International

China threatens Taiwan with more trade measures after denouncing president’s speech

BEIJING (Reuters) -China is studying further trade measures against Taiwan, China’s Ministry of Commerce said on Saturday, two days after Beijing denounced a speech by Taiwan President Lai Ching-te. The Chinese ministry said in a statement on its website that the Democratic Progressive Party, Taiwan’s ruling party, had not taken any practical measures to lift “trade restrictions” on China. “At present, relevant (Chinese government) departments are studying further measures based on the conclusions of the […]

Russia’s Putin cements ties with Iranian president in Central Asia meeting

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia’s Vladimir Putin held talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Friday in Turkmenistan, where the two leaders hailed their countries growing economic ties and similar views on world affairs, an entente viewed with concern by the United States. At odds with Washington and the European Union over Russia’s war in Ukraine, something he casts as part of a wider existential struggle against an arrogant and self-interested West – Putin is keen to […]

Poland to temporarily suspend right to asylum after Belarus border tensions, Tusk says

WARSAW (Reuters) -Poland plans to temporarily suspend the right to asylum as part of a strategy to limit illegal migration amidst tensions with Belarus, which Warsaw accuses of channelling migrants across its border. “One of the elements of the migration strategy will be the temporary territorial suspension of the right to asylum,” Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Saturday. “I will demand this, I will demand recognition in Europe for this decision,” he told a […]

Analysis-Caught between competing goals in Lebanon, US stays on the sidelines

By Simon Lewis and Humeyra Pamuk WASHINGTON (Reuters) – After weeks of intensive diplomacy aimed at securing a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah militants, the United States has settled on an altogether different approach: let the unfolding conflict in Lebanon play out. Just two weeks ago, the United States and France were demanding an immediate 21-day ceasefire to ward off an Israeli invasion of Lebanon. That effort was derailed by Israel’s assassination of Hezbollah leader […]

Israel orders evacuation of more southern Lebanese towns amid rising displacement

By Amina Ismail and Ahmed Tolba BEIRUT/CAIRO (Reuters) -Israel’s military ordered residents of 23 southern Lebanese villages on Saturday to evacuate to areas north of the Awali River, which flows from the western Bekaa Valley into the Mediterranean. The order, communicated via a military statement, mentions villages in southern Lebanon that have been recent targets of Israeli attacks, many of which are already almost empty. The Israeli military stated that evacuations were necessary for the […]

Ukraine’s Zelenskiy outlines ‘victory plan’ to allies, discusses long-range weapons

By Andrew MacAskill, Alistair Smout and John Irish LONDON/PARIS/ROME (Reuters) -President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Thursday discussed his proposed “victory plan” with the leaders of Britain, France and Italy, and the incoming head of NATO as he seeks to garner military support to put himself in a position for eventual peace talks. Western officials and Zelenskiy have said the war with Russia is at a critical point. With a U.S election less than a month away […]

Chinese premier hopes Japan, China can meet halfway, keep relations on right track

BEIJING (Reuters) -Chinese Premier Li Qiang said he hopes Japan can meet China halfway and keep bilateral relations on the right track, state media reported, as the two countries try to ease escalating tensions in the region. In talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Thursday on the sidelines of a conference of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Li also said he hoped China and Japan can continuously strengthen dialogue and cooperation, […]

Israeli strikes kill 22 in Beirut as Hezoballah leader evades assassination

By Maya Gebeily and Alexander Cornwell BEIRUT/JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli strikes killed 22 people and injured more than 100 in central Beirut on Thursday, Lebanese authorities said, as a senior Hezbollah official evaded an Israeli assassination attempt in the city, according to three security sources. In the country’s south, two United Nations peacekeepers were injured when an Israeli tank fired at a watchtower at the force’s main headquarters in Ras al-Naqoura, prompting the U.N. to […]

Obama rallies voters for Kamala Harris in swing state Pennsylvania

By Jeff Mason PITTSBURGH (Reuters) -Former President Barack Obama made a passionate case against Donald Trump and in favor of Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday during a rally at a Pittsburgh college campus aimed in part at spurring young people to show up for the Nov. 5 election. Obama has been a vocal supporter of Harris since she ascended to the top of the Democratic ticket after President Joe Biden stepped aside in July […]

Philippines calls for urgency from China, ASEAN in negotiating South China Sea code

By Panu Wongcha-um VIENTIANE, Laos (Reuters) -Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr pressed Southeast Asian leaders and China at a regional summit on Thursday to urgently speed up negotiations on a code of conduct for the South China Sea, while accusing Beijing of harassment and intimidation. Speaking in Laos to leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Marcos said substantive progress was necessary and all parties must “be earnestly […]

Hurricane Milton leaves at least 10 dead, millions without power in Florida

By Brad Brooks and Leonora LaPeter Anton FORT PIERCE, Florida/ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (Reuters) -Hurricane Milton plowed into the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday after cutting a destructive path across Florida that spawned tornados, killed at least 10 people and left millions without power, but the storm did not trigger the catastrophic surge of seawater that was feared. Governor Ron DeSantis said the state had avoided the “worst-case scenario,” though he cautioned the damage was still significant […]

Ratan Tata, who put India’s Tata Group on the global map, dies at 86

By Abhirup Roy (Reuters) – Ratan Tata, the former Tata Group chairman who put a staid and sprawling Indian conglomerate on the global stage with a string of high-profile acquisitions, has died, the Tata Group said in a statement late on Wednesday. He was 86. Tata, who ran the conglomerate for more than 20 years as chairman, had been undergoing intensive care in a Mumbai hospital, two sources with direct knowledge of his medical situation […]