RIYADH: Thailand’s prime minister will visit Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, the Saudi foreign ministry said, in what will be the first high-level meeting between the two countries since a diplomatic row over a jewellery theft nearly three decades ago. Saudi Arabia downgraded its diplomatic relations with Bangkok following the theft […]
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In a joint statement, the ministers expressed concern at Russia’s military build-up on the border with Ukraine and “their absolute support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.” Britain warned Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday that its allies would stand together to fight for democracy […]
U.S. officials had expressed low expectations for Blinken’s meeting with Lavrov, and in brief remarks beforehand both envoys expressed little hope for a breakthrough. The United States and Russia scaled back their confrontational rhetoric over Eastern European security Friday, agreeing to extend negotiations as the Biden administration pursues a fragile […]
WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden came in facing extraordinary challenges: A nation divided after the Donald Trump years, the Covid pandemic, and an economy in tumult. And he promised Americans a lot: To heal the country’s democracy, defeat Covid, address deep-rooted racial and economic problems, and restore US standing around […]
WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden on Wednesday (Jan 19) said it was too soon to make commitments on lifting US tariffs on Chinese goods, but his chief trade negotiator Katherine Tai was working on the issue. “I’d like to be able to be in a position where I could say they’re […]
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 […]
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” […]