Trump threatens to curb China trade ties as fresh economic face off looms
Trade tensions between the United States and China are once again flaring up, as President Donald Trump has signalled that he may consider ending cert...
The Biden administration is pushing ahead with a $680 million arms sales package to Israel, a U.S. official familiar with the plan said on Wednesday, even as a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in Lebanon between Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah has come into effect.
The package, which was first reported by the Financial Times, includes thousands of joint direct attack munition kits (JDAMs) and hundreds of small-diameter bombs, according to the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The news comes less than a day after the ceasefire agreement ended the deadliest confrontation in years between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group, but Israel is still fighting its other arch foe, the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The package follows a $20 billion sale in August of fighter jets and other military equipment to Israel.
Reuters reported in June that Washington, Israel's biggest ally and weapons supplier, has sent Israel more than 10,000 highly destructive 2,000-pound bombs and thousands of Hellfire missiles since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.
In remarks late on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu listed the need to replenish weapons stocks as one of the reasons for the ceasefire. "And I say it openly, it is no secret that there have been big delays in weapons and munitions deliveries. These delays will be resolved soon," he said.
The package has been in the works for several months. It was first brought to the congressional committees in September then submitted for review in October, the U.S. official said.
The conversations about the sale had been going on even as a group of progressive U.S. senators including Bernie Sanders introduced resolutions to block the sale of some U.S. weapons to Israel over concerns about the humanitarian catastrophe faced by Palestinians in Gaza.
The legislation was shot down last week in the Senate. It was likely the last chance to stop any weapons sales before Republican President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January.
Biden has strongly backed Israel since Hamas-led gunmen attacked in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Most of Gaza's population of 2.3 million people has been displaced and the enclave is at risk of famine, more than a year into Israel's war against Hamas in the Palestinian enclave. Gaza health officials say more than 43,922 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's offensive.
U.S. law requires Congress to be notified of major foreign military sales agreements. An informal review process allows the Democratic and Republican leaders of foreign affairs committees to vet such agreements before a formal notification to Congress.
A State Department spokesperson declined to confirm the sale but said U.S. support for Israel’s security was "unwavering" against all Iran-backed threats, but added that Israel had a moral obligation to protect civilians.
Video from the USGS (United States Geological Survey) showed on Friday (19 September) the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii erupting and spewing lava.
At least 69 people have died and almost 150 injured following a powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Cebu City in the central Visayas region of the Philippines, officials said, making it one of the country’s deadliest disasters this year.
Authorities in California have identified the dismembered body discovered in a Tesla registered to singer D4vd as 15-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, who had been missing from Lake Elsinore since April 2024.
A tsunami threat was issued in Chile after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck the Drake Passage on Friday. The epicenter was located 135 miles south of Puerto Williams on the north coast of Navarino Island.
The war in Ukraine has reached a strategic impasse, and it seems that the conflict will not be solved by military means. This creates a path toward one of two alternatives: either a “frozen” phase that can last indefinitely or a quest for a durable political regulation.
Trade tensions between the United States and China are once again flaring up, as President Donald Trump has signalled that he may consider ending certain trade relations with Beijing.
The insolvency-related fraud trial of fallen Austrian property tycoon Rene Benko entered its second day on Wednesday, with a ruling expected in the afternoon in the first case connected to the collapse of his Signa property empire.
Hungary would suffer if it was cut off from Russian energy, Budapest's foreign minister said during a visit to Moscow on Wednesday, reiterating that the country would not accept outside pressure when it came to decisions on its energy supplies.
Brussels is facing one of its toughest political tests yet. The Patriots for Europe, now the third-largest bloc in the European Parliament, have filed a formal motion of no-confidence against Ursula von der Leyen’s European Commission.
Toxic gas and a locked door that barred access to a roof were responsible for most of the deaths in a devastating fire in a Bangladesh garment factory and an adjoining chemical warehouse, a fire official said on Wednesday.
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