Sudan envoy to UN says UAE carried out May 4 attacks on Port Sudan from Emirati Red Sea base
CAIRO (Reuters) -Sudan's ambassador to the United Nations accused the United Arab Emirates on Monday of carrying out attacks on Port Sudan on May 4 with warplanes and drones launched from an Emirati Red Sea base.
Ambassador al-Harith Idris said the alleged Emirati attack came one day after an airstrike by the Sudanese armed forces on the city of Nyala that targeted an Emirati warplane and killed 13 foreigners including "Emirati elements."
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New York Post
31 minutes ago
- New York Post
Hegseth wavers on Russia sanctions, says US should not use ‘every tool' to end Ukraine invasion
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth resisted senators' efforts to secure his support for a bipartisan bill that would sanction Russia for its war on Ukraine, telling an Appropriations subcommittee Wednesday that the US should not use 'every tool at our disposal' to pressure Moscow to stop its assault. Asked by Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) whether Washington 'should use every tool it has at its disposal, including additional sanctions, to pressure Russia to come to the table to negotiate a just and lasting peace for the war in Ukraine,' Hegseth demurred. 'Senator, every tool at our disposal? No,' he said. 'We have a lot of tools in a lot of places.' 'We should be pursuing a cease-fire and a negotiated resolution to the war in Ukraine at any cost,' Coons responded. ''Peace through strength' means actually using our strength, continuing to support Ukraine, and securing a lasting peace. [Vladimir] Putin will only stop when we stop him.' 4 Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth testified Wednesday at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing. REUTERS Prior to questioning Hegseth, Coons had talked up Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal's (D-Conn.) pending bill to further sanction Russia for its continued resistance to peace in Ukraine. The legislation, backed by 80 senators, would impose sanctions on key Russian officials and economic sectors — and, critically, penalize foreign nations that do business with Moscow. Graham later followed up, urging Hegseth and the administration 'to use that tool to get the attention of China and India.' 'China buys — and India buys — 70% of Russia's oil … If they stop buying cheap Russian oil tomorrow, would that grind Putin's war machine to a halt?' Graham asked, later adding: 'We have an ability, through legislation, to get China and India's attention [and say] that if you keep buying cheap Russian oil to empower Putin to kill Ukrainian children, you're going to lose access to our markets. 'We're not going to evict every Russian from Ukraine, I'm a practical guy,' Graham added. 'But we got to end this war so we don't entice China to take Taiwan, and we don't encourage Iran to think we're just all talk [about] stopping their nuclear ambitions.' 4 Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) questions Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth during a Senate Committee on Appropriations subcommittee hearing to examine proposed budget estimates for fiscal year 2026 for the Department of Defense. AP On Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported that the White House was quietly pushing Graham to water down the bill by allowing waivers to exempt certain people and entities from sanctions and to 'remove the mandatory nature' of the legislation. A White House official told the outlet that the Constitution 'vests the president with the authority to conduct diplomacy with foreign nations.' 'Any sanction package must provide complete flexibility for the president to continue to pursue his desired foreign policy,' they added. Hegseth did admit Wednesday that Russia is the 'aggressor' in Ukraine and that Chinese President Xi Jinping wants Moscow to 'win' the conflict. However, the secretary declined to answer Sen. Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) question about 'which side' he wanted to win the war. 'As we've said time and time again, this president is committed to peace in that conflict,' Hegseth said. 'Ultimately, peace serves our national interests, and we think the interests of both parties, even if that outcome will not be preferable to many in this room and many in our country.' 4 Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (R) greets Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Dan Caine before testifying during a hearing with the Senate Appropriations Committee on June 11. Getty Images McConnell pushed further, noting that the Russians 'don't seem to be too interested' in peace talks. The former Senate GOP leader also alleged that NATO partners increasing their defense spending at Trump's behest are now wondering 'whether we're in the midst of brokering what appears to be allowing the Russians to define victory.' 'I think victory is defined by the people that have to live there, the Ukrainians,' he said. 'And I don't think they're going to ever conclude that victory means basically adopting the Russian views on all this. ' Hegseth responded that 'no one's adopting views,' but added that the upcoming National Defense Authorization Act does not include funding of weapons for Ukraine because 'the budget reflects the reality that Europe needs to step up more for the defense of its own continent, and President Trump deserves the credit for that.' 4 Ranking member Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) speaks with subcommittee Chairman Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) during a hearing with the Senate Appropriations Committee on June 11, 2025. Getty Images McConnell agreed, noting that he had 'the same complaints' about the Biden administration not pushing hard enough for Europe to fund Ukraine's defense. Still, the Kentuckian insisted that by not standing foursquare behind the Kyiv government, 'it seems to me pretty obvious that America's reputation is on the line.' 'Will we defend democratic allies against authoritarian aggressors?' McConnell asked. 'That's the international concern that I have about this, and I think a number of my fellow members share that view.'
