Thousands of Afghans have been brought to Britain in secrecy after a data leak
The government said it is closing the program, which a rare court order had barred the media from disclosing.
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Winnipeg Free Press
14 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
France, UK and Germany would restore UN sanctions on Iran next month without progress on a deal
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Kingdom, France and Germany have agreed to restore tough U.N. sanctions on Iran by the end of August if there has been no concrete progress on a nuclear deal, two European diplomats said Tuesday. The three countries' ambassadors to the United Nations met Tuesday at Germany's U.N. Mission to discuss a possible Iranian deal and reimposing the sanctions. The matter also came up in a phone call Monday between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the foreign ministers of the three countries, according to two U.S. officials. The State Department said after the call that the four had spoken about 'ensuring Iran does not develop or obtain a nuclear weapon.' The officials and diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. The U.K., France and Germany are part of an agreement reached with Iran in 2015 to rein in its nuclear program, from which President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. during his first term, insisting it wasn't tough enough. Under the accord that lifted economic penalties on Iran in exchange for restrictions and monitoring of its nuclear program, a so-called 'snapback' provision allows one of the Western parties to reimpose U.N. sanctions if Tehran does not comply with its requirements. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told reporters in Brussels Tuesday that the three European countries would be justified in reapplying sanctions. 'Without a firm, tangible, and verifiable commitment from Iran, we will do so by the end of August at the latest,' Barrot said, according to Reuters. One of the diplomats confirmed his comments to The Associated Press. The diplomats did not provide details of the deal being sought. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in recent days that Tehran would accept a resumption of nuclear talks with the U.S. if there were assurances of no more attacks, following Israeli and U.S. strikes on its nuclear facilities. He said there should be 'a firm guarantee that such actions will not be repeated, stressing that 'the attack on Iran's nuclear facilities has made it more difficult and complicated to achieve a solution.' The United States and Iran held several rounds of negotiations over the Iranian nuclear program before the Israeli strikes began in June. Trump and his Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, said last week that talks would happen soon, but nothing has yet been scheduled. Araghchi, whose country insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, said in a July 2 CBS interview that 'the doors of diplomacy will never slam shut.' Iran's U.N. Mission had no comment Tuesday on the threat of renewed sanctions if there is no deal. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said last week that the U.S. airstrikes so badly damaged his country's nuclear facilities that Iranian authorities still have not been able to access them to survey the destruction. Iran has suspended cooperation with the IAEA. ___ AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.
Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Republicans declared it ‘crypto' week in the House. It's not going as planned
WASHINGTON (AP) — A trio of cryptocurrency bills that had been expected to pass the House this week stalled on Tuesday after a bloc of Republicans unexpectedly joined with Democrats to prevent the legislation from coming up for debate and votes. The procedural snafu brought the House's so-called 'crypto week' to a standstill — and dealt a blow to President Donald Trump, who had strongly urged Republicans to pass the bills as part of his push to make the U.S. the ' crypto capital of the world.' A group of 13 Republicans joined all Democrats in opposition to a procedural vote needed to bring the crypto bills to the floor. Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters it was just part of 'legislative process' and that negotiations were underway between the House, Senate and White House. He suggested they could try again Tuesday evening. 'We expected there might be some 'no' votes, but we thought it was important to put it on the floor to advance it because time's of the essence on this,' Johnson said. 'So stay tuned. We'll have lots of discussions over the next few hours.' But just hours later, House leadership canceled votes for the remainder of the day, potentially throwing the crypto bills into limbo. The stalled legislation includes a Senate-passed bill to regulate a form of cryptocurrency known as stablecoins, along with far more sweeping measures aiming to address cryptocurrency market structure. Another bill would prohibit the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency. The disagreement blocking the bills from advancing centers on how the three bills would be passed. Johnson explained that 'some of these guys insist that it needs to be all in one package.' Packaging the bills would require them to be sent back to the Senate, since the chamber has only taken up one of the three bills so far. Rep. Glenn Thompson of Pennsylvania, a Republican co-sponsor of one of the cryptocurrency bills, told reporters that some of the Republicans wanted to package the bills together due to them 'not having a lot of faith in the Senate moving our legislation.' Trump and Republican leaders have called on the House to pass the bills individually, so that the stablecoin legislation can get to Trump's desk for his signature before an August recess. The stablecoin legislation took the Senate nearly a month and half to pass, and the more sweeping market structure legislation is expected to take even longer. In a post Tuesday morning on social media, Trump called on Republicans to advance the crypto bills that afternoon, saying that 'all Republicans should vote 'yes.'' Asked Tuesday evening about the stalled legislation, Trump told reporters that Republicans who voted against it wanted it to be 'stronger.' Trump has pushed hard for the passage of the stablecoin legislation, with him and his family standing to profit from a boost to stablecoins. They hold a significant stake in World Liberty Financial, a crypto project that recently launched its own stablecoin, USD1. The stablecoin legislation passed by the Senate includes a provision that bars members of Congress and their families from profiting off stablecoins. But notably, that prohibition does not apply to the president or his family, even as Trump builds what some are calling a crypto empire from the White House. The cryptocurrency industry hopes the bills as a whole will aid in their push for legitimacy and increasing consumer trust. And road bumps like those seen Tuesday may not have been expected after spending heavily in the 2024 election to elect a large number of crypto-friendly lawmakers. Faryar Shirzad, chief policy officer of Coinbase, the nation's largest cryptocurrency exchange, said in a statement after the failed procedural vote that 'every few steps forward there's inevitably a step back.' Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. 'It's in these moments we'll see who is trying to get pro-crypto legislation done and who is not,' Shirzad said on social media. Passage of the bills could have implications on the 2026 midterm races. Fairshake, a crypto super political action committee, said that it and its affiliated organizations already have more than $140 million in the bank ready to spend on midterm races. 'The voters last year were clear — Congress needs to stop playing politics with crypto and finally pass responsible regulation,' said Josh Vlasto, spokesperson for Fairshake. 'We are building an aggressive, targeted strategy for next year to ensure that pro-crypto voices are heard in key races across the country.' ___ Associated Press writer Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.
Toronto Star
3 hours ago
- Toronto Star
Cuban minister faces backlash for saying there are no beggars in Cuba
HAVANA (AP) — A Cuban minister sparked criticism Tuesday, including from the president, after saying that there are no beggars in Cuba, only people disguised as such, and suggesting that those who clean windshields at crossroads have an 'easy' life. Cuba's Minister of Labor and Social Security, Marta Elena Feitó Cabrera, made the comments on Monday before deputies in a National Assembly committee. They went viral, prompting calls for Feitós' impeachment and a wave of criticism in a country experiencing a tough economic situation in recent years.
