RIO DE JANEIRO — If social media is to be believed, French President Emmanuel Macron’s trip to Brazil that ended Thursday left him swooning. Pictures showed him and his Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, traipsing through the Amazon and posing beneath the soaring canopy in white button-down shirts. Then there they were again, … Read more
PARIS — The emir of Qatar spoke Tuesday of “a race against time” to secure hostage releases as part of the diplomatic push for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza in which his country is playing a key role. Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani was speaking on a state visit to France, … Read more
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks on as the US Secretary of State gives statements to the media inside The Kirya, which houses the Israeli Defence Ministry, after their meeting in Tel Aviv on October 12, 2023. Blinken arrived in a show of solidarity after Hamas’s surprise weekend onslaught in Israel, an AFP correspondent travelling … Read more
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton thinks of right-wing pundit Tucker Carlson as a “useful idiot.” “If you actually read translations of what’s been said in Russian media, they make fun of him. I mean, he’s like a puppy dog,” Clinton told Alex Wagner on MSNBC’s “Alex Wagner Tonight” on Wednesday. The 2016 Democratic presidential … Read more
(Bloomberg) — Iran urged the US to use diplomacy to ease tensions in the Middle East, as Tehran braces for a military response to a deadly attack on an American base over the weekend. Most Read from Bloomberg The foreign minister of the Islamic Republic said “active” diplomacy is underway to find a political solution … Read more
NICOSIA, Cyprus — The government of ethnically split Cyprus on Friday promised breakaway Turkish Cypriots a package of measures aimed at winning their trust ahead of a renewed United Nations attempt to revive long-dormant peace talks. It includes promises to expedite citizenship applications, grant pensions to widows, offer more job training opportunities and allow easier … Read more
CAPE TOWN, South Africa — Sudanese paramilitary leader Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo said Thursday he was committed to a cease-fire to end the devastating war that has wrecked his country, even as fighting continues and there has been no progress on proposed peace talks between Dagalo and Sudan military chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan. Dagalo, leader … Read more
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country will launch three additional military spy satellites, build more nuclear weapons and introduce modern unmanned combat equipment in 2024, as he called for “overwhelming” war readiness to cope with U.S.-led confrontational moves, state media reported Sunday. Kim’s comments, made during a key … Read more
Jerusalem — Some of Israel’s closest European allies pressed for a cease-fire in the war with Hamas on Sunday, underscoring growing international unease with the devastating impact of the conflict on Gaza’s civilian population. The concerted push by top European diplomats comes ahead of a visit to Israel on Monday by U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd … Read more
LONDON — When it came to the Middle East, Henry Kissinger wasn’t pushing for peace — only for what was possible. By the time Kissinger died Wednesday at 100, the agreements he negotiated as United States secretary of state between Israel, Egypt and Syria stabilized borders for nearly half a century after the 1973 Arab-Israeli … Read more