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Gunshots have been fired at the US embassy in Ankara but caused no casualties, Turkish and American officials said, amid escalating tensions between the two NATO allies.

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - The U.S. Embassy in Ankara has not put out a statement regarding pastor Andrew Brunson, an embassy official told Reuters on Monday, after a report on social media cited the embassy as saying he would be released from house arrest by Aug. 15. The case of Brunson, an evangelical Christian being tried by a Turkish court, is one of a series of disputes that lies at the heart of deteriorating ties between the two NATO allies.

US counter-intelligence investigators discovered a suspected Russian spy had been working undetected in the heart of the American embassy in Moscow for more than a decade, the Guardian has learned. The Russian national had been hired by the US Secret Service and is understood to have had access to the agency’s intranet and email systems, which gave her a potential window into highly confidential material including the schedules of the president and vice-president. The woman had been working for the Secret Service for years before she came under suspicion in 2016 during a routine security sweep conducted by two investigators...

SMOKE is blanketing Beijing after a huge blast hit the US embassy in China’s capital. Witnesses have reported a large explosion as dozens of officials swoop on the area.

And this is how it’s done, folks. It’s now being reported that the Trump administration isn’t fooling around when it comes to nations not wanting to take in their own citizens who decide disrespect our nation by coming here illegally. The Department of Homeland Security has now announced that the administration has hit some government officials from Burma and Laos with visa sanctions as punishment for both countries’ refusal to take back their own citizens that the U.S. was caught in our nation illegally and is in the process of trying to deport. The U.S. embassy in Rangoon, Burma, has...

On Saturday, the U.S. Embassy in Haiti warned American citizens, volunteers and missionaries in Haiti to stay in place and hunker down after angry demonstrators attempted to get past a barricade and security guards at a Port-au-Prince hotel. CNN reports that American Airlines, JetBlue and the Spirit Airlines (whose official slogan is: “We’re like a Greyhound bus with wings”) canceled all flights to Haiti following unrest in the country related to rising fuel prices, corruption and widespread poverty. When comparing them side-by-side, the story of the American Revolution ain’t got shit on the history of Haiti. For black people, Haiti...

Americans in the UK have been warned to “keep a low profile” during this week’s visit of their president, Donald Trump, as the US embassy in London says demonstrations against the event could turn violent. On Tuesday, officials said the demonstrations would probably be focused on the centre of the UK capital, despite the fact that Trump is spending only a short time there, but added others had also been planned over the three days from Wednesday. “Be aware of your surroundings [and] exercise caution if unexpectedly in the vicinity of large gatherings that may become violent,” the US embassy...

The U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti has requested additional security personnel including Marines as the Haitian capital has been gripped by days of protests over a government plan to raise fuel prices and cut food subsidies, according to multiple reports. A request made by the embassy includes a Marine Security Guard Augmentation Unit consisting of about 13 Marines and other personnel to reinforce existing embassy security, CNN reported Tuesday. The request has been approved by Trump administration officials, the network added. Staff at the embassy have been instructed to shelter in place by State Department officials, and a travel advisory...

The State Department on Tuesday warned U.S. citizens to avoid the international airport in Haiti's capital of Port-au-Prince amid continuing political unrest. "Due to the security situation, U.S. government personnel continue to shelter in place and U.S. citizens are advised to do the same. If you attempt to go to the airport, exercise extreme caution and only do so if the route is open," reads a travel advisory on the State Department's website. The department said road blocks and disruptions on roadways have been reported. "Do not travel to the airport unless you have a confirmed airline ticket. Contact the...

President Trump’s top envoy in Germany has found himself in the middle of a diplomatic firestorm less than a month after being sworn in. In an interview from his office in Berlin with the right-leaning Breitbart News, Richard Grenell made an acknowledgement unusual for a diplomat: he wanted to “empower other conservatives throughout Europe.”“I absolutely want to empower other conservatives throughout Europe, other leaders. I think there is a groundswell of conservative policies that are taking hold because of the failed policies of the left,” Grenell said, adding that it was “an exciting time” to be serving as ambassador. The...

