BERLIN – EU leaders meeting in Brussels say distrust of the US over spying could harm the fight against terrorism. A statement agreed by the leaders says that “a lack of trust could prejudice” intelligence-gathering co-operation. France and Germany are pushing for talks with the US to find an “understanding” by the year’s end. A…
PARIS – French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has summoned the US ambassador over newspaper claims that the US spied on millions of phone calls in France. France has labelled such activity between allies as “unacceptable”. Le Monde says the data, based on leaks from ex-intelligence analyst Edward Snowden, suggest the US NSA agency monitored businesses…
RIYADH – The announcement came hours after Saudi Arabia was elected for the first time to one of the 10 rotating seats on the Security Council. The non-permanent members sit on the council for two years, along with the five permanent members – the US, the UK, France, China and Russia. “Work mechanisms and double-standards…
WASHINGTON – There has been international relief at a US deal to reopen the government and raise the debt limit, averting the risk of potential default. China welcomed the deal, and the head of the International Monetary Fund called it “important and necessary”. Markets in Asia rose on Thursday, though in Europe they dipped slightly…
LONDON – Ex-Liberian President Charles Taylor has arrived in the UK to serve the remainder of his 50-year prison sentence for war crimes. He had asked the UN-backed special court in The Hague to serve his jail term in Rwanda instead. Taylor was handed over to UK prison service representatives after his plane landed at…
WASHINGTON – US Senate leaders have expressed optimism after a flurry of negotiations on raising the federal debt ceiling to avert a potentially disastrous default. They were also nearing a deal to end a partial government shutdown, now in its third week, congressional sources said. A budget bill would also need to pass the House…
WASHINGTON – In a dramatic shift toward a major Arab ally, the Obama administration announced a suspension of significant military aid to Egypt on Wednesday over the bloody crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood. The move, involving hundreds of millions in U.S. assistance to the Egyptian military, is the culmination of months of debate within the…
WASHINGTON – US President Barack Obama will nominate Federal Reserve Vice-Chair Janet Yellen to be the next head of the US central bank on Wednesday, according to a White House official. If confirmed by the US Senate, Ms Yellen would replace Ben Bernanke, who has held the post for eight years. She has been his…
NEW YORK – The US Federal Reserve has issued a new hi-tech $100 banknote comprising several new security features. It includes a blue 3D security ribbon and a bell and inkwell logo that authorities say are particularly difficult to replicate. These combine with traditional security features, such as a portrait watermark and an embedded security…
WASHINGTON – US Secretary of State John Kerry has defended the capture of an alleged al-Qaeda leader, Anas al-Liby, on Saturday as a “legal and appropriate target”. He is a suspected mastermind of the 1998 US embassy attacks in Africa. His son, Abdullah al-Raghie, said his father had been seized by masked gunmen and that…
