All posts tagged: sources

US Plans to Deport Iranians to Central African Republic, Sources Say

US Plans to Deport Iranians to Central African Republic, Sources Say

Published by Sam Flores

By Robbie Corey-Boulet and Giulia Paravicini DAKAR/NAIROBI, June 11 (Reuters) – The Trump administration plans to deport ⁠a ⁠number of Iranians and other migrants to Central African ⁠Republic, a chronically unstable country racked by violence and poverty, two lawyers and an official briefed on the matter ​told Reuters. The Iranians include two women who face potential torture and persecution if they are forced to go back to Iran, their lawyer, Emily Trostle, said. One is a ‌Christian convert and the other is a pro-democracy ‌activist, she added. The U.S. State Department and the presidency in the Central African Republic — which recently reached a deal to accept so-called third-country deportees from the U.S. — did not ⁠immediately respond to ⁠requests for comment. Both the women were detained upon arriving in the U.S. in November 2024, Trostle said. ​They applied for asylum in the U.S. and had secured a form of protection known as withholding of removal from a U.S. immigration judge, Trostle said. Obtaining that protection meant judges found they faced a risk greater than …

US and Iranian attacks dent ceasefire, Iranian sources say talks intensify

US and Iranian attacks dent ceasefire, Iranian sources say talks intensify

Published by Sam Flores

The United States and Iran traded air attacks on Thursday, and President Donald Trump threatened more strikes if Tehran does not immediately agree to a peace deal, but Iranian sources said talks on a preliminary deal had intensified. Three Iranian sources and a European official said the US and Iran were exchanging messages on details of a memorandum after reaching a political understanding, but some issues still had to be discussed in detail, including a ​mechanism for the release ‌of billions of dollars in frozen Iranian funds. FRANCE 24’s International Affairs Editor Angela Diffley tells us more. Source link

Defense industry leaders preparing to meet with Trump as worries over missile supply grow, sources say

Defense industry leaders preparing to meet with Trump as worries over missile supply grow, sources say

Published by Sam Flores

White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said the U.S. military had more than enough munitions, ammunition and stockpiles “to serve all of President Trump’s strategic goals and beyond, and Operation Epic Fury has exposed what happens when you mess with the United States.” “Even still, the President has urged our defense contractors to constantly produce more made-in-America weapons, which are the best in the world. Democrats destroyed our military, but President Trump rebuilt it,” she said in a statement. One of the people familiar with plans for a meeting this week said they anticipate it is “going to be ugly,” in part because of Trump’s frustrations with the status of the U.S. munitions stockpile. NBC News reported in May that despite widespread concern about a dwindling missile supply the Pentagon had yet to ink any new, multiyear contracts to purchase more since Trump came into office. While the Pentagon has entered into “framework agreements” on weaponry, none include any actual contracts to produce new munitions that would replenish the American stockpile, according to officials and defense …

Pentagon raised threat of Israeli spying on U.S. to highest level, sources say

Pentagon raised threat of Israeli spying on U.S. to highest level, sources say

Published by Sam Flores

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is increasingly concerned about Israel ramping up its spying on the U.S., recently raising the counterintelligence threat level from America’s top ally in the Middle East to the highest level, according to two U.S. officials and one former U.S. official. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content. The Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency in recent weeks issued the new counterintelligence threat assessment amid rising tensions between Israel and the U.S. over the way forward in the war with Iran, the officials said. They said the DIA posted an internal message, viewed by one of the current officials, that raised the level for Israel to “critical.” The designation stems from concerns within the Pentagon that Israel is making a particular effort to surveil top U.S. officials to get information on the Trump administration’s internal deliberations and decision-making on the conflicts in the Middle East, the officials said. The DIA assessment includes a seven-page document and features a chart, according to one of the current U.S. …

Ex-Trump Adviser Bolton to Plead Guilty in Classified Documents Case, Faces .25 Million Fine, Sources Say

Ex-Trump Adviser Bolton to Plead Guilty in Classified Documents Case, Faces $2.25 Million Fine, Sources Say

Published by Sam Flores

By Steve Holland, Andrew Goudsward and Jana Winter WASHINGTON, June 4 (Reuters) – John ⁠Bolton, ⁠a prominent critic of U.S. President Donald ⁠Trump who once served as his national security adviser, plans to plead guilty to mishandling ​classified documents and will pay a $2.25 million fine as part of a deal with federal prosecutors, three sources said on Thursday. Bolton will plead guilty ‌to one count of retaining classified ‌information based on diary entries detailing his work in Trump’s first term at a court hearing on June 26, said the ⁠sources, who spoke ⁠on condition of anonymity to describe an agreement that had not yet been made ​public. The deal recommends a sentencing range of no prison time up to five years behind bars, two sources said. A federal judge will determine the final sentence.  The news was first reported by CNN. The case against Bolton is one of several brought by Trump’s Justice Department ​against prominent critics and adversaries of the president, dispensing with decades-long norms designed to insulate federal law enforcement from ⁠political ⁠pressures. Bolton is …

