Author: Daily Sabah With Reuters
The United States and Israel will hold strategic talks on Iran’s nuclear program at the White House next week, Axios reported on Thursday, citing two Israeli officials and one U.S. official. Israeli strategic affairs minister Ron Dermer and national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi will be part of Israel’s delegation, according to Axios.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Thursday called on the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) interim government of Syria to control extremist elements within its own ranks. Speaking in Damascus after the reopening of the German Embassy, Baerbock said she had told the HTS leadership “that it is now up to them to turn words into action, that it is now up to them to bring extremist groups within their ranks under control and to hold those responsible for crimes to account.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Thursday it was important Britain and its allies were able to react immediately should there be a peace deal struck between Russia and Ukraine. His comments, made during a visit to a nuclear submarine facility, come on the day military chiefs from dozens of countries meet in Britain to discuss planning for a possible peacekeeping force in Ukraine. “(Our) plans are focusing on keeping the sky safe, the sea safe and the border safe and secure in Ukraine, and working with the Ukrainians,” Starmer told reporters. “We’re working at pace because we don’t…
The United Nations said on Thursday that each day of renewed violence in Gaza makes the return of the remaining hostages held there a more distant objective. U.N. Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East Khaled Khiari said the return to hostilities threatens all civilians, including hostages, of whom 24 are thought still to be alive. “With every passing day, we move further away from the objective of returning the remaining hostages safely to their homes,” Khiari told a U.N. Security Council briefing. At least 91 more Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded in airstrikes across Gaza on Thursday, in addition…
EU leaders on Thursday said on Thursday that they deplore the breakdown of the ceasefire in Gaza and Hamas’ refusal to hand over remaining hostages. “The European Council deplores the breakdown of the ceasefire in Gaza, which has caused a large number of civilian casualties in recent air strikes. It deplores the refusal of Hamas to hand over the remaining hostages,” it said in a statement.
The U.N. migration agency said on Tuesday that unprecedented cuts in donor funding this year will force it to scale back or shut down projects around the world, resulting in a severe impact on migrants and affecting over 6,000 staff. The International Organization for Migration said that it expected funding to be reduced by a record 30% this year after a major decrease in U.S.-funded projects worldwide after President Donald Trump announced an overhaul of aid funding. This would mean scaling back or ending projects affecting over 6,000 staff worldwide and over 250 staff in its Geneva headquarters, IOM said,…
U.S. President Donald Trump, who has ordered the release of classified documents related to the 1963 assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, said on Monday that his administration will make public around 80,000 pages of files related to the former president on Tuesday. “People have been waiting for decades for this,” Trump told reporters during a visit to The Kennedy Center in Washington. “It’s going to be very interesting.” Earlier this year, Trump signed an executive order directing the federal government to present a plan to release records related to the assassinations of Kennedy, his brother Robert Kennedy and…
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told Greenland and Denmark in a speech on Tuesday that the EU would always support sovereignty and territorial integrity, responding to U.S. President Donald Trump’s designs on the Arctic island. “To all the people of Greenland – and of Denmark as a whole – I want to be clear that Europe will always stand for sovereignty and territorial integrity”, she said speaking at the Royal Danish Military Academy in Copenhagen. Trump has repeatedly said that Washington plans to take control of Greenland, which is an autonomous territory of Denmark. Authorities in both Greenland…
U.S. tariffs will inflict significant harm on the U.S. economy as other countries hit back with “high tariffs” on American goods, Chinese state media warned, leaving the door open for more measures by Beijing as another wave of levies looms. Barely two months after returning to the White House, President Donald Trump has triggered trade conflicts with China, Canada, Mexico and the European Union. Trump is also threatening reciprocal tariffs on every country that taxes U.S. imports, with those levies potentially kicking in on April 2. China swiftly responded with countermeasures in February and March when two rounds of Trump…
U.S. President Donald Trump will speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday in an attempt to convince his counterpart to accept a ceasefire in Russia’s war with Ukraine and move toward a more permanent end to the three-year conflict. The high-stakes call will serve as a test of Trump’s touted deal-making skills and of his prized relationship with the Russian leader, which has left traditional U.S. allies wary. “Many elements of a Final Agreement have been agreed to, but much remains,” Trump said in a social media post on Monday. “Each week brings 2,500 soldier deaths, from both sides,…