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US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley (R) and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at UN headquarters in New York City on January 27, 2017 (Photo by Reuters) The United Nations Security Council has announced an emergency meeting to discuss North Korea’s recent launch of a nuclear-capable ballistic missile. The United States, Japan, and South Korea on Sunday requested the meeting on an “urgent basis.” North Korea launched the missile near the western city of Kusong on Sunday. It flew east about 500 kilometers before falling into the Sea of Japan, according to South Korea’s Defense Ministry. North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) later on Monday confirmed that Pyongyang had “successfully” tested a “surface-to-surface medium long-range ballistic missile.” The North’s leader, Kim Jong-un, “expressed great satisfaction over the possession of another powerful nuclear attack means, which adds to the tremendous might of the country,” the KCNA said. A man wat

President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivered an abrupt joint statement Saturday night, addressing reports that North Korea test fired a ballistic missile into its eastern sea. "I just want everybody to understand and fully know that the United States of America stands behind Japan, its great ally, 100%," Trump said. In his remarks, Abe called the launch "absolutely intolerable." Trump and Abe made their remarks from Mar-a-Lago, Trump's estate in Palm Beach, Florida, and did not take questions from reporters. The launch was North Korea's first such test of the year and an implicit challenge to Trump's new administration. But details of the launch, including the type of missile, were scant. There was no immediate confirmation from the North, which had recently warned it is ready to test its first intercontinental ballistic missile. The reports come as Trump was hosting Abe and just days before the North is to mark the birth

David Choi   Foreign nationals are arrested during a targeted enforcement operation conducted by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Los Angeles, Feb. 7, 2017.Charles Reed/US Immigration and Customs Enforcement via AP Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers have arrested hundreds of people in a nationwide sweep in what they called a routine "enforcement surge." The moves, however, were seen by immigration advocates as a consequence of President Donald Trump's  recent executive orders  on immigration. According to officials  cited  by The Associated Press, the five-day operation was designed to round up undocumented immigrants who have criminal histories and pending deportation orders. Hundreds of arrests - from Atlanta to Chicago to New York, Los Angeles, North Carolina, and South Carolina - drew backlash from several immigration advocacy groups. ICE officials arrested about 160 people in Southern California alone. "This is not nor

Mark Wilson/Getty Images US President Donald Trump seems to have patched things up with China by promising to honor the "One China" agreement between the world's two biggest economies on his first phone call as president with Chinese President Xi Jinping. A press release from the White House said that during an "extremely cordial" conversation on Thursday evening, the "two leaders discussed numerous topics and President Trump agreed, at the request of President Xi, to honor our 'one China' policy." The release also said the two leaders extended invitations to meet in their respective countries, and that representatives of each country "will engage in discussions and negotiations on various issues of mutual interest." Trump rattled the Sino-US relationship after his inauguration by breaking with decades of US policy and  taking a call from Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-Wen  in December. The "One China" policy, which the 

Iran's Rouhani says military power 'purely defensive' by Staff Writers Tehran (AFP) Feb 9, 2017 President Hassan Rouhani said Thursday Iran's military power was "purely defensive", after tensions with the United States over its missile programme and a nuclear deal soared following Donald Trump's inauguration. "The Islamic Republic of Iran has showed that it doesn't intend to interfere with the internal affairs of other countries," Rouhani told foreign diplomats in Tehran, according to the ISNA news agency. "Our military power is purely defensive," he was quoted as saying. The comments from Rouhani, a moderate expected to run for re-election later this year, come after the war of words between Iran and the US spiked following Tehran's announcement of a ballistic missile test and Trump's controversial travel ban. "At the current time, we must not allow some to create an unhealthy climate by conjuring illusions,&qu

