Man Who Took Part in Capitol Attack Arrested Near Obama’s Home
A man who took part in the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol was arrested Thursday night
2023-06-30 14:25
Volkswagen Picks Insider to Lead Audi After Tesla Pulls Ahead
Volkswagen AG replaced the chief executive officer of its flagging premium brand Audi as Europe’s biggest carmaker seeks
2023-06-30 14:20
China’s Sweetener Makers Advance on WHO Aspartame Speculation
China’s sweetener producers gained after a report said the World Health Organization is set to decide on the
2023-06-30 13:22
Ukraine Russia – live: Wagner still in war near Bakhmut despite Putin’s ban and mutiny, says Pentagon
The Pentagon has said Russian mercenary Wagner Group is still in Ukraine despite pulling out of the war-hit nation and claiming to hand over control to Russian defence ministry fighters last month. “...on Wagner Group and its disposition, what I would tell you is, right now, we continue to see some elements of the Wagner Group in Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine,” Pentagon press secretary brigadier general Pat Ryder said. He added: “...they have been conducting operations in Ukraine for a while now. And so you know, most recently near Bakhmut, and so elements of those units are still in Ukraine.” He was answering a question in press briefing on a new home for Wagner Group in southern Belarus as per the satellite image from a former military base. Mutinous Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was told his mercenaries would no longer be fighting in Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine after he snubbed Russian defence ministry contracts for his fighters, a senior Moscow politician has said. Read More Ukraine holds drills in Zaporizhzhia to prepare for radiation leaks from Russian-held nuclear plant Ukraine’s push to smash Russian defences on the battlefield: ‘Small advances have colossal meaning’ Pence makes a surprise trip to Ukraine and meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Mystery surrounds fate of Russia’s ‘General Armageddon’ in wake of Wagner mutiny
2023-06-30 13:15
US envoy for Iran has security clearance suspended amid probe into misuse of classified information
The US special envoy for Iran, Rob Malley, had his security clearance suspended pending a review of allegations he may have mishandled classified information, said US officials. Mr Malley, who has been leading Biden administration’s efforts to revive the faltering Iran nuclear deal and resolve issues related to detained Americans in Iran, in the meantime is placed on unpaid leave, reported CNN. "I have been informed that my security clearance is under review. I have not been provided any further information, but I expect the investigation to be resolved favorably and soon,” he said confirming the reports in the local media. Two State Department officials said the agency’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security was leading the inquiry, which revolves around Mr Malley’s handling of classified documents. The officials said they learned of Mr Malley’s change in status from paid to unpaid leave on Thursday, shortly after questions about his status were raised at the State Department’s regular afternoon briefing. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said earlier Thursday that Mr Malley officially remains in his post but is on leave and that his deputy, Abram Paley, is currently leading the Iran portfolio as the acting special envoy. It remains unclear when Mr Malley’s leave began. Mr Malley’s whereabouts have raised questions since he skipped a classified congressional briefing on Iran on 16 May. At the time, State Department officials told lawmakers that Mr Malley was on "extended personal leave" and suggested that his absence might be related to a family health issue. A close personal friend of secretary of state Antony Blinken, Mr Malley was appointed soon after US president Joe Biden took office in 2021. He had been tasked with trying to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal after then-president Donald Trump’s 2018 decision to abandon the pact and reimpose US sanctions on Tehran. Under Mr Trump, Mr Malley worked for the International Crisis Group during which he met on several occasions with Iranians and Palestinian officials with whom US officials are barred from having contact. He helped craft the 2015 nuclear deal and, earlier in his career, was deeply engaged in former president Bill Clinton’s failed 2000 effort to broker Israeli-Palestinian peace. During the Obama administration, Mr Malley served as a National Security Council aide and was closely involved in the negotiations over the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. Having failed to revive the deal, the United States has held talks with Iran to try to ease tensions by sketching out steps that could limit the Iranian nuclear program, release some detained US citizens and unfreeze some Iranian assets abroad, Iranian and Western officials said earlier this month. Additional reporting from the wires Read More In Iran, a restorer brings back to life famed Cadillac Sevilles once assembled in the country Iran supreme leader says he'd 'welcome' full diplomatic ties with Egypt; presidency websites hacked US, UK, France demand UN investigate Russia's sanctions-busting use of Iranian drones in Ukraine US sanctions Iranian firm for helping government censor internet Iran nuclear site deep underground challenges West as talks on reviving atomic deal have stalled
2023-06-30 12:52
Last Taboo for Hit Obesity Drug Is Asking When to Stop
Two years and more than a million prescriptions after Wegovy first went on sale, there’s one taboo question
2023-06-30 12:29
UK Seeks to Ease Inflation Hit From Planned Brexit Border Checks
The UK is weighing options to blunt the cost of post-Brexit border checks on European food imports due
2023-06-30 12:22
Elián González two decades on: From focus of international tug-of-war to member of Cuba’s congress
