Event: U.S.

U.S. President Donald Trump. | Photo Credit: Reuters U.S. President Donald Trump told the government Friday (February 27, 2026) to "immediately" stop using Anthropic's technology after the AI startup rejected the Pentagon's demand that it agree to unconditional military use of its Claude models.Anthropic insists its technology should not be used for the mass surveillance of U.S. citizens or deployed in fully autonomous weapons systems, while the Pentagon says it operates within the law and that contracted suppliers cannot set terms on how their products are employed."I am directing EVERY Federal Agency in the United States Government to IMMEDIATELY CEASE all use of Anthropic's technology. We don't need it, we don't want it, and will not do business with them again!" Mr. Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform."There will be a Six Month phase out period for Agencies like the Department of War who are using Anthropic's products, at various levels," the U.S. President said, referring to the Department of Defense."Anthropic better get their act together, and be helpful during this phase out period, or I will use the Full Power of the Presidency to make them comply, with major civil and criminal consequences to follow," Mr. Trump added.Anthropic did not immediately reply to a request for comment.The Pentagon had said Anthropic must agree to comply with its demand by 5:01 p.m. (22:01 GMT) Friday (February 27, 2026) or face compulsion under the Defense Production Act.The Cold War-era law, last invoked during the Covid pandemic, grants the federal government sweeping powers to direct private industry toward national security priorities.The Pentagon also threatened to designate Anthropic a supply chain risk — a label typically reserved for companies from adversary nations.'Dangerous precedent’U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he was directing the Pentagon to follow through on the latter…

Washington – U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday he is directing the government to stop work with Anthropic and the Pentagon said it will declare the startup a supply-chain risk, dealing a major blow to the artificial intelligence lab after a showdown about technology guardrails.Trump added there would be a six-month phase-out for the Defense Department ​and other agencies that use the company's products. If Anthropic does not help with the transition, Trump said, he would use "the Full ‌Power of ‌the Presidency to make them comply, with major civil and criminal consequences to follow."Spokespeople for Anthropic, which ​won up to $200 million from the Pentagon in a contract last year, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The planned designation as a supply-chain risk, announced by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, means that contractors could be barred from deploying Anthropic's AI as part ⁠of work for the Pentagon.

President Donald Trump told the US government on Friday to “immediately” stop using Anthropic’s technology after the AI start-up rejected the Pentagon’s demand that it agree to unconditional military use of its Claude models.Anthropic insists its technology should not be used for the mass surveillance of US citizens or deployed in fully autonomous weapons systems, while the Pentagon says it operates within the law and that contracted suppliers cannot set terms on how their products are employed.“I am directing EVERY Federal Agency in the United States Government to IMMEDIATELY CEASE all use of Anthropic’s technology. We don’t need it, we don’t want it, and will not do business with them again!” Trump said in a social media post.“There will be a Six Month phase out period for Agencies like the Department of War who are using Anthropic’s products, at various levels,” the US president said, referring to the US Department of Defence.“Anthropic better get their act together, and be helpful during this phase out period, or I will use the Full Power of the Presidency to make them comply, with major civil and criminal consequences to follow,” Trump added.Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei takes part in a session on AI during the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos in January 2025. Photo: AFPAnthropic did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

A New York businesswoman was sentenced on Friday to nine years in federal prison over a financial scheme that ripped off more than US$30 million from foreign investors and funnelled some of the stolen money into American political campaigns, including a fundraiser for US President Donald Trump.Sherry Xue Li was also ordered to forfeit US$31.5 million, as well as property at three locations, and to make restitution to her victims.The 54-year-old Oyster Bay resident, who has been detained since her arrest in 2022, pleaded guilty last year to money laundering conspiracy and conspiracy to defraud the US by obstructing the Federal Election Commission’s administration of campaign finance laws.Her co-defendant, Lianbo Wang, also pleaded guilty to similar charges and was sentenced to five years in prison.Li’s lawyer did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Friday, but US Attorney Joseph Nocella said she “faces justice for her cynical schemes”.The complaint and affidavit in support of an arrest warrant against Sherry Xue Li and Lianbo Wang. Photo: US Department of Justice via AP“She peddled false promises and outright lies to her many investors and stuffed her pockets while they suffered devastating losses,” he said in a statement.

