IAEA’s deputy director general and head of the Department of Safeguards Massimo Aparo has held talks in Tehran with Iranian officials and left the Iranian capital on Monday afternoon, IRNA reports. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Kazem Gharibabadi said about Aparo’s visit to Tehran that “he left Tehran after holding…
In a coordinated diplomatic effort ahead of the talks, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has organized an online meeting between Zelensky and key European leaders. The meeting is scheduled for 3 p.m. Kyiv time on Aug. 13, The Kyiv Independent reports. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will take part in the calls with…
US President Donald Trump is considering deploying up to 1,000 National Guard troops to D.C. and could make the announcement as early as Monday, one defense official and two U.S. officials confirmed on Sunday night, NBC Washington reports. Trump has vowed to “stop violent crime” in D.C. and posted on Truth Social multiple times…
Greece welcomes the announced agreements between Armenia and Azerbaijan as a significant step towards ending decades of conflict in South Caucasus, Embassy of Armenia to Greece reports. “We commend both sides and the US Administration for making progress towards the normalisation of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan possible. The signing and ratification of…
The US-brokered peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia after almost 40 years of armed conflict is a historic turning point and a sign of hope, Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said. “When diplomacy replaces weapons, it’s always great news. May this step also be a good omen for other war zones around the…
Regarding U.S. involvement, we should take the following into account: as you know, when the Crossroads of Peace project was developed, we essentially proposed it to all our partners — meaning we invited them to invest within the framework of the Crossroads of Peace initiative. I must note that some of our partners had at…
The United States has doubled its reward for information leading to the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to $50 million over allegations of drug trafficking and links to criminal groups, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced, Reuters reports. In a video posted to X, Bondi accused Maduro of collaborating with prominent criminal groups…
President of Azerbaijan and ExxonMobil signed an energy deal on Thursday (August 7) at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Washington, D.C., Reuters reports. ExxonMobil Vice President John Ardill and Azerbaijan Minister of the Economy Mikayil Jabbarov sat side by side as they signed the agreement. U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Azerbaijan President Ilham…
Reuters. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is one of the suitable places to hold a meeting with United States President Donald Trump. Putin said that he was not ‘on the whole’ against meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, adding that ‘certain conditions should be created’ for such a…
The Ministry of External Affairs of India on Wednesday reacted to United States President Donald Trump imposing an additional 25% import tariff on India due to oil imports from Russia. “The United States has in recent days targeted India’s oil imports from Russia. We have already made clear our position on these issues, including…
French firefighters were battling on Wednesday to control the country’s biggest wildfire in almost 80 years, with the blaze in the southern Aude region having already swept through an area bigger than Paris, Reuters reports. One person died in the village of Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse, about 30 kilometers from the city of Perpignan, the prefecture said….
