National security adviser in Kabul for talks days after U.S. dropped massive bomb on ISIS forces

U.S. national security adviser H.R. McMaster was in Kabul on Sunday for what is the first visit by a Trump administration official to Afghanistan, officials here said, coming just days after U.S. forces dropped a 22,000-pound bomb during combat and revived debate over the war. President Trump has so far said little about the conflict, where more than 8,000 U.S. troops are helping battle the Taliban, raising concerns among Afghan officials about the administration's commitment to the fight.

Russia’s FM Lavrov Meets With Syria’s Deputy Prime Minister

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson listens right to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov back to a camera during their meeting in Moscow Russia Wednesday Johnson was widely criticised for failing to get the G7 to back his bid for new sanctions against senior Russian and Syrian figures following the chemical weapons attack in Syria's Idlib province that killed dozens and caused an global outcry. "Truth is the first casualty of war", he said, adding that the U.S., Russian Federation and Syria will all have their own versions of what happened.

Politics | Sunday Political Brunch – April 16, 2017: Trump Changing His Tune

Dr. Mark Curtis, Ed.D., is Chief Political Reporter for the five Nexstar Media TV stations in West Virginia, and a Political Analyst for "The Brian Copeland Show" on KGO Radio 810-AM San Francisco. There has been a lot of chatter this week in the news and on talk radio about how many times Donald Trump has changed positions now that he is President, compared to what he said on the campaign trail.

North Korean missile “blows up” on test launch as Pence…

SEOUL/PYONGYANG: A North Korean missile "blew up almost immediately" on its test launch on Sunday, the U.S. Pacific Command said, hours before U.S. Vice President Mike Pence was due in South Korea for talks on the North's increasingly defiant arms programme. The failed launch from North Korea's east coast, ignoring admonitions from major ally China, came a day after North Korea held a military parade in its capital, marking the birth anniversary of the state founder, displaying what appeared to be new long-range ballistic missiles.

Course reversal: Trump’s White House increasingly hawkish on Russia

Once soft on Russia and hard on China, President Donald Trump rapidly reversed course in the last weeks, concluding there's more business to be done with Beijing than with Moscow. Trump's evolving views on those two world powers have brought the U.S. back into alignment with former President Barack Obama's pattern of "great power" politics.

Here Are The Big Reasons Kim Jong-un’s Morning Missile Show Matters

Grand military celebrations of a brutal regime are largely pointless, but when they reveal new missiles, it is probably worth taking note, especially when that regime regularly threatens to fling them at its neighbors. During the military parade celebrating the Day of the Sun, the anniversary of the birth of North Korean founder Kim Il-sung, the Korean People's Army showed off some of the weapons either already in its arsenal or under development.

Bannon’s future in doubt as Trump downplays his influence

President Trump's business empire has always been a family affair and now his White House appears to be headed in the same direction. In an interview with the New York Post , Trump said: "I like Steve, but you have to remember he was not involved in my campaign until very late".

Less than 1 aircraft carrier? The cost of N. Korea’s nukes

When North Korea decided to go nuclear, it committed to a huge investment in a program that would bring severe sanctions and eat up precious resources that could have been spent boosting the nation's quality of life. North Korea's nuclear and missile development programs have without doubt come at a high cost, but the North has managed to march ever closer to having an arsenal capable of attacking targets in the region and - as demonstrated by its July 4 test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile - the United States' mainland.

Risk of deeper involvement as U.S. weighs its options in Afghanistan

As President Donald Trump's administration drafts an Afghanistan policy, U.S. officials are seeking a way to reverse gains by militant groups without wading deeper into a 15-year-long war that has no end in sight. In the past month, three U.S. service members have been killed in operations against Islamic State militants near Afghanistan's porous border with Pakistan, where armed groups still find sanctuary.Officially, the U.S.-led international force in Afghanistan ceased combat operations at the end of 2014, but the conflict has proved difficult to exit without risking the overthrow of the government in Kabul.

North Korea warns against US ‘hysteria’ as it marks founder’s birth

People pay their respects at the statues of North Korea founder Kim Il Sung and late leader Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang, North Korea. Pic: Reuters NORTH Korea warned the United States on Saturday to end its "military hysteria" or face retaliation as a US aircraft carrier group steamed towards the region and the reclusive state marked the "Day of the Sun", the 105th birth anniversary of its founding father.

Global tensions continue to climb over North Korea

China says tension over North Korea has to be stopped from reaching an "irreversible and unmanageable stage". Concern has grown since the US Navy fired 59 Tomahawk missiles at a Syrian airfield last week, in response to a deadly gas attack.

Officials: No need for Trump’s approval to use massive bomb

The strike was designed to minimize the risk to Afghan and U.S. forces conducting clearing operations in the area while maximizing the destruction of ISIS-K fighters and facilities. ISIS-K, also known as the Khorasan group, is based in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region and is composed primarily of former members of Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban.

Listen: Bruce Klingner Analyzed The Looming Conflict With North Korea

Senior Research Fellow, Northeast Asia, Heritage Foundation, specializes in Korean and Japanese affairs - analyzed the situation with North Korea. Kim Jong-un unveils 770ft 'ultra-modern, prestige' skyscraper complex in the heart of Pyongyang as dictator orders removal of 600,000 'undesirables' from the city.

Syria’s Assad says Idlib chemical attack a ‘fabrication’

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad claimed Thursday that the alleged chemical weapons attack in Khan Sheikhoun was a "fabrication" to justify the U.S. missile strike. The United States told Russian Federation at the United Nations on Wednesday that is it isolating itself by continuing to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while Britain said its scientists found sarin was used in a deadly toxic gas attack on Syrian civilians last week.

Russian Federation challenges U.S. to prove chemical attack in Syria

The presidents of both countries personally waded into the day's diplomatic efforts in an apparent bid to move past some of the divisions, with Putin meeting with Tillerson for about two hours. Beyond the expanding ledger of disagreements, Trump has limited ability to offer Moscow concessions at a time USA investigators are examining if Russian agents and Trump campaign associates colluded to help the billionaire businessman win last year's presidential election.

N. Korean official: Ready for war if Trump wants it

Han Song Ryol said the situation on the Korean Penin... . In this undated photo distributed on Friday, April 14, 2017, by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, watches a military drill at an undisclosed location.

MOAB strike: Dozens of ISIS casualties – and no civilians

The first deployment of the most powerful conventional bomb has succeeded in its mission , according to both US and Afghan sources, without any civilian casualties. The post-attack bomb damage assessment tallies up 36 ISIS-K casualties in Nangarhar and the destruction of caves and tunnels used for transit and subterfuge by the terrorist group, an offshoot of the so-called Islamic State in Syria.