President Donald Trump has suggested the United States could take over Cuba, but on amicable terms.The statement on Friday came as Trump was preparing to board his presidential helicopter, Marine One, on the White House lawn en route to Texas.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Trump U-turn: Is Venezuelan oil really available to Cuba again?list 2 of 3How US economic warfare pushed Cuba to humanitarian collapselist 3 of 3Cuba says speedboat attackers from Florida planned to destabilise countryend of listApproaching the media scrum, Trump took questions about the tense relations the US has with countries like Iran and Cuba, two countries where he has suggested he would like to see new governments.In Cuba’s case, Trump suggested a transition that would be “very positive for the people who were expelled or worse”.“The Cuban government is talking with us, and they’re in a big deal of trouble, as you know. They have no money. They have no anything right now, but they’re talking with us,” Trump told reporters.“And maybe we’ll have a friendly takeover of Cuba. We could very well end up having a friendly takeover of Cuba.”Trump has been pushing for regime change on the communist-led Caribbean island over the last two months, using economic and diplomatic pressure.In Friday’s remarks, Trump reiterated his stance that Cuba is “a failing nation” teetering on collapse.“Since I’m a little boy, I’ve been hearing about Cuba, and everybody wanted to change, and I can see that happening,” Trump said.He added that Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a Cuban American known for his hawkish stance, is leading the initiative.“Marco Rubio is dealing on it and at a very high level, and you know, they have no money. They have no oil, they have no food,” Trump said. “It’s really right now a nation in…

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio is scheduled to travel to Israel next week as President Donald Trump expresses displeasure with the ongoing negotiations with Iran.On Friday, the US Department of State issued a notice that Rubio’s trip will run from March 2 to 3, and that its focus will be on relations with Iran and Lebanon, as well as implementing Trump’s 20-point plan for war-torn Gaza.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Iranian foreign minister says US, Iran moving closer to deallist 2 of 3Is the US negotiating with Iran or preparing to strike?list 3 of 3Iran says US must drop ‘excessive demands’ in nuclear negotiationsend of listThis will be Rubio’s fifth trip as secretary of state to Israel, a close US ally. He visited for the first time in February 2025, then in September and twice in October of last year.No other details were provided about the latest diplomatic outing. But it comes at a delicate time for relations in the Middle East.Just this week, the US and Iran held a third round of indirect talks, this time in Switzerland, as the two sides attempt to negotiate a deal to restrict Iran’s nuclear programme.A new round of talks is slated to take place in Austria on Monday, the day Rubio arrives in Israel.Still, Trump used a public appearance on Friday on the White House lawn to voice frustration at the slow pace of negotiations.“I’m not happy with the fact that they’re not willing to give us what we have to have. I’m not thrilled with that. We’ll see what happens,” Trump said.“We’ll have some additional talks today. But no, I’m not happy with the way they’re going.”Trump added that he was not averse to using the military to accomplish his aims. “I’d love not to use…

US President Donald Trump suggested a possible “friendly takeover of Cuba” as the White House looks to leverage the Communist-run island’s energy crisis to exert greater influence.“They’re in big trouble, and we could very well do something good, I think, very positive for the people that were expelled, or worse, from Cuba that live here,” Trump told reporters on Friday as he departed the White House for Texas.“You know, we have people living here that want to go back to Cuba.”“We could very well end up having a friendly takeover of Cuba,” he added.Trump’s comments are some of his most fulsome yet on his plans for Cuba, which has been under severe pressure from the US.A Cuba-flagged tanker leaves Havana Harbour on Thursday. Photo: TNSEarlier this week, the administration announced plans to allow fuel shipments from American energy companies to private Cuban businesses.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection A Predator B drone flies over an undisclosed location in this undated photograph. File | Photo Credit: Reuters The U.S. military used a laser Thursday (February 26, 2026) to shoot down a “seemingly threatening” drone flying near the U.S.-Mexico border. It turned out the drone belonged to Customs and Border Protection (CBP), lawmakers said.The case of mistaken identity prompted the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to close additional airspace around Fort Hancock, about 50 miles (80 kilometres) southeast of El Paso. The military is required to formally notify the FAA when it takes any counter-drone action inside U.S. airspace.It was the second time in two weeks that a laser was fired in the area. The last time it was CBP that used the weapon and nothing was hit. That incident occurred near Fort Bliss and prompted the FAA to shut down air traffic at El Paso airport and the surrounding area. This time, the closure was smaller and commercial flights were not affected.Washington U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen and two other top Democrats on the House Transportation and Infrastructure and Homeland Security committees said they were stunned when they were officially notified.“Our heads are exploding over the news,” the lawmakers said in a joint statement. They criticised the Trump administration for “sidestepping” a bipartisan bill to train drone operators and improve communication among the Pentagon, FAA and Department of Homeland Security, which includes CBP.“Now, we’re seeing the result of its incompetence,” they said.The FAA, CBP and the Pentagon issued a joint statement on late Thursday (February 26, 2026) that acknowledged the military “employed counter-unmanned aircraft system authorities to mitigate a seemingly threatening unmanned aerial system operating within military airspace.”The statement said it happened far from populated areas and commercial flights as part of the administration's efforts to…

