Ankara, Turkey | AFP | President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday said the US was in danger of “sacrificing” its relations with Turkey, as he blamed the American envoy to Ankara for the crisis in relations between the NATO allies. “It is the ambassador here who caused this,” Erdogan told a …
Read More »Morocco prepares to test ‘fastest train in Africa’
Rabat, Morocco | AFP | Engineers in Morocco are preparing to test the Arab world’s first high-speed railway this week with trains reaching 320 kilometres (200 miles) per hour, the country’s rail office said Monday. One train reached 275 kph (170 mph) on Monday along a stretch of track between …
Read More »Sudan hails end of US trade embargo as ‘positive decision’
Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Sudan on Friday welcomed the US decision to end its 20-year trade embargo against Khartoum as a “positive decision”. Earlier Friday, Washington announced it was ending the embargo, citing improvements made by Sudan in its human rights record. “The leaders of Sudan, the government of Sudan …
Read More »Saudi king, Putin clinch billion-dollar energy, arms deals on landmark Russia visit
Moscow, Russia | AFP | Saudi Arabia’s King Salman, on a landmark visit to Russia, and President Vladimir Putin on Thursday signed a slew of arms and energy deals as the key US ally seeks to deepen cooperation with Moscow. The leaders of the world’s largest energy exporters discussed an extension …
Read More »North Korea’s Kim ‘very rational’: CIA
Washington, United States | AFP | North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un is a rational politician and the US needs to understand that to deal with the nuclear-armed country, a top Central Intelligence Agency Korea expert said Wednesday. “Beyond the bluster, Kim Jong-Un is a rational actor,” said Yong Suk Lee, the …
Read More »Pentagon chief says US admin backs Tillerson’s North Korea effort
Washington, United States | AFP | Pentagon chief Jim Mattis tried to clear up doubts about the US administration’s North Korea strategy Tuesday, backing Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s effort to find a diplomatic solution to the nuclear standoff. Defense Secretary Mattis was speaking two days after President Donald Trump appeared …
Read More »Russia accuses US-led forces of ‘bloody provocations’ in Syria
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | AFP | Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov accused US-led forces of carrying out “bloody provocations” against Russian troops in Syria in an interview published by the Saudi-owned newspaper Asharq al-Awsat on Wednesday. “The activities of US-led forces raise many questions… In some cases, these forces have indirectly …
Read More »Mugabe back in S.Africa after wife evaded assault claim
Pretoria, South Africa | AFP | Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe returned to South Africa on Tuesday for the first time since his wife claimed diplomatic immunity over allegedly assaulting a model in a Johannesburg hotel room. Mugabe, 93, was not accompanied by his wife Grace as he met President Jacob Zuma …
Read More »Negotiating with North Korea a waste of time: Trump
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump said negotiating with North Korea over its nuclear program would be a waste of time Sunday after it emerged that Washington had channels of contact with Pyongyang. Only hours after his Secretary of State Rex Tillerson revealed that US officials were …
Read More »US probes North Korea’s willingness to talk
Beijing, China | AFP | Washington has opened channels to North Korea to find out if the regime is ready to talk about giving up its nuclear weapons, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Saturday. Speaking after a day of talks with China’s President Xi Jinping and top diplomats, Tillerson told …
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