The top diplomats of China and Iran agreed Saturday that the Middle East is “not a battleground for the big powers” and should not be an arena of geopolitical competition between countries outside the region. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi agreed that “the international community should respect the sovereignty, security,…
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is to undergo prostate removal surgery on Sunday, his office said after he was diagnosed with a urinary tract infection. The procedure comes with Israel at war against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip more than 14 months after the Palestinian militants carried out an unprecedented attack on Israel on…
Qatar’s prime minister met a Hamas delegation in Doha on Saturday to discuss a “clear and comprehensive” ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza, a statement said. Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani held talks with a Hamas team led by senior official Khalil al-Hayya, the foreign ministry statement said. “During the meeting,…
Turkey’s top diplomat on Saturday said Syrian Kurdish fighters essential for the United States in the fight against ISIS cannot be sheltered in Syria, in a phone call with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told Blinken that “the PKK/YPG terrorist organization cannot be allowed to take shelter in Syria,” the…
Putin did not claim responsibility for the crash, while apologizing to Aliyev that the incident took place in Russian airspace Russia’s Vladimir Putin on Saturday apologized to Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan, for a “tragic incident” which happened in Russian airspace involving an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane that crashed on Wednesday. Putin called Aliyev as speculation…
179 people were killed when an airliner landed without wheels, veering off the runway and erupting in a fireball as it slammed into a wall at South Korea’s Muan International Airport on Sunday, the national fire agency said. Jeju Air flight 7C2216, arriving from the Thai capital Bangkok with 181 people on board, was attempting…
Mourners in India’s capital gathered Saturday to pay their respects to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ahead of a state funeral for the man key to the country’s economic liberalization. Singh, who held office from 2004 to 2014, died at the age of 92 on Thursday, after which seven days of state mourning were declared. His coffin,…
The death toll after a bridge collapse in northern Brazil increased to 10 on Friday, authorities said. The Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira Bridge, which connects the states of Maranhão and Tocantins, collapsed on Sunday, sending vehicles and their occupants plunging into the water below. The Brazilian Navy had been conducting rescues in the area, finding…
The United States on Friday sanctioned Georgian billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, a former prime minister widely seen as the country’s de facto leader, saying he was undermining democracy and allowing Russia to benefit. Ivanishvili, who made billions in Russia in metals and telecoms in the 1990s, has spearheaded a turn away from the West in Georgia and…
Russian air defense systems may have brought down an Azerbaijani airliner this week , a US official said Friday after an Azerbaijani minister also suggested the plane was hit by a weapon, citing expert analysis and survivor accounts. Friday’s assessments by Rashan Nabiyev and White House national security spokesman John Kirby echoed those made by…
US President-elect Donald Trump could become the first elected politician in modern history to be hosted for two state visits by the British royal family, The Telegraph reported on Friday. Downing Street and the Foreign Office are preparing to offer the incoming US president an invitation once he is back in the White House, the report said,…
Canada’s new finance minister Dominic LeBlanc and Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly met aides to US President-elect Donald Trump in Florida on Friday to discuss the risks of imposing new trade tariffs, the Canadian government said. Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on imports from Canada when he takes office in January unless the country…
President-elect Donald Trump has urged the US Supreme Court to pause implementation of a law that would ban popular social media app TikTok or force its sale, arguing he should have time after taking office to pursue a “political resolution” to the issue. The court is set to hear arguments in the case on Jan. 10. The law would require…
The Israeli military said it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen early Saturday, a day after the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa was hit by fresh air strikes. Sirens sounded in areas of Jerusalem and the Dead Sea on Saturday as “a missile launched from Yemen was intercepted… prior to crossing into Israeli territory,” the Israeli military said….
