Washington, United States | AFP | The United States on Thursday approved a contract to sell Saudi Arabia 180 self-propelled artillery systems for $1.31 billion, in the latest stage of perhaps the world’s biggest arms deal. When US President Donald Trump visited Riyadh last year he boasted that the desert …
Read More »Rouhani angers Israel with ‘support for terrorists’ jibe
Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hit out at Iran on Wednesday after President Hassan Rouhani accused Israel of supporting “terrorists” in Syria. “Absurdity has no limits: Iran’s terrorist regime that sends tentacles of terror across the region accuses Israel of terrorism,” Netanyahu wrote on Twitter. “If …
Read More »Lavrov says spy poisoning could be ‘in interests’ of UK govt
Moscow, Russia | AFP | Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday suggested that the poisoning of a former double agent could benefit the British government by distracting attention from problems around Brexit. The March 4 attack on Skripal and his daughter in the English city of Salisbury has triggered …
Read More »Ethiopia’s Abiy strikes conciliatory tone in swearing-in speech
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | Ethiopia’s new prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, apologised to people harmed in recent political unrest and reached out both to the political opposition and longtime rival Eritrea at his swearing-in on Monday. Abiy is the first ethnic Oromo to be selected by the ruling Ethiopian …
Read More »Kim Jong Un attends rare concert by South Korean pop stars
Seoul, South Korea | AFP | North Korean leader Kim Jong Un Sunday attended the first concert in Pyongyang for over a decade by South Korean entertainers, including a K-pop girlband, the latest gesture of reconciliation before a rare inter-Korean summit. The visit, described by many as a cultural charm …
Read More »Zambia asks Cuba to recall ambassador over opposition ‘support’
Lusaka, Zambia | AFP | Zambian President Edgar Lungu on Sunday requested that Cuba recall its ambassador for allegedly expressing support for a new opposition party. Cuban ambassador Nelson Pages Vilas reportedly attended the launch of the “Socialist Party” on Saturday in Lusaka and was accused of publicly saying that …
Read More »Kim says N. Korea to take part in 2020, 2022 Olympics: IOC chief
Beijing, China | AFP | Kim Jong Un is committed to sending North Korean teams to the Tokyo and Beijing Olympics, IOC chief Thomas Bach said Saturday after a rare meeting with the leader of the nuclear-armed regime in Pyongyang. Bach, the president of the International Olympic Committee, also said …
Read More »Russia says Britain must cut more than 50 diplomats
Moscow, Russia | AFP | Britain has to reduce its diplomatic staff in Russia by more than 50 more people, the foreign ministry said Saturday, following an escalating row over the nerve agent attack on a former double agent. The new measures are seen as punishment for Britain’s calls on …
Read More »Russia hits back against EU countries in spy row
Moscow, Russia | AFP | Russia on Friday expelled Dutch diplomats and told Britain it had one month to reduce its diplomatic presence in the country, hitting back at EU countries after a coordinated campaign by the UK and its allies over a nerve agent attack on a former spy. …
Read More »Erdogan ‘saddened’ by France’s stance on Kurdish militia
Ankara, Turkey | AFP | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday said he was “extremely saddened” by France’s position after Paris offered to mediate with the Syrian Democratic Forces dominated by a Kurdish militia deemed a terrorist group by Ankara. “We are extremely saddened by France’s… wrong stance on …
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