After years of controversy over the genocide in Gaza, this was the year that the Berlin Film Festival was meant to find some respite and reaffirm itself as a marketplace for world cinema. But that respite never came. For the third consecutive year, the Berlinale has been overshadowed by Palestine and by what many view as unacknowledged complicity of the German state in Israel's war crimes. Of all the major film festivals in Europe and North America, the Berlinale has been the only one to mismanage the aftermath of 7 October to this extent. The notorious 2024 edition - where the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land premiered - ended with German politicians publicly attacking the filmmakers who expressed solidarity with Palestine, accusing the now-retired festival leadership of enabling antisemitism and amplifying Hamas. The 76th Berlinale was aiming for a fresh start last year with the appointment of American programmer Tricia Tuttle and a new team, but turning over a new leaf proved far more arduous than anticipated. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters In her first year in charge, Gaza continued to loom large over the festival. Strike Germany called for the boycott of the event in light of what occurred the year before. Three Israeli films were included in the programme, including a couple of documentaries about the plight of the Hamas-captured hostages, to mark the largest participation of the country in any major film festival since 7 October. Tuttle and her team must have hoped that the storm had finally passed after the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect on 10 October 2025. But it didn’t. Earlier this month, Strike Germany once again called for a boycott of the…

Hamas condemns attacks as 'complete disregard' for Board of Peace efforts The mother of Palestinian policeman Khaled al-Zayan, who was killed in an Israeli attack on a checkpoint, at his funeral in Khan Younis, south Gaza, 27 February, 2026 (Reuters/Ramadan Abed) Published date: 27 February 2026 11:30 GMT | Last update: 7 hours 3 min ago Overnight Israeli attacks in central and southern Gaza targeting two police stations have killed at least five, including one officer, in the latest escalation amid efforts to reach calm in the battered enclave. Two Palestinians were killed by a drone strike near the Bureij camp in central Gaza, leaving several others wounded. Meanwhile, three people were killed in southern Gaza’s al-Mawasi area, where some of the wounded were reported to be in critical condition, according to local reports citing medical sources. The sources said the strike targeted an area outside the so-called Yellow Line, which is outside the army's field of control. Israel has carried out multiple incursions beyond the boundary since the start of the ceasefire in October. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters In response to the attacks, Hazem Qassem, the spokesperson for Hamas, said the continued killing of Palestinians reflects Israel's "blatant disregard for the mediators' efforts and its complete disregard for the peace council and its role". "The occupation continues its war of extermination and destruction against the Palestinian people," he said, stressing that talks of a ceasefire "lacks any real substance on the ground". US President Donald Trump unveiled the Board of Peace initiative at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland last month. The board includes nearly all major Middle Eastern countries as members, including Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia…

U.S. first lady Melania Trump. File | Photo Credit: Reuters U.S. First Lady Melania Trump will preside over a U.N. Security Council meeting in what the United Nations on Thursday (February 27, 2026) said would be a first.When the wife of President Donald Trump takes her seat in the president's chair on Monday afternoon, it “will be the first time a first lady, or first gentleman for that matter, has ever presided over a Security Council meeting,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters.The United States takes over the rotating presidency of the 15-member council for March, and the First Lady's office said the meeting she will preside over will “emphasise education's role in advancing tolerance and world peace.”Melania Trump has made children in conflict one of her signature issues, writing a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin last year ahead of a summit with President Trump and later announcing that the effort had led to a group of children displaced by the Russia-Ukraine war reuniting with their families.Trump’s criticism of U.N.It comes as President Trump has repeatedly criticised the United Nations, saying it has not lived up to its potential. He has withdrawn the U.S. from U.N. organisations, including the World Health Organization and the cultural agency UNESCO, while pulling funding from dozens of others.The U.S. also owes the United Nations billions of dollars. Until earlier this month, the Trump administration had not paid any of its mandatory dues for the UN's regular operating budget for 2025 or this year. It paid $160 million, about 4% of the nearly $4 billion it has owed the U.N. overall, including for U.N. peacekeeping operations.UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned late last month that the United Nations faces “imminent financial collapse” unless its financial rules are overhauled or all member nations pay their dues,…

