Washington DC

Washington, Dec 13 (AFP/PTI) The United States on Thursday urged China not to interfere in elections next month in Taiwan, where President Tsai Ing-wen, a critic of Beijing, is seeking a new term.

David Stilwell, the top US diplomat for Asia, said that tensions have historically risen whenever Taiwan goes to the polls.

"They should not," he said of the tensions.

WASHINGTON, Dec 13 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US Senate unanimously passed a resolution that formally recognizes the Ottoman Empire’s mass killings against the Armenian people as “genocide,” a move might further strain relations between Washington and Ankara.

By passing Armenian Genocide resolution, “the Senate finally stood up to confirm history: What happened from 1915 to 1923 was – most assuredly – genocide,” said Democratic Senator Robert Menendez.

12 Dec 2019; MEMO: The United States on Wednesday imposed new sanctions on Iran’s biggest airline and its shipping network, accusing them of transporting lethal aid and weapons of mass destruction proliferation, Reuters reports.

The new sanctions come just days after a weekend prisoner swap between the historic foes, a rare act of cooperation since tensions escalated after US President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear accord.

12 Dec 2019; MEMO: US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday to prohibit federal funding for colleges and universities that allow anti-Semitism, but the move drew some criticism for potentially limiting free speech.

The order would extend protections against discrimination under the 1964 Civil Rights Act to people subjected to anti-Semitism on college campuses.

Washington, Dec 11 (AFP/PTI) The Pentagon announced Tuesday it was temporarily suspending operational training for Saudi military students in the United States following a shooting rampage last week by a Saudi air force officer.

Saudi Arabian military students in the United States will continue classroom instruction but operational training is halted pending a security review, senior Defense Department officials said.

Washington, Dec 10 (PTI) Former Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka, who recently launched his AI startup Vianai Systems, has been nominated to the board of directors of global technology major Oracle.

Sikka, 52, is among the world's leading experts in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning and would be helping Oracle in the business value and adapt to change, the company said in a statement.

Washington, Dec 10 (PTI) US President Donald Trump will meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the White House on Tuesday, over two years after his previous controversial visit to the country.

Lavrov last visited the US in May 2017 when Trump had just fired the then FBI director James Comey, who was probing Russia's meddling in the US polls at the time.

There were no immediate details available of the Trump-Lavrov meeting.

WASHINGTON DC, December 9. / TASS /: US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo will meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on December 10 in Washington DC, the U.S. State Department said in its schedule distributed on Sunday.

After the negotiations, which will begin at 10:30 local time (18:30 Moscow time), and communication in the format of a working lunch, the ministers will also hold a joint press conference, which is scheduled for 13:15 local time (21:15 Moscow time).

08 Dec 2019; MEMO: The United States and Iran each freed a prisoner on Saturday in a rare act of cooperation between two longtime foes whose ties have worsened since President Donald Trump took office, reports Reuters.

Washington, Dec 7 (AP/PTI) Mexico's top trade negotiator wrapped up an 11-hour meeting with his US counterpart Friday night, saying they had not finalized a new trade agreement for Mexico, United States and Canada.

"We are working on all the issues. It is not easy, but we are working well, Jesus Seade told reporters as he left the office of U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.

He said they might meet again Saturday.