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Critics condemn ‘reckless and cruel’ expulsions and say deportees likely to be targeted by armed gangs who control much of countryMore than 70 Haitians expelled from the United States have been flown back to Haiti on the first deportation flight since heavily armed gangs launched a bloody insurrection which has paralysed the capital and forced the prime minister from office.The flight, which landed in...

Flights delayed and traffic disrupted as protesters in major US cities intensify call for ceasefire in GazaThousands of people held protests across the US on Monday condemning Israel’s attack on Gaza, shutting down airports and disrupting traffic in major cities from New York to San Francisco.A portion of the Kennedy Expressway into Chicago O’Hare international airport, one of the US’s busiest, was blocked off...

US president describes defence commitment to the Philippines and Japan as ‘ironclad’ as Beijing accuses Manila of violating Chinese sovereigntyJoe Biden has pledged to defend the Philippines from any attack in the South China Sea, as he hosted the first joint summit with Manila and Tokyo amid growing tensions with Beijing.“The United States’ defence commitments to Japan and to the Philippines are ironclad,” the...

US president also said Israel must implement a series of specific steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering and the safety of aid workersMiddle East crisis – live updatesJoe Biden has called for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza, telling Benjamin Netanyahu that future US support for Israel will depend on it taking concrete action to protect civilians and aid workers.As the two leaders held...

This live blog is now closed. For more on the Biden-Netanyahu phone call, you can read our full report:Protect civilians and aid workers or risk losing US support, Biden tells IsraelJill Biden pleaded with her husband, Joe Biden, to “stop it, stop it now”, referring to the war in Gaza, the president told guests at the White House, according to a report.At a meeting...

Presidents clashed over Taiwan and US trade restrictions on technology in first direct interaction since NovemberJoe Biden and Xi Jinping have clashed in a telephone call about Taiwan and US trade restrictions on technology, but sought to manage their tensions as two top US officials prepare to visit Beijing.The nearly two-hour telephone conversation on Tuesday was the two leaders’ first direct interaction since a...

National security spokesperson says US passed on warnings and dismissed Russian allegations Ukraine was involved as ‘nonsense’The US repeatedly alerted Russia that extremists were planning to attack large gatherings in Moscow ahead of last week’s concert hall attack that claimed more than 140 lives, the White House has said.The national security spokesperson, John Kirby, said on Thursday that US officials passed on warnings –...

Washington’s decision not to use its veto is an acknowledgement of its failure to lead the UN Gaza agendaDiplomacy occasionally has the capacity to surprise, and when it does it often portends a deep shifting in the landscape.Few as recently as the end of last week saw much chance that the UN security council would be able to put aside five months of division...

Washington fears loss of bases in Niger would risk the country following its neighbours and falling under Russian hegemonyUS policymakers are scrambling after the ruling military junta in Niger cancelled a mutual security pact that could lead to American forces being expelled, stirring fears of a loss of vital influence to Russia in west Africa.In a setback for Washington’s counter-terrorism strategy against jihadist groups...

State department organizes evacuation after nearly 1,600 US citizens ask for help amid reports of continuing violence in capitalThe United States has said it was starting to evacuate its citizens out of Haiti by helicopter, amid reports of fresh fighting in the Caribbean country’s gang-dominated capital, with particularly fierce gunfire in some of the city’s wealthiest enclaves.A state department spokesperson, Vedant Patel, told reporters...

US says attack would be ‘mistake’ as Biden and Netanyahu talk by phone for first time in over a monthIsrael will send a team of officials to Washington to discuss its planned offensive on Rafah, the White House has said, as the Biden administration insists that an attack would be a “mistake” and seeks to persuade Israel to allow in more aid in the...

US embassy says ‘absurd’ to suggest Washington behind protests in Santiago de Cuba led by parents struggling to feed their childrenThe Cuban government has summoned the US ambassador, Benjamin Ziff, to its foreign ministry, accusing Washington of stoking a protest which saw hundreds of people take to the streets in the island’s second city of Santiago de Cuba.The demonstration late on Sunday was a...

