Moscow, Russia | AFP | The Kremlin said Washington must unconditionally restore its access to diplomatic compounds in the United States as high-level talks on bilateral problems were set to get underway on Monday. Russia is angry that Washington is still barring its diplomats from using two compounds in the …
Read More »China pressures Botswana over Dalai Lama visit
Gaborone, Botswana | AFP | China piled pressure on Botswana on Saturday over a scheduled visit to the southern African country by the Dalai Lama, who it considers a dissident separatist threat. Botswana’s President Ian Khama announced on Wednesday he would meet the Tibetan spiritual leader during his visit to the …
Read More »Trump willing to invite Putin to White House, but not yet
Paris, France | AFP | US President Donald Trump is willing to invite Russian President Vladimir Putin to the White House, but not yet, according to official remarks released on Thursday. During a conversation aboard Air Force One flying into Paris, Trump said he was willing to engage the Russian leader …
Read More »Botswana risks China ties with visit from Dalai Lama
Gaborone, Botswana | AFP | The Dalai Lama will visit Botswana next month and meet with President Ian Khama in a trip likely to anger China, a key investor across Africa and its largest trade partner. Beijing views the Dalai Lama as a dangerous separatist campaigning for Tibetan independence and …
Read More »Merkel, Macron put defence at heart of blooming ties
Paris, France | AFP | France and Germany agreed Thursday to begin work on a joint fighter jet, a major advance in their relations designed to underline their united front in the face of fracturing Western relations. Newly elected French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed German Chancellor Angela Merkel to the …
Read More »Arab states say Qatar-US terror accord ‘insufficient’
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | AFP |An agreement between Qatar and the United States on combating terror funding is “insufficient”, the four Arab states that imposed sanctions on the emirate said in a joint statement Tuesday. The memorandum of understanding announced in Doha during a visit by US Secretary of State …
Read More »Failed coup takes toll on Turkey’s foreign policy
Istanbul, Turkey | AFP |The consequences of the failed July 15 coup in Turkey increased Ankara’s international isolation, exposing shortcomings in the government’s sometimes overambitious foreign policy, analysts say. NATO member and EU membership hopeful Turkey had expected an outpouring of solidarity after the coup attempt one year ago aimed …
Read More »Putin eyes new era of cooperation under Trump
Hamburg, Germany | AFP | President Vladimir Putin said Saturday that he expects Russian-US cooperation will improve under Donald Trump and that the American president is “very different” in real life compared to on TV. The comments came a day after the pair held their first face-to-face meeting, an encounter eagerly …
Read More »122 countries adopt global treaty banning nuclear weapons
United Nations, United States | AFP | A global treaty banning nuclear weapons was adopted at the United Nations on Friday but nuclear powers Britain, France and the United States dismissed it as out of step with reality at a time when the world is grappling with the North Korea crisis. …
Read More »UN set to adopt treaty outlawing nuclear weapons
United Nations, United States | AFP | A global treaty banning nuclear weapons is set to be adopted at the United Nations on Friday despite opposition from the United States, Britain, France and other nuclear powers that boycotted negotiations. Supporters describe the treaty as a historic achievement but the nuclear-armed states …
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