Author: Dominic Washington

Buona sera! Sono molto lieto di essere di nuovo a Milano per la cerimonia annuale dei Transatlantic Awards di AmCham. Anche quest’anno siamo qui per celebrare i successi delle aziende italiane e americane che continuano a crescere grazie agli investimenti nei rispettivi mercati e sulle persone. I would also like to greet Minister of Institutional Reforms Maria Elisabetta Alberti Casellati and Minister of Economy and Finance Giancarlo Giorgetti (TBC) and the other distinguished representatives of the Italian government here today. And a special thank you to my friend, Ambassador Mariangela Zappia, for being such a great partner. Finally, I would…

Russia has reportedly lost a staggering amount of troops over the past 24 hours along with dozens of tanks and armoured vehicles as bloody fighting takes its toll on Vladimir Putin’s men. Russia lost a staggering 1,740 troops in a single day, the highest tally of casualties for Moscow since the start of the invasion in 2022, according to Ukraine. In the previous 24 hours, Ukraine also claimed Russia had lost 30 tanks and 42 armoured vehicles. Death toll and military hardware statistics are difficult to assess with both sides giving different or little information. However, Ukraine’s armed forces have claimed Russia has so far lost an eye-watering…

At least 99 people died when an inferno destroyed the town of Lahaina in the deadliest wildfire in modern US history. Through first-hand accounts, as well as police bodycam footage and recordings, a BBC investigation reveals why it was so hard to escape – and uncovers mistakes from authorities. By the time she saw the smoke, it was almost too late. The first thing U’i Kahue noticed was the wind battering her neighbourhood, ripping off roofs and felling trees. Then she saw the smoke, rolling in like a black cloud. In no time, the fire had become an inferno. She…

The FBI has seized the phones of New York City Mayor Eric Adams in an apparent escalation of an investigation into campaign financing. His campaign said electronic devices, believed to be two iPhones and an iPad, were taken by agents on Monday night. The search was first reported by the New York Times, which said the probe centred on whether the campaign had conspired with the Turkish government to receive illegal foreign donations. Mr Adams, 63, denies wrongdoing. On Friday, Boyd Johnson, a lawyer for the mayor’s campaign organisation, said Mr Adams had been approached by the FBI after an…

Five American service members have died in a helicopter crash in the eastern Mediterranean, the US military says. It says the aircraft suffered a mishap while refuelling as part of a routine training exercise. The US has increased its operations in the region since the outbreak of the conflict between Israel and Hamas. President Joe Biden paid tribute to the victims, saying service members were putting “their lives on the line for our country every day”. “We pray for the families of all our fallen warriors today and every day,” he added. The military statement did not specify where the…

The White House says that a three-year-old American whose parents were killed by Hamas is among the hostages in Gaza. President Joe Biden raised the issue of hostages, including the toddler, with a call with Amir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad al-Thani of Qatar on Sunday. It comes as the White House says “urgent” efforts to free hostages taken after the 7 October attack by Hamas are continuing. The US says there are 10 Americans still unaccounted for since the attack. According to a readout of the call between Mr Biden and Sheikh Tamim released by the White House, the president…

A handful United States citizens imprisoned in Iran have been moved to house arrest, in what US news outlets are reporting is the first step in a potential prisoner swap deal between Washington and Tehran. Citing people familiar with the agreement, the New York Times reported on Thursday that five dual US-Iranian citizens had been released to house arrest. The newspaper named three of the prisoners as Siamak Namazi, Emad Sharghi and Morad Tahbaz, and said the families of the other two are withholding their identities. Four of them were released on Thursday from Iran’s infamous Evin prison to a hotel in the capital,…

The United States judge overseeing Donald Trump’s election interference case has said she will limit the evidence the former president will be allowed to share from his trial but stopped short of granting the blanket ban prosecutors had sought. During a court hearing on Friday, US District Judge Tanya Chutkan addressed concerns that Trump could release evidence on social media. She told his lawyers that the former president’s defence “is supposed to happen in this courtroom, not on the internet”. She also cautioned that “arguably ambiguous statements” could be construed as intimidation or harassment of potential witnesses. “I will take whatever measures…

The United States’ top diplomat has reiterated his “grave concern” for the wellbeing of deposed Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum, after a coup on July 26 resulted in his removal from power. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a telephone call on Friday with Bazoum’s predecessor, former President Mahamadou Issoufou, to talk about the “deteriorating conditions” the embattled leader faces. “The Secretary shared that he is particularly dismayed by the refusal of those who seized power in Niger to release Bazoum’s family members as a demonstration of goodwill,” US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a read-out of the call.…

Sam Bankman-Fried will prepare for his fraud trial from a Brooklyn jail where inmates ranging from convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell to Honduras’s former president have complained of subpar conditions. US District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan ruled on Friday that Bankman-Fried, the founder of bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX, must be jailed for tampering with witnesses while free on a $250m bond at his parents’ home in Palo Alto, California. Bankman-Fried, who has pleaded not guilty to fraud charges over FTX’s collapse, will now be housed before his October 2 trial in Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC), a far cry from the…