December 20, 2015 President Obama turns to Congress to OK strike against Syria President Obama said Saturday the United States should take military action against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for using chemical weapons on civilians but also turned to Congress for approval -- dealing a potential setback to America's foreign policy and setting up what will likely be a hard-fought Washington debate on the issue.
December 20, 2015 North Korea cancels meeting with US envoy to negotiate release of American North Korea has rescinded its offer to allow a special U.S. envoy on human rights to travel to the country to negotiate the release of an American imprisoned there on charges of plotting to harm the communist country through his Christian missionary activities, the State Department said Friday.
December 20, 2015 Judge orders release of Guantanamo videotapes A federal judge on Friday ordered the public release of 28 videotapes of a hunger-striking Guantanamo Bay prisoner strike being forcibly removed from his cell and force-fed.
December 20, 2015 India's new prime minister Modi attends White House dinner despite fast Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi kicked off a two-day visit with President Obama Monday with a private dinner but there was a slight issue: the new leader of the world's largest democracy couldn't eat.
December 20, 2015 US says Burma resorting to police-state tactics The State Department's top human rights official is accusing Myanmar authorities of resorting to police-state tactics after five journalists from a weekly magazine got 10 years at hard labor for a disputed story about a weapons factory.
December 20, 2015 7 Colombians now facing murder charges in US for death of DEA agent The Department of Justice says seven Colombians have been extradited to the United States to face charges related to the 2013 stabbing death of a U.S. drug agent in Bogota.
December 20, 2015 Biden flies to Central America amid migrant crisis The Obama administration moved Friday to stem a flood of Central American children and families that has overwhelmed the U.S. immigration system, dispatching Vice President Joe Biden to the region to warn against the perils of the trip and announcing that it will start to detain families at the border instead of releasing them on their own recognizance.
December 20, 2015 Kerry sees Russia, China agreeing on UN resolution on Syria as possible turning point Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday hailed the U.N. Security Council uniting for the first time on a resolution regarding Syria's humanitarian crisis, calling it a potential “hinge point” in ending that country’s deadly, 3-year-long civil war.
December 20, 2015 German company denies selling death cranes to Iran The chairman of a German company whose cranes are reportedly being used for public hangings in Iran lashed out at critics and dismissed calls for his company to end its relationship with Tehran on humanitarian grounds.
December 20, 2015 Obama's pick for ambassador embraces criticism of China President Obama's choice to become U.S. ambassador to China embraced several criticisms of that country Tuesday,