Elián González has the same big, expressive eyes he did 23 years ago when an international custody battle transformed him into the face of the long-strained relations between Cuba and the United States. Now 29, González is stepping into Cuban politics. He recently entered his country’s congress with hopes of helping his people at a time of record emigration and heightened tension between the two seaside neighbors. “From Cuba, we can do a lot so that we have a more solid country, and I owe it to Cubans,” he said during an exclusive interview with The Associated Press. “That is what I’m going to try to do from my position, from this place in congress — to contribute to making Cuba a better country.” González has given only a handful of interviews since he was unwittingly thrust into the geopolitical spotlight as a boy. In 1999, at just 5 years old, he and his mother were aboard a boat of Cuban migrants headed toward Florida when the boat capsized in the Florida Straits. His mother and 10 others died while González, tied to an inner tube, drifted in open water until his rescue. Granted asylum under U.S. refugee rules at the time, González went to live with his great uncle, a member of the Cuban exile community in Miami that is often a center of fierce criticism of Cuba's government. In Cuba, his father begged then-President Fidel Castro for help. Castro led protests with hundreds of thousands of people demanding little Elián's return. Anti-Castro groups in Miami pressed for him to stay in the U.S. The tug-of-war quickly gained the world’s attention and became emblematic for the testy feelings between the two neighboring nations. Then-U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno ruled the boy should be returned to his father, but González’s relatives refused. AP photojournalist Alan Diaz captured the moment when armed immigration agents seized González in a Miami home, and the photo later won a Pulitzer Prize. “Not having my mom has been difficult, it has been a burden, but it has not been an obstacle when I have had a father who has stood up for me and been by my side," González told AP. He is a father himself now, of a 2-year-old daughter. He works for a state company that facilitates tourism to the island nation his mother left, underscoring the alternate track his life has followed since his homecoming. What’s more, he recently became a lawmaker. In April, González was sworn in as a member of Cuba’s National Assembly of People’s Power, effectively Cuba’s congress. He represents Cárdenas, a town in Matanzas province about 80 miles east of Havana where he lived until his mother took him to sea. He still lives in the province. Dressed in black pants and T-shirt, with a discreet braided bracelet on his right hand and his wedding ring on his left, González was interviewed in Havana’s Capitol, the renovated seat of congress. “I think the most important thing is that I have grown up like other young people. I have grown up in Cuba,” he said. For years, his father made it nearly impossible to get close to the child. From afar, the boy could sometimes be seen playing with other children or accompanying his father to political events. Castro would visit him on his birthday. Over the years, González was a military cadet and later became an industrial engineer. Because Cuba's congressional positions are unpaid, he will continue to work his tourism job. The legislative body has faced criticism for lacking opposition voices and for carrying out the agenda set by the country’s leadership. González's legislative term comes amid historic emigration from the crisis-stricken Caribbean island, as many young Cubans seek a new life in the U.S. — just as his mother did. It also comes at a moment of heightened tensions between the two nations. There have been allegations that Cuba hosted a Chinese spy base, which Cuba adamantly denies. Meanwhile, Cuba claims Biden has yet to ease tough policies enacted by Donald Trump that target the island, while the U.S. points to resumption of some flights and sending of remittances. Amid a deepening political and energy crisis in Cuba, González cast blame on decades of American sanctions stifling the island's economy as the root of many of Cuba's problems, echoing many in the government. He said he believes in Cuba's model of providing free access to education and health services among other things, but acknowledged there is a long way to go for that to be perfected. Despite harsh prison sentences doled out by Cuban courts, punishments defended by the communist government, González said his people have the right to demonstrate. But he added that the causes of current crises should be analyzed before condemning the state. He also had kind words for the hundreds of thousands of Cubans who, like his mother, chose to emigrate. “I respect all those who made the decision to leave Cuba, I respect those who do so today, just as I do my mom,” he said. “My message will always be that (those who leave) do all they can to ensure that Cuba has a status (without sanctions) equal to any country in the world.” Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Jersey Shore towns say state's marijuana law handcuffs police and emboldens rowdy teens AP Week in Pictures: Latin America and Caribbean In workaholic Japan, 'job leaving agents' help people escape the awkwardness of quitting
2023-06-30 12:20
Marcos Faces Philippine Growth, Investment Tests in Second Year
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. marks his first year in office with resilient growth and improving business sentiment
2023-06-30 11:53
Singapore Bids Libor Farewell With Surge in SORA Derivatives
Singapore’s financial markets have rapidly switched to a new lending benchmark as the city-state joins the world in
2023-06-30 11:48
Pakistan Gets IMF Initial Approval for $3 Billion Loan Program
Pakistan clinched an initial approval from the International Monetary Fund for a $3 billion loan program, lowering the
2023-06-30 11:23
China Has $3 Trillion of ‘Hidden’ Currency Reserves, Setser Says
China is sitting on a $6 trillion pile of money, half of which is “hidden,” and that presents
2023-06-30 11:19