Tag: Region Americas

U.S. President Joe Biden will visit Israel on Wednesday for talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and make clear Israel has the right to defend itself, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Tuesday. Blinken said after lengthy talks with Netanyahu that Biden will reaffirm solidarity with Israel, which has widely been expected to launch a ground assault in Gaza. Israel has vowed to annihilate the Hamas movement that rules Gaza after fighters burst into Israel on Oct 7,…

U.S. Attorney’s Office Eastern District of Florida FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, October 12, 2023  BEAUMONT, Texas – A Houston man who served as a production manager in a counterfeit drug trafficking scheme has been sentenced to federal prison for drug trafficking and money laundering violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs today. Willis Reed, 61, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Marcia…

Jewish communities in North America are ramping up security in the face of rising emotions over the massacre of Jews in Israel and the imminent invasion of Gaza, with pro- and anti-Israel rallies being held daily in cities across the United States. Eric Fingerhut, CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America, told VOA that the communities are prepared and have built “comprehensive security programs.” But, he said, last Saturday’s Hamas attack against Israel and its aftermath has brought the…

  NEW YORK – Wall Street stocks closed higher on Wednesday as traders await key US consumer inflation data, while shrugging off hotter-than-expected wholesale price increases. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.2 per cent up at 33,804.87. The broad-based S&P 500 rose 0.4 per cent to 4,376.95, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.7 per cent to 13,659.68. Recent Federal Reserve officials’ comments “had two hawks dial down the immediate need for further tightening,” noted Mr Edward Moya,…

Boeing has begun delivering smart munitions to Israel as the country intensifies retaliation in the wake of Hamas’ large-scale surprise attack. An Israeli Air Force transport aircraft recently flew with the 250-pound (113 kilogram) Small Diameter Bombs from the US to Israel, Bloomberg revealed citing a US official. Israel bought 1,000 GBU-39/B Small Diameter Bombs (SDB) in 2021 for $735 million.  Precision Munition The air-launched guided SDB can strike a target 40 miles (64 kilometers) away, providing “the means to…

  PARIS — Germany will send about €1 billion (U.S. $1.1 billion) worth of air defense systems to Ukraine as part of a second “winter package” for the embattled country, the German Defence Ministry said in a statement Tuesday. The support will include a Patriot air defense system and two IRIS-T surface-to-air systems, as well as 10 more Leopard 1 A5 main battle tanks, three Gepard anti-aircraft guns, armored trucks and ambulances, in addition to more than €20 million in…

  The US Army has announced the successful trial of a military version of Elon Musk’s “Starlink” communications network. Called the “Starshield,” the technology utilizes low Earth orbit satellites to create a more secure network for soldiers. It will serve as a “redundant” or backup system in case the service’s main communications system gets jammed by enemies. “We’ve done some testing with it at home station, and all of our systems worked flawlessly over the backbones that it provides,” 5th…

Suavecito was the first product that Douglas Mrdeza listed to sell on Amazon back in 2014. He had ordered a bit too much of the specialty hair pomade for his barbershop in East Lansing, Michigan. He wanted to see whether he could offload some online. It sold out. So, he ordered more. This time he paid Amazon some extra money to use its warehouse storage and shipping service. “I did the calculation, bought what would have sold in a month…

The Wall Street Journal wrote on Thursday that MGM Resorts International didn’t pay the ransomware attackers who broke into its systems last month, forcing the company to shut down systems at several of its hotels and casinos. The hack kept many waiting to check into their rooms, including FTC chair Lina Kahn, who was in Las Vegas, Nevada to attend meetings about a merger between Kroger and Albertsons. MGM said in a press release that hackers made off with customer…

It’s been almost 10 months since a trial date was set in Epic’s antitrust lawsuit against Google, and with all of the other big tech cases going on right now, including Google’s other antitrust proceedings, you’d be forgiven for forgetting about this one. But believe it or not, the trial will start in less than a month, on November 6th, in the United States District Court in California’s Northern District. The court released a tentative list of witnesses, mostly executives…

Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a large-scale surprise attack against Israel on Saturday, firing thousands of rockets from Gaza and sending fighters to kill or abduct people as Israel retaliated with devastating air strikes. At least 70 people were reported killed in Israel, while Gaza authorities released a death toll of 198 in the conflict’s bloodiest escalation in years, which also left hundreds more wounded on both sides. “We are at war,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the military launched a series of strikes against targets in the blockaded coastal…

Ottawa, Ontario — A Canadian woman allegedly linked to Islamic State jihadis who was repatriated from a camp in Syria six months ago has been charged with participating in a terrorist group, police said Friday.Ammara Amjad was arrested Thursday in Milton, Ontario, west of Toronto, “for her alleged participation in the activities of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant,” the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in a statement. The 29-year-old was granted bail during a brief court appearance…

Facing a likely roadblock from House Republicans on aid for Ukraine, President Joe Biden said Wednesday he’s planning to give a major speech on the issue and suggested there may be “another means” to provide support for Kyiv if Congress continues to balk. “I’m going to be announcing very shortly a major speech I’m going to make on this issue and why it’s critically important for the United States and our allies that we keep our commitment” to Ukraine, Biden…

Jerusalem – Azerbaijan’s space agency, Azercosmos, acquired two multi-spectral electro-optical spy satellites from Israel Aerospace Industries as part of the Azersky-2 program. The Azeri Agency and the Tel Aviv area-based company did not disclose the satellite model or value of the contract in announcing the deal, but both have previously said the agreement is worth about $120 million, and Defense News learned that the model is the OptSat-500. This is the first announced sale of this new model of the…

Russian air defenses shot down 31 Ukrainian drones during a concerted nighttime attack by Kyiv’s forces on border regions, the country’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday, as uncertainty grew over Ukraine’s future access to weapons and ammunition from its Western allies. The drone attack appeared to be Kyiv’s largest single cross-border drone assault reported by Moscow since it launched its invasion 20 months ago. There were no immediate reports of any damage or casualties. Ukraine is pressing on with a slow-moving…

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi accused the new interim speaker, Patrick McHenry, of ordering her to vacate her workspace in the U.S. Capitol building on Tuesday, just hours after the chamber’s abrupt leadership shake-up. In a statement shared with NPR, Pelosi, D-Calif., said she was asked to leave her space “immediately.” “With all of the important decisions that the new Republican Leadership must address, which we are all eagerly awaiting, one of the first actions taken by the new Speaker…