MOSCOW/NEW YORK – The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday the United States had detained a Russian citizen, a day after Moscow arrested the former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan on suspicion of spying. Whelan was taken into custody by Russia’s Federal Security Service on Dec. 28. His family have said he is innocent and that […]

The federal grand jury being used by Special Counsel Robert Mueller in his probe into Russian collusion in the US 2016 election has had its term extended by up to six months. The initial 18-month term was due to expire this weekend. The jury’s members have heard dozens of witnesses and have approved a swathe […]

President Trump fired back Friday at Democrats calling for his impeachment within moments of the 116th Congress convening, claiming he’s had “the most successful first two years” of any president. Trump spoke out on the impeachment calls after a video surfaced of freshman Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib making a profanity-laced vow to remove him from […]

US Democrats have vowed to pass bills that would end a government shutdown, when they take control of the House when Congress reconvenes on Thursday. But the bills will not include funding for President Donald Trump’s Mexican border wall, the cause of the shutdown. The impasse will therefore continue, as Republicans still control the Senate […]

Donald Trump has shrugged off a stinging personal attack on his presidency from senior fellow Republican Mitt Romney. Mr Romney, who stood and lost for the Republicans against Barack Obama in 2012, suggested in an article that Mr Trump was not fit to be president. Mr Trump had not “risen to the mantle”, he wrote […]

A top Republican has said US President Donald Trump remains committed to defeating Islamic State (IS) in Syria, despite his plan to withdraw US troops. Senator Lindsey Graham suggested the withdrawal had been slowed and he was now reassured of the president’s commitment after meeting him on Sunday. Mr Trump’s troop pullout plan met strong […]

Police in Egypt have killed dozens of militants during security raids on their hideouts, the interior ministry has said. The raids killed “40 terrorists” in Giza and North Sinai on Saturday morning, according to a statement from the ministry. It said the militants were planning a series of attacks on tourist sites, churches and military […]

WASHINGTON  – President Donald Trump threatened on Friday to close the southern U.S. border unless Congress agrees to provide $5 billion in taxpayer funds for a border wall with Mexico, blaming Democrats for a partial government shutdown that he previously said would be on him. A dispute over funding for Trump’s proposed wall has led […]

The alert level for Indonesia’s Anak Krakatau volcano has been raised to the second-highest level possible, after a series of eruptions. All flights around the volcano have been rerouted and a 5km (three-mile) exclusion zone has also been imposed. Indonesia’s disaster management agency (BNPB) said the alert level had been raised from level two to […]

Japan says it is to restart commercial whaling in July in a move that is likely to draw international criticism. It said it would withdraw from the International Whaling Commission (IWC), the body tasked with whale conservation. Commercial whaling was banned by the IWC in 1986 after some species were driven almost to extinction. Officials […]