of the ambitious timeline for a U.N. […]

Pentagon offers tentative congratulation on Iraqi victory in Mosul

Pentagon offers tentative congratulation on Iraqi victory in Mosul

Although celebrations within Iraq have been ongoing for more than a week, the Pentagon waited until this Monday, when Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared victory, to offer the Iraqi government a tentative congratulation on their victory over the Islamic State in Mosul. “I announce from here the end and the failure and the collapse […]

Sessions visits Guantanamo Bay, driving speculation on the prison’s future

Sessions visits Guantanamo Bay, driving speculation on the prison’s future

Attorney General Jeff Sessions and his deputy Rod Rosenstein toured the facilities at the military prison located at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, this weekend. This lead observers to speculate on a potential Trump administration effort to revive the detention center’s use for detainees from the Islamic State group. According to a statement released by a Justice […]

Germany pulls the plug on troops in Turkey

Germany pulls the plug on troops in Turkey

Germany has followed through on threats to withdraw its military forces from Incirlik Air Base in Turkey after months of diplomatic tensions with the Turkish government. The forces in question composed Germany’s contribution to the coalition against ISIS, and will remain out of the fight for at least another two months as they are moved […]

Rex Tillerson still has a skeleton crew at the State Department to deal with North Korea

Rex Tillerson still has a skeleton crew at the State Department to deal with North Korea

North Korea’s launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile this week was condemned by the Pentagon, which said the missile was of a type “we’ve not seen before.” North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reveled in the successful test, saying his country would never abandon nuclear weapons while vowing to continue sending “gift packages” to Washington. The US and […]

Homeland Security chief says administration is just ‘enforcing the law’ on immigration

Homeland Security chief says administration is just ‘enforcing the law’ on immigration

MEXICO CITY — Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly on Friday defended the Trump administration’s policy of targeting immigrant families that pay to bring their children up from Central America, saying that the United States is finally “enforcing the law” on illegal immigration in that and other ways. During an interview at the conclusion of a […]