Spokesman of Pakistan's Foreign Ministry Nafees Zakaria speaks at a press conference in Islamabad on September 29, 2016. (Photo by AFP) A senior Pakistani official says India has accumulated a stockpile of nuclear weapons which threatens to undermine the balance of power in the troubled South Asian region. Pakistan’s foreign office spokesman, Nafees Zakaria, said during his weekly briefing on Thursday that India has built a “secret nuclear city” where a stockpile of nuclear weapons has been accumulated, Pakistan's English-language newspaper  Dawn  reported. The spokesman added that India has been conducting tests on intercontinental missiles, adding that such acts are impacting the existing balance of power in the region. Zakaria also stressed that the Indian government should reciprocate the steps taken by Pakistan for peace in the region.   “Pakistan remains committed to the principles of peaceful existence with all of its neighbors, including India,” he said. Elsewher

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi Tehran has once again slammed Washington’s recent belligerent rhetoric and measures against Iran, saying the world is currently witnessing age-old enmity of the United States towards the Islamic Republic under the administration of President Donald Trump. Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi made the remarks on Thursday in response to the latest anti-Iran claims by White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer. The Iranian official said the news coming out every day on Trump’s decisions, false remarks by some new US officials, in addition to widespread anti-Trump protests both at home and abroad “clearly show a change of president in the US.” After taking office, the new US president ordered sweeping travel bans against a number of Muslim-majority countries, including the Islamic Republic. The order was followed by widespread domestic and international backlash. Qassemi further said, “There may have been changes inside the

By ADAM PEARCE FEB. 9, 2017 Historically, the Senate voted with little opposition to confirm a president’s first slate of cabinet nominees. As Congress has become more partisan and quicker to oppose incoming presidents, more nominees have faced contentious confirmation votes. With less than half of his cabinet in place, President Trump’s confirmed nominees have already faced an unprecedented level of opposition. Only five first-year nominees have ever received 40 or more “no” votes. Three of those nominees were under Mr. Trump. Number of “no” votes Cabinet nominees during a president’s first year in office After a 50-50 vote on Tuesday, Betsy DeVos was the first cabinet nominee ever to require a  tie-breaking confirmation vote  from a vice president. Jeff Sessions was confirmed as attorney general on Wednesday despite receiving 47 “no” votes, the third highest number among all first-year nominees. John G. Tower, President George Bush’s pick for defense secretary in 1989, is the

US president sends belated new year wishes, but failure to contact Beijing counterpart almost three weeks after inauguration is prompting questions  US president Donald Trump makes a call from the Oval Office of the White House – but not to China’s president Xi Jinping. Photograph: Alex Brandon/AP View more sharing options Tom Phillips  in Beijing Thursday 9 February 2017 05.37 GMTLast modified on Thursday 9 February 2017 05.55 GMT Donald Trump has reportedly  yelled down the telephone  at Australia’s prime minister and  veered off into rants  about China and Nato with French leader François Hollande So the leader of the world’s second largest economy,  Xi Jinping , may feel he got off lightly with nothing more than a letter. Almost three weeks after Trump’s inauguration, that was how the US president decided to engage with his Chinese counterpart, in what observers described as a further indication of the dark clouds now gathering over US-China relations. In a statement, Whit

South Korean President Park Geun-hye speaks during an emergency cabinet meeting at the Presidential Blue House in Seoul, South Korea, December 9, 2016. Yonhap/ via REUTERS (Reuters) - Lawyers for South Korean President Park Geun-hye have rejected a plan by a special prosecutor investigating a graft scandal to question her, citing a media leak, a spokesman for the prosecutor's office said on Thursday. The plan was to question Park on Thursday at an undisclosed location, Lee Kyu-chul, spokesman for the prosecutor's office, told a media briefing. But Park's office had notified the prosecutor that it was scrapping an agreement on the questioning, Lee said. "There is no change to the position that a face-to-face questioning of the president is necessary but there has been no decision specifically on the schedule from this point on," he said. Lee said Park's lawyers had notified the prosecutor's office of the decision after a television station said in a

