Washington DC

22 Jan 2019; MEMO: US President Donald Trump’s special adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner is due to arrive in Israel today to attend the Fifth World Holocaust Forum and discuss announcing the “deal of the century”, Axios reported.

Geneva, Jan 21 (AFP/PTI) Washington called Tuesday on Beijing to join its nuclear arms talks with Moscow, warning that lack of transparency around China's growing weapons stockpile posed a "serious threat".

The United States and Russia have held two rounds of talks aimed at reducing misunderstandings about critical security issues since the collapse of a Cold War nuclear pact last year, which triggered fears of a new arms race.

WASHINGTON, Jan 22 (NNN-XINHUA) – The impeachment trial against U.S. President, Donald Trump, kicked off Tuesday in the Senate, as the chamber debated, and would later vote on, a resolution stipulating rules guiding the process.

With Supreme Court Chief Justice, John Roberts, presiding over the session and the Senate clerk finishing reading the draft resolution, proposed by Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, the two opposing sides – House managers as prosecutors and Trump’s legal defence team – debated the trial rules.

Washington, Jan 19 (AFP/PTI) Bill Clinton's 1999 impeachment trial lasted five weeks; Andrew Johnson's went on for three months in 1868. If the White House and Republicans have their way, President Donald Trump's trial will be over in two weeks, just in time for him to celebrate his expected acquittal in the February 4 State of the Union Address.

But that depends on Republicans being able to block Democrat demands to subpoena documents and witnesses that could strengthen the case against the president.

WASHINGTON, Jan 19 (NNN-Xinhua) — The US State Department said that it had imposed sanctions on a brigadier general of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).

The department said in a statement that it had blacklisted Brigadier General Hassan Shahvarpour, a commander in Khuzestan province, accusing him of commanding units blamed for killing protestors in Iran in November 2019.

Following the designation, the blacklisted individual, as well as his immediate family members, is ineligible for entry into the United States.

WASHINGTON, Jan 18 (NNN-XINHUA) – U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, met with Pakistani Foreign Minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, here, on Friday, discussing Afghanistan and bilateral ties, according to a statement released by the U.S. State Department.

The two sides talked about a range of issues, including Iran, U.S.-Pakistan cooperation, on the Afghan peace process, and building bilateral economic ties, the statement said.

Washington, Jan 17 (PTI) Pakistan is not prepared to pay any price for peace with India and certainly not without resolving the Kashmir issue in a just manner, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said.

Addressing the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think-tank here on Thursday, Qureshi reiterated Pakistan's demand that US President Donald Trump should mediate to resolve the Kashmir issue.

WASHINGTON, Jan 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US threats to put tariffs on European autos did not come up during talks this week with American trade officials in Washington, EU Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan said Thursday.

Hogan’s remarks came hours after Germany’s defense minister confirmed a media report that Washington had threatened 25 percent duties on autos, demanding that three EU nations increase pressure on Iran.

WASHINGTON, Jan 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United States will make a decision on the level of its presence in Africa, particularly in the Sahel region, in about two months, Washington’s top military officer said.

Washington has some 7,000 special forces on rotation in Africa carrying out joint operations with national forces against jihadists, particularly in Somalia.

“There is no explicit timeline,” the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, told journalists.

Washington/Beijing, Jan 14 (PTI) The US has reversed its decision to brand China a "currency manipulator" as the world's two major economies prepare to conclude a "phase one" deal on Wednesday to end their bruising trade war.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly accused China of allowing the value of the yuan to fall, making Chinese goods cheaper. The US officially named China a currency manipulator in August last year when trade tensions were high between Beijing and Washington.