Author: Agencies And A News
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and US President Joe Biden emphasized Tuesday the importance of overcoming obstacles and showing flexibility to secure a cease-fire agreement in Gaza. The remarks were made during a phone call between the two leaders, according to a statement from the Egyptian presidency. The discussion focused on mediation efforts led by Egypt, the US, and Qatar to broker a cease-fire and facilitate a prisoner exchange between Hamas and Israel. The two presidents reviewed the latest developments in the negotiations and highlighted the need for all parties to work toward removing obstacles and demonstrating the flexibility necessary…
Israel’s Security Cabinet is expected to meet Tuesday to approve a cease-fire agreement in Gaza and a prisoner exchange deal with Hamas, the Israeli Public Broadcasting Authority Kan reported Monday. The broadcaster said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is working to ensure that Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a close ally, does not withdraw support for the government over his opposition to the deal. The risk of a government collapse is “very low,” the report said, as Netanyahu holds “a clear majority” within his coalition to approve the agreement, despite objections from Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has labeled…
Russia on Monday said security guarantees are an “integral part” of the settlement of the Ukraine war, which is set to mark its third year next month. “Of course, this is a question that is an integral part of the overall topic of settling the Ukrainian conflict. This is one of the elements of this general topic,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a news briefing in Moscow. “But, since we currently have no preconditions for resuming negotiations … it is too early to talk about this,” Peskov said, adding that Ukraine refuses to hold talks on this matter. The spokesman…
The Kremlin on Monday accused Kyiv of “energy terrorism” over an attempted attack on infrastructure for the TurkStream gas pipeline that carries Russian gas to Europe via Türkiye, Russian news agencies reported. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the drone strike — that Moscow says it foiled — was a “continuation of the line of energy terrorism that Kyiv has been pursuing, under the curation of its overseas friends, for a long time,” state news agencies reported.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday said that Kyiv and its partners have discussed the possibility of granting licenses for the production of air defense systems and missiles. “We have discussed with our partners, including the United States, the possibility of granting Ukraine licenses to produce air defense systems and missiles for them. There is nothing impossible about this, and it would only strengthen our shared capabilities to ensure security. This is exactly the kind of strength that makes lasting peace possible,” Zelenskyy said on X. Claiming that Russia launched nearly 700 aerial bombs and over 600 drones towards Ukraine…
“The end of the Baath regime’s tyranny is a victory of our Syrian brothers, it is also our victory as their neighbors,’ Erdoğan said in a statement. “The era of exploiting the region via the terrorist organizations has come to an end. The period of using terrorism as a weapon, a tool, a puppet is over,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stressed in his comments on Saturday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, during a Cabinet meeting on Thursday, expressed his dissatisfaction with the Emergency Situations Ministry’s inadequate response to the oil spill caused by the damage to two oil ships in the Black Sea. Putin described it as “one of the most serious environmental challenges” Russia has faced in recent years, instructing the authorities concerned to expedite efforts to control the damage caused by the incident. On Dec. 15, two Russian oil tankers were caught in a storm south of the Kerch Strait. The Volgoneft-212 oil ship, which was reportedly carrying approximately 4,900 tonnes of mazut, a heavy,…
Ukraine said on Wednesday that at least 13 people were killed due to a Russian airstrike in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia. A statement by the Ukrainian General Prosecutor’s Office said that a pre-trial investigation has been initiated due to the attack, which killed 13 people and injured 29 others based on preliminary data. The statement further said that an unspecified number of multi-storey buildings, as well as an industrial facility and other infrastructure, were damaged in the city. Also, debris from the attack hit a tram and a minibus with passengers, adding that cars parked nearby were also damaged,…
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Tuesday claimed that Ukraine is trying to drag his country into a war that it may not be able to withstand. During a visit to a church in Logoisk on Orthodox Christmas day, Lukashenko spoke about Minsk’s development in the face of various external challenges, noting that there is a lot of tension surrounding the country. “They (ill-wishers abroad) are under pressure. They are under duress there. So, we need to be dragged into this little war,” the Belarusian President’s office said in a statement, quoting Lukashenko. The Belarusian president then questioned the actions of…
The US determined that members of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militias committed genocide in Sudan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday. “We are today sanctioning RSF leader Mohammad Hamdan Daglo Mousa, known as Hemedti, for his role in systematic atrocities committed against the Sudanese people,” Blinken said in a statement. He said the RSF and aligned militias have continued to “direct attacks” against civilians, and have “systematically” murdered men and boys on an ethnic basis, and deliberately targeted women and girls from certain ethnic groups for rape and other brutal sexual violence. The militias have also…