President Trump Opens Door for US to Re-Enter TPP

President Trump Opens Door for US to Re-Enter TPP

(Worthy News) – President Donald Trump told CNBC on Thursday that he would reconsider the massive Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal if the United States could strike a “substantially better” agreement. But it’s almost certainly too late for the U.S. to negotiate a new deal.

“I would do TPP if we were able to make a substantially better deal. The deal was terrible, the way it was structured was terrible. If we did a substantially better deal, I would be open to TPP,” he said in an exclusive interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

TPP was a 12-nation agreement among the United States and Pacific rim countries that was designed in part to counter China’s rising dominance of the region. But Trump withdrew from the deal last year, saying it would encourage companies to ship jobs to lower-wage countries. [ Source: CNBC (Read More…) ]

Iran has fired 23 ballistic missiles since start of 2015 nuclear deal, explosive report shows

Iran has fired 23 ballistic missiles since start of 2015 nuclear deal, explosive report shows

(Worthy News) – Iran has aggressively pursued its ballistic missile program since agreeing to the 2015 nuclear deal, regularly launching nuclear-capable missiles in what critics consider a violation of the spirit of the deal, according to a report obtained by Fox News.

The report shows Iran has fired some 23 missiles since signing the deal, as many as 16 of them nuclear-capable. The controversial deal reached with the Obama administration did not include a ban on missiles, and Iran and European signatories to the agreement stress international inspectors have certified Iran in compliance.

But critics say the robust missile program shows the Islamic republic is bent on intimidating its enemies and preparing for the day when it can do so with the ultimate weapon of mass destruction. [ Source: Fox News (Read More…) ]

Haley Suggests it’s Time The Palestinians Find New Leadership

Haley Suggests it’s Time The Palestinians Find New Leadership

(Worthy News) – U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley on Thursday effectively told the Palestinians to find new leadership if they expect to achieve a peace settlement that leads to a better future for them and Israelis alike.

While the U.S. remains committed to helping Israel and the Palestinian achieve a peace agreement, she told the U.N. Security Council, “we will not chase after a Palestinian leadership that lacks what is needed to achieve peace.”

Haley compared Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas unfavorably with other Arab leaders who, she said, had taken courageous steps to reach peace agreements with Israel in decades past. [ Source: CNS News (Read More…) ]

Danon: Iran currently controls 82 thousand fighters in Syria

Danon: Iran currently controls 82 thousand fighters in Syria

(Worthy News) – Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon revealed on Thursday previously undisclosed information concerning the Syrian Civil War to the UN Security Council.

Danon told the executive body that he was ready to expose the “classified information” for the first time, saying “Iran is currently controlling 82 thousand fighters in Syria.”

The Israeli envoy claimed that the Islamic republic currently has more than “three thousand of its own Iranian Revolutionary Guard” in Syria. [ Source: Jerusalem Post (Read More…) ]

Putin hails new bomber as a boost to Russia’s nuclear forces

Putin hails new bomber as a boost to Russia’s nuclear forces

(Worthy News) – President Vladimir Putin praised a newly-built supersonic strategic bomber on Thursday after watching it in flight, saying it would beef up Russia’s nuclear weapons capability.

Under a contract signed on Thursday, 10 of the modernized TU-160M nuclear bombers, codenamed Blackjacks by NATO, will be delivered to the Russian Air Force at a cost of 15 billion roubles ($269 million) each between now and 2027.

The giant swing-wing plane is a substantially modernized-version of a Soviet-era bomber that the USSR would have deployed in the event of a nuclear war with the West to deliver nuclear weapons at long distances. [ Source: Jerusalem Post (Read More…) ]

Trump wades into currency uproar, favours ‘strong dollar’

Trump wades into currency uproar, favours ‘strong dollar’

(Worthy News) – President Donald Trump waded into the uproar over the US currency on Thursday (Jan 25), saying he wants to see “a strong dollar,” countering comments by his treasury secretary that appeared to signal the opposite and sent the greenback plunging to three-year lows.

It was an inauspicious start to Trump’s first foray as president onto the glitzy global stage at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, as he was forced into damage control mode to calm skittish foreign exchange markets.

Trump told CNBC that remarks a day earlier by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, which seemed to favor a weak dollar to help US exporters, “were taken out of context.” [ Source: Channel News Asia (Read More…) ]

Jerusalem will ‘never be unified’; two-state solution now unacceptable, says PLO ambassador

Jerusalem will ‘never be unified’; two-state solution now unacceptable, says PLO ambassador

(Worthy News) – The Trump administration’s push to have Jerusalem officially recognized as the capital of Israel is destined to fail and will only exacerbate tensions between the U.S and the region, the top Palestinian diplomat in Washington said Thursday.

“Jerusalem is not going anywhere. It is not united. It will never be united” solely as the Israeli capital, said Ambassador Husam Zomlot, head of the Palestinian Liberation Organization’s General Delegation to the U.S.

Palestinians want East Jerusalem to be the capital of their independent nation in any two-state deal with Israel, and have complained bitterly that Mr. Trump’s unilateral move last month to recognize the city as Israel’s capital and begin moving the U.S. embassy there have short-circuited the negotiations. [ Source: Washington Times (Read More…) ]

Israel accuses Iran of trying to turn Syria into its base

Israel accuses Iran of trying to turn Syria into its base

(Worthy News) – Israel’s U.N. ambassador is accusing Iran of attempting to turn Syria into “the largest military base in the world” to destabilize the region, threaten Israel and “terrorize the entire free world.”

Danny Danon told the Security Council Thursday that classified information he was releasing showed that 82,000 fighters are currently under Iranian authority in Syria.

He said the fighters include 60,000 Syrians, 9,000 members of Hezbollah, 3,000 Iranian Revolutionary Guard members and “10,000 members of violent Shia militias recruited from across the Middle East, including Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.” [ Source: Washington Times (Read More…) ]

Trump says U.S. aid to Palestinians is ‘on the table’ in possible peace talks with Israel

Trump says U.S. aid to Palestinians is ‘on the table’ in possible peace talks with Israel

(Worthy News) – President Trump vowed Thursday to block any new U.S. financial aid to the Palestinians until they agree to restart peace talks with Israel.

During a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the sidelines of the economic summit in Davos, Switzerland, Mr. Trump said his administration has prepared a “great proposal” for the Palestinians on a comprehensive peace deal. But the harsh reaction to his decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, including a snub of Vice President Mike Pence on his recent tour of the region, had put any U.S.-backed diplomatic initiative on hold, he said.

“We have a proposal for peace,” Mr. Trump said. “It covers a lot of the things that were, over the years, discussed and agreed on.” [ Source (Read More…) ]