As tensions between Iran and the US-Israeli alliance approach a critical juncture, a question echoes through global capitals, newsrooms and policy circles: will China come to Iran’s rescue? And if so, what would that assistance look like? The answer defies the binary expectations of traditional military alliances. China is unlikely to dispatch troops or engage directly in any conflict, but to interpret this as passivity would be to misread the nature of 21st-century great power competition. China’s support for Iran is real, multifaceted, and in some ways more sustainable than military intervention; it just operates on a different strategic wavelength. At the UN Security Council, China has consistently deployed its most potent weapon: the veto-wielding power of principle. In an emergency meeting last month, Chinese Ambassador Sun Lei delivered a stark message to Washington: “The use of force can never solve problems. It will only make them more complex and intractable. Any military adventurism would only push the region toward an unpredictable abyss.” New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters This is not empty rhetoric. China’s official position explicitly supports “safeguarding Iran’s sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity”, while opposing “the threat or use of force in international relations”. By anchoring its stance in the UN Charter and international law, China provides Tehran with something invaluable: legitimacy on the world stage, and a powerful counter-narrative to western pressure. Strategic alignment The diplomatic calculus shifted fundamentally when Iran was formally approved in 2021 as a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), joining China, Russia and Central Asian nations. This was followed by Tehran’s inclusion in the Brics bloc. These are not military pacts, but they create something perhaps more enduring: a framework for permanent…

The Islamic Republic of Iran is, quite possibly, at its weakest point since its founding, in 1979. In June, Israeli and U.S. attacks destroyed its uranium enrichment capacity and many of its air defense systems. In December and January, the country experienced the most widespread domestic uprising since the birth of the Islamic Republic. Throughout, it has faced spiraling economic and environmental crises that it cannot fix. None of these events has knocked out the Islamic Republic. But there is no doubt it is down.Now, U.S. President Donald Trump is threatening to attack the country. He has made it clear he has little tolerance for the regime’s efforts to rebuild its nuclear program or the extraordinarily brutal way it cracked down on protests. “If Iran violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue,” he said last month. “We are locked and loaded and ready to go.” The president has since amassed U.S. air and naval assets in the region, and he is considering a variety of strike options.But that doesn’t mean major attacks are guaranteed. In fact, thus far, the administration’s decisions raise more questions than they answer about what Washington aims to achieve and how. Right now, Trump is practicing gunboat diplomacy, hoping that the threat of force will coerce the Islamic Republic into making a nuclear deal better than the one he left in 2018. If that fails, he is mulling decapitation operations or limited strikes in order to get the regime to bend.It is easy to see why the Trump administration is prioritizing diplomacy and limited strikes. The Islamic Republic may be weak, but it is still lethal and capable of harming U.S. forces and civilian targets throughout its region. The president, meanwhile, has repeatedly proved reluctant…

When U.S. President Donald Trump visited Israel in October 2025, he was greeted by the Israeli public and the country’s political leaders as a savior, having brokered a deal to end the war in Gaza. When Trump delivered a speech to the Knesset, his almost-royal reception by members of parliament screened alongside dramatic footage of the release of the remaining living Israeli hostages on TV channels across the country.Trump’s ability to break through the deadlock that has defined Israeli politics for decades stems from his high standing among Jewish Israelis. By forcing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept a fully realized 20-step road map for peace he did not produce, Trump has mobilized Israeli public opinion across partisan lines in favor of negotiation with the Palestinians. We co-direct the Peace Index, a survey that, since 1994, has regularly polled Israeli attitudes toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the chance for its resolution. In November last year, we conducted a survey of Israelis’ views of Trump’s plan and found that Jewish Israelis, particularly those on the political right and center, were more willing to consider peace negotiations when they were told such negotiations bore Trump’s imprimatur.The implications of this “Trump effect” are far-ranging. Trump has already defied virtually every assumption scholars and policymakers held about Israeli public opinion and the traditional roles of international mediators. Now, he has a chance to defy history by winning a lasting peace in the Middle East—but only if Washington can harness his influence to push the parties to follow through on the plan.VOTER’S BLOCKThe failure of the Israeli political imagination regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been two decades in the making. The violent collapse of the peace process in the first decade of the twenty-first century, Hamas’s takeover of the Gaza Strip in 2007, repeated…