In this file photo, an explosion is seen following an Israeli airstrike in Rafah town in the southern Gaza Strip. At least two Palestinians have lost their lives when the Israeli military carried out an airstrike against an area on the border between Egypt's troubled Sinai Peninsula and the besieged Gaza Strip. Palestinian sources said the attack targeted a tunnel which Gazans use to bring basic needs into the coastal enclave in the border town of Rafah early on Thursday, leaving two Palestinians dead and five others injured. The sources identified the deceased as 24-year-old Hessam Hamid al-Soufi and 38-year-old Mohammad Anwar al-Aqra’, both residents of Gaza City. Two of the injured are in critical condition. The victims have reportedly been taken to the Youssef al-Najjar hospital in Rafah to receive treatment, Arabic-language Palestine al-Yawm news agency reported. The airstrike came shortly after the Israeli military claimed that it had intercepted several rockets fired f

Video “The people of Arizona will be very happy. It’s a lot of jobs,” President Trump said after Intel’s C.E.O. said the company will invest $7 billion to build a new factory. By VINDU GOEL SAN FRANCISCO —  Intel , the world’s largest computer chip manufacturer, will  invest $7 billion to finish a factory  in Arizona, adding 3,000 jobs, the company’s chief executive said on Wednesday after meeting with President Trump at the White House. The completion of the factory, which will complement two other Intel semiconductor plants in Chandler, Ariz., had been under consideration for several years. Standing beside Mr. Trump in the Oval Office, Brian Krzanich, Intel’s chief executive, said the company had decided to proceed now because of “the tax and regulatory policies we see the administration pushing forward.” Mr. Trump said: “The people of Arizona will be very happy. It’s a lot of jobs.” He said Intel called the White House several weeks ago to coordinate the announcement. That ou

British Prime Minister Theresa May (Photo by AFP) The government of British Prime Minister Theresa May says Scotland should not launch a new independence referendum, arguing that the Scottish people have already voiced their opposition to secede from the UK over Brexit. "We don't believe that there should be a second referendum. There has been a referendum, it was clear, decisive, it was legal, and both sides agreed to abide by the results of that referendum," May's spokesman told journalists on Wednesday, referring to the country’s previous attempt to become independent. Scotland held its first referendum in 2014, when over 55 percent of the people voted against independence. However, talks of a new referendum gained momentum following a spat between Britain and Scotland over the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union (EU). Although nearly 52 percent of Britons opted to leave the bloc during the EU referendum in June last year, some 62 percent of the Scottish

Video President Trump stepped up his criticism of the United States judicial system a day after his travel ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries faced close scrutiny from an appeals court. WASHINGTON — President Trump on Wednesday lashed out at the judicial branch for considering challenges to his executive order banning travel from seven predominantly Muslim countries, asserting that politically motivated judges had held a “disgraceful” federal appeals court hearing Tuesday on the matter. “I don’t ever want to call a court biased, so I won’t call it biased,” Mr. Trump told a gathering of sheriffs and police chiefs in Washington. “But courts seem to be so political, and it would be so great for our justice system if they would be able to read a statement and do what’s right.” Mr. Trump, who opened his remarks reciting the passage of the United States code that gives the president the power to restrict immigration whenever he deems the influx of foreigners detrimental t

Russia’s UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin (Photo by AFP) A senior Russian diplomat has expressed surprise at an outcry provoked by the new US administration over Iranian missile work, saying Tehran’s missile tests are not violating any UN bans, legally speaking. “This outcry about Iran’s ballistic missile launches. I was surprised to hear even American experts speaking on CNN and calling it a violation of bans by the UN Security Council,” said Russia’s UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin in an interview with RT published Tuesday. He was referring to Resolution 2231 adopted by the Security Council in July 2015 to underpin the landmark nuclear deal inked days earlier between Tehran and the P5+1 group of states, namely Russia, China, France, Britain, the US plus Germany. The document terminated the provisions of previous UN resolutions, calling on Iran “not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such

