U.S

U.S. begins $70 million upgrade of Kenyan air base after 2020 al-Shabab attack NAIROBI, Kenya — The United States has launched a $70 million project to expand an airfield at Manda Bay Air Base in coastal Kenya, deepening counterterrorism cooperation with Nairobi four years after an al-Shabab assault killed three Americans at the site. The expansion is underway at the Kenyan Defense Forces facility in Lamu County near the Somalia border, a longtime hub for operations against the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab. U.S. Deputy…

U.S. clears $9 billion sale of Patriot PAC-3 interceptors to Saudi Arabia The U.S. State Department has approved a potential sale of Patriot interceptor missiles and related equipment to Saudi Arabia valued at an estimated $9 billion, the Pentagon said Friday. The package centers on 730 Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement interceptors, known as PAC-3 MSE, with Lockheed Martin named as the principal contractor. In its announcement, the Pentagon said the proposed sale will not alter the military balance…

The U.S. government entered a partial shutdown after a budget deadline passed without House action on a 2026 spending plan, but disruption is expected to be limited with the chamber set to return Monday to take up a Senate-backed deal. The lapse follows a breakdown in negotiations driven by Democratic fury over two recent fatal shootings of U.S. citizens by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis, which derailed talks over new money for the Department of Homeland Security. Senate leaders responded by splitting off DHS…

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Friday warned that the United States will take “decisive military action” against Somali pirate groups, signaling a tougher posture that could allow U.S. forces to target suspected pirates even if they have not attacked American vessels. Trump said U.S. forces would strike any individual or boat that moves toward a ship, regardless of ownership or flag. “Anyone who tries to move toward a vessel will meet the ultimate punishment,” he said, according to remarks reported by U.S. media. The…

WASHINGTON — The United States has approved $6.67 billion in arms sales to Israel, including 30 Apache attack helicopters and infantry assault vehicles, as a fragile cease-fire in the Gaza Strip faces repeated violations and international scrutiny. The State Department said Friday the package would bolster Israel’s “strong and ready self-defense capability,” a core U.S. policy priority. The approvals come as rights groups and United Nations experts intensify calls for Washington to halt military transfers they say risk…

Thousands of protesters filled downtown Minneapolis on Thursday as students across the United States staged coordinated walkouts, demanding that federal immigration agents withdraw from Minnesota amid mounting outrage over fatal shootings linked by demonstrators to a recent enforcement surge. The protests targeted a sweeping federal immigration operation in the Minneapolis area that has put heavily armed officers on neighborhood streets and prompted accusations of indiscriminate tactics. Organizers said the day of action…

The U.S. Justice Department has published a final cache of Jeffrey Epstein–related records, releasing millions of pages and thousands of media files under a new law that mandates disclosure of material tied to the late convicted sex offender. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the production marks the end of the administration’s planned releases under the statute passed in November. The trove includes more than three million pages, 2,000 videos and 180,000 images, according to Blanche, who added the files contain…

U.S. Judge Margaret Garnett on Thursday barred prosecutors from seeking the death penalty against Luigi Mangione, the 27-year-old accused of gunning down United Healthcare chief executive Brian Thompson in New York in December 2024. In a ruling that reshapes the federal case, Garnett dismissed two death-eligible counts against Mangione — murder and using a gun with a silencer — effectively taking capital punishment off the table. Mangione still faces two federal counts of stalking, and he remains charged with murder at the…

U.S. eases some Venezuela oil sanctions, opening trade for American firms WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has lifted some sanctions on Venezuela’s oil industry to make it easier for U.S. companies to move and process the country’s crude, even as broader restrictions on production remain in place, according to the Treasury Department. The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a general license authorizing U.S. entities to buy, sell, transport, store and refine Venezuelan-origin oil. The measure is intended…

BRUSSELS — Denmark’s foreign minister said Tuesday he is “more optimistic” after technical talks with the United States on Greenland began in Washington, the first senior-level engagement since tensions flared over the Arctic territory. Lars Lokke Rasmussen told reporters on the sidelines of an EU meeting that Danish, Greenlandic and U.S. officials held “the very first meeting at senior official level in Washington yesterday regarding the Greenlandic issue.” “It went well in a very constructive atmosphere and tone, and new…