North America

25 May 2019; DW: Both President Trump and the Pentagon stressed that they were not seeking to engage in a military conflict with Iran. Trump has been trying to pressure Tehran into negotiating a new nuclear deal.

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he would send some 1,500 soldiers to the Middle East as "protection" amidst a rise in tensions with Iran. At the same time, he downplayed the suggestion of a military conflict.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Charleston is opening 17 days of operas, plays, chamber music and jazz Friday as the world-renowned Spoleto Festival USA returns.

The 43rd season of the arts festival kicks off Friday at noon with the opening ceremony from Charleston City Hall. It will run through June 9.

The spotlighted performance is the opera “Salome.” Spoleto plans a contemporary retelling of the 1905 Richard Strauss opera. It is based on an Oscar Wilde play of the same name about the Biblical story of the woman who asked for the head of John the Baptist.

24 May 2019; MEMO: Kuwait Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Mansour Al-Otaibi, said that peace will not be achieved while Israel continues to occupy Palestinian land by force, stressing that settlements are still the biggest obstacle to achieving a just and comprehensive peace.

24 May 2019; AFP: The Justice Department on Thursday charged WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange with violating the US Espionage Act by publishing military and diplomatic files in 2010, rejecting his claim that he is a journalist.

The department unveiled 17 new charges against Assange, accusing him of directing and abetting intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in stealing secret US files, and also recklessly exposing confidential sources in the Middle East and China who were named in the files.

24 May 2019; DW: SpaceX has launched a rocket with the first batch of satellites of its "Starlink" constellation, which is designed to offer internet services from space. The system will need a dozen more launches to become operational.

Washington, May 23 (AFP) President Donald Trump on Thursday for the first time linked a dispute over telecom giant Huawei, which he views as a threat to American security, with a deal to resolve the US-China trade war.

"Huawei is something that is very dangerous," Trump told reporters at the White House. "You look at what they've done from a security standpoint, a military standpoint. Very dangerous."

Washington, May 24 (PTI) India has stopped importing oil from Iran after American waivers granted to eight buyers expired early this month, New Delhi's envoy here has said, becoming the latest country to comply with the US sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear programme.

The US reimposed sanctions on Iran in November after pulling out of a 2015 nuclear accord between Tehran and six world powers. To reduce Iran's crude oil export to zero, the US ended on May 2 waivers that had allowed the top buyers of Iranian oil, including India, to continue their imports for six months.

CHICAGO (AP) — One of Jussie Smollett’s conditions after posting $10,000 bail amid charges he lied about being the victim of a racist, anti-gay attack was that he have no contact with two brothers police say he paid to help stage the incident, according to a case file unsealed Thursday in Chicago.

Besides that detail, the “Empire” actor’s criminal case file appears to contain little new information. The bulk of the more-than-250-page file centers on the legal battle between media organizations that wanted access to the file and Smollett’s attorneys who wanted it kept sealed.

BOSTON (AP) — Celebrity chef Mario Batali is set to appear in court on a criminal charge that he forcibly kissed and groped a woman at a Boston restaurant in 2017.

Batali is scheduled to be arraigned Friday in Boston Municipal Court on a charge of indecent assault and battery.

The woman filed a civil lawsuit in August alleging that Batali offered to take a selfie with her and then groped and kissed her repeatedly without her consent.

Batali’s attorney says the chef denies the allegations.

NEW YORK (AP) — Breanna Stewart will be a paid ambassador for the WNBA this season.

The reigning MVP tore her right Achilles tendon while playing overseas this winter and since the league has no injury list for teams, the Seattle Storm suspended Stewart without pay to free up a roster spot.