A file photo of the US Congress in Washington, DC. A growing number of US senators from both major political parties plan to increase sanctions against Russia and give Congress the authority to prevent President Donald Trump from lifting sanctions on Moscow unilaterally. On Wednesday, a group six Republican and Democratic senators, plan to introduce legislation that would impose strict new congressional oversight and veto power over the Trump administration if it decided to lift sanctions on Russia. The Russia Sanctions Review Act is the latest warning from Congress to the new administration over Trump's desire to improve relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, and one of the co-sponsors of the bill said Russia has done nothing to be rewarded with sanctions relief. Senator Ben Cardin, a Democrat from Maryland, who also co-sponsored the bill, said the bill gives Congress the opportunity to act if it disagrees w

Bill McKibben The White House in the Time of Trump has seen unprecedented attacks on pillars of society and civilization  ‘Bannon and Trump hate reason precisely because it places limits on their actions.’ Photograph: REX/Shutterstock We’re not in a normal historical moment. Congress is acting as expected under a Republican government. The assault on the environment and working people is wrong, but predictable. What’s coming from the Oval Office, though, is unprecedented. It’s less the White House than the Black Tower, sending out its Breitbartian orcs and alt-right winged harpies to poison the politics of a nation. Two types of assaults are underway. One, instigated mostly by Congress, is painful. Last week, for instance, they managed in one morning to both end rules which sought to  prevent  coal companies from polluting streams and regulations which made it  harder  for oil companies to bribe foreign governments. There are dozens of these changes, all of them with hideous cons

The Somali Government, on Tuesday, announced a ban on flights arrival and departure from Mogadishu Airport and also beefed up security ahead of the Wednesday presidential elections. The Transport and Civil Aviation Minister, Ali Ahmed, informed travel agencies of the flights suspension as well as traffic movement in the capital during the elections. “We inform travel agencies that flights at Aden Adde Airport will be suspended on Wednesday for the presidential election,” Mr. Ahmed said. The minister said that this would not affect other local airports in the country, as the election would take place only in the capital city. According to him, all major roads in Mogadishu will be closed for two days till the conclusion of the election. The Mogadishu Mayor, Yusuf Jimale, imposed a ban on traffic movement in Mogadishu to ensure security of the presidential elections. The Horn of Africa nation, which has been under near daily attacks from the Al-Shabaab terror group, plans to curb d

President Muhammadu Buhari watching TV The Senate on Tuesday confirmed the receipt of President Muhammadu Buhari’s letter to extend his 10-day vacation in UK. Aliyu Sabi, spokesperson of the senate, made this known to journalists in Abuja on Tuesday. Mr. Sabi said that the letter did not specify when the president would return to the country. “You will recall that we received a letter from President Muhammadu Buhari before suspending plenary to attend to the budget. “In the letter dated January18, he informed the senate that he was proceeding on a 10-day vacation and for medical checkup. “He also stated very clearly that in his absence, the Vice President will be in charge of the affairs of the country. “We are also in receipt of a second letter informing us that he is extending his vacation because in the course of the routine checkup, his doctors recommended more checkups,“ he said. Mr. Sabi said further that he was not privy to when the letter was transmitted to the Presid

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivers a speech in a meeting with military commanders in Tehran, Iran, February 7, 2017. Leader.ir/Handout via REUTERS Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei waves as he delivers a speech in a meeting with military commanders in Tehran, Iran, February 7, 2017. Leader.ir/Handout via REUTERS (Reuters) - Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei dismissed U.S. President Donald Trump's warning to Tehran to stop its missile tests, and called on Iranians to respond to Trump's "threats" on Friday's anniversary of the 1979 revolution. "No enemy can paralyze the Iranian nation," Khamenei was quoted as saying by his website in a meeting with military commanders in Tehran. "[Trump] says 'you should be afraid of me'. No! The Iranian people will respond to his words on Feb 10, (the anniversary of revolution) and will show their stance against such threats."