Turkey to discuss roadmap with U.S., Syria after U.S. lifted Syrian sanctions

Turkey to discuss roadmap with U.S., Syria after U.S. lifted Syrian sanctions

ANTALYA, Turkey (Reuters) - Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Thursday he will discuss the U.S. decision to lift sanctions on Syria and the roadmap ahead in a meeting with his U.S. and Syrian counterparts later in the day. Fidan was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an informal NATO foreign ministers' meeting in Antalya, Turkey, where he later planned to meet U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani. U.S. President Donald Trump made the surprise announcement on Syrian sanctions this week. (Reporting by Sabine Siebold and Tuvan Gumrukcu; Writing by Jonathan Spicer; Editing by Daren Butler)

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May 15, 2025

Turkey to discuss roadmap with U.S., Syria after U.S. lifted Syrian sanctions

Turkey to discuss roadmap with U.S., Syria after U.S. lifted Syrian sanctions ANTALYA, Turkey (Reuters) - Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fid...

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China blasts new US rule banning use of Huawei's Ascend advanced computer chips

China blasts new US rule banning use of Huawei's Ascend advanced computer chips

Chinahas blasted a new U.S. rule against use of Ascend computer chips made by Huawei Technologies anywhere in the world, chafing Thursday against the limitations of a temporarytruce in the trade warbetween the two biggest economies. Beijing moved ahead, however, with fulfilling its promise to lift retaliatory measures it imposed after U.S.President Donald Trumpescalated his trade war,raisingtariffson Chinese products to as high as 145%. One key action was to remove a ban on exports to the United States of minerals known as rare earths that are used in many high-tech products. Despite the deal struck last weekend in Geneva,frictions remain. Earlier this week, the U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security issuedguidancesaying that Huawei's Ascend semiconductors are subject to U.S. export controls, on the basis that they are thought to employ U.S. technology. "These chips were likely developed or produced in violation of U.S. export controls," it said in a statement on its website, adding that "the use of such PRC advanced computing ICs risks violating U.S. export controls and may subject companies to BIS enforcement action." China's Commerce Ministry responded that the move was "not conducive to long-term, mutually beneficial, and sustainable cooperation and development between the two countries. The Chinese side urges the U.S. side to immediately correct its erroneous practices," said ministry spokesperson He Yongqian. Huawei's Ascend chip is central to China's effort to build its own capacity to build leading edge computer chips and other technologies. Analysts say use of the chip in China's DeepSeekartificial intelligenceeffort reflects a potential challenge for Nvidia in the global AI market. He also lashed out against U.S. tariffs on imports of Chinese steel and aluminum, which have not gotten a reprieve after Beijing and Washington agreed to their pause in many tariff increases. She said the U.S. should give up its use of Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which gives the president power to impose tariffs on other countries on national security grounds. In February, Trump drew on that authority to restore 25% tariffs onsteel and aluminumthat he had imposed during his first term in office. Speaking at a weekly ministry briefing, He urged the US to end the higher tariffs "as soon as possible." The 30% levy that America is now imposing on Chinese goods includes an existing 20% tariff intended to pressure China into doing more to prevent thethe synthetic opioid fentanylfrom entering the United States. It also includes the same 10% "baseline'' tariff Trump has slapped on imports from most of the world's countries. The 30% tax comes on top of other levies on China, including some left over from Trump's first term and kept by former President Joe Biden. China is imposing a 10% tariff on U.S. products during the 90-day negotiating period.

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May 15, 2025

China blasts new US rule banning use of Huawei's Ascend advanced computer chips

China blasts new US rule banning use of Huawei's Ascend advanced computer chips Chinahas blasted a new U.S. rule against use of Ascend c...

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Trump Suggests U.S. "Take" Gaza, Turn Into "Freedom Zone"

Trump Suggests U.S. "Take" Gaza, Turn Into "Freedom Zone"