The resolution would get members of US Congress on the record regarding Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank US Congressman Ro Khanna (D-CA) speaks at a town hall event in Stanford, California, on 20 February 2026 (Benjamin Fanjoy/AFP) Published date: 26 February 2026 23:06 GMT | Last update: 20 hours 27 min ago US Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna is set to introduce a House resolution on Friday condemning Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank and calling for accountability over escalating settler violence targeting Palestinian communities, according to a draft shared with Middle East Eye by his office on Thursday. While past congressional resolutions have criticised settlement expansion in broad terms, the California representative's measure adopts more specific language, condemning Israeli settler violence and referencing potential sanctions tools while also calling for a review of US policies that may indirectly subsidise settlement activity. The non-binding resolution would not become law, but could formally put House lawmakers on the record regarding Israeli settlement expansion and settler violence. Israeli settlements are illegal under international law. The resolution notably cites senior Israeli officials Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir in the context of urging the use of US authorities to impose targeted sanctions on individuals implicated in “serious human rights abuses”. On 8 February, the Israeli government approved sweeping changes to land registration and civil control in Areas A and B of the West Bank, which Palestinians say breach the Oslo Accords and advance de facto annexation. Smotrich and Defence Minister Israel Katz said the changes would “dramatically” alter West Bank policy, paving the way for expanded settlements and land seizure. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters The resolution also calls on US President…

NEW YORK, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. decision to withdraw from UNESCO, the UN cultural agency, has triggered worldwide calls for supporting multilateralism amid world challenges. After the United States informed UNESCO on Thursday about its withdrawal on Dec. 31, 2018, UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova said it would be a loss to the United Nations and "a loss to multilateralism." She said that UNESCO needs the leadership of all states "at the time when the fight against violent extremism calls for renewed investment in education, in dialogue among cultures to prevent hatred." According to the U.S. State Department, one of the reasons for its withdrawal is the "continuing anti-Israel bias at UNESCO." The United States stopped funding UNESCO after the organization voted to include Palestine as a member in 2011, but has maintained a UNESCO office at the organization's headquarters in Paris to weigh in on policy. "It is unfortunate when international organizations that serve useful humanitarian purposes become politicized," said an American expert on international relations, referring to the prolonged Israel-Palestine conflict. Avery Goldstein, David M. Knott Professor of Global Politics and International Relations at the University of Pennsylvania, said the decision of withdrawal continues a trend in U.S. policy towards UNESCO put in place under former U.S. President Barack Obama. "It is more a matter of continuity than change," he told Xinhua in an email interview. Unfortunately, suspicion of the effectiveness of multilateral organizations prevails in Washington, Sourabh Gupta, resident senior fellow at the Institute for China-America Studies, told Xinhua. Gupta said that membership in UNESCO, "given its soft educational and cultural mandate," is considered to be a waste of money. Statistics show that the United States is in arrears of over 500 million U.S. dollars to UNESCO as a consequence of its funding cuts to the…

WASHINGTON, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- The world has long been used to U.S. President Donald Trump taking a stance against multilateralism. Still, the sudden U.S. announcement Thursday to retreat from UNESCO -- the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization -- raised eyebrows worldwide. According to a State Department statement, the decision "reflects U.S. concerns with mounting arrears at UNESCO, the need for fundamental reform in the organization, and continuing anti-Israel bias at UNESCO." But the fundamental issue is the Trump administration's distrust of multilateral organizations and a growing frustration over America's place in an increasingly multipolar world. AN INGRAINED IMPATIENCE Since taking office this January, the new White House leader has made no secret of his penchant for challenging multilateralism. Having already scrapped the historic Paris climate deal, the comprehensive pact signed by 195 countries last year to reduce gas emissions, Trump also wants to "decertify" the landmark Iran nuclear deal. The critical Iran nuclear deal was signed two years ago with the five permanent U.N. Security Council member countries plus Germany, to avert the likelihood of a nuclear crisis in the Middle East. Trump also lashed out at the UN in his first speech at the UN General Assembly in New York last month, saying, "Too often, the focus of this organization has not been on results, but on bureaucracy and process. In some cases, states that seek to subvert this institution's noble ends have hijacked the very systems that are supposed to advance them." In the specific case of UNESCO, Washington has long hammered it for so-called corruption, low-efficiency and mismanagement. As early as 1984, the Ronald Reagan administration pulled the United States out of the agency, citing what it called the U.N. body's ideological tilt toward the former Soviet Union against the West, and the U.S.…