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Bessent says US may 'roll the date forward' for some after 90-day tariff pause ends
(Reuters) -U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday said the Trump administration is prepared to "roll the date forward" with trading partners negotiating in good faith if the deadline marking the end of the 90-day pause on President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs is reached with no deal. "It is highly likely that those countries - or trading blocs as is the case with the EU - who are negotiating in good faith, we will roll the date forward to continue the good-faith negotiations," Bessent told the House Ways and Means Committee. "If someone is not negotiating, then we will not." Bessent's remarks, in response to a question from a Democratic lawmaker, marked the first time a Trump administration official has indicated some flexibility around the expiration date for the pause. That date - July 8 - is now just four weeks away, and so far the White House has struck only one preliminary deal with a major foreign trading partner affected by the pause, Britain. A deal struck on Tuesday in London with China to de-escalate that bilateral trade war is proceeding on a separate track and timeline. The White House did not immediately respond to a question about whether Trump shared Bessent's view. Trump announced the pause on April 9, a week after unveiling "Liberation Day" tariffs against nearly all U.S. trading partners that proved to be so unexpectedly large and sweeping that it sent global financial markets into near panic. The S&P 500 Index plunged more than 12% in four days for its heftiest run of losses since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. Investors were so rattled they bailed out of safe-haven U.S. Treasury securities, sending bond yields rocketing higher. The dollar sank. Markets started their recovery on April 9 when Trump unexpectedly announced the pause. A further leg up in the recovery followed in early May when the Trump team reached a preliminary deal to dial back the triple-digit tariff rates it had imposed on goods from China. The events have given rise to what some on Wall Street have parodied as the "TACO" trade - an acronym for Trump Always Chickens Out. "The only time the market has reacted positively is when the administration is in retreat from key policy areas," Democratic Representative Don Beyer of Virginia told Bessent before pressing him on what should be expected at the end of the next deadline next month. "As I have said repeatedly there are 18 important trading partners. We are working toward deals with those," Bessent said before going on to signal a willingness to offer extensions to those negotiating in good faith. (Reporting By Dan Burns; Editing by Chris Reese and Daniel Wallis)
CNBC
an hour ago
- CNBC
U.S. preparing to partially evacuate Iraq embassy over regional security risks: Reuters sources
The United States is preparing a partial evacuation of its Iraqi embassy and will allow military dependents to leave locations around the Middle East due to heightened security risks in the region, U.S. and Iraqi sources said on Wednesday. The four U.S. and two Iraqi sources did not specify which security risks had prompted the decision and reports of the potential evacuation pushed up oil prices by more than 4%. "The State Department regularly reviews American personnel abroad and this decision was made as a result of a recent review," White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told Reuters when asked about reports of the partial evacuations, without giving further details. A White House official said U.S. President Donald Trump was aware of the move. The partial evacuations come at a moment of heightened tensions in a region already aflame after 18 months of war in Gaza that has raised fears of a wider conflagration pitting the U.S. and Israel against Iran and its allies. Trump has repeatedly threatened to strike Iran if stuttering talks over its nuclear program fail and on Wednesday he said he was growing less confident that Tehran would agree to stop enriching uranium, a key American demand. Iranian Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh also said on Wednesday that Iran would retaliate against U.S. bases in the region if the nuclear talks failed and it was subjected to strikes. The United States has a military presence in Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has authorized the voluntary departure of military dependents from locations across the Middle East, a U.S. official said. Another U.S. official said that was mostly relevant to family members located in Bahrain -- where the bulk of them are based. "The State Department is set to have an ordered departure for (the) U.S. embassy in Baghdad. The intent is to do it through commercial means, but the U.S. military is standing by if help is requested," a third U.S. official said. An Iraqi foreign ministry official said a "partial evacuation" of U.S. embassy staff had been confirmed due to what the official termed "potential security concerns related to possible regional tensions." Another U.S. official said that there was no change in operations at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the largest U.S. military base in the Middle East and that no evacuation order had been issued for employees or families linked to the U.S. embassy in Qatar, which was operating as usual. Oil futures climbed $3 on reports of the Baghdad evacuation with Brent crude futures at $69.18 a barrel. Earlier on Wednesday Britain's maritime agency warned that increased tensions in the Middle East may lead to an escalation in military activity that could impact shipping in critical waterways. It advised vessels to use caution while travelling through the Gulf, the Gulf of Oman and the Straits of Hormuz, which all border Iran. Iraq, a rare regional partner of both the United States and its arch regional foe Iran, hosts 2,500 U.S. troops and has Tehran-backed armed factions linked to its security forces. Tensions inside Iraq have heightened since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023, with Iran-aligned armed groups in the country repeatedly attacking U.S. troops. Top U.S. regional ally Israel has also struck Iran-linked targets across the region, including Iraqi armed groups operating both inside Iraq and in neighboring Syria. Iran's U.N. mission on Wednesday posted on X: "Threats of 'overwhelming force' won't change facts: Iran is not seeking a nuclear weapon and U.S. militarism only fuels instability." The statement appeared to be a response to an earlier comment by U.S. Central Command chief U.S. Army General Michael Kurilla that he had provided the president with "a wide range of options" to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran.
