Washington DC

WASHINGTON, Jan 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on two companies for exploiting North Korean overseas labour but joined allies Japan and South Korea in appealing for diplomacy to ease tensions with Pyongyang.

Showing a united front, Japan’s defence and foreign ministers and South Korea’s foreign minister all held talks with American counterparts Tuesday on both coasts, two weeks after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un threatened to launch a new weapon.

14 Jan 2019; MEMO: The United States on Monday confirmed the death of Egyptian-American Moustafa Kassem in a prison in Egypt where he has been in custody since 2013, and vowed to continue raising Washington’s concerns over Cairo’s poor human rights record, Reuters reports.

“I am deeply saddened to learn today the death of US citizen Moustafa Kassem who’d been imprisoned in Egypt,” Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs David Schenker told a State Department briefing.

Washington, Jan 14 (PTI) The US Senate is likely to begin the impeachment trial against President Donald Trump on January 21 after the House of Representatives last month impeached him for pressuring Ukraine to investigate a political rival, a top Republican Senator has said.

The 435-member House of Representatives, where Democrats enjoy a majority, last month charged Trump with high crimes and misdemeanours" and impeached in vote that was based on bitter political divide.

13 Jan 2019; MEMO: The US administration threatened to block Iraq’s access to its funds in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York if Baghdad expels American troops from the country, the Wall Street Journal reported.

13 Jan 2019; MEMO: US President Donald Trump said that he made Saudi Arabia pay the US for the increased presence of American service personnel in the region as a result of the regional tensions.

In an interview with the American TV channel Fox News, Trump said: “Saudi Arabia is paying us for [our troops]. We have a very good relationship with Saudi Arabia.”

Washington, Jan 12 (AFP/PTI) The United States will expel at least a dozen Saudi military students accused of extremist links and child pornography, after an investigation into a shooting rampage by a Saudi officer in Florida, media reported Saturday.

In December, Mohammed Alshamrani, who was in the United States as part of a Saudi military training program, opened fire in a classroom at the Pensacola Naval Air Station, killing three sailors and wounding eight other people before being shot dead by police.

11 Jan 2019; MEMO: The United States wants a thorough and independent investigation into the crash of a Ukrainian passenger plane in Iran that killed 176 people, the State Department’s top diplomat for the Middle East said on Friday, Reuters reports.

“It is my understanding that we will certainly ask for an independent investigation into this, whether this is through our European partners, the Canadians being on the ground,” David Schenker told a news briefing in the United Arab Emirates.

WASHINGTON, Jan 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Negotiations for the second phase of a pending US-China trade deal will begin promptly but the outcome may wait until after this year’s elections, President Donald Trump said.

Trump’s remarks come days before Beijing’s trade envoy is due in Washington to sign a “phase one” agreement, marking a pause in the two sides’ nearly two-year trade war.

The US leader also openly cast doubt on whether American farmers would be able to supply China with the massive increases in agricultural exports expected to be part of the deal.

WASHINGTON, Jan 10 (NNN-CNA) — The United States will go through with the sale of up to 12 F-35B fighter jets to Singapore, pending approval by Congress, according to a Defense Security Cooperation Agency news.

Singapore’s request to buy four F-35B fighter jets, with the option of buying eight more, for an estimated cost of US$2.75 billion (S$3.71 billion) has been approved by the State Department, said the agency, adding that it had notified Congress of the possible sale on Thursday.

WASHINGTON, Jan 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — With tensions soaring after he ordered the killing of a top Iranian general, US President Donald Trump publicly urged all other powers to abandon a 2015 nuclear accord with Tehran.

Within hours, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, one of Trump’s closest international allies, was on the phone with Iran’s president. His message? That, according to Downing Street, the nuclear deal remains “the best arrangement currently available.”