donald trump

Trump Returns to U.S. After Ordering Nuclear Tests

US President Donald Trump landed back in Washington Thursday after a surprise directive to begin nuclear weapons testing that raised the specter of renewed superpower tensions. The announcement on social media was issued just before Trump, who boasts frequently about being a peace president, went into a summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in ...

Donald Trump’s Rare Earth Diplomacy

Donald Trump is taking aim at China’s dominance over rare earths, the invisible metals that power everything from smartphones to missiles. His goal: to free the global economy from its dependence on Beijing and secure US access to these critical resources. What Are Rare Earths? Despite their name, rare earths are 17 metals, including ...

Gaza in the Grip of Hamas’s Reign of Terror

Since the October ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, a new conflict has erupted in the Gaza Strip: an internal struggle as the Islamist movement targets its Palestinian rivals. The campaign has involved executions, raids, and armed clashes across multiple neighborhoods. Officially, Hamas says it is “restoring order” after two years of war ...

U.S. Seeks to Finalize Plan for International Security Force in Gaza

U.S. officials are engaged in sensitive talks with several countries about creating an international force to be deployed in Gaza, with a plan expected to be presented in the coming weeks, three sources closely involved told Axios. The urgency of the initiative was underscored by an attack last Tuesday, which exposed the fragility of the ...

Ortagus in Lebanon: A Low-Profile Visit with a Clear Message

In a region increasingly fraught with tension, U.S. envoy Morgan Ortagus’s visit to Beirut unfolded as part of a diplomatic sequence in which Lebanon once again finds itself on the fault line between war and negotiation. High-Level Meetings Morgan Ortagus began her Lebanese tour on Wednesday with a meeting in Ain al-Tineh with Parliament ...

Trump Hails Busan Talks with Xi Jinping, Cites Progress on Trade, Rare Earths, and Ukraine

US President Donald Trump described his talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea, on Thursday as a “major success.” According to Trump, the discussions covered several issues, including potential reductions in tariffs imposed on China over the fentanyl trade and planned cooperation on efforts to end the war in ...

Trump Orders US to Start Nuclear Weapons Testing

US President Donald Trump said Thursday he had ordered the Pentagon to start nuclear weapons testing on a level with China and Russia -- just minutes before opening a high-stakes summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The move comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Moscow had successfully tested a nuclear-capable, ...

G7 Meets on Countering China's Critical Mineral Dominance

Curbing China's critical mineral dominance will top the agenda at a G7 energy ministers meeting in Canada on Thursday, as industrialized democracies seek more reliable access to the resources that power future technologies. The Group of Seven, including US President Donald Trump's administration, has sounded the alarm over China's stranglehold on ...

Trump Hails Tariff, Rare Earth Deal with Xi

US President Donald Trump called the meeting Thursday with China's Xi Jinping a "great success", after the world's top two economies agreed a deal to trim fentanyl-related tariffs and keep supplies of critical rare earths flowing. There was no immediate comment from the Chinese government after what was the leaders' first ...

The ‘Mechanism’: Open Sesame

Five photos. One very short statement in Naqoura. That’s all it took for U.S. envoy Morgan Ortagus’s visit to Lebanon to make its point. The symbolism was clear: the era of endless chatter is over. Time to actually get things done. In a country where talking for the sake of talking is practically a national sport, that’s… a plot ...