Intel program's lapse would have 'significant costs for US diplomacy,' State Department official warns
There will be "significant costs for US diplomacy" if Congress doesn't renew a controversial intelligence program gathering communications data that is set to expire this year, a senior State Department official said Tuesday, adding that US diplomats have used the program to monitor Russian atrocities in Ukraine.
2023-05-31 05:46
US penalises Kosovo after violent unrest
Kosovo has been expelled from a US-led military exercise after tensions in majority-Serb areas.
2023-05-31 05:29
US 'pleased to see' that talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan continue
By Kanishka Singh WASHINGTON The United States said on Tuesday it was pleased to see that talks between
2023-05-31 05:20
Ben Roberts-Smith: How war hero's defamation case has rocked Australia
Ben Roberts-Smith denies killing Afghan civilians, in a case that's shone a light on elite soldier units.
2023-05-31 05:17
TIMELINE-Key dates/events in impeachment of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton
(Reuters) -Here are the main events leading to the impeachment of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton by the state House
2023-05-31 05:16
Mexico to discuss migration, Central America investment with U.S. homeland security advisor
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is set to discuss migration and investment in Central America in
2023-05-31 04:59
Christie Forms Super PAC, Plans White House Run Within Two Weeks
Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is laying the foundation for a 2024 presidential run after allies established
2023-05-31 04:29
South Africa plans law change over Putin ICC arrest warrant
Pretoria wants the power to decide whether to detain leaders wanted by the International Criminal Court.
2023-05-31 04:17
GOP Hard-Liner Calls for McCarthy’s Ouster Over Debt-Limit Deal
Hard-line Republican lawmakers threatened to exact revenge for a deal between the White House and GOP congressional leaders
2023-05-31 03:58
Ron DeSantis vows to ‘destroy leftism’ if he wins 2024 race
Ron DeSantis has made clear what he believes the purpose of his 2024 candidacy to be: The utter destruction of the Democratic Party and its ideology. The Florida governor spoke on Fox & Friends on Monday and made the bold claim that not only would he win the general election should Republican voters nominate him in the primary, but added that he would “destroy leftism in this country” if allowed to serve in the White House. It was a claim that outlined exactly how far to the right the GOP continues to slide; while Democrats such as Nancy Pelosi have made headlines for asserting that they want a “strong” Republican Party that is reclaimed from Trumpism, Mr DeSantis and his fellow lawmakers on the right have embraced a desire for the total destruction of their political foes and the effective establishment of a one-party system. “I will be able to destroy leftism in this country and leave woke ideology on the dustbin of history. At the end of the day, I’ve shown in Florida an ability to win huge swaths of voters that Republicans typically can’t win — while also delivering the boldest agenda anywhere in the country,” said Mr DeSantis. “I pledge to Republican voters if you nominate me, I will be taking the oath of office on January 20, 2025, on the west side of the Capitol. No excuses, no more excuses about why we can’t get it done. We need to get it done, and I will get it done,” he continued. The Florida governor is currently polling in second place in surveys of the 2024 Republican field; he has consistently been the only Republican other than former President Donald Trump, the undisputed leader of the pack, to register double-digit percentages in polls of voters’ choice for the party’s nominee. His claim to have pursued the “boldest agenda” in the nation holds water thanks to the hard-right conservative agenda he has pursued in Florida. His administration banned so-called “critical race theory” — or any lessons that infer that racism is deeply embedded in American history or society — from classrooms, and has signed a host of other bills into law that have thrilled conservatives while drawing intense criticism from organisations like the NAACP and Human Rights Watch. The governor has also leaned heavily into a growing backlash on the right against any visibility of LGBT+ Americans in society, with Pride-themed items in stores and in media facing the most intense vitriol. In that vein, he has all but declared war on the Disney corporation, accusing it of pushing “woke” ideologies on children. That battle has now cost Florida millions in a cancelled business development in Orlando once planned by the company, which is also suing Mr DeSantis’s administration for his campaign against it. Read More Donald Trump Jr shares doctored Office clip showing Ron DeSantis wearing a woman’s suit Queer parents need everyone’s support, not people calling us ‘breeders’ LGBTQ people are fleeing Florida in ‘mass migration’ with some fundraising via GoFundMe Member of Ron DeSantis’ Disney governing board quits role Ted Cruz faces bipartisan fire for criticising Uganda’s new anti-LGBT+ law Trump loyalist floats ‘gross’ theory that Casey DeSantis is ‘exaggerating’ cancer story
2023-05-31 03:57
AOC threatens to leave Twitter after Elon Musk promotes ‘disgusting’ account impersonating her
Alexia Ocasio-Cortez has threatened to quit Twitter after Elon Musk promoted a “sick” account impersonating the star Democratic politician. The New York congresswoman said that she was “assessing” what to do after the billionaire interacted with the fake account on his social media platform. “FYI there’s a fake account on here impersonating me and going viral. The Twitter CEO has engaged it, boosting visibility,” Ms Ocasio-Cortez tweeted on Tuesday. “It is releasing false policy statements and gaining spread. I am assessing with my team how to move forward. In the meantime, be careful of what you see.”
2023-05-31 03:24
US says ‘the time is now’ for Sweden to join NATO and for Turkey to get new F-16s
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday the “time is now” for Turkey to drop its objections to Sweden joining NATO but said the Biden administration also believed that Turkey should be provided with upgraded F-16 fighters “as soon as possible.” Blinken maintained that the administration had not linked the two issues but acknowledged that some U.S. lawmakers had. President Joe Biden implicitly linked the two issues in a phone call to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday. “I spoke to Erdogan and he still wants to work on something on the F-16s. I told him we wanted a deal with Sweden. So let’s get that done," Biden said. Still, Blinken insisted the two issues were distinct. However, he stressed that the completion of both would dramatically strengthen European security. “Both of these are vital, in our judgement, to European security,” Blinken told reporters at a joint news conference in the northern Swedish city of Lulea with Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. “We believe that both should go forward as quickly as possible; that is to say Sweden’s accession and moving forward on the F-16 package more broadly.” “We believe the time is now,” Blinken said. He declined to predict when Turkey and Hungary, the only other NATO member not yet to have ratified Sweden’s membership, would grant their approval. But, he said, “we have no doubt that it can be, it should be, and we expect it to be” completed by the time alliance leaders meet in Vilnius, Lithuania in July at an annual summit. Fresh from a strong re-election victory over the weekend, Erdogan may be willing to ease his objections to Sweden’s membership. Erdogan accuses Sweden of being too soft on groups Ankara considers to be terrorists, and a series of Quran-burning protests in Stockholm angered his religious support base — making his tough stance even more popular. Kristersson said the two sides had been in contact since Sunday’s vote and voiced no hesitancy in speaking about the benefits Sweden would bring to NATO “when we join the alliance.” Blinken is in Sweden attending a meeting of the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council and will travel to Oslo, Norway on Wednesday for a gathering of NATO foreign ministers, before going on to newly admitted alliance member Finland on Friday. Speaking in Oslo ahead of the foreign ministers' meeting, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the goal was to have Sweden inside the grouping before the leaders' summit in July. "There are no guarantees, but it’s absolutely possible to reach a solution and enable the decision on full membership for Sweden by the Vilnius summit,” Stoltenberg said. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide
2023-05-31 02:48