Russia and Ukraine blamed each other on Sunday for breaking a one-day Easter ceasefire declared by President Vladimir Putin, with each side accusing the other of hundreds of attacks and the Kremlin saying there was no order for a ceasefire extension, NBC News reports.   Putin, who sent thousands of Russian troops into Ukraine in…

Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a unilateral Easter ceasefire in Ukraine, ordering his forces to end hostilities at 6 p.m. Moscow time (1500 GMT) on Saturday until the end of Sunday, Reuters reports.   There was no immediate reaction from Ukraine.   “Based on humanitarian considerations … the Russian side announces an Easter truce. I…

China’s foreign ministry has dismissed as “groundless” the accusation by Volodymyr Zelenskyy that the country had been supplying weapons to Russia, The Guardian reports.   The comments, made at a regular press briefing in Beijing on Friday, came a day after the Ukrainian president said China was supplying weapons to Russia, including gunpowder and artillery,…

Iran believes reaching an agreement on its nuclear programme with the United States is possible as long as Washington is realistic, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Friday (April 18) on the eve of a second round of talks with the Trump administration, Reuters reports.   “If they demonstrate seriousness of intent and do not…

A deputy sheriff’s son killed two people and wounded four others at Florida State University on Thursday before he was shot by officers and hospitalized, authorities said, Reuters reports.   Police believe the gunman — the son of a Leon County sheriff’s deputy — acted alone and a motive was not known. The suspect had…

China’s commerce ministry on Thursday urged the United States to stop putting “extreme pressure” on the world’s second-largest economy and demanded respect in any trade talks, but the two sides remained at an impasse over who should start those talks, Reuters reports.   The Donald Trump administration has been ramping up pressure on China by…

The White House issued a fresh clarification on Wednesday following assertions that some US imports from China were now facing a 245% tariff. The Donald Trump-led administration had imposed a 145% tariff against the other country last week amid a series of tit-for-tat measures. This will be in addition to tariffs between 7.5% and 100%…

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s special envoy tasked with ending the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, are expected to travel to Paris later this week, according to two people familiar with preparations for the trip, Politico reports.   Witkoff is set to meet French President Emmanuel Macron while…

The US Department of State has cancelled 139 “wasteful grants” across the world worth $215 million, the Department of Government Efficiency informs.   Axed grants include a $14.6 million program that supported “expanded newsroom sustainability and engagement” in Moldova; a $5.2 million “media diversity” grant that funded an “anti-disinformation program in the United Kingdom”; a…

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held a telephone conversation with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan on Monday to discuss bilateral ties and the recently started indirect Iran-US talks, Mehr news agency reports.   Under Oman’s mediation, Iran and the US held talks on Saturday on Iran’s nuclear program in Omani capital Muscat.   During the…

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan spoke with his US counterpart Marco Rubio by phone on Monday and discussed the latest developments in Syria and the humanitarian situation in Gaza, diplomatic sources said, Anadolu reports.   Fidan and Rubio discussed efforts to establish a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, the sources added.   Fidan and Rubio…

Hungarian opposition leader Peter Magyar vowed on Sunday to unlock billions of euros of suspended European Union funding to revive the economy if elected next year, and to hold a referendum on whether Ukraine should join the 27-member bloc, Reuters reports.   Standard & Poor’s cut Hungary’s credit rating outlook to negative from stable late…

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that extends a package of anti-Russian sanctions introduced by his predecessor Joe Biden for a year, according to the US Federal Register, TASS reports.   On April 15, 2021, the Biden administration introduced executive order 14024, imposing sanctions on Russian individuals and entities that may have…

Iran and the U.S. held “productive” talks in Oman on Saturday (April 12) and agreed to reconvene next week, Tehran said, a dialogue meant to address Tehran’s escalating nuclear program with President Donald Trump threatening military action if there is no deal, Reuters reports.   Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said the talks — a…

Negotiations between Iran and the US are underway in Oman. The parties are located in different rooms and are conveying their positions through the Omani Foreign Minister.   The Iranian side is represented by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, the American side by Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff. 

