US expels 35 Russian diplomats over election hacking

President Barack Obama on Thursday ordered the expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats from the U.S. and imposed sanctions on two Russian intelligence agencies over their involvement in hacking US political groups in the 2016 presidential election.  It was the strongest action the Obama administration has taken to date to…

US must ‘greatly strengthen’ its nuclear capability: Trump

US President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday abruptly called for the United States to “greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability” until the rest of the world “comes to its senses” regarding nuclear weapons. “The United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear…

Japan cabinet Approves Record Defense Budget Amid China Tensions

The cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe today approved Japan’s biggest annual defence budget in the face of North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats and a territorial row with China. Spending on fighter jets and submarines are partly behind the increase to 5.13 trillion yen (£35.2bn, $43.6bn). A separate…

Israel finally receives the first F-35 fighter jets from US

Israel was the first country to sign a foreign military sales agreement with the United States to procure the F-35. The country intends to use the new planes to replace its aging fleet of F-15s and F-16s. The country received its first two F-35s on the same day the U.S.-based program was thrown into doubt…

Donald Trump picks Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State: US reports

President-elect Donald Trump has picked as his secretary of state Rex Tillerson, the chief executive of ExxonMobil, according to a senior official on the transition team. Romney, Petraeus and Corker – the three leading runners-up for the diplomatic post all received calls late Monday informing them of…

Japan PM Shinzo Abe: TPP would be “meaningless” without the US

Japan’s prime minister said on Monday the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal would be “meaningless” without U.S. participation, as Donald Trump announced he planned to quit the pact. Abe spoke after attending a weekend meeting of Asia-Pacific leaders in Peru at which some said they might seek to…

Queen Elizabeth II invites Trump for official state visit to the UK 

 The British government is planning to use Queen Elizabeth II as a “secret weapon” to invite US President-elect Donald Trump to Buckingham Palace in the first half of 2017 to bolster US-UK ties, a news report claimed on Sunday. Ministers believe the Queen is their “secret weapon” and British…

India remains a key partner, says US

US Department of State spokesperson John Kirby has reiterated that India remains and will remain Washington’s key partner and strong bilateral relations will also continue. “We greatly value and respect the relationship we have with India today and the one that we have worked very, very hard at improving…