WASHINGTON - U.S. security records reveal that former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein told U.S. federal agents in 2004 that he allowed the world to believe he had weapons of mass destruction because he did not want to appear weak to Iran.
A research institute, the National Security Archive, on Wednesday obtained declassified accounts of all but […]

WASHINGTON - In the aftermath of the disputed Iranian presidential election, Tehran has hurled some of its sharpest rhetoric not at its traditional nemesis, the United States, but at Britain. Iran accused Britain of instigating protests, arrested some of its embassy workers and expelled a British Broadcasting Corporation correspondent. Britain has now ascended to the […]

ADDIS ABABA - The Obama administration is signaling its intention to keep Ethiopia as a key strategic partner, despite concerns about the country’s slide toward authoritarianism. The United States is seeking to expand development assistance to the Ethiopian government.
Deputy Secretary of State Jacob Lew is making his first trip to East Africa at a time […]

WASHINGTON - About 4,000 U.S. Marines descended on Taliban strongholds in southern Afghanistan Thursday, launching the first major operation under U.S. President Barack Obama’s new strategy to stabilize the country.
The U.S. troops and about 650 Afghan troops and police pushed into the lower Helmand River valley, the heart of the Taliban insurgency, during the pre-dawn […]

SEOUL - A third round of talks over an embattled joint industrial zone between North and South Korea has produced no progress. The North apparently launched several short range missiles into the ocean even as South Korean delegates were making their journey back from the North’s territory.
Reports of the latest North Korean missile launches came […]

ISTANBUL - With the arrival of summer, the number of illegal immigrants entering European Union countries is spiking. This is posing a problem for Turkey, a transit point for people seeking to enter the EU It’s neighbor, Greece is accusing Turkey of failing to stop the growing tide of clandestine immigration through Turkish territory, which […]

STATE DEPARTMENT - The United States on Tuesday added two more companies to its lists of firms facing sanctions for allegedly aiding North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs. 
The move cames as a senior U.S. envoy left Washington for Beijing on a mission aimed at getting China to help tighten the international financial squeeze on Pyongyang. […]

WASHINGTON - The top U.S. military commander in Iraq, Army General Ray Odierno, said Tuesday that American combat forces have completed the planned withdrawal from Baghdad and other urban areas.
Speaking via satellite from Baghdad to reporters at the Pentagon, General Odierno said Iraqi security forces have taken control of all major metropolitan areas in the […]

BAGHDAD - The Iraqi government has opened bidding for development rights for some of the country’s massive oil and gas fields.
More than 30 international firms, including U.S. giant Exxon Mobil and China’s CNPC, are vying for a chance to secure service contracts to develop six oil and two gas fields.
The contracts will provide money to […]

WHITE HOUSE - U.S. President Barack Obama is pushing energy conservation in American homes and businesses, starting with a new set of standards for lighting. 
Mr. Obama is working hard to get sweeping energy legislation through Congress. But in the meantime, he is taking smaller steps to promote conservation.
He says many seemingly small moves can make […]

WASHINGTON - The top U.S. military officer told Polish officials in Warsaw Monday the Obama Administration has still not decided whether to proceed with the Bush Administration’s plan to build a missile defense installation in Poland and the Czech Republic. But Admiral Mike Mullen says the U.S. government is still concerned about the growing missile […]

WASHINGTON - The United States’ top military officer says he believes Iraqi forces are ready to take full control of their country’s cities on Tuesday, as called for in the U.S.-Iraq security agreement. 
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, told a small group of reporters traveling with him in Europe that […]

LOS ANGELES - Michael Jackson’s family said Saturday they are seeking a private, second autopsy to figure out what caused the sudden death of the American pop icon Thursday at his Los Angeles home.
The Los Angeles County coroner’s office conducted an autopsy of Jackson’s body Friday and said there were no indications of external trauma […]

BEIRUT - Saad Hariri has been named the new prime minister of Lebanon, taking over a post once held by his father, Rafiq Hariri, who was assassinated in 2005.
Lebanese President Michel Suleiman appointed Mr. Hariri on Saturday, after a majority of lawmakers had nominated him.
Speaking at the presidential palace, Mr. Hariri pledged to work to […]

WASHINGTON - Majority Democrats and President Obama have won a major although narrow victory with passage on Friday by the House of Representatives of a major energy and climate change bill. The vote was 219 to 212. If eventually approved by Congress the measure would impose the first government-mandated limits on greenhouse gas emissions linked […]

WASHINGTON - American music superstar Michael Jackson died June 25 after suffering cardiac arrest at his home in Los Angeles. He was 50 years old. One of the most-recognized performers in the world, Jackson’s blend of pop, rock and soul appealed to people of all races and cultures.
Michael Jackson’s life was described as one of […]

WASHINGTON - U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is calling on Congress to pass a new, expanded hate crimes law that would permit the federal government to prosecute cases of violence based on disability, gender and sexual orientation.  Democrats have been trying to update the current hate crimes law for more than a decade, which already […]

LOS ANGELES - Hollywood actress Farrah Fawcett, a glamorous face on television in the 1970s series Charlie’s Angels, has died in Los Angeles at age 62.  The actress succumbed to cancer after a 2.5 - year battle.
Farrah Fawcett was born in Corpus Christi, Texas in 1947 and got her start as a model and actress […]

LOS ANGELES - Sources in California say international pop star Michael Jackson has died after suffering cardiac arrest.Los Angeles fire officials say Jackson was rushed to UCLA Medical Center Thursday after emergency officials found him not breathing at his home. He was given CPR, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, at the scene before being taken to the hospital. […]

WASHINGTON - The US central bank on Wednesday opted to leave interest rates unchanged, saying economic weakness likely will continue.
The Federal Reserve said economic conditions warrant continued exceptionally low interest rate levels for what it termed “an extended period”.
In a statement issued at the end of a two-day monetary policy meeting, the Fed said the […]

STATE DEPARTMENT - The Obama administration confirms it is sending a U.S. ambassador to Syria after a four-year absence. The last U.S. ambassador in Damascus was withdrawn in 2005 after the Beirut assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. 
The decision to return a full-fledged ambassador to Damascus follows a series of visits to Syria […]

WASHINGTON - The United States and Russia have resumed negotiations in Geneva on cutting their nuclear arsenals.
The two sides are set to complete their third formal round of talks Wednesday on replacing the Cold War-era Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. The talks are the last before a summit next month between President Barack Obama and his […]

WASHINGTON - The United States and Kyrgyzstan have reached a deal on the continued use of a Kyrgyz air base to transport supplies for the U.S. military in Afghanistan.
The news comes four months after Kyrgyzstan’s parliament voted to evict U.S. troops from the Manas air base near the country’s border with Kazakhstan. 
Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Kadyrbek […]

WASHINGTON - U.S. and Chinese defense officials met Tuesday in Beijing for their highest-level bilateral military talks in 18 months.
Washington is expected to focus on North Korea and international efforts to persuade the reclusive state back to talks on ending its nuclear weapons program.
U.S. undersecretary for defense Michele Flournoy is leading the U.S. side for […]