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said lower energy prices would prompt Russian President Vladimir to “stop killing people” in Ukraine. “If energy goes down enough, Putin is going to stop killing people,” Trump said in an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “If you get energy down, another USD10 a barrel, he’s going…
Russia no longer considers itself bound by self-restrictions on deploying intermediate-and shorter-range missiles (INF) as the conditions for observing the moratorium have vanished, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The ministry noted certain steps taken by the collective West in the sphere of proliferating such missiles and emphasized that they create a…
Representatives of the Russian leadership, including Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev, have different assessments of the situation, including harsh ones, however, Vladimir Putin as the president determines the country’s foreign policy, his spokesman Dmitry Peskov has told a news briefing, TASS reports. “In any country, members of its leadership have…
China’s restrictions on the export of critical minerals are disrupting defence manufacturing in the West, forcing military suppliers to scramble for alternative sources and driving up costs across the industry. The situation has also brought to light the world’s heavy reliance on China for rare earth elements (REEs). According to a report by The…
US special envoy Steve Witkoff tells families of hostages in Tel Aviv that a majority of Israelis and Gazans want hostages held by Hamas to be returned, as quoted by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum in a Hebrew statement, The Times of Israel reports. “A majority of Israelis want the hostages at home,…
Turkey on Saturday turned on a supply of natural gas from Azerbaijan to Syria, whose infrastructure was ravaged by civil war, with annual deliveries expected to reach up to two billion cubic metres, France 24 reports. Syria’s Islamist authorities, who toppled Bashar al-Assad in December, are seeking to rebuild the battered country where power cuts…
In the face of President Donald Trump’s punitive tariffs on Indian goods and criticism of energy and defence purchases from Russia, India on Friday said its ties with the US had overcome several challenges and New Delhi is committed to taking the relationship forward, Hindustan Times reports. Responding to the US’s 25% reciprocal tariff that…
Slovenia has been one of the most vocal EU countries calling for the bloc to take action against Israel. The country recognised a Palestinian state in June last year and has since repeatedly called for a ceasefire in Gaza and increased aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip, Euronews reports. Slovenia will be “the first…
U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday (July 31) signed an executive order increasing tariffs on Canadian goods to 35% from 25% on all products not covered by the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, the White House said, Reuters reports. Goods transshipped to another country to evade the new tariffs would be subject to a transshipment levy…
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met his Syrian counterpart, Asaad al-Shibani, in Moscow on Thursday, the first visit by a top official from country’s new government. During the meeting, Sergey Lavrov said Moscow hoped that Syria’s new President Ahmed al-Sharaa would attend a summit between Russia and Arab League member states, that would take…
Ahead of Friday’s new tariff package, Trump announced that a 25% tariff would be imposed on India along with another unspecified penalty for importing Russian oil and weapons despite US sanctions, Euronews reports. US President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday in a post on Truth Social that he plans to impose a 25% tariff…
Japan has downgraded its last remaining tsunami alert, which was in the country’s north, after one of the most powerful earthquakes in decades struck off Russia’s Far East on Wednesday, prompting authorities to urge more than two million people to evacuate and triggering alerts across much of the Pacific. The magnitude-8.8 quake, which struck…
Reuters. Firefighters battled the flames of a wildfire in Turkey’s northwestern province of Bursa as it entered its third day on Monday (July 28). The fire in the Harmancik district was stoked by high winds after it was largely contained earlier in the day. Locals used whatever means at their disposal to battle the…
Moscow is interested in accelerating the process of normalizing relations with Washington but an effort on both sides will be needed for that, Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said. “Certainly, we would like to see stronger momentum, and we are committed to that. However, moving forward requires impetus from both sides,” Peskov emphasized,…
Donald Trump has presented a new, shorter deadline for Russia to agree to a ceasefire over the war in Ukraine of “ten or 12 days” from Monday, BBC reports. The US president said there was “no reason” in waiting any longer as no progress towards peace had been made. Two weeks ago, Trump…
Cambodia and Thailand agreed to an “immediate and unconditional ceasefire” from midnight (1700 GMT) on Monday, in a bid to halt their deadliest conflict in more than a decade after five days of fierce fighting that has displaced more than 300,000 people, Reuters reports. After days of efforts by Malaysia, chair of the ASEAN…
The United States and European Union have agreed a trade deal, ending a months-long standoff between two of the world’s biggest economic partners, BBC reports. After make-or-break negotiations between President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Scotland, the pair agreed a US tariff on all EU goods of 15%….
Military confrontation or escalation between Armenia and Azerbaijan is not on the agenda, Hikmat Hajiyev, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan said in an interview with the German newspaper Berliner Zeitung. According to Hajiyev, efforts are currently underway to sign a peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia: “Sometimes countries sign peace agreements on…
Two people died in Rostov region of Russia, when a drone fell on their car, Russian media report. Air defenses shot down 54 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions last night, the Defense Ministry said in a statement. “On-duty air defenses intercepted and destroyed 54 Ukrainian fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles last night. Twenty-four drones…
