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Macron says France will allow temporary deployment of nuclear-armed jets to European allies
French President Emmanuel Macron announced Monday that France will increase its nuclear arsenal and for the first time allow the temporary deployment of its nuclear-armed aircraft to allied countries, in a new strategy aimed at strengthening Europe's independence.
Middle East war puts Iran's place at World Cup set for U.S. in doubt
Iran's place at the men's World Cup in three months' time was put in doubt Monday amid an escalating Middle East conflict sparked by the soccer tournament's co-host the United States.
Russia condemns U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran as 'unprovoked act of armed aggression'
Russia on Saturday condemned the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran as "a preplanned and unprovoked act of armed aggression against a sovereign and independent U.N. member state," demanding an immediate halt to the military campaign and a return to diplomacy.
War widens as Israel and U.S. pound Iran and Tehran and its allies hit back
The war in the Middle East spiraled further Monday as Israel and the U.S. pounded Iran in a campaign that U.S. President Donald Trump said would likely take several weeks. Tehran and its allies hit back against Israel, neighboring Gulf states and targets critical to the world's energy production.
'Undisciplined' Trump is 'on a highwire without a net' after Iran attack: diplomat
According to the former president of the Council on Foreign Relations, reporting that Donald Trump is now fishing about for suggestions on what to do in Iran after he launched a war on the country and killed its leader is yet another example of his “undisciplined” leadership.And that puts him in a precarious position politically.Appearing on MS NOW’s “Morning Joe,” longtime diplomat Richard Haas expressed concern that the war on Iran will become open-ended due to lack of planning from the Trump administration and one slip-up could put the president in a no-win situation. “A word comes to mind for me to describe what's going on now, it's undisciplined,” he told co-host Jonathan Lemire. “As disciplined as the United States has been on the military side of this war, we have been undisciplined on the foreign policy and political side. We have yet to make the case to the country, in the world as to why this war had to happen.”“Now, the president's been all over the place as to U.S. objectives,” he elaborated. “And in the clip you showed at the beginning of the show, if the complete realization of all U.S. objectives is going to happen before this war ends, this war is not going to end until literally the Iranian regime falls. That's not something under our control. That might not just be a question of days or weeks, that could be months or years.”He warned, “And that's the danger; this could be open-ended. And by not consulting with Congress or the American people, the president has put himself on a high wire without a net below. And likely one of two things are going to happen, Jonathan –– Either he's going to have to walk back [his] ambitious war aims, or he's going to lose support. I don't think history suggests you can sustain support for a war that is costly, and doesn't seem to be on a trajectory of success.” - YouTube youtu.be
World leaders react cautiously to U.S. and Israeli strikes, death of Iran Ali Khamenei
How long will it last? Will it grow? What will the conflict and the reported death of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei mean to us, and to global security overall? Those questions echoed across the Middle East and the planet Saturday as world leaders reacted warily to U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran.
Expert floored by Trump's 'messy' offer to Iranian regime guards: 'Going to get worse'
President Donald Trump floored one expert on Sunday when he made his latest offer to the remaining Iranian Revolutionary Guard and police officers in the country. In a six-minute video posted on Truth Social, Trump said "thousands" of Iranian regime guards and police have called him and asked for immunity. Trump added that he would give them "full immunity" if they surrendered. Former CIA Director John Brennan discussed Trump's offer on MS NOW with host Chris Jansing. "I don't understand what he means by that because there's going to be a lot of bloodletting inside of Iran," Brennan said. "All of the slaughter, unfortunately, that took place at the hands of the regime, with the protests and demonstrators. There's going to be some accountability and a day of reckoning inside of Iran."On Saturday, the U.S. and Israel coordinated a series of strikes against several sites in Iran. The operation took out multiple military assets and killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the brutal dictator who had ruled the country since 1989. Brennan added that Trump seemed to be trying to give the Iranian guards a way to escape accountability, which is something he can't guarantee. "And there's no way that Donald Trump can say, 'Okay, if you surrender now, all of you individuals who have massacred Iranian citizens, you're going to be just absolved of any type of accountability and responsibility,'" Brennan said. "So again, this is really messy. It's going to get worse in the days and weeks to come. I really feel for the Iranian people."
‘Adventurism has had its day’: speedboat shootout leaves Miami’s exiled Cubans bewildered
Few clues as to how 10 heavily armed men intercepted on stolen speedboat came together from across Florida or what they hoped to achieve Foot traffic was slow outside the Bay of Pigs Museum on Calle Ocho in Miami’s Little Havana neighbourhood. A few tourists in T-shirts and shorts bypassed the gallery dedicated to one of the most fateful days in Cuba’s history and headed instead to nearby Máximo Gómez Park to take photographs of Cuban exiles playing dominoes.This is the street at the heart of the Cuban expat community of more than 1 million people where tens of thousands partied through the night in November 2016 to celebrate the death of Fidel Castro, and where they gathered in sorrow almost exactly 30 years ago to mourn four Cuban-Americans shot down by the communist country’s air force as they conducted a mission for the humanitarian exile group Brothers to the Rescue. Continue reading...
‘You can’t hide from the invisible’: why Bangkok police make arrests in disguise
Critics claim the operations are geared at social media, but police say they have enabled real arrestsPolice officers from Bangkok’s metropolitan bureau had less than 24 hours to prepare for their latest undercover operation. They would be starring as performers of a lion dance at a temple fair held for the lunar new year. Their mission: track down and arrest a suspected thief who had a history of evading officers.“The dance was spontaneous. We just did what we did,” said the police captain Lertvarit Lertvorapreecha, adding that nobody had time to practise. In his haste, he accidentally picked up his colleague’s male mask, which he wore with a red silk dress, trousers and tactical shoes. Continue reading...
US backs Pakistan’s ‘right to defend itself’ against Taliban after strikes on Afghanistan
Taliban offer to resolve dispute via dialogue after Pakistan bombed cities in Afghanistan in latest escalation with its neighbourWashington endorsed Pakistan’s “right to defend itself” after it bombed major cities across Afghanistan amid heightened tensions between the two hostile neighbours.The Taliban government in Kabul stressed it was ready to negotiate on Friday as violence intensified between the two countries. Continue reading...
At least 20 killed as cash-laden military cargo plane crashes in Bolivia
Riot police use teargas to disperse people gathering around wreckage of plane loaded with money from central bankAt least 20 people have died and dozens have been injured after a military cargo plane carrying banknotes crashed while landing near Bolivia’s capital on Friday, damaging about a dozen vehicles on a highway and scattering bills on the ground, an official has said.Footage from local media showed people rushing to collect banknotes while police in riot gear tried to disperse them using teargas. Authorities were later seen setting the money alight in a bonfire at the scene of the crash. Continue reading...
Trump suggests US could carry out ‘friendly takeover’ of Cuba
As tensions between two countries reach new highs, US president says regime is ‘talking with us’Donald Trump has suggested the US could carry out a “friendly takeover” of Cuba as tensions between Washington and Havana reach a new high after the capture of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro.As he left the White House for a campaigning event in Texas on Friday, Trump said: “The Cuban government is talking with us. They’re in a big deal of trouble.” Continue reading...
