US planning additional sanctions on Iran following missile test and other top stories.

• US planning additional sanctions on Iran following missile test

  

  The additional sanctions are in response to Iran's ballistic missile test Sunday. They are similar to actions taken by former President Barack Obama after Iran's previous ballistic missile tests.In a letter to Trump Thursday, a bipartisan group of senators said "Iranian leaders must feel sufficient pressure to cease deeply destabilizing activities, from sponsoring terrorist groups to continued testing of ballistic missiles.""Full enforcement of existing sanctions and the imposition of additional..

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• Europe Processing Donald Trump Challenge

  

  LONDON —  When European Council President Donald Tusk put out an open letter this week describing the Trump administration as a "threat" to Europe, his message was clear: Europe must unite or fall prey to threats from Russia. But European governments are far from united in their approach to U.S. President Donald Trump. Some governments, like that of Britain's Theresa May, see their interests better served by engaging and aligning with the new U.S. administration. Others, like Germany and France..

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• Uber CEO to Leave Trump Advisory Council After Criticism

  

  On Thursday, Mr. Kalanick gave his answer, stepping down from Mr. Trump’s economic advisory council. “There are many ways we will continue to advocate for just change on immigration, but staying on the council was going to get in the way of that,” Mr. Kalanick wrote in an email to employees obtained by The New York Times. Mr. Kalanick’s exit from the advisory council underscores the tricky calculus facing many Silicon Valley corporate chieftains who try to work with the new administration. On o..

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• North Korea accuses US, South Korea of plotting nuclear attack

  

  The statement attributed to the National Peace Committee of Korea comes just a day after new US Defense Secretary James Mattis arrived in South Korea and pledged to deploy THAAD -- the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system -- to protect US and South Korean troops.But the KCNA statement said THAAD was part of an offensive strategy between Seoul and Washington, alleging the two had "worked out a plan for a preemptive attack on the North and ... desperately pushed forward it, pushing the situa..

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• Trump moves toward a tougher line on Israeli settlements

  

  WASHINGTON –  President Donald Trump is warning Israel that constructing new settlements "may not be helpful" to Middle East peace efforts, shifting toward a tougher line with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government. Still, the White House made clear Thursday that the Trump administration "has not taken an official position on settlement activity," departing from previous administrations that have considered the settlements illegitimate. Trump has been perceived as sympathetic to..

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• Raid in Yemen: Risky From the Start and Costly in the End

  

  The death of Chief Petty Officer William Owens came after a chain of mishaps and misjudgments that plunged the elite commandos into a ferocious 50-minute firefight that also left three others wounded and a $75 million aircraft deliberately destroyed. There are allegations — which the Pentagon acknowledged on Wednesday night are most likely correct — that the mission also killed several civilians, including some children. The dead include, by the account of Al Qaeda’s branch in Yemen, the 8-year..

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• Italy-Libya Deal on Migration Lays Groundwork for EU Summit

  

  EU Council President Donald Tusk said Thursday the EU summit would pave the way for humanitarian action to save lives of poor people with no chance of being granted permission to remain in Europe. The meeting comes amid global criticism of U.S. President Donald Trump's restrictions on refugees and immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries. Tusk wants tougher action from the 28 EU leaders to break smuggling rings and the dangerous journeys on which they take migrants because "this is the ..

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• Donald Trump's undiplomatic diplomacy

  

  Throughout his campaign, Trump hailed the virtues of being unpredictable on the world stage. Much to the happiness of some of his supporters, he's following through. But in the process, Trump is confusing much of the world. He's also handing some leaders, such as those in the United Kingdom and Mexico, political headaches of their own after encountering Trump."His style of diplomacy is very different from his recent predecessors," former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told CNN Internationa..

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