International condemnation poured in Wednesday for the attack on a crowd of New Year’s Eve revelers in New Orleans, which killed at least 15 people and wounded dozens more. Here is a round-up of global reactions. Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia “condemns and denounces” the attack, its foreign ministry said in a statement on X. France “New Orleans,…
France’s top diplomat and defense chief arrived on Monday in Lebanon, where a fragile truce since late November ended intense fighting between Israel and militant group Hezbollah. Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot and Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu met with Lebanon’s army chief Joseph Aoun, and on Tuesday are due to visit UN peacekeepers near the Israeli border. A…
The list did not include the leaders of the UK, Germany, the US, France, Japan, and other large states unfriendly to Russia Russian President Vladimir Putin sent Christmas and New Year greetings to a number of foreign leaders, the Kremlin press service reported. In the last days of December, Putin traditionally congratulates his foreign counterparts…
Iran confirmed Saturday that it has allowed watchdog the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to increase the number of inspections it carries out into Tehran’s nuclear program, state media reported. “We have increased capacity – it is natural that the number of inspections should also increase,” the official IRNA news agency quoted the country’s nuclear chief Mohammad…
Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati met the US military general tasked with monitoring the Hezbollah-Israel ceasefire on Monday after a truce was agreed last week between the two. US Ambassador to Beirut Lisa Johnson introduced Maj. Gen. Jasper Jeffers to Mikati during a meeting at the premier’s office. “General Jeffers will advance the ceasefire agreement by assessing…
A senior US military official is joining international efforts in Beirut to implement the recently brokered Hezbollah-Israel ceasefire, which came into effect on November 26. Special Operations Command Central (SOCCENT) Major General Jasper Jeffers arrived on Wednesday, according to the US Central Command (CENTCOM). He will co-chair the oversight mission alongside President Joe Biden’s envoy, Amos Hochstein,…
Iran is set to meet on Friday with France, Germany and the United Kingdom for talks on its nuclear program after the three governments joined with the United States to have Tehran censured by the UN atomic watchdog. Last week’s chiding prompted a defiant response from Tehran, but its officials have since signaled willingness to…
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman on Wednesday inaugurated the Riyadh Metro Project, the official Saudi Press Agency reported. SPA described the project as “the backbone of the Public Transport Network in Riyadh.” The project features advanced design and technical specifications, encompassing a network of six train lines spanning 176 kilometers (109 miles) and 85 stations, including…
G7 foreign ministers on Monday are meeting near Rome for two days of talks with regional counterparts on the Middle East, before turning to Russia and the war in Ukraine. The Group of Seven ministers will also discuss the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas’s military chief, “and…
The United States, Britain, France and Germany on Saturday expressed “serious concern” over Iran’s plans to launch a series of new centrifuges for its nuclear program, urging Tehran to reengage with the UN nuclear watchdog. Iran’s announcement came after the four Western powers brought a censure motion targeting the Islamic republic at the 35-nation board…
The United States said on Monday it was Russia that is escalating the conflict in Ukraine by deploying North Korean troops, after the Kremlin warned that Washington would deepen its involvement in the war by allowing Kyiv’s forces to strike far into Russia with US-made weapons. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller in a briefing declined to…
Lebanon’s Hezbollah has expressed openness to a ceasefire proposal drafted by the US to end the devastating war with Israel, officials and diplomatic sources said late Sunday. While there has been no explicit agreement on the draft Washington delivered to Beirut last week, the group has provided “positive indications” that it is prepared for a deal, according…
The usual suspects abstained from voting on a seemingly uncontroversial United Nations resolution that denounced violence against women and girls on Thursday — Iran, Russia, North Korea. But the country casting the sole vote against the nonbinding resolution, drafted by France and the Netherlands, took the world by surprise. It was Argentina, long considered one…
Five years of investigation and expert reports have failed to identify the precise cause of the 2019 fire that ravaged Paris’ landmark Notre Dame cathedral, even as the probe draws to a close just as the cathedral prepares to reopen early next month. Notre Dame’s bells rang out Friday for the first time since the…
French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday urged a halt to arms deliveries to Israel, which has been criticized over the conduct of its retaliatory operation in Gaza. “I think that today, the priority is that we return to a political solution, that we stop delivering weapons to fight in Gaza,” Macron told broadcaster France Inter….
