Germany is pushing the EU to ease sanctions on Syria as western countries seek to build bridges with its new rulers, diplomats said Tuesday. The 27-nation bloc had imposed wide-ranging sanctions on the regime of ousted dictator Bashar al-Assad and broad swathes of the country’s economy during its civil war. Berlin is now pressing to facilitate financial…
“During the Christmas season we clearly feel with all our heart how important for us are parental, family traditions that are being handed down from generation to generation,” Vladimir Putin said Russian President Vladimir Putin has extended his congratulations to all Russian people on Orthodox Christmas holiday, pointing out to the Russian Orthodox Church’s “tremendous…
At the same time, 188 others are injured, Xinhua reported The death toll from the earthquake in Tibet increased to 126 people, with 188 others injured, Xinhua reported. China Central Television earlier said at least 95 people were killed and 130 injured. The earthquake ruined many residential buildings and much infrastructure. More than 400 troops are engaged in a…
The foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has held talks with his Israeli counterpart Gideon Saar in the Gulf nation, the UAE state news agency (WAM) reported on Tuesday. The two leaders discussed the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and regional and international efforts to reach a lasting ceasefire…
Donald Trump confirmed Monday that his eldest son Don Jr plans to visit Greenland, two weeks after the US president-elect suggested that Washington annex the autonomous Danish territory. “My son, Don Jr, and various representatives, will be traveling there to visit some of the most magnificent areas and sights,” Trump said in a post on his Truth…
The Biden administration is negotiating with Afghanistan to exchange Americans detained in the country for at least one high-profile prisoner held in Guantanamo Bay with alleged ties to former al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. Representatives for the White House and the US State Department did not immediately respond…
Jordan and Syria have agreed to form a joint security committee to secure their border, combat arms and drug smuggling and work to prevent the resurgence of ISIS, Jordan’s foreign minister said on Tuesday. Western anti-narcotics officials say the addictive, amphetamine-type stimulant known as captagon is being mass-produced in Syria and that Jordan is a transit route…
Talks aimed at cementing a truce in Gaza between Israel and Hamas are ongoing, with “technical meetings” taking place between the parties, mediator Qatar’s foreign ministry said Tuesday. “The technical meetings are still happening between both sides,” ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said, referring to meetings with lower-level officials on the details of an agreement. “There…
Lebanese Armed Forces commander, IMF official among favorites Lebanon is preparing for Thursday’s parliamentary session to elect a new president, but it remains unclear whether a new commander-in-chief will fill the two-year-old vacancy despite a flurry of shuttle diplomacy to Beirut in recent days. The country has been without a president since October 2022. Since…
US Vice President Kamala Harris attends a joint session of Congress to formally certify the victory of Donald Trump The US Congress formally certified Republican President-elect Donald Trump’s November election victory over Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, clearing the way for him to be sworn in on January 20. The certification of the election results…
Russia’s defense ministry said on Tuesday its troops had inflicted heavy strikes on Ukrainian units in Russia’s western Kursk region, where Ukraine’s military reported an escalation in fighting in the previous 24 hours. Ukraine, which seized part of the Kursk region in early August and has held on to it for five months, launched a new…
Indonesia has been admitted as a full member of the BRICS bloc of developing economies, the group’s presiding country, Brazil, announced Monday. Indonesia’s candidacy was endorsed by BRICS leaders in August 2023, according to the foreign ministry of Brazil, which holds the group’s presidency for 2025. However, the world’s fourth most populous nation opted to formally…
An upcoming trip to Kyiv by US President-elect Donald Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia has been canceled but will be rescheduled, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Tuesday. The planned meetings between Keith Kellogg, a highly decorated retired three-star general who has long been Trump’s top adviser on defense issues, and Ukrainian officials are…
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday said there was no place for “terrorist organizations” in Syria under its new leaders, in a warning regarding Kurdish forces there. The fall of Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad last month raised the prospect of Turkey intervening in the country against Kurdish forces accused by Ankara of links to armed separatists….
