In this pool photograph distributed by Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin talks to students and Chelyabinsk Region industry workers at the Stankomash plant in Chelyabinsk on February 16, 2024. Alexander Ryumin | Afp | Getty Images A fresh spat between Washington and Moscow has raised alarm about the potential risk of a … Read more
Taipei on Tuesday drove away a Chinese coast guard boat in sensitive waters near Taiwan-held territory and protested the boarding of a Taiwanese tourist boat a day earlier, in the latest signs of growing cross-strait tensions. The incidents come less than a week after the Taiwanese coast guard on Feb. 14 pursued Chinese fishermen in … Read more
CAIRO — Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Edrogan was in Cairo on Wednesday for talks with his Egyptian counterpart to rally support for growing demands that Israel halt its war in the Gaza Strip against Hamas. Erdogan’s visit comes as ties between Ankara and Cairo are back on track after years of tensions and frosty relations. … Read more
As conflicts rage in Ukraine and the Middle East, countries around the world are spending more on their militaries. In 2023, total global defense expenditure reached $2.2 trillion, a 9% increase from the previous year, a new report from the think tank International Institute for Strategic Studies revealed on Tuesday. The major drivers of this … Read more
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran marked Sunday the 45th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution amid tensions gripping the wider Middle East over Israel’s continued war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Thousands of Iranians marched through major streets and squares decorated with flags, balloons and banners with revolutionary and religious slogans. In Tehran, crowds waved … Read more
WAITANGI, New Zealand — In a fiery exchange at the birthplace of modern New Zealand, Indigenous leaders on Monday strongly criticized the government’s approach to Maori, ahead of the country’s national day. The holiday, known as Waitangi Day, is held on Feb. 6 to mark the anniversary of the Treaty of Waitangi, a foundation document … Read more
QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — A diplomatic rift between Ecuador and Russia appeared to intensify over the weekend after the European nation decided to ban some imports of bananas from Ecuador. The two countries have been at loggerheads recently after Ecuador decided to transfer some of its old Russian military equipment to the United States, in … Read more
LUANG PRABANG, Laos — China’s growingly assertive posture in the South China Sea and escalating violence in Myanmar topped the agenda for Southeast Asian diplomats meeting in Laos on Monday. The gathering is the first high-level meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations since Laos took over the rotating chairmanship. The diplomats for the … Read more
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Republican leader of the Missouri Senate said Thursday that she would like to expel a conservative senator who has been blocking work in the chamber, escalating a GOP rift that has thwarted work on the party’s priorities. The Missouri Senate has been in session for four weeks but has … Read more
BEIJING — China, the world’s biggest exporter, says it is deeply concerned about tensions in the Red Sea that have upended global trade by forcing many shippers to avoid the Suez Canal. China has been in “close communication with all parties concerned and making positive efforts to de-escalate” the situation in which Iran-backed Houthi rebels … Read more