Berlin – The U.S. ambassador to Germany says “now is not the time for business as usual with China” as Chancellor Angela Merkel prepares to make her 12th visit to the country as German leader. Merkel is due to visit Chinese leaders in Beijing on Friday. She will travel with a business delegation. In comments […]

Washington – Defense Secretary Mark Esper’s decision to shift $3.6 billion from military construction projects to build 175 miles of President Donald Trump’s wall along the Mexican border drew sharp pushback Wednesday from some Democrats. Pentagon officials did not announce which 127 projects will be affected but said members of Congress were being notified about […]

Hong Kong – Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced Wednesday the government will formally withdraw an extradition bill that sparked months of demonstrations, bowing to one of the protesters’ demands in the hope of ending the increasingly violent unrest. But lawmakers warned that the bill’s withdrawal was not enough to end the turmoil, which […]

London – On a day of humiliating setbacks, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson suffered a major defeat in Parliament on Tuesday night as rebellious lawmakers voted to seize control of the Brexit agenda, prompting the embattled leader to say he would call for a new general election. The 328 to 301 vote, made possible by […]

Washington – Joe Biden entered the Democratic primary promising “from day one” to reject campaign cash from lobbyists. “I work for you — not any industry,” he tweeted. Yet hours after his April campaign kickoff, the former vice president went to a fundraiser at the home of a lobbying executive. And in the months since, […]

Washington – Congressional Republicans are waiting for the White House to chart a path forward on gun violence legislation, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday, effectively putting the burden on President Donald Trump to decide the GOP’s legislative response to the spate of mass shootings that included another deadly attack in Texas over the […]

London – The pound on Tuesday touched its lowest level against the dollar since 1985, excluding a brief “flash crash” in 2016 that may have been caused by technical glitches, as international investors fret over a political showdown over Brexit this week. The British currency fell as low as $1.1960, down almost a cent on […]

New York – Doug Ogden doesn’t know what to do. The 75-year-old retired law enforcement officer is disgusted by President Donald Trump. But he can’t imagine voting for a Democrat in 2020, either. A self-described independent in South Carolina, Ogden doesn’t recognize the modern-day Democratic Party. “The state of the Democratic Party is wild against […]

Former Guatemalan first lady and presidential runner-up Sandra Torres was arrested Monday on charges of campaign finance violations, the latest high-profile political figure to face allegations of malfeasance even as a U.N. anti-graft commission is set to shut down. Investigators searched Torres’ Guatemala City home in the morning and transported her to court, handcuffed, with […]

Jerusalem – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this afternoon (Sunday, 1 September 2019), at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem, welcomed Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. The IDF orchestra played the two countries’ national anthems; the two leaders reviewed an honor guard. A joint bilateral statement was also signed by Israeli Ambassador to Ethiopia Rafael Morav […]