Gsbt

  FILE PHOTO: People protest U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement that he plans to reinstate a ban on transgender individuals from serving in any capacity in the U.S. military, in Times Square, in New York City, New York, U.S., July 26, 2017. FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump walks from Air Force One as he arrives at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S., August 23, 2017. (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump signed a memorandum on Friday that directs the U.S. military not to accept transgender men and women as recruits and halts the use of government funds for sex-reassignment surgeries for active personnel unless the process is already underway. The memo, released by the White House, laid out in more detail a ban on transgender individuals serving in the U.S. armed forces that Trump announced via Twitter last month, reversing a policy shift started under his predecessor, President Barack Obama. In it, Trump directed the Department of Defense and Department of H

State Pardon Courtnay Hough protests in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. August 25, 2017, after former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio was pardoned by U.S. President Trump. REUTERS/CAITLIN O'HARA Alex Gomez of Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA) joins local immigrants rights organizations to protest in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. August 25, 2017, after former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio was pardoned by U.S. President Trump. REUTERS/CAITLIN O'HARA (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday granted a pardon to controversial former Arizona lawman and political ally Joe Arpaio less than a month after he was convicted of criminal contempt in a case involving racial profiling. "Throughout his time as sheriff, Arpaio continued his life's work of protecting the public from the scourges of crime and illegal immigration," said a White House statement announcing Arpaio's pardon, the first of Trump's administration. Arpaio, 85, the self-proclaimed "toughest she

.   An F-35B begins its short takeoff from the USS America with an external weapons load.Lockheed Martin While North Korea  feverishly works to perfect intercontinental ballistic missile technology , the US and its allies are putting the finishing touches on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter that will soon be patrolling the Pacific. Japan and South Korea, the US's principal allies the region, will both deploy over 100 F-35s by 2021,  according to Aviation Week . This follows the US choosing Japan as the site of its first-ever deployment of operational F-35Bs, which are  particularly well-suited  to combat in the Pacific region. The F-35, with its stealth characteristics and ability to improve the performance of the legacy jets it flies with, presents technical challenges that even the world's best air forces can't yet overcome. Against North Korea's rudimentary air force and air defenses, the F-35 would dominate and lead South Korean, Japanese, and US legacy fighter je

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release SOUTHWEST ASIA, Aug. 3, 2017 – Coalition airstrikes continue to target and kill Islamic State of Iraq and Syria leaders and foreign fighters in Syria to support coalition partner forces and degradeISIS' ability to inspire, resource and direct terror attacks around the world, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials said today. Most recently, officials said in a statement, the coalition targeted and killed ISIS leaders involved in directing external operations as well as in bomb-making activities directed at regional and Western targets. Coalition forces killed Abd al-Ghafur, a Syria-based ISIS external operations official, and one associate in an airstrikeJuly 24 near Albu Kamal, Syria. His assistant, Abu Hammam, and three other ISIS members were killed by a coalition airstrike July 16 near Dayr Az Zawr, Syria. Ghafur and Hammam were responsible for managing and directing external op

Media captionRiley Dosh wanted to defend her country and the rights of those who disagree with her The White House has not yet decided how it will implement the president's ban on transgender people serving in the US military. Mr Trump's surprise Twitter announcement on Wednesday has been met with criticism from rights groups. Spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said the administration would work alongside the Pentagon to decide how to proceed. It is not yet clear how the announcement will affect current transgender service personnel. Why was the ban introduced? "The United States government will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the US military," Donald Trump tweeted. "Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail." Asked at a press briefing if troops on battlefields would be immediat

Zhukovskiy (Sputnik) Jul 21, 2017 Russia will supply the largest ever number of space rocket engines to the United States in 2017 within the framework of the previous agreements, head of the Russia's NPO Energomash corporation Igor Arbuzov said on Wednesday. In 2014, the US Congress strictly limited future purchases of Russian RD-180 engines used in Atlas launch vehicles since 2000 at a time when it imposed economic sanctions on Russia over Moscow's alleged interference in Ukraine's domestic affairs. In June 2016, US Senate Armed Services Chairman John McCain, who was the 2008 Republican presidential candidate, attempted to cut off any further purchase of the Russian engines, proposing US companies compete to provide the United States with a reliable, domestic space launch platform. "The largest volume of supplies is intended for this year: 11 RD-180 engines for the US Atlas V rockets and four RD-181 engines for the US Antares rockets," Arbuzov told reporters

US President Donald Trump and Saudi Deputy Crown Prince and Defense Minister Mohammed bin Salman (R) shake hands in the State Dining Room before lunch at the White House in Washington, DC, on March 14, 2017. (Photo by AFP) President Donald Trump has criticized Saudi Arabia for not paying its fair share in return for the US security umbrella. "Frankly, Saudi Arabia has not treated us fairly, because we are losing a tremendous amount of money in defending Saudi Arabia,” Trump said in an interview with Reuters news agency on Wednesday. Trump’s criticism of Saudi Arabia was a return to his 2016 election campaign rhetoric where he questioned the protective nature of US relations with the oil-rich kingdom. "We take care of Saudi Arabia. Nobody’s going to mess with Saudi Arabia because we’re watching them," Trump said during a rally in Wisconsin a year ago. “They’re not paying us a fair price. We’re losing our shirt.” The billionaire even suggested then that Washington sh