DUBAI: Iran's military launched a short-range naval missile drill on Wednesday, Iranian state TV reported, at a time of high tension between arch foes Tehran and Washington.Iran has one of the biggest missile programmes in the Middle East, regarding such weapons as an important deterrent and retaliatory force against U.S. and other adversaries in the event of war.The West sees Iran's missiles both as a conventional military threat to regional stability and a possible delivery mechanism for nuclear weapons should Tehran develop them.The Iranian-made warship Makran, which state media described as Iran's biggest warship with a helicopter pad, and a missile-launching ship called Zereh (armour) were taking part in the two-day exercise in the Gulf of Oman.Tensions between the United States and Iran have risen since 2018, when President Donald Trump abandoned the 2015 nuclear deal. The United States restored harsh sanctions to pressure Iran into negotiating stricter curbs on its nuclear programme, ballistic missile development and support for regional proxy forces.In recent years, there have been periodic confrontations between Iran’s military and U.S. forces in the Gulf, where Tehran holds annual exercises to display the Islamic Republic's military might to confront "foreign threats".Last week, Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps seized
WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - Facebook and Instagram will extend a ban on US President Donald Trump's accounts for at least the next two weeks until the presidential transition is completed, Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said on Thursday (Jan 7). Earlier on Wednesday, Twitter, Facebook and Snap had temporarily locked the accounts of Mr Trump, as tech giants scrambled to crack down on his baseless claims about the US presidential elections amid riots at the US Capitol.
The past few weeks have been challenging for our country and for our citizens. Last week’s protest in Washington began as peaceful but devolved into violence within the walls of our nation’s Capitol. This occurred while the legislatures were meeting to accept the Electoral College results from the states. This was frightening and unacceptable. We feel as though we are a nation under siege from ourselves. We are bitterly divided, torn, and unsure of how to move forward. Many on both sides do not want to move forward but to blame the other side. Can we move past our political polarization and improve our country by working together? Yes, we can, but it will take real work and a shift from a mindset of judgment and certainty to another marked by listening and learning. This coming Monday, we will celebrate the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech on Aug. 28, 1963, from in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. The year 1963 marked 100 years after Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. About 250,000 people gathered that day: black and white, young and old, Northerners and Southerners, to be a
