USA

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A former Mexican government official who oversaw public security in his country pleaded not guilty on Friday to U.S. charges he accepted millions of dollars in bribes to protect the Sinaloa drug cartel once run by Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman and let it operate with impunity.

Genaro Garcia Luna, 51, entered his plea through a translator at a hearing in federal court in Brooklyn, where lawyers signaled he may be in talks to change his plea later.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Trump administration on Friday justified its killing of a top Iranian general as an act of self-defense, trying to deflect accusations that it violated international law and concerns raised by legal experts and a senior U.N. rights investigator.

Qassem Soleimani, the 62-year-old commander of Iran’s elite Quds Force, was killed in the U.S. air strike in Baghdad overnight. The attack, ordered by President Donald Trump, sent tensions between the United States and Iran soaring, with Iranian officials promising revenge.

04 Jan 2019; MEMO: Democratic presidential contenders on Friday condemned the air strike that killed prominent Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani, saying President Donald Trump’s decision was reckless and could lead the United States to another war in the Middle East, Reuters reports.

04 Jan 2019; MEMO: Oil prices jumped to the highest level in more than three months on Friday after the US killed a top Iranian military commander in Iraq, sparking fears that escalating conflict in the region could disrupt global oil supplies, Reuters reports.

An air strike at Baghdad airport killed Major-General Qassem Soleimani, architect of Iran’s spreading military influence in the Middle East, with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowing revenge.

04 Jan 2019; MEMO: The US is deploying roughly 3,000 additional troops to the Middle East after it killed a top Iranian general, according to multiple reports published Friday, Anadolu Agency reports.

The new deployment will include soldiers from the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, the reports said citing anonymous defense and military officials.

They will be sent to both Iraq and Kuwait, according to NBC News.

UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for de-escalation in the Gulf, said his spokesman on Friday.

"The Secretary-General has consistently advocated for de-escalation in the Gulf. He is deeply concerned with the recent escalation," said Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for Guterres.

"This is a moment in which leaders must exercise maximum restraint," the UN chief was quoted as saying. The world cannot afford another war in the Gulf, he added.

NEW YORK, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. airstrike that had killed one of Iran's most powerful generals sent oil prices significantly higher on Friday, as market participants feared an escalation of the tensions in the Middle East could disrupt energy flows in the region.

The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for February delivery rose 1.87 U.S. dollars to settle at 63.05 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after trading as high as 64.09 dollars. The settlement was the highest for a front-month contract since May 20, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- The United States will deploy some 3,500 more troops to the Middle East as early as this weekend following a U.S. strike killing a top Iranian commander, local media reported on Friday, citing U.S. officials.

The additional troops from the 82nd Airborne Division will be deployed to Iraq, Kuwait and other parts of the region, reported NBC News citing multiple U.S. defense and military officials.

Some of the troops could be deployed as early as this weekend to Kuwait, reported The Wall Street Journal in a story on Friday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — With an eye to impeachment, federal appellate judges struggled Friday with whether to grant House Democrats’ demands for testimony from former White House counsel Don McGahn and access to secret grand jury materials from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress opened the new year with the Senate deadlocked over President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, leaving the proceedings deeply in flux as Republicans refuse to bend to Democratic demands for new witnesses.