WARSAW, Poland (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday at a security conference in Warsaw that Iran is the top threat in the Middle East and confronting the country is key to reaching peace in the entire region.

Pompeo met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before the opening session at the conference and said “pushing back” against Iran was central to dealing with all the region’s other problems.

“You can’t achieve peace and stability in the Middle East without confronting Iran. It’s just not possible,” Pompeo said alongside Netanyahu.

KANPUR: Nothing has changed after the start of the toll-free number 1950. This phone number was arranged for providing information to the common voter. But it was sad to say the real purpose was not achieved so far.

Banda (UP), Feb 14 (PTI) A teenage girl was allegedly abducted and raped by four persons in Mahoba district of Uttar Pradesh, police said Thursday.

The 15-year-old girl was abducted when she was returning home from the fields Tuesday evening in the Panwadi area of Mahoba, a police officer said.

DAMASCUS, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- A total of 70 civilians were killed and wounded Tuesday by a U.S.-led airstrike in eastern Syria, state TV reported.

The airstrikes targeted a camp for displaced people in the eastern countryside of Deir al-Zour.

The airstrikes have intensified recently on Islamic State (IS)-held areas in the eastern Euphrates river region.

On Saturday, the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) started on the final stage of attacks against the IS in the eastern Euphrates river region in eastern Syria.

12 Feb 2019; AFP: US President Donald Trump said Tuesday he would consider extending the deadline for a trade deal with China beyond March 1.

"If we're close to a deal, where we think we can make a real deal... I could see myself letting that slide for a little while," Trump told reporters at the White House.

But he added: "Generally speaking I'm not inclined to do that."

UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said on Tuesday that the government led by President Nicolas Maduro is ready to sit down with the opposition without preconditions and seek a solution to the political crisis.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- Uncertainty hangs on as U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he is not happy with a bipartisan deal reached in principle by lawmakers in a bid to avert a government shutdown.

"I can't say I'm happy. I can't say I'm thrilled," Trump told reporters in the White House about the deal.

However, the president did not say whether he would sign or veto the deal, noting that he would hold a meeting to discuss it later.

BEIJING, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- China Tuesday urged relevant countries to stop using the excuse of so-called cyber spying and internet hacking to tarnish its image, and to stop actions and words that harm China's interests and bilateral ties.

Reports alleged that hackers working for China's state security department breached the network of a Norwegian software firm, as part of a global hacking operation aimed at stealing intellectual property and corporate secrets.

13 Feb 2019; AFP: President Donald Trump indicated Tuesday that he will walk back his threat to shut the government even if he does not get all the money he has demanded for building a wall along the US-Mexican border.

Although Trump left enough wiggle room to keep the country guessing, he appeared to be edging toward accepting a deal struck in Congress that would give him significantly less money for the much-maligned barrier.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- All U.S. states plus the District of Columbia will see net job loss as a result of the federal government's newly imposed tariffs on imports from U.S. trading partners as well as retaliations by the affected countries, a recent study has shown.

The study, titled Estimated Impacts of Tariffs on the U.S. Economy and Workers, was compiled by Trade Partnership Worldwide, LLC, an international trade and economic consulting firm, and commissioned by Tariffs Hurt the Heartland, a pro-free trade advocacy group. It was released last Wednesday.

13 Feb 2019; AFP: The International Court of Justice on Wednesday will give its decision on a bid by Iran to recover $2 billion in frozen assets that the United States says must be paid to terror victims.

The US Supreme Court ruled in 2016 that Iran must give the cash to survivors and relatives of victims of attacks blamed on Tehran, including the 1983 bombing of a US Marine barracks in Beirut.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Department of Defense said Tuesday that acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan held talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi in Baghdad on a broad range of defense issues.

In their meeting at the prime minister's office, Shanahan and Abdul Mahdi discussed a broad range of defense issues, including the need to further develop capabilities of Iraqi security forces, according to a press release issued by the Pentagon.