United States

Witkoff Reveals Key Diplomatic Breakthroughs on Ukraine Peace Talks, Issues Warning to Hamas

US President Donald Trump is expected to speak with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin this week, an American envoy said Sunday, as Washington presses for Moscow to accept a ceasefire in the Ukraine war. Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff, who met for several hours with Putin days ago, told CNN in a televised interview that he thinks "the two ...

US and Russia Discuss Next Step on Ukraine

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke on Saturday to discuss the next stage in talks on ending Moscow's war against Ukraine. According to State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce, the top diplomats "agreed to continue working towards restoring communication between the United States and ...

US Congress Averts Government Shutdown

The United States averted a government shutdown with hours to spare Friday as lawmakers already reeling from President Donald Trump's radical federal spending cuts voted to keep the lights on through September. Facing a midnight deadline to fund the government or allow it to start winding down, Democrats dropped plans for a blockade on a ...

Steve Witkoff: Hamas is "Making a Very Bad Bet"

The White House accused Hamas on Friday of making "entirely impractical" demands and stalling on a deal to release a US-Israeli hostage in exchange for an extension of the Gaza ceasefire. "Hamas is making a very bad bet that time is on its side. It is not," a statement from the office of President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff and the US ...

Mass Layoffs at UN Migration Agency as US Aid Cuts Take Toll

The UN migration agency, which has been hit hard by US foreign aid cuts, has launched more mass layoffs, impacting around a fifth of staff at its Geneva headquarters, employees said Friday. Fresh cuts at the International Organization for Migration are expected to impact at least 20 percent of the more than 1,000 current headquarters staff, ...

New York's Trump Tower Overrun by Pro-Palestinian Protesters

Hundreds of Jewish demonstrators overran New York's Trump Tower on Thursday in support of Palestinians as well as detained Palestinian student campaigner Mahmoud Khalil. Wearing matching red T-shirts emblazoned with "Jews say stop arming Israel," the group protested for over an hour inside the Manhattan skyscraper, where President ...

US Treasury Sanctions Iran Oil Minister

The US Treasury Department on Thursday issued sanctions against Iran's oil minister Mohsen Paknejad, as President Donald Trump seeks to increase pressure on Tehran. "The Iranian regime continues to use the proceeds from the nation's vast oil resources to advance its narrow, alarming self-interests at the expense of the Iranian people," US ...

Putin Says Any Ceasefire Must Lead to Long-Term Settlement

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday he backed the idea of a truce with Ukraine, but said he had "serious questions" about how it would be implemented that he wanted to discuss with Donald Trump. He was responding to a joint US-Ukrainian plan for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine that US special envoy Steve Witkoff is due to present to ...

Trump Threatens 200% Tariff on Wine, Champagne from France, other EU countries

US President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to impose 200-percent tariffs on wine, champagne and other alcoholic products from France and other European Union countries in retaliation against the bloc's planned levies on US-produced whiskey. "If this tariff is not removed immediately, the U.S. will shortly place a 200% Tariff on all wines, ...

China Urges 'Diplomatic' Iran Nuclear Solution Ahead of Beijing Talks

China called on Thursday for a "diplomatic" resolution to the Iran nuclear issue as it prepared to host diplomats from Tehran and Moscow for talks. The United States withdrew from a landmark deal, which had imposed curbs on Iran's nuclear program in return for sanctions relief, during President Donald Trump's first term. Tehran ...