President Donald Trump stands on stage as he tours the Al Udeid Air Base on Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Doha, Qatar. Credit - Win McNamee—Getty Images During a business roundtable in Qatar on Thursday, May 16, President Donald Trump once again suggested a U.S. takeover of Gaza as a way of attempting to redevelop the Palestinian territory. "I think I'd be proud to have the United States have it, take it, make ita freedom zone. Let some good things happen, put people in homes where they can be safe, and Hamas is going to have to be dealt with,"said Trump,during the roundtable with Qatari officials, in the presence of reporters. He continued: "I have concepts for Gaza that I think are very good. Make it a freedom zone, let the United States get involved." Per CNN, the U.S. President went on to add: "They've never solved the Gaza problem and if you look at it, I have aerial shots, I mean there's practically no building standing, there's no building. People are living under the rubble of buildings that collapsed, which is not acceptable, it's tremendous death. And I want to see that be a freedom zone." Read More:Breaking Down Trump's Plan to Lift U.S. Sanctions on Syria This is not the first time that the President has put forward ideas about the future of Gaza, which is currently governed by Hamas. In January, while talking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump said he wanted Jordan and Egypt to take in Palestinians, suggesting a"clean out" of the Gaza Strip. "You're talking about probably a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing," Trump said. "I don't know. Something has to happen, but it's literally a demolition site right now." The idea prompteda strong rebuke from Arab nations. WhenIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahuvisited the White House in February, Trump once again shared his vision for the war-torn location. "The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip. We'll do a job with it. We will own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous bombs and other weapons," he said. "We will level it out, create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area." When asked what authority would allow the U.S. to carry out this idea, and whether he was talking about a "permanent occupation" there, Trump replied: "I do see a long-term ownership position and I see it bringing great stability to that part of the Middle East and maybe the entire Middle East." Trump went on to say that it was "not a decision made lightly," and claimed "everybody I've spoken to loves the idea of the United States owning that piece of land." Read More:'No One's Coming': Inside Gaza as Israel Expands Its Military Control Standing next to Trump, Netanyahu said that one of Israel's main goals was to "make sure Gaza never poses a threat to Israel again," adding that Trump's offer would be taking this goal "to a much higher level." "I think it's worth paying attention to this," Netanyahu concluded. Later in February,President Trump shared an AI video on his social media platform TruthSocialdepicting "Trump Gaza." The video included AI-generated images of a golden statue of the U.S. President in Gaza, luxury cars, and skyscrapers in a reconstructed Gaza Strip. The clip drew heavy criticism fromPalestinians in Gaza. Contact usatletters@time.com.

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May 15, 2025

Trump Suggests U.S. "Take" Gaza, Turn Into "Freedom Zone"

Trump Suggests U.S. "Take" Gaza, Turn Into "Freedom Zone" President Donald Trump stands on stage as he tours the Al Udei...

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Putin skips the direct Ukraine peace talks that he suggested as chaos reigns in Turkey

Putin skips the direct Ukraine peace talks that he suggested as chaos reigns in Turkey

Confusion swirled aroundhigh-stakes peace talksbetween Russia andUkrainecalled for by Russian PresidentVladimir PutinThursday, as the Kremlin confirmed that Putin himself would be skipping the negotiations. The chaos over the start date, location, and whether either side would even participate made for chaotic scenes in Ankara,Turkey's capital, Antalya and Istanbul — outside whose Ottoman-era Dolmabahçe Palace some 200 journalists and crew were massed with no clear idea of when talks would get underway. A confusing back-and-forth between Kyiv, Moscow and the Trump administration dashed theU.S. president's hopes of a three-way meetinginvolving Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. When asked Thursday whether Putin would be attending talks in Turkey, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told CNN "no." Putin made the suggestion for negotiations "without any preconditions" after Ukrainian allies, including Germany, France and the U.K. presented an ultimatum to Moscow to either accept the ceasefire proposal or face additional sanctions. The Russian leader's no-show is expected to further antagonize the White House, which has markedly changed its tone over the war in the past weeks. Even after his historic Oval Officeshouting match with Zelenskyy, Vice President J.D. Vance has shifted to accusing Moscow of "asking for too much," in the bilateral peace talks senior Trump administration officials have held with Russia in recent weeks. That is partly because Trump's major gripe with Ukraine — that American taxpayers have mostly funded Ukraine's defense — was soothed after the two nationsstruck a mineral dealsthat would go some way to repaying American military aid. Zelenskyy has also presented himself as compliant, backing Trump's calls for an immediate 30-day ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia. Trump has said he is "always considering"additional sanctions against Russiaif he believes Moscow is blocking the peace process, with officials also suggesting secondary sanctions on the buyers of Russian oil. After heeding Trump's calls to accept Putin's initial suggestion of talks Sunday, Zelenskyy landed Thursday in Ankara, according to Reuters, and planned to meet with Turkish PresidentRecep Tayyib Erdoganon Thursday. That was instead of joining the talks initially planned for Istanbul, after the Kremlin indicated late Wednesday that rather than Putin, or even Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, it was instead sending a relatively junior team headed by Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky and Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin. "This week really may change a lot — but only may," Zelenskyy said in an X post Wednesday, adding, "I am waiting to see who will come from Russia, and then I will decide which steps Ukraine should take." "So far, the signals from them in the media are unconvincing," he added. While the Kremlin's last-minute naming of a junior team will do little to dispel Ukrainian and European allegations that Putin is not taking Trump's peace-brokering attempts seriously, the Russian delegation that arrived Thursday in Istanbul was "ready for serious work," Russian foreign ministry Maria Zakharova said at a news briefing the same day. As well as uncertainty over whether Ukraine would even send a delegation to the scaled down talks in Istanbul, Kyiv and Moscow appeared to disagree over the start time of talks.

