Washington DC

WASHINGTON (AP) — For only the fourth time in U.S. history, the House of Representatives has started a presidential impeachment inquiry . House committees are trying to determine whether President Donald Trump violated his oath of office by asking Ukraine to investigate political rival Joe Biden and his family and to investigate the country’s involvement in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

A quick summary of the latest news and what’s to come:

MOVING INTO PUBLIC VIEW

2 Nov 2019; MEMO: Just two days after the resignation of Lebanese prime minister, Saad Al-Hariri, American president Donald Trump’s administration has blocked $105 million in security aid for Lebanon.

Washington, Nov 2 (PTI) US President Donald Trump has said that he is considering signing the first phase of the long-awaited trade deal with China in Iowa.

Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping were expected to ink the agreement at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Santiago, Chile in mid-November. But host Chile announced on Wednesday that it was cancelling the event due to ongoing mass demonstrations.

1 Nov 2019; MEMO: The United States said on Thursday it had imposed sanctions on the Iranian construction sector and trade in four materials used in its military or nuclear programs, even as it waived sanctions to let foreign firms continue non-proliferation work in Iran, Reuters reports.

1 Nov 2019; MEMO: The United States administration’s Middle East peace envoy, Jason Greenblatt said that this is not the right time to reveal details of America’s plan to solve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict known as the “deal of the century”.

Washington, Nov 1 (AFP/PTI) The US Department of the Interior has grounded its fleet of Chinese-made drones as it conducts a review of the programme.

Nick Goodwin, an Interior Department spokesman, did not provide a reason for the decision but it comes amid US security concerns over Chinese electronics.

Goodwin said the review had been ordered by Interior Department Secretary David Bernhardt.

WASHINGTON, Oct 31 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Leaders from the United States and China encountered a new obstacle in their struggle to end a damaging trade war, when the summit where they were supposed to meet was cancelled because of violent protests.

U.S. President Donald Trump said he hoped to sign an interim trade deal with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping during the Nov 16-17 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Chile. Chilean officials said they cancelled the summit to focus on restoring law and order in the country.

31 Oct 2019; MEMO: The United States plans to allow Russian, Chinese and European companies to continue work at Iranian nuclear facilities to make it harder for Iran to develop a nuclear weapon, two sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, Reuters reports.

31 Oct 2019; MEMO: The US House of Representatives approved sanctions against Turkey yesterday over its military operation and presence into northern Syria, only a week after President Donald Trump lifted them.

Washington, Oct 30; GANASHAKTI: An Indian-American attorney has urged US lawmakers to schedule a bipartisan Congressional fact-finding mission to Kashmir, a day after a delegation of the European Union (EU) parliamentarians visited the Valley for an on the ground assessment of the situation there.

A delegation of 23 EU MPs arrived in Srinagar on Tuesday on a two-day visit to assess the situation in Jammu and Kashmir after the Indian government revoked its special status on August 5.