Author: Agencies And A News
Pope Francis, the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, has died, the Vatican said in a video statement on Monday, ending an often turbulent reign marked by division and tension as he sought to overhaul the hidebound institution. He was 88, and had recently survived a serious bout of double pneumonia. “Dear brothers and sisters, it is with profound sadness I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis,” Cardinal Kevin Farrell announced on the Vatican’s TV channel. “At 7:35 this morning the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father.”
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday he hopes Russia and Ukraine will make a deal this week to end the conflict in Ukraine. “BOTH WILL THEN START TO DO BIG BUSINESS WITH THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, WHICH IS THRIVING, AND MAKE A FORTUNE!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. Trump recently called on Ukraine and Russia to show willingness to compromise in the war that Russia started when it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago. The US government made it clear that it could otherwise halt efforts to end the war.…
China said Monday that it firmly opposes any deal between the US and its trading partners at the expense of Chinese interests amid a barrage of tariffs. If such a situation arises, China will not accept it and will resolutely take corresponding countermeasures, a spokesperson for the Commerce Ministry said in a statement. The remarks came in response to reports that the US is preparing to pressure other countries to limit trade ties with China in exchange for tariff exemptions, Xinhua News reported. A fact sheet released last week by the White House suggested that Chinese exports to the US…
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday the United States had very good talks with Iran, two days after the second round of negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear program.
The Kremlin on Monday said it is “satisfied” with the US administration’s position ruling out NATO membership for Ukraine. “We have heard from Washington at various levels that Ukraine’s membership in NATO is out of the question. This is something that satisfies us and coincides with our position,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow. Kyiv should have no prospect of integration with the military alliance, Peskov said, adding that Ukrainian membership in NATO would be a threat to Russia’s national interests. “And this is one of the root causes of the conflict (in Ukraine),” he added. Peskov also…
Qatar’s chief negotiator voiced frustration over talks for a truce in Gaza in an interview with AFP, a month after Israel resumed its strikes on the Palestinian territory and another round of negotiations ended without a deal. “We’re definitely frustrated by the slowness, sometimes, of the process in the negotiation. This is an urgent matter. There are lives at stake here if this military operation continues day by day,” Mohammed Al-Khulaifi said on Friday. Qatar, with the United States and Egypt, brokered a truce in Gaza between Israel and Hamas which came into force on January 19 and largely halted…
The United States will reduce the number of troops it has deployed in Syria from around 2,000 to less than 1,000 in the coming months, the Pentagon said on Friday. “Today the secretary of defense directed the consolidation of US forces in Syria… to select locations,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement. “This deliberate and conditions-based process will bring the US footprint in Syria down to less than 1,000 US forces in the coming months,” he said. Stressing that in the last 10 years, the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS has made “major gains,” Parnell said US Central…
The United States will reduce the number of troops it has deployed in Syria from around 2,000 to less than 1,000 in the coming months, the Pentagon said on Friday. “Today the secretary of defense directed the consolidation of US forces in Syria… to select locations,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement. “This deliberate and conditions-based process will bring the US footprint in Syria down to less than 1,000 US forces in the coming months,” he said. Stressing that in the last 10 years, the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS has made “major gains,” Parnell said US Central…
The second round of indirect negotiations between the US and Iran on Tehran’s nuclear program began Saturday in Italy’s capital Rome, according to the Iranian media. Iran’s official news agency IRNA reported that Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Rome earlier in the day to lead the Iranian delegation in talks aimed at addressing “the Islamic Republic’s civilian nuclear program and termination of American sanctions against the country.” The negotiations are being hosted by the Omani Embassy in Rome, following a first round of talks held last week in Muscat, Oman. US President Donald Trump recently threatened Iran with bombing…
Ukraine and the US signed a memorandum Thursday that lays the groundwork for a future economic partnership and cooperation on mineral development, said Ukrainian Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko. “We are happy to announce the signing, with our American partners, of a Memorandum of Intent,” Svyrydenko wrote on X. She said the agreement paves the way for an economic partnership agreement and the creation of an investment fund for the reconstruction of Ukraine. According to Svyrydenko, negotiating teams from the two countries recently concluded a fresh round of technical talks in Washington. The next steps include finalizing the text of the…