Two new studies find no significant differences between US government officials suffering from condition and control groupTwo new medical studies have found that US government officials suffering from Havana syndrome symptoms did not show any discernible physical damage or alteration.One of the studies published on Monday by the federally funded National Institutes of Health (NIH) examined brain imaging, while the other looked at blood...

Washington says no despite ‘frantic’ talks between diplomats, as bodies lie in street and army battles gun-toting gang membersWhat led to the Haiti jailbreak – and can democracy be restored?The United States has said it will not send troops to Haiti after a stunning eruption of gang violence seemingly designed to bring down the Caribbean nation’s enfeebled government and its unpopular prime minister, Ariel...

Decision to airdrop supplies suggests Biden has given up on being able to persuade Israel to coordinate ground-based reliefThe US will start airdrops of food and emergency supplies into Gaza in the next few days, Joe Biden has announced, amid UN warnings of famine and after Israeli troops opened fire on Gazans seeking food aid.The use of airdrops is a spectacular but inefficient way...

Secretary of state’s characterization of West Bank settlements signals return to longstanding US policy reversed by TrumpIsrael’s expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank was inconsistent with international law, the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said on Friday, signaling a return to longstanding US policy on the issue, which had been reversed by the previous administration of Donald Trump.The Trump administration in...

Joe Biden declines to give details but says sanctions will coincide with second anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine The US will announce a major package of sanctions against Russia on Friday prompted by the death of political opposition leader Alexei Navalny but also devised as retaliation for the two-year war Vladimir Putin initiated against Ukraine, Joe Biden said on Tuesday.The US president...

Jens Stoltenberg believes Congress will finally vote for package but meanwhile Russian forces are advancing near AvdiivkaThe US failure to vote through a fresh military aid package for Ukraine is already having an impact on the battlefield, Nato’s secretary general has warned at the end of a defence ministers’ meeting.Jens Stoltenberg said he still believed Congress would eventually approve the stalled $60bn (£50bn) package,...

Human rights groups also want to see executive order used to stop US groups from donating millions of dollars each year to settlersThere are growing calls for Joe Biden to use his new executive order sanctioning violent Israeli settlers to also target political leaders, including government ministers, responsible for driving attacks against Palestinians.Pro-Israel groups and others in the US say the order is potentially...

Assistance package worth $17.6bn, seen as ploy to block broader Senate-backed measure, fails to win two-thirds majorityThe US House of Representatives rejected a Republican-led bill on Tuesday that would provide $17.6bn to Israel, as Democrats said they wanted a vote instead on a broader measure that would also provide assistance to Ukraine, international humanitarian funding and new money for border security.The vote was 250...

President says ‘If you harm an American, we will respond’ as US forces strike in what is expected to be first of multiple attacksUS airstrikes in Iraq and Syria – live updatesJoe Biden has warned “if you harm an American, we will respond” as US forces attacked more than 80 targets in Iraq and Syria in a wide-ranging air assault on sites belonging to...

Financial sanctions and visa bans imposed on four individuals as US frustration with Israel growsMiddle East crisis – live updatesJoe Biden has issued an executive order targeting Israeli settlers in the West Bank who have been attacking Palestinians, amid fast-growing frustration in Washington at Israel’s trajectory in the midst of its war in Gaza.The order initially imposes financial sanctions and visa bans against four...

Strikes expected to take place in Syria and possibly Iraq, after three US soldiers were killed at a base in JordanMiddle East crisis – live updatesThe US has ordered a series of reprisal strikes to be launched over more than one day against an Iranian-backed militia, the US defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, has said.Austin said all drones in the region attacking the US were...

Chris Wray tells House committee there has been been far too little public focus on a sleeper cyber threat that affects ‘every American’US officials say they have disrupted a state-backed Chinese effort to plant malware that could damage civilian infrastructure, as the head of the FBI warned that Beijing was positioning itself to disrupt daily life in America were the US and China ever...