United States

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US Will Share Nuke Fuel, Technology With India

Civilian deal reverses US precedent

(Newser) - The United States unveiled a plan today to share nuclear fuel and technology with India, upending decades of American non-proliferation strictures, the AP reports. The deal allows only civilian uses, but critics are concerned nonetheless about the specter of an Asian  nuclear arms race.

Raul Castro Assumes Spotlight
Raul Castro Assumes Spotlight

Raul Castro Assumes Spotlight

Dictator's brother fills in at annual rite, rapping US, Bush

(Newser) - Fidel Castro did not give his usual sermon at Cuba's annual Revolution Day celebration today; instead, his brother Raul took center stage. The no-longer-quite-so-interim leader, who assumed power a year ago because of his brother's health problems, told a cheering crowd that he's willing to negotiate with the US after...

Bush Gets Personal with Iraqi PM
Bush Gets Personal
with Iraqi PM

Bush Gets Personal with Iraqi PM

Leaders' virtual meetings produce few concrete results

(Newser) - Across thousands of miles, President Bush remains a close adviser to Iraqi PM Nuri al-Maliki. At least every 2 weeks, the politicians confer over a satellite uplink, usually for more than an hour of discussion about the civil war, Iraq's future, and even their shared religious devotion. "They talk...

Iran Talks Raise Tension, But Not Consensus

On first day of sitdown, parties still tangled over allegations of interference

(Newser) - The United States and Iran began their first day of diplomatic talks on Iraq today, but the Times reports that the summit is still tangled over US allegation that Iran is funding armed militias inside Iraq. Iran vehemently denied the charge today; an American official who attending the meeting said...

Musharraf Faces Bumpy Road to Re-Election

Bhutto mounts challenge to second presidential term

(Newser) - Pervez Musharraf is facing yet another hurdle: Benazir Bhutto says she will return to Pakistan to challenge his plans for another presidential term. The exiled ex-PM tells the Sunday Times she is considering abandoning talks with the increasingly unpopular Musharraf, embarrassed last week after the country's Supreme Court reinstated the...

Bush Satisfied With Iraq Progress
Bush Satisfied With Iraq Progress

Bush Satisfied With Iraq Progress

Acknowledging 'war fatigue,' president warns against hasty withdrawal

(Newser) - President Bush used today's interim report on the Iraq war to renew his call for Congress to withhold judgment on the troop surge until a September update, saying the military will "be in a better position to adjust" in 2 months. The report notes positive movement in eight out...

China's Surplus Soars to $26.9B
China's Surplus Soars to $26.9B

China's Surplus Soars to $26.9B

Weak yuan is driving China's economy to a record expansion; trade surplus nearly doubled

(Newser) - China's trade surplus surged to a record $26.9B in June, an 87% increase since last year. Economists attribute the trade gap to China's significantly—as much as 40%—underpriced currency, the yuan, reports Bloomberg. Half of China's surplus is with the US, which recently began preparing legislation to sanction...

Record Highs Scorch West
Record Highs Scorch West

Record Highs Scorch West

Sizzling towns open swelter shelters for elderly as heat goes on

(Newser) - A searing heat wave is likely to continue barbecuing the western U.S. today after record temperatures soared to 127 in Death Valley, 125 in nearby Baker and 116 in Phoenix yesterday. Las Vegas sizzled at 116 degrees with humidity in the single digits, and even northeastern Oregon cracked 107...

US Plays Down New Terror Attack Warning

No specific evidence, Homeland Security Chief maintains

(Newser) - Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff has minimized reports of an al-Queda terrorism "spectacular" this summer, described in a secret US law enforcement document. There is no "specific, credible evidence" of an impending attack on the US, Chertoff says, according to the Boston Herald. But one senior official notes...

Majority of Alcoholics Are Young Adults

Study splits drinkers into 5 categories; 2 largest are in 20s

(Newser) - More than half of all alcoholics in the United States are young adults, reveals a new study that surveyed 1,484 US adults. The study, reported by CBS, divided problem drinkers into five types. Despite the stereotype of the alcoholic as middle-aged, the average age in the two largest groups—...