The Prime Minister of Georgia and the President of Azerbaijan met during the Antalya Diplomacy Forum.   Irakli Kobakhidze and Ilham Aliyev emphasized the friendly and strategic nature of the relations between the two countries. They touched upon the expansion of cooperation in trade, economic, cultural and other spheres.   It was noted that the…

U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff held talks with President Vladimir Putin on Friday in St Petersburg about the search for a peace deal on Ukraine as Trump told Russia to “get moving”, Reuters reports.   Putin was shown on state TV greeting Witkoff in St Petersburg’s presidential library at the start of…

China’s leader has spoken out sharply against the United States’ new tariff policy, warning that there are no winners in trade wars and that going against the world means isolating oneself.   Xi Jinping called on Europe to unite under these conditions to protect its interests in order to “fulfill its international obligations, jointly uphold…

Reuters. The European Union will pause its first countermeasures against U.S. tariffs after President Donald Trump temporarily lowered the hefty duties he had just imposed on dozens of countries, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday (April 10).   The bloc was due to launch counter-tariffs on about 21 billion euros ($23.25…

Luxembourg’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Xavier Bettel addressed the South Caucasus issue during a PACE session. He stated that the rights of Armenians forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh must be protected.   “Their rights are guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights. Their right to safely return to their…

After several weeks of consultations between member states, EU Commission and industries, the EU adopted retaliatory measures on Wednesday against US tariffs on EU steel and aluminium, Euronews reports.   EU member states approved on Wednesday 25% tariffs on a wide range of US products, including almonds, orange juice, poultry, soyabeans, steel and aluminium, tobacco…

Azerbaijan acted as a mediator in the first reconciliation between Turkey and Israel. During that crisis, we played an active role in bringing the positions of the two countries closer together, Ilham Aliyev said.   He emphasized that Israel and Turkey are close friends of Azerbaijan. He recalled that in 2021, Baku and Ankara were…

Moscow is ready to contribute to the talks between Iran and the US if the countries need its assistance, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko told reporters, TASS reports.   “The US-Iran talks mediated by Muscat are now taking place in Oman, and we hope that our efforts will not be necessary. But if there…

Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi announced early Tuesday that Iran and the United States will meet in Oman on Saturday for indirect high-level talks.   “It is as much an opportunity as it is a test. The ball is in America’s court,” Araghchi commented in a post on X.   US President Donald Trump…

Iran will not develop nuclear weapons, as it is prohibited by the country’s religious authorities, official representative of the Foreign Ministry Esmaeil Baghaee commented on the proposal of Iranian MP Mohammad Qasim Osmani to create an atomic bomb to ensure “equality” in talks with the West, TASS reports.   “Iran will never, under any circumstances,…

White House Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett has explained why the United States has not imposed new tariffs on imports from Russia. He has stated that the decision was made due to the ongoing peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, Hassett in an interview with ABC News. Hassett explained that the decision not to include Russia on…

Kyiv continued attacks on Russian energy infrastructure facilities over the past day, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.   It is noted that the energy facility was effectively destroyed as a result of a strike on the Sudzha gas measuring station from HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems.   According to the Russian Defense Ministry, a high-voltage line was…

Starlink’s high-speed, low-latency internet is now available in Azerbaijan, Azerbaijani media reports.   Starlink is the world’s first and largest satellite constellation using low Earth orbit to deliver broadband internet, supporting streaming, online gaming, video calls, and more.   The network consists of thousands of satellites orbiting much closer to Earth — around 550 km…

Ukraine does not need a presidential election unless the Ukrainian people demand it. Paula Pinho, head of the European Commission’s press service, said this at a briefing in Brussels.   According to her, Zelensky was democratically elected, and if the Ukrainian people do not demand elections, no one else should demand them. This is how…

A federal judge on Thursday ordered that the Trump administration preserve all Signal messages exchanged in the now-infamous Signal group chat in which officials conducted a high-level military operation on the unclassified commercial app and inadvertently included a journalist, The Guardian reports.   The temporary restraining order from James Boasberg, the chief US district judge…