India asks China to pull back troops, arms in Ladakh region
NEW DELHI (AP) – India’s defense minister said Thursday the country faces challenges in its border dispute with China and urged Beijing to sincerely implement an understanding they reached previously to completely disengage their forces from the Ladakh region.
Rajnath Singh told the upper house of Parliament that China has …
Investigated at home, FIFA head visits Trump, White House
GENEVA (AP) – Under investigation in his home country Switzerland, FIFA president Gianni Infantino made a third trip to the White House and met President Donald Trump since the United States became a 2026 World Cup co-host just over two years ago.
Infantino attended a signing ceremony this week for …
UN chief: don’t ‘throw away’ stimulus money on fossil fuels
VIENNA (AP) – U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called Thursday on governments not to “throw away” economic stimulus funds by supporting fossil fuel industries that contribute to global warming.
Speaking at a virtual conference on climate change, Guterres noted that countries have “a choice of two paths” as they mobilize trillions …
Israeli and Dubai diamond exchanges sign trade agreement
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – The Israeli and Dubai diamond exchanges announced Thursday they had struck a deal to boost trade, just days after Israel signed breakthrough agreements with United Arab Emirates and Bahrain at the White House to normalize their relations.
With the U.S.-brokered agreements, the UAE and …
Outgoing US ambassador to China to help Republican campaigns
BEIJING (AP) – Outgoing U.S. Ambassador to China Terry Branstad said he will help Republicans campaigning in his native Iowa after returning home next month.
Branstad also told Hong Kong’s Phoenix TV that he considered the “phase one” trade deal between China and the U.S. as the biggest achievement …
FBI opens new Chinese investigation every 10 hours
The FBI is opening a new counterintelligence probe of Chinese-linked threats “every 10 hours,” bureau Director Christopher Wray told Congress on Thursday, underscoring the threat Beijing poses to U.S. interests.
Overall the FBI has more than 2,000 counterintelligence investigations on China, which is “by far the biggest chunk” of the …
US sanctions 2 Lebanon-based firms, Hezbollah-linked person
BEIRUT (AP) – The U.S. Treasury on Thursday imposed sanctions on two Lebanon-based companies and a man described as an official with the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group
The United States considers the Iran-backed Hezbollah a terrorist organization and has imposed sanctions on many of the militant group’s officials in the …
Mexican president vows to pay US water debt, thanks Trump
MEXICO CITY (AP) – Mexico’s president vowed Thursday to repay the country’s water debt to the United States, even if it means asking farmers in Mexican states along the U.S. border to pitch in.
Time is running out for Mexico to pay the debt by the Oct. 24 deadline, …
Christopher Wray, FBI director: Chinese, Russian hackers pose very real threat to COVID-19 research
Foreign hackers searching for ways to steal coronavirus research remain a “very, very real cyber threat,” FBI Director Christopher A. Wray told the House Homeland Security Committee Thursday.
Mr. Wray reiterated concerns about Chinese and Russian hackers targeting U.S. research involving COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, during …