VILNIUS: Russian troops arriving into Belarus for what Moscow and Misnk say will be joint military exercises are a direct threat to Lithuania, said the Nato member’s defence minister Arvydas Anusauskas. “In the current situation, we consider the entry of Russian military forces into Belarus not only as a destabilising […]
world
KABUL: Afghanistan’s acting prime minister, Mullah Hasan Akhund, today called for international governments to officially recognise the country’s Taliban administration, saying at a news conference in Kabul that all conditions had been met. “I ask all governments, especially Islamic countries, that they should start recognition,” Akhund said, in his first […]
JERUSALEM: Former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is negotiating a plea bargain to end his corruption trial, a source briefed on the matter said today, but talks have snagged over a condition that would remove him from politics. Netanyahu, who lost power in June after 12 consecutive years as premier […]
LONDON: Britain’s government will cut the BBC’s funding by ordering a two-year freeze on the fee that people pay to watch the broadcaster, the Mail on Sunday reported. The future of the licence-payer funded British Broadcasting Corporation is a perpetual topic of political debate, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government […]
OTTAWA: The Canadian government has urged its citizens to avoid non-essential travel to Ukraine due to “ongoing Russian aggression and military buildup in and around the country”. Foreign Minister Melanie Joly will visit Kyiv next week to reaffirm Canadian support for Ukrainian sovereignty and reinforce efforts to deter “aggressive actions” […]
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has blamed the unrest on “terrorists” who received foreign training and support. The mass protests in Kazakhstan began peacefully over the New Year’s weekend, with marchers denouncing a sharp rise in fuel prices. They spread quickly from the western part of the Central Asian nation to more […]
BREST (France): The European Union and China are planning to hold a summit in late March, the EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Friday amid concerns over a Chinese blockade of Lithuania’s exports. “An EU-China summit is planned, at first glance for the end of March. It will give […]
MOSCOW: Russia has dismantled ransomware crime group REvil at the request of the United States in an operation in which it detained and charged the group’s members, the FSB domestic intelligence service said yesterday. The arrests were a rare apparent demonstration of US-Russian collaboration at a time of high tensions […]
KYIV: Ukraine was hit by a massive cyberattack warning its citizens to “be afraid and expect the worst”, and Russia, which has massed more than 100,000 troops on its neighbour’s frontier, released TV pictures today of more forces deploying in a drill. The developments came after no breakthrough was reached […]
SEOUL: North Korea fired at least two ballistic missiles today, its third test in less than two weeks, just hours after criticising a US push for new sanctions over the previous launches as a “provocation” and warning of a strong reaction. Two weeks of missile launches by North Korea, retaliatory […]