U.S.

DEIR AL-BALAH, GAZA - JULY 06: Palestinians inspects the area after Israeli attacks on a school belonging to the United Nations (UN) Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which is used as a refugee centre in Nuseirat Refugee Camp in the central part of Gaza on July 06, 2024. (Photo by Ali Jadallah/Anadolu via Getty Images)

July 11, 2024 4:08 PM

How much has U.S.-built Gaza aid pier helped get aid into Gaza?

A U.S.-built pier designed to increase flows of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip has been beset by challenges and is now expected to be permanently dismantled. U.S. officials have said they will attempt to reinstall the pier to clear a backlog of Gaza-bound aid in Cyprus, and that it is then likely to be permanently dismantled. Aid workers and others have long questioned the project, saying delivering aid by land is the only effective way to get supplies at scale into Gaza, where Israeli f...

July 4, 2024 3:24 PM

Xi and Putin set out ambitions for Eurasian security club

Chinese President Xi Jinping urged members of a regional security club on Thursday to resist external meddling, while President Vladimir Putin was due to speak about creating a new Eurasian security system at the group's annual meeting. Putin and Xi have expanded the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a club founded in 2001 with Russia, China and Central Asian nations, to include India, Iran and Pakistan as a counterweight to the West. The group also represents the new key customers for ...

June 18, 2024 3:28 PM

China accuses U.S. of “malign intention” to discredit its COVID vaccines

China's embassy in the Philippines accused the U.S. military of "hypocrisy, malign intention and double standards" in response to a report of secret U.S. campaign to undermine confidence in a Chinese vaccines and other aid during the COVID-19 pandemic. The remarks made by the spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in Manila on Tuesday were in response to a investigative report that said the U.S. military launched a clandestine programme during the COVID pandemic to discredit China's Sinovac inocul...

June 15, 2024 4:10 PM

US VP announces $1.5 billion for aid for Ukraine at peace summit in Switzerland

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris announced more than $1.5 billion in aid in part for Ukraine's energy sector and its humanitarian situation as a result of Russia's 27-month invasion of Ukraine. The announcement was made as Harris attended a Ukraine peace summit in Lucerne, Switzerland, where she was to meet Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and address the summit's plenary session. The $1.5 billion includes $500 million in new funding for energy assistance and the redirecting of $324 mill...

June 14, 2024 9:35 AM

Asian stocks slide, yen wobbles ahead of BOJ verdict

Asian stocks fell on Friday as investors pondered the outlook for U.S. rates after the Federal Reserve tempered its rate-cut views even as inflation came in softer than expected, while the yen was shaky before the Bank of Japan's policy meeting. The dollar was hovering near a one-month high on the back of the hawkish tone from the Fed this week, while political uncertainty in Europe kept the euro under pressure. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was 0.48% lower. Chines...

June 7, 2024 5:02 PM

China strongly opposes U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, urges withdrawal

China is strongly opposed to U.S. arms sales to Taiwan and urges Washington to withdraw them immediately, the defence ministry said on Friday. The ministry said it had lodged a complaint to the United States over the matter. "(China's military) will continue to strengthen its military training and exercises, and resolutely defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity," it added in a statement. The U.S. State Department approved the sale of F-16 fighter jet spare and repair parts to T...

June 5, 2024 4:08 PM

U.S. strategic bomber drops precision weapon in drills with South Korea fighters

A U.S. B-1 strategic bomber joined South Korean and U.S. fighter jets in a training mission over the Korean peninsula on Wednesday, dropping a guided JDAM weapon used with so-called bunker-busting munitions, the South's defence ministry said. The drill comes a day after South Korea said it was resuming all military activities along the border with the North after suspending their 2018 military pact that aimed at easing tension and preventing military clashes. The JDAM, or Joint Direct Attack M...

May 27, 2024 2:12 PM

Asia shares nudge higher as US, EU inflation data loom

Asian shares firmed on Monday as investors braced for a busy run of inflation data that could set the scene for a European rate cut as soon as next week and a U.S. policy easing within just a few months. Holidays in Britain and the United States made for thin trading ahead of Friday's figures on core personal consumption expenditures (PCE), the Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation. Median forecasts are for a rise of 0.3% in April, keeping the annual pace at 2.8%, with risks on the ...

May 24, 2024 3:03 PM

Global stocks slide as rate worries dent risk appetite

Global stocks slipped on Friday after robust U.S. and German economic data bolstered prospects of interest rates staying higher for longer on both sides of the Atlantic. MSCI's global share index, which recently hit intraday highs after a rush into artificial intelligence stocks ignited by strong results from $2.6 trillion chipmaker Nvidia, fell 0.2% and was set for a 0.9% weekly loss. Europe's Stoxx 600 share index was 0.7% lower in early dealings, down 1% over the week. Premier ...

May 20, 2024 6:10 PM

Israel vows to broaden Rafah sweep amid heavy fighting in parts of Gaza

Israel made a new push in central Gaza on Monday, bombarded towns in the north of the Strip and said it intended to broaden its military operation in Rafah despite U.S. warnings of the risk of mass casualties in the southern city. Gaza medics said at least 23 people had been killed in the latest fighting, and residents said battles were intense in Jabalia in the north of the Palestinian enclave. Israeli tanks also carried out a limited incursion into areas of Wadi Al-Salqa and Al-Karara near D...