BERLIN, Germany: Trumpian U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell has expressed great excitement over the wave of conservatism in Europe, saying he wants to “empower” leaders of the movement. At a sit-down interview at his official residence in Berlin with Breitbart London, Ambassador Grenell said: “There are a lot of conservatives throughout Europe who have contacted me to say they are feeling there is a resurgence going on.” “I absolutely want to empower other conservatives throughout Europe, other leaders. I think there is a groundswell of conservative policies that are taking hold because of the failed policies of the left,”...

MSNBC reporter Andrea Mitchell said it was "appalling" that the U.S. moved its Israeli embassy to Jerusalem without obtaining any concessions from Israel. Mitchell expressed astonishment at the Trump administration placing the blame for violence solely on Hamas, who instigated riots along the border in Gaza. White House principal deputy press secretary Raj Shah on Monday did not call for Israel to soften its response to the riots, leading Mitchell to decry the administration’s support for Israel. "I've never seen anything like that," Mitchell said. "Even the strongest supporters of Israel in administrations Republican and Democratic would at that point...

The final prayer spoken at the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem on Monday thanked God but also touched on the historic and biblical significance behind President Donald Trump’s decision to officially recognize the capital of Israel by moving U.S. diplomatic headquarters from Tel Aviv to the “city on the hill.” The Rev. John Hagee, senior pastor of Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas, and national chairman of Christians United for Israel (CUFI), gave the benediction following the dedication ceremony that included remarks by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump advisors Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump and Treasury Secretary Steve...

A hardline Iranian organization is reportedly offering a $100,000 reward to any person who bombs the newly opened U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, according to a translation of Farsi language reports. A group known as the Iranian Justice Seeker Student Movement is reported to have disseminated posters calling for an attack on the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, which has been opposed by Palestinian and Iranian officials as an affront to the holy city. "The Student Justice Movement will support anybody who destroy the illegal American embassy in Jerusalem," the poster states in Farsi, Arabic, and English, according to an independent translation...

Several celebrities blamed President Trump for a deadly protest over the new U.S. embassy opening in Jerusalem Monday. “I’m glad Ivanka and Jared could take time away from their busy schedules of not being qualified to represent the US to go represent the US, and celebrate moving the capital in exchange for the adelson’s donations, while 50+ Palestinians have been killed,” Chelsea Handler tweeted to her millions of followers.

Following President Trump’s decision to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, it is now basically all out war on the border between Gaza and Israel. Israel is today celebrating its 70th anniversary as a sovereign/independent nation and in the same time is facing a huge Palestinian uprising. Ivanka and Jared are now in Jerusalem, along with US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, to commemorate the official opening of the US Embassy in Jerusalem (prior to that, we only had a consulate in Jerusalem). President Trump announced months ago that he’s going to fulfill his campaign promise, acknowledging Jerusalem...

WASHINGTON — Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is among a handful of Republican senators expected to attend the controversial opening of the new American Embassy in Jerusalem on Monday, his office has confirmed. The trip comes roughly five months after President Donald Trump formally recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and announced plans to relocate the U.S. Embassy there from Tel Aviv. Cruz, who has long called for such a move, praised the decision as “courageous and heroic.” But many Arab and European leaders slammed Trump for upending a decades-old foreign policy in which U.S. presidents declined to weigh in...

Democrats are a no show for Jerusalem Embassy move.

President Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, and her husband Jared Kushner — both White House advisers — led the United States delegation in Jerusalem, Israel on Monday for the opening of the new U.S. embassy. Alongside the Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara Netanyahu, Ivanka announced the opening of the embassy which was revealed by the drop of a curtain. “Today we dedicated the new US Embassy in Jerusalem – a longtime promise to the American and Israeli people,” Ivanka wrote on her Instagram.....In true Ivanka fashion, she donned a pair of pearl earrings to top off...

Democrats' acknowledgement of the U.S. embassy opening in Jerusalem Monday was virtually non-existent. The Times of Israel reported that no Democratic members of Congress attended the ceremony.Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, told them he was “surprised” that “no sitting legislators from his former party were in Jerusalem for the embassy dedication.”“I hope that the Democratic members had [scheduling] conflicts and they had to be somewhere else,” he said. “I hope that they don’t see this as some kind of pro-Trump rally in Jerusalem. It’s not. Its a pro-US-Israel friendship-partnership-alliance rally. And it’s celebrating the strength of our relationship, which has been...