Oleg Gordievsky, a Soviet KGB officer agent who helped change the course of the Cold War by covertly passing secrets to Britain, has died. He was 86. Gordievsky died March 4 in England, where he had lived since defecting in 1985. Police said Saturday that they are not treating his death as suspicious. Historians consider…
China on Saturday announced measures to simplify the marriage registration process and lessen the financial burden on couples, the latest initiative by Beijing to boost births. Couples having children outside of marriage is rare in China, where there is social stigma and fewer protections for such families. Measures have already been taken to tackle the decline…
Lebanon’s Hezbollah denied in a statement that it had “any link” to rocket launches from southern Lebanon on Saturday and reiterated its commitment to a US-backed ceasefire. Israeli artillery and airstrikes hit southern Lebanon after Israel said it had intercepted rockets fired from across the border, endangering the shaky truce that ended a year-long war…
Houthi media in Yemen reported strikes on the Iran-backed Houthis’ homeland of Saada on Friday, blaming “American aggression.” The group’s Al-Masirah TV cited their correspondent in Saada, in Yemen’s north, for their latest claim of strikes since the United States on Saturday said it carried out air strikes that killed several Houthi leaders, after the…
Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah movement called on its rivals Hamas on Saturday to relinquish power in order to safeguard the “existence” of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. “Hamas must show compassion for Gaza, its children, women and men,” Fatah spokesman Monther al-Hayek said in a message sent to AFP from Gaza. He called on…
Hamas on Saturday accused the United States of distorting the truth by saying the Palestinian militant group had chosen war with Israel by refusing to release hostages. “The claim that ‘Hamas chose war instead of releasing the hostages’ is a distortion of the facts,” Hamas said in a statement in response to the accusation from…
Israel conducted deadly strikes on Lebanon Saturday in response to a rocket attack from across the border, as militant group Hezbollah denied responsibility for the launch. Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported one girl among two killed in an Israeli strike on the southern town of Touline, amid the largest escalation of attacks since a November 27…
Iran has the right to peaceful atomic energy and is acting in line with international law, the Kremlin said on Friday as the United States and Israel prepare for high-level talks on Tehran’s nuclear program next week. Russia has said it is ready to mediate between Iran, with which it signed a strategic partnership treaty in January that includes closer defence…
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Taliban states that the U.S. Special Envoy for Prisoner Affairs and former U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, visited Kabul and held talks with Amir Khan Muttaqi regarding the release of prisoners. Zia Ahmad Takal, Deputy Spokesperson for the Taliban Ministry of Foreign Affairs, announced the meeting on…
The US State Department has approved the sale of precision-guided weapon systems to Saudi Arabia, according to the Pentagon, marking the latest US-Saudi arms deal under President Donald Trump. In July, the State Department also approved a separate deal worth approximately $2.8 billion, under which the US agreed to provide Saudi Arabia with logistics systems,…
Back in 2021, the minister said that he had visited about 150 states, but Russia was always the most attractive country for him Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who has held this post for 21 years, the longest in the current cabinet, is celebrating his 75th birthday today. Career beginnings Lavrov’s diplomatic career began with studies…
At least 70 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded in Israeli airstrikes across Gaza on Thursday, after Israel resumed its bombing campaign on the enclave, a Gaza health official said. Medics said Israeli strikes targeted several houses in northern and southern areas of the Gaza Strip. There was no immediate comment from Israel. Hamas said…
Iran will consider the “opportunities” as well as the threats in a letter from US President Donald Trump that urged it to reach a new nuclear deal, and will soon respond, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Thursday. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei rejected Trump’s letter last week as deceptive, saying Trump’s excessive demands would…
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Norway on Thursday for an official visit following a trip to Finland, the Norwegian government said in a statement, amid intensive diplomatic efforts to end the war with Russia. Zelenskyy, after speaking on Wednesday with US President Donald Trump, said a halt on energy strikes in the war could…
A Russian military plane entered South Korea’s air defense zone on Thursday without prior notice, South Korea’s defense ministry said. Russian warplanes had gone into the Korean Air Defense Identification Zone eight times between March 11 and Thursday, according to the ministry. Moscow does not recognize South Korea’s air defense zone. South Korea’s defense ministry…
