united states

Trump Names Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary

US President-elect Donald Trump on Friday named billionaire Scott Bessent as his Treasury secretary, choosing the hedge fund manager to help execute an agenda promising tax cuts and tariffs. Bessent, who is chief executive officer of Key Square Group, has called for an extension of tax cuts from Trump's first term, wants to reassert American ...

COP29 Scramble for New Deal After Poor Nations Reject Offer

Fierce bargaining at UN climate talks in Azerbaijan dragged into Saturday after a $250 billion a year offer from rich nations was flatly refused by developing countries hardest hit by Earth's rapid warming. Negotiators from nearly 200 nations spent another harried and sleepless night in a sports stadium trying to land a compromise figure for ...

Iran Guards Chief Says Netanyahu ICC Warrant ‘Political Death’ of Israel

The head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards on Friday described the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a former defence minister as the "end and political death" of Israel, in a speech. "This means the end and political death of the Zionist regime, a regime ...

Iran to Launch ‘Advanced Centrifuges’ in Response to IAEA Censure

Iran said Friday it would launch a series of "new and advanced" centrifuges in response to a resolution adopted by the IAEA that censures Tehran for what the agency called lack of cooperation. "The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran issued an order to take effective measures, including launching a significant series of new and ...

Russia Could Strike Western Countries, Putin Warns

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that the conflict in Ukraine had characteristics of a "global" war and did not rule out strikes on Western countries. The Kremlin strongman spoke out after a day of frayed nerves, with Russia test-firing a new generation intermediate-range missile at Ukraine -- which Putin hinted was capable of ...

Trump Picks Loyalist Pam Bondi as US Attorney General After Matt Gaetz's withdrawal

US President-elect Donald Trump tapped Pam Bondi, a staunch ally who helped defend the ex-leader against impeachment, as US attorney general on Thursday following firebrand Matt Gaetz's withdrawal from the running. Gaetz's retreat amid sexual misconduct allegations signaled limits to Trump's power, even as the president-elect prepares to retake ...

US Slaps Sanctions on Dozens of Russian Banks over Ukraine War

The United States unveiled sanctions on dozens of Russian banks Thursday, including the largest remaining one yet to face such action, over the war in Ukraine. The move taking aim at financial institutions and officials "will further diminish and degrade Russia's war machine," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement. "This sweeping ...

Iran Says Western Resolution Will ‘Weaken’ Interaction With IAEA

A resolution tabled by Western countries to censure Iran's nuclear program at the International Atomic Energy Agency "will weaken and disrupt" interactions between the UN body and Tehran, it warned ahead of the vote on Thursday. Paris, Berlin, London and Washington have formally submitted a text condemning Iran for alleged lack of cooperation ...

World Still Split Over Money as Clock Ticks on COP29

A fresh draft of a climate pact unveiled Thursday at COP29 failed to break an impasse over money, with time running out for nations to reach a long-sought trillion-dollar finance agreement. The UN climate summit in Azerbaijan is supposed to conclude on Friday but the latest draft only underlines divisions as nations return to the negotiating ...

Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia is Venezuela's "president-elect", says US

The United States said Tuesday it recognizes opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia as president-elect of Venezuela -- the first time it called him that -- four months after a disputed election in which incumbent Nicolas Maduro claimed victory amid accusations of fraud. The statement from Secretary of State Anthony Blinken prompted a ...