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David R. Sands

David R. Sands

David R. Sands covered numerous beats, including international trade, banking, politics and Capitol Hill, and spent eight years on the foreign desk as senior diplomatic correspondent. He has authored The Times' weekly chess column since 1993.

Articles by David R. Sands

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (center) arrives to attend a ceremony in Tehran on April 9, 2015, marking National Nuclear Technology Day, as he is accompanied by head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization Ali Akbar Salehi (left) and Vice President for Science and Technology Affairs Sorena Sattari (right). (Associated Press) **FILE**

Iranian ayatollah: U.S. ‘hallucinating’ about access to military nuke sites

Iranian top officials are vowing that the country's military bases will not be opened to international inspectors under any deal to curb Tehran's nuclear programs, throwing a major potential roadblock in President Obama's hopes of concluding a breakthrough deal by next month's deadline. Published May 15, 2015

There were lots of angry people who were $100 lighter after watching Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s (left) victory Saturday night over Manny Pacquiao. (Associated Press)

Periscope chief: Live-streaming app not about piracy

The co-founder of Periscope Inc. said the new live videostreaming app is "unequivocally" opposed to pirating after the company faced complaints that users were effectively stealing and instantly re-broadcasting video of the recent Mayweather-Pacquiao boxing match on pay-per-view. Published May 6, 2015

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping are said to have a budding "bromance." Their nations plan joint naval exercises in the Mediterranean and cooperation in China's proposed development bank. (Associated Press)

New Russia-China alliance latest diplomatic, strategic blow to Obama

From the moon to the Mediterranean to the heart of Moscow, China and Russia in recent days have announced a striking number of moves to strengthen military, financial and political ties, raising the specter of a deeper alliance between the U.S. rivals. Published April 30, 2015

President Barack Obama speaks about recent unrest in Baltimore during his joint news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Tuesday, April 28, 2015, in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Obama denies trying to subvert China’s new bank

The U.S. is not trying to undercut a new China-sponsored infrastructure bank for Asia or pressure allies not to take part, but remains wary that the proposed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank may not have the right lending standards and transparency to be effective, President Obama said Tuesday. Published April 28, 2015

FILE - This Feb. 11, 2011 file photo shows the Comcast logo on one of the company's vehicles, in Pittsburgh. Wall Street appears increasingly convinced Comcast’s $45.2 billion purchase of Time Warner Cable is dead. telling indicator is the gap between the value Comcast’s all-stock bid assigned to each Time Warner Cable share and Time Warner Cable stock’s current price. That was at its widest point yet Thursday, April 23, 2015, a signal that investors are giving just 20 to 30 percent odds that the deal will go through, said Nomura analyst Adam Ilkowitz. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

Comcast calling off mega-merger with Time Warner: report

One of the biggest media mergers of all time appears to be dead as cable giant Comcast Corp. has reportedly pulled the plug on a $45 billion takeover of rival Time Warner Cable Inc. in the face of rising resistance from the Obama administration to approve the deal. Published April 23, 2015

Iraqi security forces and allied Shiite militiamen celebrate March 31, 2015, as they hold a flag of the Islamic State group they captured in Tikrit, 80 miles (130 kilometers) north of Baghdad, Iraq. Iraqi forces battled Islamic State militants holed up in downtown Tikrit, going house to house Tuesday in search of snipers and booby traps, and the prime minister said security forces had reached the heart of the city. (Associated Press) **FILE**

Russians say Islamic State infiltrating domestic groups

The jihadi terror group Islamic State has begun "embedding" with Russian domestic terror organizations, including a leading Chechen resistance group, a top Russian intelligence official said Friday. Published April 10, 2015

Jason Rezaian, an Iranian-American correspondent for The Washington Post, smiles as he attends a presidential campaign of President Hassan Rouhani in Tehran on April 11, 2013. The reporter has been detained in Iran for more than four months and was formally charged Dec. 6, 2014, after a daylong proceeding in a Tehran courtroom, the newspaper reported. (Associated Press) **FILE**

Iranian deal silent on fate of U.S. prisoners held by Tehran

While President Obama and his aides hailed the nuclear deal struck with Iran as a diplomatic coup, the accord was silent on a major bilateral irritant between Washington and Tehran — the fate of three American prisoners being held in Iranian jails. Published April 2, 2015

President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden in the Oval Office during the President's Daily Economic Briefing on July 30, 2009. (White House)

Efforts to head off China development bank called a failure

U.S. efforts to head off a new China-sponsored development bank for the booming Asia region ended in abject failure this week as organizers announced nearly four dozen countries — including some of America's closest Asian and European allies — have applied to membership, amid growing criticism of how the Obama administration handled the entire episode. Published April 1, 2015