USA

Asia Stocks Surge on US-China Trade Deal Breakthrough

Asian equities surged Monday as investors cheered a breakthrough in US-China trade talks that set the stage for leaders Donald Trump and Xi Jinping to finalize a deal, averting an escalation in the world's biggest trade dispute. Markets rallied after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the threat of the US president imposing an additional ...

Top US, India Officials Discuss Ties as Trade Rift Drags on

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with India's foreign minister on Monday, as the two countries push trade talks and ease tensions over Washington's punishing tariffs. Few details were released, but Rubio's meeting with Subrahmanyam Jaishankar is the highest-level contact since the United States imposed sanctions last week on Russian oil ...

Heat and Blazers Win First NBA Games Since Rozier and Billups Arrests

In their first game since guard Terry Rozier was arrested in an FBI sports gambling probe, his Miami Heat teammates unleashed a scoring barrage in a 146-114 NBA win at Memphis on Friday. Bam Adebayo scored 24 points and reserve Nikola Jovic added 20 to lead eight double-digit scorers as the Heat (1-1) produced the third-highest one-game point ...

US Names Career Diplomat for Gaza Ceasefire Monitor

The United States named a veteran diplomat on Friday as the civilian lead in a body monitoring the Gaza ceasefire, seeking to push forward a durable end to the war. The State Department said that Steve Fagin, a career diplomat, will work alongside US Army Lieutenant General Patrick Frank, the military head already appointed to the hub set up ...

Block 8: Lebanon’s Energy Strategy Faces a Credibility Test

On Thursday at the Baabda Presidential Palace, Lebanon’s Council of Ministers took two decisive steps in the country’s energy policy by approving the oil exploration agreement for Block 8 and ratifying the maritime border with Cyprus. These decisions reflect the government’s determination to revive a strategic sector long stalled by ...

Rubio says More Countries Ready to Recognise Israel

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that more countries are ready to normalize relations with Israel, but the decision would await a broader regional agreement. Rubio, who was touring a US-led multinational center in Israel aimed at coordinating a ceasefire in Gaza, said that a sustained end to the war would encourage more countries to ...

Lebanese Households Struggle with Falling Purchasing Power

From Beirut to Tripoli and throughout the Beqaa Valley, a common refrain echoes: “Prices have skyrocketed, it’s becoming unbearable.” “We’re facing hardship after hardship,” laments Mona, a mother of three. According to the Central Administration of Statistics, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 0.6% in September and by 15% over ...

Putin says US Sanctions 'Serious' but won't Significantly Hit Economy

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday the latest US sanctions targeting two major oil firms were "serious", but not strong enough to significantly affect the economy. The United States on Wednesday hit Russia's two biggest oil producers -- Rosneft and Lukoil -- with sanctions, the first against Russia since US President Donald ...

In Interview with Time, Trump Says Would Pull US Support if Israel Annexes West Bank

President Donald Trump said Israel would lose its crucial backing from the United States if it annexes the West Bank, in a Time magazine interview published Thursday. Trump's comments, which Time said were made by telephone on October 15, were published as both Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned against any ...

US Strikes on Alleged Drug Boats in Pacific Amid Rising Tensions with Colombia

President Donald Trump and his Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro, traded angry threats Wednesday as the United States announced strikes on two alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Pacific Ocean that left five people dead. Trump branded Petro a "thug" and suggested he was a drug trafficker leading his country to ruin, prompting the leftist ...

Trump Slaps ‘Tremendous’ Sanctions on Russian Oil for Ukraine War

US President Donald Trump slapped sanctions on Russia's two largest oil companies on Wednesday, complaining that his talks with Vladimir Putin to end the Ukraine war "don't go anywhere." The European Union also unveiled a fresh wave of sanctions to pressure Russia to end its relentless, three-and-a-half-year invasion of its ...