California Ranked Worst for Traffic
California Ranked Worst for Traffic

California Ranked Worst for Traffic

New Jersey boasts poorest road system

(Newser) - California ranks No.1 in the US for interstate traffic jams, says a new study which focused on congestion around big cities. With traffic snarled on 83.3% of its urban roadways, the Golden State edged out runners-up Minnesota and New Jersey. Surprisingly, New York—gridlock central—only came in...

Russia Stakes Claim to Oil-Rich Arctic Territory

Kremlin claims underwater shelf links huge chunk to Russia

(Newser) - Russia has claimed a massive, oil-rich chunk of the Arctic, despite international laws that block ownership of the territory. The Kremlin based its move on scientists' insistence that an underwater shelf links Russia to 460,000 square miles of the North Pole, which contains 10 billion tons of oil and...

Chavez Warns of US Attack
Chavez Warns of  US Attack

Chavez Warns of US Attack

Orders Venezuelan army to prepare for guerrilla resistance

(Newser) - Truculent Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has ordered troops to be prepared for a US invasion, the Guardian reports. America is intent on toppling his government in any way it can, Chavez warned in a speech to soldiers. "It's not just armed warfare; I'm also referring to psychological warfare, political...

US, Iran Split Over Terrorist Group
US, Iran Split Over Terrorist Group

US, Iran Split Over Terrorist Group

As talks loom, Iran seethes over US-sponsored group

(Newser) - As the US and Iran inch toward the table, a sticky wicket could be the US relationship with the Mujahedin e-Khalq, a paramilitary group that militantly opposes the Tehran government. The US, meanwhile, shelters the MEK in a base on the Iraq-Iran border that has become the organization's operations center.

US Eyes Blair as Mideast Envoy
US Eyes Blair as
Mideast Envoy

US Eyes Blair as Mideast Envoy

Soon-to-be-former PM would focus on groundwork for a Palestinian state

(Newser) - Outgoing British PM Tony Blair may step into a new role as a Mideast envoy focusing on the development of a viable Palestinian state, the Washington Post reports. Blair would concentrate on economic and governance issues; he would represent the quartet of world players involved in Mideast peace efforts—the...

US Must Bolster Fatah to Defeat Hamas

Peace with Israel will have to wait, says columnist

(Newser) - In the wake of Fatah's collapse in Gaza, and the subsequent takeover by Hamas, the US and its Mideast allies should focus on cleaning up corruption-tainted Fatah and making it more responsive to the Palestinian people, argues Dennis Ross in the New Republic. That is the only hope for a...

US, EU to Renew Palestinian Aid
US, EU to Renew Palestinian Aid

US, EU to Renew Palestinian Aid

End of embargoes bolsters Hamas-led emergency government

(Newser) - The US and the EU demonstrated support for the emergency Palestinian government today through separate pledges to lift economic embargoes and renew aid to the Palestinian Authority. The promises follow Mahmoud Abbas' establishment of a pro-peace cabinet without members of Hamas, putting the US in the curious position of supporting...

10 Arrested in Laos Takeover Scheme

Plotters led by former Laotian general and US military officer

(Newser) - Ten suspects were arrested in six Californian cities today for conspiring to overthrow the government of Laos. The plotters included a former general in the Laotian army and a former US military officer who was a covert operative during the Vietnam War, the AP reports. Most of the group were...

US and Russia Lock Horns over Kosovo, Missile Shield

Cold War fault lines rumble at prelim G-8 summit

(Newser) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US counterpart Condi Rice butted heads during a sit-down with G-8 foreign ministers yesterday, over US plans to grant Kosovo independence and build a missile defense shield in the region. The entire group endorsed freeing Kosovo from Serbian control, the Washington Post reports, except...

US-Iran Talks First Since 1979
US-Iran Talks First Since 1979

US-Iran Talks First Since 1979

On the table: Iraqi security. Off the table: Iranian nuclear buildup, detainees.

(Newser) - Ambassadors for the US and Iran met for four hours today in Baghdad, in the first bilateral talks between the countries in decades. The US's Ryan Crocker was expected to press claims that Iran is providing training and weapons to Iraqi insurgents, and his counterpart Hassan Kazemi Qomi to raise...

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