By Phil Stewart AMMAN (Reuters) – The top U.S. general began an unannounced visit to the Middle East on Saturday to discuss ways to avoid any new escalation in tensions that could spiral into a broader conflict, as the region braces for a threatened Iranian attack against Israel. Air Force General C.Q. Brown, chairman of […]
Biden approved secret nuclear strategy focusing on Chinese threat, New York Times reports
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden approved in March a highly classified nuclear strategic plan that for the first time reorients Washington’s deterrent strategy on China’s expansion of its nuclear arsenal, the New York Times reported on Tuesday. The White House never announced that Biden had approved the revised strategy, titled the “Nuclear Employment […]
Israeli strike kills at least 17 Palestinians in central Gaza, health officials say
By Nidal al-Mughrabi, Ramadan Abed and Jaidaa Ahmad CAIRO/GAZA (Reuters) – At least 17 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded in an Israeli strike in the central Gaza town of Zawayda on Saturday, health officials said, as Israel issued new evacuation orders, citing Hamas rocket fire nearby. Israel also announced the names of two soldiers […]
Blinken to push for Gaza ceasefire; Israel launches fresh strikes
By Nidal al-Mughrabi CAIRO (Reuters) – Israeli strikes killed 19 people in Gaza on Sunday, including six children, Palestinian health authorities said, ahead of a visit to the region by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to try to push forward ceasefire talks. The children and their mother were killed in an Israeli airstrike on […]
Suggestions Poland helped Nord Stream sabotage are groundless, says presidential aide
WARSAW (Reuters) – Suggestions that Ukrainian authorities supported by Poland were behind planning and executing the sabotage attack on Nord Stream gas pipelines in 2022 are groundless, the Polish president’s aide said on Sunday. Germany’s former intelligence chief August Hanning told Die Welt this week he believed there were agreements between presidents of Poland and […]
Russia’s Kadyrov equips Tesla truck with machinegun for war
(Reuters) – The leader of Russia’s Chechnya region, Ramzan Kadyrov, published a video on Saturday of himself driving a Tesla Cybertruck with what looked like a machinegun mounted on top, saying he would send it to the Ukraine conflict zone. Kadyrov, known for extravagant publicity stunts, heaped praise on both the vehicle and Tesla Motors […]
At least 17 Palestinians killed in Israeli strike in central Gaza, health officials say
By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Ramadan Abed CAIRO/GAZA (Reuters) -At least 17 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded in an Israeli strike in the Gaza town of Zawayda on Saturday, health officials said, as Israel issued new evacuation orders, citing Hamas rocket fire nearby. Most of the people killed were from the same family and they […]
US State Dept OKs potential $5 billion sale of Patriot missiles to Germany
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. State Department has approved the possible sale of up to 600 Patriot air defense missiles to NATO ally Germany for an estimated cost of $5 billion, the Pentagon said on Thursday. “The proposed sale will improve Germany’s capability to meet current and future threats and increase the defensive capabilities of […]
Ukraine says Russia tries to accuse it of false war crimes in Kursk
(Reuters) – Ukraine’s State Security Service (SBU) said on Monday that Russia was trying to falsely accuse Kyiv’s military of war crimes as Ukraine pressed on with a ground incursion into Russia’s Kursk region. The SBU said on the Telegram platform that it had information showing Russia might stage crimes for which it would blame […]
Israel keeps up strikes in Gaza as fears of wider war grow
By Nidal al-Mughrabi CAIRO (Reuters) – Israeli forces pressed on with their operations near the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis on Monday amid an international push for a deal to halt the fighting in Gaza and block a slide into a wider regional conflict with Iran and its proxies. Palestinian medics said Israeli military […]