Diode laser pump sources for future fusion power plants

Diode laser pump sources for future fusion power plants

Published by skeptic

Future climate-neutral fusion power plants need vast numbers of cheaper, improved high-power laser diodes. Germany’s BMFTR-funded DioHELIOS project boosts semiconductor laser power and efficiency while developing automated mass-production approaches In December 2022, researchers succeeded for the first time in generating excessive energy from a controlled nuclear fusion reaction.1 Since then, the US National Ignition Facility (NIF) at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California has achieved fusion multiple times beyond scientific break-even with up to fourfold net gain with respect to the optical input energy of their lasers.2  The demonstration of laser-ignited inertial confinement fusion has triggered a new dynamic in fusion research worldwide. This is because fusion not only decouples energy production from the carbon cycle by emitting no greenhouse gases but is also based on an almost unlimited supply of fuel and could, in theory, be operated 24/7 at maximum safety. Germany recognised the new dynamic early on and set up the ‘Fusion 2040’ funding programme in 2024.3 With its partners ams-OSRAM, the Ferdinand-Braun-Institut (FBH), the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT, Jenoptik, …

Iran may have used Chinese missile to shoot down U.S. fighter jet, sources say

Iran may have used Chinese missile to shoot down U.S. fighter jet, sources say

Published by Sam Flores

WASHINGTON — The F-15 fighter that was shot down over southwestern Iran last month and set off a dangerous rescue mission was probably struck by a Chinese-made shoulder-launched missile, three people with knowledge of the matter told NBC News. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content. In the early days of the conflict, China also may have provided Iran with a long-range early-warning radar that spots stealth aircraft that are meant to evade detection, according to one of the people and a U.S. official with knowledge of the matter. U.S. officials are still investigating the circumstances around the shootdown of the American F-15E Strike Eagle in April, the sources said. It was the first time in decades that a U.S. fighter was downed by enemy fire. It’s not clear when the military equipment was handed over. But Iran’s use of weapons made in China complicates Americans’ relationship with Beijing at a time when President Donald Trump has sought China’s help in ending the conflict. Negotiations to end …

Exclusive-Japan state-backed fund considering sale of chipmaking materials maker JSR, sources say

Exclusive-Japan state-backed fund considering sale of chipmaking materials maker JSR, sources say

Published by Sam Flores

TOKYO, May 28 : Japan Investment Corp (JIC), a state-backed fund, is considering selling JSR, two people familiar with the matter said, two years after it took the maker of chipmaking materials private in a $6 billion deal. Fujifilm and Mitsubishi Chemical have expressed interest in acquiring the company, they added, declining to be identified as the information was not public. Massive investments in AI have lifted the valuations of chip supply chain firms, and JIC – which had aimed to use JSR to drive industry consolidation in the materials sector – is now looking at taking advantage of those buoyant market conditions to sell, according to one of the people. JIC, Fujifilm and Mitsubishi Chemical declined to comment. JSR did not respond to a request for comment. Fujifilm’s shares on Thursday extended gains after publication of this report and finished 3 per cent higher, while shares in Mitsubishi Chemical pared losses and closed flat. JSR, established in 1957, is a leading manufacturer of photoresists which are used to transfer circuit patterns onto semiconductor wafers. …

Former CIA officer accused of stealing 300 gold bars, sources say

Former CIA officer accused of stealing 300 gold bars, sources say

Published by Sam Flores

WASHINGTON — A former CIA senior officer with top secret-level clearance has been accused of secretly stashing millions of dollars in gold bars in his home that he said he needed for “work-related expenses,” according to court documents and two people familiar with his employment history. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content. David Rush, who held a management position, was charged with criminal theft of public money in a complaint filed last week in the Eastern District of Virginia. His lawyer didn’t respond to a request for comment. He was also accused of lying to his employers about his background for nearly two decades. Asked about Rush’s case, a CIA spokesperson said in a statement joint statement with the FBI that the FBI had arrested a person after a referral from the agency. “After a CIA internal investigation identified potential violations of the law, CIA Director John Ratcliffe referred the information to the FBI for a law enforcement investigation,” the written statement said. “The FBI is …

Netanyahu Admits Difficulty Influencing Trump Decisions on Iran, Sources Say

Netanyahu Admits Difficulty Influencing Trump Decisions on Iran, Sources Say

Published by Sam Flores

JERUSALEM, May 25 (Reuters) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told confidants in private conversations that Israel has ⁠little ⁠ability to influence Donald Trump’s decision-making on Iran as the ⁠U.S. president negotiates a deal in the nearly three-month-old war, two sources said. Netanyahu’s comments, described to Reuters by two Israeli officials with knowledge of ​the conversations, come as Israel has largely been left out of talks to reach an initial deal to halt a war that began with joint U.S.-Israeli bombardment. Both the U.S. and Iran have played down hopes for an ‌imminent breakthrough in talks, and they remain at odds over ‌Iran’s nuclear ambitions, Tehran’s demands for the lifting of sanctions and Israel’s war in Lebanon with Hezbollah militants.  Netanyahu is demanding the right to continue operations against perceived threats on all fronts, including Lebanon, a caveat that ⁠could derail a deal if ⁠Iran insists on a complete halt to Israeli military operations in southern Lebanon.  NETANYAHU WILL ‘DO WHATEVER I WANT HIM TO ​DO’, SAYS TRUMP One of the Israeli officials, involved in …