Editor Brian Harrod Provides Comprehensive up-to-date news coverage, with aggregated news from sources all over the world from the Roundup Newswires Network
US President Donald Trump has signed what he called a "seriously flawed" bill imposing new sanctions on Russia, pressured by his Republican Party not to move on his own towards a warmer relationship with Moscow in light of Russian actions. The legislation is aimed at punishing Moscow for interfering in the 2016 US presidential election and for its military aggression in Ukraine and Syria, where the Kremlin has backed President Bashar Assad.
As Trump nears the threshold of a military crisis with North Korea, he needs to sustain this early intuition -- and not be driven into actions that may look tough but would leave every player worse off. The template hasn't really changed from the first Korean War in 1950: The North's aggressive actions bring an American response, and then a general war that devastates the Korean Peninsula.
The top American diplomat put the onus on Russia to take steps to repair flagging relations with the United States, even as he conceded that congressional sanctions would pose a new obstacle. Holding out hope for warmer ties, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said he'd meet with his Russian counterpart within days.
President Donald Trump's turbulent few weeks at home -- the palace intrigue of White House rivalries, sudden departures and legislative defeats -- have been echoed by a brewing storm of challenges overseas. North Korea is launching missiles designed to reach the US; Moscow is forcing a drastic reduction in US diplomatic staff in Russia; Venezuela is wracked by violence as its democracy dies; and Iran has been expanding its reach in Syria and Iraq.
North Korean state media heralded Saturday the second test of the Hwasong-14 intercontinental ballistic missile conducted hours earlier, asserting that the test demonstrated the country's ability to launch a surprise attack on any U.S. target at any time. North Korea followed its July 4 test of the Hwasong-14 ICBM with another successful test Friday, offering a clearer view of the weapon's capabilities.
Pyongyang heralded the test of the Hwasong-14 ICBM as a demonstration of the country's ability to deliver a nuclear payload to distant targets almost anywhere in the U.S. Experts assess that while North Korea often exaggerates, this claim appears to be quite true given the flight data. The North Korean military first tested its ICBM July 4, shocking the world with abilities believed by some to be beyond it.
House and Senate Republicans have worked out a deal to move quickly on a package of new financial sanctions against Russia, Iran and North Korea, clearing the way for Congress to send the far-reaching legislation to President Donald Trump. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., chairman of Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement late Wednesday that he and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy had reached an agreement that removed the last obstacle to passing the bill.
The chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee is objecting to the House's decision to include penalties targeting Pyongyang in the bill. Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Sen. Bob Corker says he'd prefer to keep the North Korea sanctions in a separate measure that would be carefully considered by the Senate.
Tension is rising on the Korean Peninsula, as North Korea shows growing indications of another missile test despite President Moon Jae-in's engagement approach of resuming inter-Korean talks and suspending cross-border hostilities. According to reports by Agence France-Press and CNN, US officials said that if a test is carried out, it would be the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile or intermediate-range one.
As the U.S. and its allies consider how to confront the North Korean menace, the Kim Jong Un regime's ability to employ fanatical and highly trained special forces in numbers comparable to the entire U.S. Marine Corps must be taken into careful consideration. The stakes are too high to do otherwise.
The Trump administration on Thursday announced secondary sanctions against Chinese entities accused of aiding North Korea's illicit nuclear and missile programs. The action is a sharp turn in President Donald Trump's approach to China and the beginning of a new and unpredictable effort to use sticks instead of carrots with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The Trump administration on Thursday announced secondary sanctions against Chinese entities accused of aiding North Korea's illicit nuclear and missile programs. The action is a sharp turn in President Donald Trump's approach to China and the beginning of a new and unpredictable effort to use sticks instead of carrots with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
President Donald Trump on Friday will discuss North Korea and trade with South Korea's new leader, whose pro-engagement stance toward the North could clash with the U.S. administration's intent to crank up sanctions.
North Korea on Thursday lashed out at President Trump as a "psychopath" as a war of words escalates after the death of American student Otto Warmbier. The 22-year-old was returned comatose to the US last week with a severe neurological injury after 18 months in captivity in the Hermit Kingdom.
More than 15 months after he gave a staged confession in North Korea, he is with... . FILE - In this March 16, 2016, file photo, American student Otto Warmbier, center, is escorted at the Supreme Court in Pyongyang, North Korea.
In this Feb. 29, 2016, photo, American student Otto Warmbier cries while speaking to reporters in Pyongyang, North Korea. The family of Warmbier who died days after being released from North Korea in a coma says the 22-year-old "has completed his journey home."
Mattis outlined the Trump administration's approach in remarks to reporters traveling with him to Singapore , where he will deliver a policy speech at an worldwide security conference Saturday and meet with several Asian counterparts. The United States has said it is willing to talk to North Korea if it halts its missile and nuclear tests.
The United States is encouraged by China's efforts to restrain North Korea but Washington will not accept Beijing's militarization of islands in the South China Sea, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Saturday. The comments by Mattis, during the annual Shangri-La Dialogue, show how U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is looking to balance working with China to restrain North Korea's advancing missile and nuclear programs while dealing with Beijing's activities in the South China Sea.
President Donald Trump labeled North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un a "madman with nuclear weapons" during a private phone conversation with Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte last month, just days before stating publicly that he would be "honored" to meet with Kim. In the April 29 call, Trump sought Duterte's input on whether Kim is "stable or not stable" and expressed some satisfaction in North Korea's recent failed missile tests, noting that "all his rockets are crashing.
Military personnel from the United States, Japan, France and the United K... . The French stealth frigate Courbet is docked at Naval Base Guam on Thursday, May 11, 2017 near Hagatna, Guam.