Author: Sunfire

RT

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree lifting the ban on supplying Iran with uranium enrichment equipment. It is linked to Russia importing enriched uranium from Iran, according to the official government website.

The Russian President is visiting Tehran to take part in Gas Exporting Countries Forum summit, and is holding talks on Monday with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and the country’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.   Continue reading “Putin lifts export ban on uranium enrichment equipment to Iran”

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PARIS (AP) — The latest on the deadly attacks in Paris and the heightened security in Europe (All times local):

1:05 p.m.

Belgian authorities say five more raids in Brussels and eastern Liege have yielded five more detentions.

In all, 21 people have been taken into custody since Sunday while the capital remains under its highest alert level.   Continue reading “5 more detained in latest raids in Belgium”

RT

Residents of four US states – Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee – have anxiously reported a loud blast. Their first suggestion was a meteor, but more frightening versions followed.

Some said, though, that they saw the actual meteor, and in some pictures, one can see a bright flash of light in the sky.   Continue reading “Is it a meteor, or…? US social media explodes after huge blast is heard in four states”

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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The latest in the investigation into the fatal shooting of a black man by Minneapolis police that has sparked days of demonstrations (all times local):

12:45 a.m. Two people were arrested after police say they spray-painted walls and windows of a precinct building with profane messages during a protest over the fatal shooting of a black man by a Minneapolis police officer.   Continue reading “2 arrests during night of protests in Minneapolis”

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BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Men shouting “God is great” and armed with guns and throwing grenades stormed into the Radisson Blu Hotel in Mali’s capital Friday morning and seized 170 hostages.

The U.S. Embassy in Mali asked citizens to shelter in place amid reports of an “ongoing active shooter operation” at the hotel in Bamako. People in the area ran for their lives along a dirt road as a soldier in full combat gear them to safety.   Continue reading “Radisson hotel in Mali attacked; 170 hostages taken”

RT

Two people have been killed and at least one was wounded in an attack at the building in Tel Aviv, which houses RT’s local bureau. The stabber has been captured with slight injuries.

RT’s Paula Slier who is the building has confirmed the suspect’s detention. She said that police believe a second attacker could be on the loose.   Continue reading “Fatal stabbing at RT’s Middle East office building in Tel Aviv”

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HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — A Texas inmate was executed Wednesday for setting a fire that killed his 18-month-old daughter and her two young half-sisters at an East Texas home 15 years ago.

Raphael Holiday, 36, became the 13th convicted killer put to death this year in Texas, which carries out capital punishment more than any other state. It has accounted for half of all executions in the U.S. so far this year.   Continue reading “Texas man executed for setting fire that killed 3 children”

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DALLAS (AP) — The lone survivor of an attack that left six dead at an East Texas campsite told authorities that the suspect had drinks with the victims before producing a gun and firing on them, according to an arrest warrant released Wednesday.

William Hudson, 33, was drinking with the group Saturday when he accompanied four of them — including a 6-year-old boy — into the surrounding woods, the warrant provided by the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office said.   Continue reading “Warrant: Suspect drank with Texas victims, then shot them”

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JERUSALEM (AP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked the United States to allow convicted spy Jonathan Pollard to return immediately to Israel upon his upcoming release from a federal prison, a pro-government Israeli newspaper reported Thursday.

According to the Israel Hayom daily, Netanyahu has been lobbying Washington to let Pollard travel to Israel instead of completing his five years’ parole in the United States. A spokesman for Netanyahu would not confirm the report.   Continue reading “Netanyahu reportedly asking US to release Pollard to Israel”

RT

The US Air Force has scrapped a brand new Lockheed Martin AC-130J Ghostrider Gunship after a flight-test crew lost control of the aircraft, resulting in more than $115 million in damages.

The expensive mishap occurred during a test mission by personnel from the 413th Flight Test Squadron based out of Eglin Air Force Base. The flight took place over the Gulf of Mexico on April 21, approximately 40 miles south of Pensacola.   Continue reading “US Air Force scraps new Ghostrider Gunship after test flight damages total $115mn”

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HAVANA (AP) — Cuban officials blamed the United States late Tuesday for instigating a surge in the number of Cuban migrants attempting to reach the U.S. through Central America amid ongoing efforts to normalize relations between the former Cold War foes.

