Author: Daily Sabah With Reuters

Israel has not ruled out an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities in the coming months despite President Donald Trump telling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the U.S. was for now unwilling to support such a move, according to an Israeli official and two other people familiar with the matter. Israeli officials have vowed to prevent Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon and Netanyahu has insisted that any negotiation with Iran must lead to the complete dismantling of its nuclear program. U.S. and Iranian negotiators are set for a second round of preliminary nuclear talks in Rome on Saturday. Over…

The United States is prepared to recognize Russian control of the Ukrainian region of Crimea as part of a broader peace agreement between Moscow and Kyiv, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The United States will continue to assist Taiwan with its self-defence and wants to see peace across the Taiwan Strait without coercion or the threat of force, a visiting U.S. senator told President Lai Ching-te on Friday. The United States is Taiwan’s most important international backer and arms supplier despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties with the Chinese-claimed island. Meeting Lai at the presidential office in Taipei, the Republican Senator Pete Ricketts said that although administrations change, the bipartisan support for Taiwan in Congress continued. “The United States is committed to peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific. We want…

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that Chinese companies that Kyiv earlier imposed sanctions on were involved in the production of Russian Iskander missiles. “Today, we have expanded our Ukrainian sanctions against nearly a hundred more entities – natural and legal persons – most of whom are involved in the production of such missiles -Iskanders – like those that struck our Kharkiv,” Zelensky said in a statement on X. “Many of these entities are Russian, but unfortunately, some are also from China,” he said. China’s foreign ministry earlier dismissed as “groundless” the accusation by Zelenskiy that the country had…

The Kremlin said on Friday that some progress had already been made in talks about a possible peace settlement to end the war in Ukraine but that contacts were rather complicated with the United States. “Contacts are quite complicated, because, naturally, the topic is not an easy one,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “Russia is committed to resolving this conflict, ensuring its own interests, and is open to dialogue. We continue to do this.” U.S. President Donald Trump will walk away from trying to broker a Russia-Ukraine peace deal within days unless there are clear signs that a deal…

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell should reduce interest rates. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that inflation was going down, and Powell should respond by reducing interest rates. “If we had a Fed chairman that understood what he was doing, interest rates would be coming down. He should bring them down,” Trump said.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic who has clashed with Pope Francis over the Trump administration’s immigration policies, took part in a religious service at the Vatican on Friday but the convalescing pope did not attend. Vance, visiting Italy with his family over the Easter weekend, joined a ceremony in St. Peter’s Basilica for Good Friday, the day Christians mark Jesus’ crucifixion. The vice president was seen entering the event with his wife Usha and their three young children. Vance carried one of the children in his arms. Francis is limiting his public appearances on doctors’ orders as he…

China’s commerce ministry on Friday expressed dissatisfaction and opposition after the U.S. announced measures targeting China’s shipbuilding, maritime and logistics sectors including port fees for China-linked ships. In a statement, the Chinese ministry called on Washington to stop “shifting blame” and correct its “wrong” practice as soon as possible. “China will closely monitor relevant developments from the U.S. side and will resolutely take necessary measures to safeguard its own interests,” the statement added.

White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said on Friday that President Donald Trump and his team were studying the matter when asked if firing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell was an option. “The president and his team will continue to study that matter,” Hassett told reporters at the White House in response to a question. Hassett’s exchange with the press came a day after Trump ramped up a long-simmering feud with the Fed chair, accusing Powell of “playing politics” by not cutting interest rates and asserting he had the power to evict Powell from his job “real fast.” Hassett appeared…

Serena Williams, one of the greatest players in tennis history, said that if she had failed drug tests like men’s world No. 1 Jannik Sinner did last year, she would have been banned for 20 years and stripped of her Grand Slam titles. Sinner accepted a three-month ban in February after reaching an agreement with the World Anti-Doping Agency, which had appealed an independent tribunal’s decision to clear him following two positive tests for the anabolic agent clostebol. “I love the guy, love this game,” Williams, who retired in 2022 after winning 23 Grand Slam titles, told Time magazine. “He’s…