Tag: Region US

US officials suppressed internal assessments that Al Qaeda’s Syrian wing had an “advanced” sarin production cell even as the US publicly blamed the Assad government for a 2013 chemical weapons attack, a report reveals. Leaked documents obtained by The Grayzone show a shadowy British intelligence contractor helped sell the story that Assad was responsible – and nearly triggered Western intervention….

  The crash of an F-35B Joint Strike Fighter aircraft in South Carolina over the weekend has raised numerous questions about what prompted the pilot to eject and how the $100 million warplane was able to keep flying pilotless for 60 miles before crashing. Here’s what is known about the modern warplane and its latest incident: ‘Forced to eject’ A U.S. Marine…

West Point was accused in a federal lawsuit Tuesday of improperly using race and ethnicity as factors in admissions by the same group behind the legal challenge that resulted in the U.S. Supreme Court striking down affirmative action in college admissions. Students for Fair Admissions claims the U.S. Military Academy sets benchmarks for how many Black, Hispanic and Asian cadets there should…

Ukrainian forces carried out a missile strike on a market in eastern Ukraine and then falsely blamed Russia for the attack, according to analysis from the New York Times. From The New York Times, “Evidence Suggests Ukrainian Missile Caused Market Tragedy”: The Sept. 6 missile strike on Kostiantynivka in eastern Ukraine was one of the deadliest in the country in…

US President Joe Biden has found himself under serious scrutiny after recently boasting about teaching “political theory” at the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn), even though he never conducted a single class at the prestigious Ivy League institution. During a speech at Maryland’s Prince George’s Community College, Biden emphasized the importance of defending democracy.However, it has come to light that while…

A United Airlines flight bound for Rome returned to New Jersey just after midnight Thursday “to address a possible loss of cabin pressure,” according to a statement from the airline. Data from the tracking site FlightAware show the plane rapidly descended over about 8 minutes from 37,000 feet at 10:07 p.m. to just below 9,000 feet at 10:15 p.m. Pilots…

NASA is offering to join forces with the Pentagon on UFO research to move away “from sensationalism to science,” NASA’s chief administrator told reporters this week. The space agency released a report Thursday recommending that its scientists work with the Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, which spearheads the U.S. government’s investigations of UFOs. That coordination could allow better research and…

The US could be heading for economic turmoil again 15 years after the 2008 financial crisis rocked the country, three experts have said. Global finance giant Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy on September 15, 2008, more than 150 years after its founding. It was the first major US victim of the sub-prime mortgage collapse. The first warning of the Credit…

BEIJING, SANA-China’s Ministry of National Defense on Thursday urged the United States to stop all forms of military ties with Taiwan, Xinhua news Agency said. Spokesperson Tan Kefei made the remarks when commenting on information about Taiwan’s recent military interaction with the United States, including a reported plan to buy mine-laying systems from the United States. “We firmly oppose the…

Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State
The Departments of State and the Treasury are imposing further sanctions on over 150 individuals and entities in connection with Russia’s unlawful invasion of Ukraine.  As part of today’s action, the U.S. government is targeting individuals and entities engaged in sanctions evasion and circumvention, those complicit in furthering Russia’s ability to wage its war against Ukraine, and those responsible for bolstering Russia’s future energy production.
The Department of State is imposing sanctions on over 70 entities and individuals involved in expanding Russia’s energy production and export capacity, operating in Russia’s metals and mining sectors, and aiding Russian individuals and entities in evading international sanctions. The Department of State is also designating one Russian Intelligence Services officer and one Georgian-Russian oligarch whom the FSB has leveraged to influence Georgian society and politics for the benefit of Russia.  Additionally, the Department is designating numerous entities producing and repairing Russian weapon systems, including the Kalibr cruise missile used by Russian forces against cities and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, and an individual affiliated with the Wagner Group involved in the shipment of munitions from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to the Russian Federation.
Concurrently, the Department of the Treasury is imposing nearly one hundred sanctions on Russia’s elites and its industrial base, financial institutions, and technology suppliers, including one official of the Wagner Group for advancing Russia’s malign activities in the Central African Republic.  This action comes after the Wagner Group helped ensure the passage of a July 30 constitutional referendum that undercut the country’s democracy.
The United States and its allies and partners are united in supporting Ukraine in the face of Russia’s unprovoked, unjustified, and illegal war.  We will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.
All targets are being designated pursuant to Executive Order 14024, which authorizes sanctions with respect to specified harmful foreign activities of the Government of the Russian Federation.  For more information on today’s actions, please see the Department of State’s fact sheet and the Department of the Treasury’s press release.

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — The U.S. military has resumed counterterrorism missions in Niger, flying drones and other aircraft out of air bases in the country more than a month after a coup temporarily halted all those activities there, the head of U.S. Air Forces for Europe and Africa said Wednesday. Since the July coup, the 1,100 U.S. forces deployed in the country…

The trend of banks increasing their net interest margins and channeling their efforts into loan refinancing has raised concerns that it will reduce competition in the lending market. This shift could have significant implications for borrowers and the broader economy, according to Peter James (pictured above), director of non-bank lender Mortgage Ezy. “Banks are notorious for fattening their net interest…

JERUSALEM — Elbit Systems will supply the Swedish BAE Systems Hägglunds with its Iron Fist Active Protection System for CV90s in a deal worth $109 million, the Israeli firm announced Tuesday. Elbit noted the systems are intended for a European country, but declined to identify it. Based on previous publications by BAE, it is likely the client is Slovakia. BAE…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, September 7, 2023 A jury in Miami convicted two defendants on Sept. 5 in a scheme involving the falsification and fabrication of clinical trial data. On Sept. 5, Miguel Angel Montalvo Villa, 53, and Ivette Maria Portela Martinez, 53, both of Miami, were each convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one…

Elon Musk secretly ordered his engineers to turn off his company’s Starlink satellite communications network near the Crimean coast last year to disrupt a Ukrainian sneak attack on the Russian naval fleet, according to an excerpt adapted from Walter Isaacson’s new biography of the eccentric billionaire titled “Elon Musk.”As Ukrainian submarine drones strapped with explosives approached the Russian fleet, they…

The Pentagon announced a new $600 million package of long-term aid to Ukraine on Thursday, providing funding for an array of weapons and other equipment just a day after Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited the country and pledged $1 billion in new military and humanitarian aid. The Defense Department said the latest package will come through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative,…