Articles written by Matthew Lee
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 227
Netanyahu vows to invade Rafah 'with or without a deal' as cease-fire talks with Hamas continue
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged Tuesday to launch an incursion into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are sheltering from the almost 7-month-long war, just as c...
Blinken raises Chinese trade practices in meetings with officials in the financial hub of Shanghai
SHANGHAI (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken raised what the U.S. describes as unfair Chinese trade practices during his first full day of meetings in China on Thursday with local government officials in the financial hub of Shanghai. B...
Blinken says Israeli offers to increase flow of aid to Gaza are welcome but may not be sufficient
LEUVEN, Belgium (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that the measures the Israeli government has announced to expand the flow of aid into Gaza are welcome but may not be enough to meet the Biden administration's demands for d...
Blinken says Israeli assault on Gaza's Rafah would be a 'mistake' and isn't needed to defeat Hamas
CAIRO (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday a major Israeli ground assault on the southern Gaza town of Rafah would be "a mistake" and "unnecessary" to defeating Hamas, underscoring the further souring of relations between t...
Blinken ends latest Mideast mission after new Israeli snub of proposed Gaza cease-fire plan
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken left the Middle East on Thursday with public divisions between the United States and Israel at perhaps their worst level since Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza began in October. W...
Blinken returns to Mideast in push for hostage deal and postwar plan for Gaza, but obstacles loom
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Saudi Arabia's crown prince Monday at the start of his fifth visit to the Middle East since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, hoping to press ahead with a potential c...
In a rare action against Israel, US says extremist West Bank settlers will be barred from America
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a rare punitive move against Israel, the State Department said Tuesday it will impose travel bans on extremist Jewish settlers implicated in a rash of recent attacks on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. Secretary of S...
G7 nations announce a unified stance on Israel-Hamas war after intensive meetings in Tokyo
TOKYO (AP) — Top diplomats from the Group of Seven leading industrial democracies announced a unified stance on the Israel-Hamas war on Wednesday after intensive meetings in Tokyo, condemning Hamas, supporting Israel's right to self-defense and c...
Agreement reached for Biden-Xi talks, but details still being worked out, official tells AP
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping have agreed to meet on the sidelines of next month's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco, according to a U.S. official familiar with the planning. The two s...
In first call with Palestinian president Abbas, Biden discusses support for humanitarian aid to Gaza
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — President Joe Biden on Saturday spoke with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, urging the leaders to allow humanitarian aid to the region and affirmed his support for e...
Hamas attack on Israel thrusts Biden into Mideast crisis and has him fending off GOP criticism
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Hamas militant attack on Israel and the massive retaliation it provoked from Jerusalem have thrust President Joe Biden into a Middle East crisis that risks expanding into a broader conflict and has left him fending off criticism...
US secures the release of the soldier who crossed into North Korea 2 months ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. has secured the release of a U.S. soldier who sprinted across a heavily fortified border into North Korea more than two months ago, and he is on his way back to America, officials announced Wednesday. U.S. ally Sweden a...
What's behind the tentative US-Iran agreement involving prisoners and frozen funds
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United States and Iran reached a tentative agreement this week that will eventually see five detained Americans in Iran and an unknown number Iranians imprisoned in the U.S. released from custody after billions...
US and China hold top-level talks, but their rivalry remains unchecked
BEIJING (AP) — The United States and China may be back to talking at a high level, but their battle for global power and influence remains unchecked and mutual suspicion still runs deep. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken set low goals for his v...
Blinken says no cease-fire until Ukraine gains upper hand in war
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday the United States won't support peace talks in the war in Ukraine until Kyiv holds the upper hand, possibly after a Ukrainian counteroffensive that appears to be taking shape. B...
Warring factions in Sudan agree to temporary ceasefire, say US-Saudi mediators
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sudan's warring factions have agreed to a new short-term ceasefire, U.S. and Saudi mediators announced on Saturday, after several previous attempts to broker a truce that holds have failed. Meeting in the Saudi port city of J...
US evacuating diplomats in Sudan amid fierce fighting
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. troops are carrying out a precarious evacuation of American embassy staffers in the African nation of Sudan, shuttering the U.S. embassy there as fighting rages for a ninth day, according to a senior Biden administration o...
US is providing Ukraine with $2.6 billion in military aid
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. will send Ukraine about $500 million in ammunition and equipment and spend more than $2 billion to buy an array of munitions, radar and new weapons to help Kyiv counter drones in the coming months, the Pentagon said T...
Ukraine in mind, US frantic to avert Mideast showdown at UN
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is scrambling to avert a diplomatic crisis over Israeli settlement activity this week at the United Nations that threatens to overshadow and perhaps derail what the U.S. hopes will be a solid five days of f...
Balloon bursts hopes for end to spiraling US-China tensions
WASHINGTON (AP) — Monday was supposed to be a day of modest hope in the U.S.-China relationship. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was going to be in Beijing, meeting with President Xi Jinping in a high-stakes bid to ease ever-rising tensions between...
US to send Ukraine longer-range bombs in latest turnaround
WASHINGTON (AP) — After months of agonizing, the U.S has agreed to send longer-range bombs to Ukraine as it prepares to launch a spring offensive to retake territory Russia captured last year, U.S. officials said Thursday, confirming that the new w...
Blinken Mideast visit highlights US limitations in region
JERUSALEM (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday wrapped up a two-day visit to Israel and the occupied West Bank with no visible signs of progress toward halting one of the deadliest outbreaks of Israeli-Palestinian violence in y...
US poised to approve Patriot missile battery for Ukraine
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is poised to approve sending a Patriot missile battery to Ukraine, finally agreeing to an urgent request from Ukrainian leaders desperate for more robust weapons to shoot down incoming Russian missiles, U.S. officials s...
Griner for Bout: WNBA star freed in US-Russia prisoner swap
WASHINGTON (AP) — Russia freed WNBA star Brittney Griner on Thursday in a dramatic high-level prisoner exchange, with the U.S. releasing notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, American and Russian officials said. The swap, at a time of h...
Saudi prince's new title key to dodging lawsuit over killing
WASHINGTON (AP) — It raised eyebrows six weeks ago when Saudi Arabia's aged king, Salman, named his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as prime minister. The kingdom's laws designate the king as prime minister. King Salman had to declare a t...