The United States will soon impose more sanctions on Syria in response to a chemical attack blamed on President Bashar al-Assad's regime after an "overwhelming" successful military operation, the Trump administration officials said on Saturday.
The State Department and the White House too said that the US expects Pakistan to take decisive action against terrorists operating from its soil.
Jim Mattis in his resignation letter to the US president wrote that he deserved a defence secretary whose views were better aligned with his on these and other subjects.
Sitharaman has completed just 19 days as defence minister and is also pre-occupied with the Gujarat assembly election, notes Ajai Shukla.
Officials said the addition shows the measure was set on the basis of security and was not a 'Muslim ban'.
The two Koreas agreed during rare talks on Wednesday to form a combined women's ice hockey team to take part in next month's Winter Olympics in the South.
Since 1975, the United States has welcomed more than 3 million refugees from all over the world.
This test fire is the second time in less than a month and followed the sixth and most powerful nuclear test by North Korea to date on September 3.
'While overall this is a face saving deal just before the BRICS meeting in Xiamen, any forward military movement at Doklam once again could bring the two Asian giants at loggerheads,' says China expert Srikanth Kondapalli.
This was the first dinner hosted for a foreign dignitary at the White House under the Trump administration.
BWith a distracted president brooding in the White House, Pompeo seems to think his day has come. He seems to be pushing a personal agenda before a target audience in America, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Trump lauds Modi, saying he has been working successfully to bring the vast country and its people together.
The PM will meet President Donald Trump face-to-face for the first time at the White House on Monday. "I think that the US really appreciates India, and I think that President Trump realises that India has been a force for good in the world and that it's a relationship that's important. And I think that will come through in the visit on Monday," the official said.
'Can he be the statesman that a divided nation needs?' 'Not remotely, but by following his gut, he may yet surprise the scores upon scores of naysayers,' says Vikram Johri.
The new executive order, which will come into force on March 16, covers people from Sudan, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen.
'There seem to be no reason why Assad should have launched such an attack when he was gaining acceptability,' says Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
'Qatar has been funding and supporting terrorist organisations.' 'It has used its media to spread lies and create unrest in neighbouring countries.'
Like Mr Trump, says Kanika Datta, politics tempts many businessmen.
The daughter of Indian immigrants from Punjab, Haley was the first woman tapped by Trump for a top-level administration post during his transition to the White House.
'Every single American act to weaken Syrian forces would only tilt the military balance in favour of ISIS whom Trump pledges to vanquish from the face of the earth,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'Unlike Trump, who has an isolationist approach, Bolton would like to roam around the world, trampling upon any sign of dissent,' says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
The Trump regime has informed the Congress that it 'strongly supports' transfers of F-18 and F-16 fighter proposals put forth by Boeing and Lockheed Martin respectively.
"This will be the first dinner for a foreign dignitary at the White House under this administration. So, we think that's very significant," a senior administration official told reporters at the White House on the eve of Modi's arrival.
Rajeev Srinivasan on why there is the strong possibility that this whole thing is an elaborate charade and how the mainstream might have just played into Trump's showman hands.
'If the US-Pakistan relationship continues to suffer, Pakistan may feel it has less to lose and decide that it need not keep a leash on LeT in order to appease America.' 'A tougher US policy toward Pakistan could lead to an emboldened and strengthened LeT and JeM, resulting in more terrorist attacks in India.'
'If the US intention was to use the FATF platform to isolate Pakistan and impose sanctions against it, that is not going to work when influential countries such as Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia, China and Russia will not lend support to the US campaign,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Haley also said there was a plan for her to travel to India by the end of this year.
We see none of the euphoric build-up customary to India's encounter with US presidents in recent times. This gives Modi wriggle room to work on the much-needed reset of India-US ties.
Trump aides, who participated in the two-day talks held at the US President's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, described the meetings as productive and said the two leaders exhibited "positive" chemistry.
'Trump's stated strong stance against Islamist extremism and terrorism could play into the Indo-US relationship.' 'It could mould US attitude and exert pressure on Pakistan.' 'In the event of US military presence in Afghanistan increasing, however, Pakistan could gain an opportunity to again emphasise its importance.'
New Delhi and Beijing are the only two regional capitals that have commented on US President Donald Trump's speech on August 21 outlining the way forward in Afghanistan. The Indian foreign ministry statement was effusive in praise, while the Chinese statement has been one of cautious and guarded hope. Delhi has identified itself with Trump's Afghan strategy, whereas the Chinese stance is calibrated -- observant and objective, keeping a distance, says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'China was the elephant in the Oval Office and Trump would have sensed that Modi's foreign policy architecture has become disoriented sans the US' pivot to Asia,' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Delhi doesn't want Modi to invest his substantial political capital to help Trump without the visit yielding positive results for India.
The US will not be delivering military equipment or transfer security-related funds to Pakistan unless it is required by law.
The world is still figuring out the man as he continues his enigmatic journey towards the first 100 days of his presidency.
'This is the first time that the Americans have agreed to refer to "cross-border terrorist attacks" in a joint statement.' 'No wonder Pakistan has called the joint statement "singularly unhelpful" and has blasted it, and its all-weather friend China has applauded Pakistan's frontline role in combating terrorism,' points out former foreign secretary Ambassador Kanwal Sibal.
US President Donald Trump spoke with Saudi Arabia's King Salman amid the Arab world's biggest diplomatic crisis in years over Qatar's alleged support to extremists, reports Lalit K Jha.
'The surge of Saudi nationalism is the last thing Washington wants,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Incoming US President Donald Trump has assembled a core team that is -- not surprisingly -- overwhelmingly white and male.
Two US warships fired at least 50 cruise missiles at the Ash Shai'rat airfield in Homs province in western Syria, from where the US administration believes Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad fired the chemical weapons against his own people, media reports said.
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