US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Wednesday to discuss President Trump's idea for a deal to give the US access to Ukraine's rare earth minerals and other natural resources in exchange for continued US...
Report: Israel Says Gaza Hostage Deal Can Continue If Hamas Releases Three on Saturday
Israel has sent a message to Hamas through Qatar and Egypt that if three Israeli hostages are released this Saturday, the ceasefire deal can continue, Axios reported on Wednesday, citing a senior Israeli official. The position is a climb down from a day earlier when...
Trump Suspends Funding to the National Endowment for Democracy
The Trump administration has frozen funding to the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), a US-funded organization that meddles in elections and pushes regime change around the world in the name of "promoting democracy." According to The Free Press, an order from...
Two US Navy Ships Transit Taiwan Strait for First Time Under New Trump Admin
Two US Navy ships transited the Taiwan Strait this week, marking the first US naval passage through the sensitive waterway under the new Trump administration, which drew a rebuke from China. US Indo-Pacific Command said the guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson...
Conflicting Reports as Israel Intends to Remain in Lebanon Beyond Latest Deadline
Last night it was reported in Israeli media that the US had denied the Israeli government’s request to extend the latest deadline for Israel to withdraw from Lebanon, which is February 18. Less than 24-hours later, those same outlets are quoting Israeli officials who...
Trump Speaks With Putin, Says Talks To End Ukraine War Will Start ‘Immediately’
President Trump said on Wednesday that he had a "lengthy and highly productive phone call" with Russian President Vladimir Putin and that negotiations to end the war in Ukraine would begin "immediately." The president wrote on Truth Social that he and Putin agreed "to...
Hegseth Says No NATO Membership for Ukraine, Return to Pre-2014 Borders ‘Unrealistic’
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Wednesday dismissed the idea of NATO membership for Ukraine as part of a peace deal with Russia and said the goal to restore Ukraine to its pre-2014 borders was "unrealistic." Hegseth made the comments while addressing a meeting of...
Zelensky: Europe Can’t Guarantee Ukraine’s Security Without the US
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said European countries could not guarantee Ukraine's security without the US in an apparent response to Trump administration officials saying Europe should take the lead on the conflict. "There are voices which say that...
Syria Planting Landmines Along Lebanon Border as Tensions Linger
Though cross-border gunfire between Syria and Lebanon seems to have paused for now, the tensions are still rising, with a number of Syrian Shi’ites having fled into Lebanese border towns, and Syrian Army soldiers loyal to the Islamist government raiding Shi’ite towns...
After Meeting With Trump, Jordan’s Abdullah Says He Expressed Opposition to Displacement of Palestinians
After meeting with President Trump at the White House, Jordan's King Abdullah said that he reiterated Amman's opposition to the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank. "I reiterated Jordan’s steadfast position against the displacement of Palestinians...