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GENEVA: The standoff between Iran and the United States is a “clash of wills,” a senior commander of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards said on Thursday, suggesting any enemy “adventurism” would meet a crushing response, Fars news agency reported. Tensions have spiked between the two countries after Washington sent more military forces to the Middle East in a show of force against what US officials say are Iranian threats to its troops and interests in the region. “The confrontation and face-off of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the malicious government of America is the arena for a clash of wills,” Iran's armed forces chief of staff Major General Mohammad Baqeri said. He pointed to a battle

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has won a second term in office following the country's marathon seven-phase general elections, the world's largest democratic exercise ever. Modi is the first non-Congress prime minister in India to return to power after a full five-year term.  Official data from the Election Commission showed Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) winning 303 of the 542 seats, up from 282 it had won in 2014. The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has won 351 seats.  The opposition Indian National Congress (INC) won 52 seats. In 2014, the Congress was reduced to 44 - its worst performance ever. The party or coalition with a simple majority (272 seats) in India's lower

The undefeated Thurman, 30, takes on Pacquiao in Las Vegas on July 20 in a contest that pits the WBA's "super world champion" against the body's secondary "world" champion. Thurman (29-0, with 22 knockouts) returned from a near two-year layoff to retain his title with a 12-round majority decision over Josesito Lopez on January 26. Eight-division champion Pacquiao, who last fought in a one-sided demolition of Adrien Broner in January, is 10 years older than his American opponent. And as the two men came face to face at a press conference in Beverly Hills on Wednesday, Thurman vowed to make the age difference count. "Pacquiao's last fight, Pacquiao's last fight," Thurman said, while pledging to

James Bond actor Daniel Craig will undergo ankle surgery after injuring himself while filming the spy franchise's latest installment, but the movie remains on schedule for an April 2020 release, producers said on Wednesday. A posting on the official James Bond Twitter account said the surgery was minor and that Craig hurt himself while shooting in Jamaica. “Production will continue whilst Craig is rehabilitating for two weeks post-surgery. The film remains on track for the same release date in April 2020,” the tweet said. The still-untitled movie, known by the working title “Bond 25,” will be Craig's fifth go-around as Britain's most famous fictional secret agent. British media reported that

US Navy ships have conducted joint drills with warships from Japan, Australia and South Korea in their first combined exercise in the Western Pacific. The Pacific Vanguard exercise near the US island of Guam started on Thursday, in advance of President Donald Trump's visit to Japan this weekend, as Washington looks to allies in Asia to help counter China's military might in the region. "Pacific Vanguard joins forces from four, like-minded maritime nations that provide security throughout the Indo-Pacific based on shared values and common interests," Vice Admiral Phillip Sawyer, the commander of the US Navy's Seventh Fleet, said in a statement. The six-day exercise involves two Japanese destroyers,

The Pentagon is planning to brief the White House on options to deploy as many as 5,000 American troops to the Middle East amid escalating tensions with Iran, a US official said on Wednesday. The official, who was granted anonymity to discuss a national security matter, said that the deployment, if it went forward, would be for defensive purposes. The official added that General Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff will take part in the briefing, and that Acting Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan may be involved as well. Word that the administration was considering sending more troops to the region came as concerns have been rising about the risk of conflict between the US

Co-developers GE Energy Financial Services (GE EFS) and Japan's Sumitomo Corporation along with Shikoku Electric Power Company and Sharjah Asset Management, the investment arm of the government of Sharjah, have closed financing from private financial institutions and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), Japan's export credit agency, for GE's flagship 1.8 gigawatts power project, Hamriyah Independent Power Company in Sharjah. Securing financing for the project will lead to the first independent combined cycle power project in the emirate, which is expected to be the most efficient power plant in the Middle East's utilities sector on completion.  Together, a consortium of banks