In a statement aired on the government’s nightly broadcast, Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Relations said U.S. policy allowing nearly all Cuban migrants who reach U.S. soil to stay contradicts ongoing efforts to renew relations between the countries.   Continue reading “Cuba blames US for instigating surge of migrants from island”

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — On the same downtown block where Nashville police officers carried a young John Lewis by his hands and feet to a paddy wagon for daring to take a seat at a whites-only lunch counter decades ago, today’s fresh-faced police recruits are learning lessons about the fraught history between law enforcement and black Americans.

About 60 police hopefuls, many around the same age Lewis was when he emerged as a leader of the civil rights movement, gathered recently in the “Civil Rights Room” at Nashville’s main library. Dressed in plain blue uniforms, they listened to stories about Lewis and other college students who helped make Nashville the first Southern city to desegregate its lunch counters. Words Lewis uttered back then to urge his fellow students not to falter in the face of violence — “If not us, then who? If not now, then when?” — were inscribed on the wall above the recruits.   Continue reading “Nashville program teaches law enforcement about civil rights”

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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Authorities cleared both Air France flights bound for Paris from the U.S. that had to be diverted Tuesday night because of anonymous threats received after they had taken off.

Air France Flight 65 from Los Angeles International Airport to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris was diverted to Salt Lake City International Airport, Air France said in a statement. At about the same time a second flight, Air France 55, took off from Dulles International Airport outside Washington and was diverted to Halifax on Canada’s East Coast, officials said.   Continue reading “No threat found on both diverted flights from US to Paris”

RT

The US launched a third flight test of the newly upgraded B61-12 nuclear gravity bomb, which it says shows the nation’s “continued commitment to security.” The launch was completed by the US Air Force and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA).

The launch, which took place at Tonopah Test Range in Nevada on October 20, 2015, “provides additional evidence of the nation’s continued commitment to our nation’s security and that of our allies and partners,” NNSA Deputy Administrator Madelyn Creedon said in a statement Monday.   Continue reading “US successfully tests nuclear gravity bomb in Nevada following $8bn upgrade”

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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — More than 50 people were arrested during the second day of protests in Minneapolis over the shooting of a black man by a police officer during an apparent struggle.

Hundreds of people protesting 24-year-old Jamar Clark’s shooting blocked Interstate 94 on Monday night, shutting down the northbound lanes for about two and a half hours. Minnesota State Patrol Lt. Tiffani Schweigart said 43 adults and 8 juveniles who refused multiple orders to disperse were arrested.   Continue reading “51 arrested in Minnesota during 2nd day of shooting protests”

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MANILA, Philippines (AP) — With a towering warship behind him, President Barack Obama announced Tuesday that the U.S. will hand over two ships to the Philippine Navy to boost its maritime security capabilities, in a bid to show the U.S. and its allies won’t be cowed by China in disputed waters far off its coast.

Obama said the pair of ships — one U.S. Coast Guard cutter, one research vessel — were part of a broader American plan to scale up assistance to naval forces in Southeast Asia, where coastal nations feel threatened by China’s aggressive moves to assert control over the South China Sea. Obama said the U.S. had an “ironclad commitment” to the Philippines — a U.S. treaty ally — and a mutual commitment to free and safe navigation at sea.   Continue reading “In signal to China, Obama to give 2 ships to Philippines”

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SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will visit Pyongyang this week for a possible meeting with leader Kim Jong Un, a South Korean news report said.

The possible trip comes six months after Pyongyang at the last minute canceled an invitation for Ban to visit an inter-Korean factory park in the North Korean city of Kaesong. Ban has said North Korea gave no reason for the cancellation. He had not planned to visit Pyongyang at that time.   Continue reading “Report: UN chief to visit North Korea this week”

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BOSTON (AP) — The number of international students studying at U.S. colleges increased by 10 percent last year, marking the largest single-year gain in 35 years, according to new federal data. Meanwhile, the number of Americans studying abroad grew by only 5 percent, falling short of expectations.

The findings were released Monday from an annual study by the nonprofit Institute of International Education and the U.S. Department of State. Of almost 1 million students that came to the U.S. in the 2014-15 school year, about a third came from China, the most from any country. But much of last year’s growth is credited to a surge in the number of students who came from India, drawn by strong research programs, experts say.   Continue reading “US adds foreign students, but few Americans study abroad”