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May 15, 2025

Putin skips the direct Ukraine peace talks that he suggested as chaos reigns in Turkey

Putin skips the direct Ukraine peace talks that he suggested as chaos reigns in Turkey Confusion swirled aroundhigh-stakes peace talksbetwee...

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US would assess nuclear waste, plutonium for reactor fuel under draft order

US would assess nuclear waste, plutonium for reactor fuel under draft order

By Timothy Gardner WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Nuclear waste and radioactive plutonium would be assessed as a fuel for reactors under a draft executive order being considered by the administration of President Donald Trump on expanding nuclear power, moves opposed by nonproliferation experts. The Trump administration is considering four draft executive orders, which were seen by Reuters and marked deliberative and pre-decisional, on expanding nuclear power. The United States was the first developer of nuclear power but the energy source is now growing the fastest in China. The draft orders were first reported by Axios. Directives in one of the orders for the assessment of the reprocessing of nuclear waste, also known as spent nuclear fuel, and for using highly radioactive plutonium for fuel, have not been previously reported. One of the orders, called Ushering in a Nuclear Renaissance, calls for the U.S. secretary of energy within 90 days of the president signing it to give the head of the National Energy Dominance Council an "assessment of legal considerations relevant to ensure the efficient transfer of spent fuel from reactors to a commercial recycling facility." The orders also seek to boost the administration's control over approvals of nuclear power projects currently handled by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, an independent panel with five members. It is uncertain if the orders will make it to Trump's desk, but the issue of expanding nuclear power is a priority for many officials in the administration as U.S. demand for electricity booms for the first time in two decades due to the growth in data centers needed for artificial intelligence. The White House and the Energy Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The National Nuclear Security Administration said it had no comment on draft policy. The order calls for assessing the ability to transfer any waste from reprocessing for disposal deep underground. Nuclear nonproliferation experts have long opposed reprocessing, or recycling of nuclear waste, saying its supply chain could be a target for militants seeking materials for use in a crude nuclear bomb. Building such plants in the United States would legitimize their use in other countries, increasing the risks of proliferation, they say. "It is unfortunate that the Trump administration apparently wants to revive the discredited idea of reprocessing commercial spent fuel, which is the worst possible way to manage nuclear waste," said Edwin Lyman, a nuclear power safety expert at the Union of Concerned Scientists. There are more than 90,000 tonnes of nuclear waste stored at nuclear plants across the country and lawmakers from both major political parties and industry have seen it as a possible way to cut dependency on Russia and other suppliers of uranium. France and other countries have reprocessed nuclear waste by breaking it down into uranium and plutonium and reusing it to make new reactor fuel. A U.S. supply chain would likely be far longer than in those countries making it potentially more accessible to militants, nonproliferation experts say. Former President Gerald Ford halted reprocessing in 1976, citing proliferation concerns. Former President Ronald Reagan lifted the moratorium in 1981, but high costs have prevented plants from opening. The order also calls for the energy secretary to halt a surplus plutonium "dilute and dispose" program and replace it with an initiative to make the highly radioactive material available to industry for making fuel for high-tech reactors. Plutonium is a proliferation risk and is also radiologically and chemically toxic. U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a hearing in the House of Representatives on May 7 that storage of nuclear waste at commercial reactors across the country has been a mistake for 50 years and a "growing liability." Wright said that one day before the hearing, reprocessing was discussed between department officials and a White House representative. Wright said the Energy Department will issue a study soon on reprocessing. (Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Stephen Coates)

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May 15, 2025

US would assess nuclear waste, plutonium for reactor fuel under draft order

US would assess nuclear waste, plutonium for reactor fuel under draft order By Timothy Gardner WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Nuclear waste and radi...

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