TEL AVIV, Oct 17, 2023 (AFP) – US President Joe Biden will pay a solidarity visit to Israel on Wednesday following the Hamas attacks, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced, as he also said Israel and Washington had agreed to develop a plan for aid to Gaza. Blinken spoke after meeting for nearly eight hours at the defence ministry with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the top US diplomat’s second visit since the October […]
Tag: diplomacy
Presidents Xi, Putin to freshen decade-long friendship at Beijing summit
By Peter CATTERALL, Matthew WALSH BEIJING, Oct 16, 2023 (AFP) – Ten years after toasting a budding friendship, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin will meet again in Beijing this week seeking to further deepen the “no-limits” partnership between their two countries. The two presidents share a strong personal bond, with Xi calling his Russian counterpart his “best friend” and Putin cherishing his “reliable partner”. Their relationship has been a constant despite a decade of increasingly […]
Canada slams China for “dangerous” intercept of maritime patrol aircraft
OTTAWA, Oct 16, 2023 (AFP) – Canada’s defense minister on Monday slammed Chinese fighter jets’ “dangerous and reckless” intercept of a Canadian maritime patrol aircraft while it was helping to enforce United Nations sanctions against North Korea. The Chinese planes shadowed the Canadian Aurora aircraft over several hours in international waters, with one coming within five meters (15 feet) of the Canadian plane, according to a Global News television crew on the flight. Speaking to […]
China gears up for China’s Belt and Road Initiative forum amid Israel-Gaza conflict shadow
BEIJING, Oct 16, 2023 (AFP) – China prepared on Monday to host representatives of 130 countries for a forum that will be overshadowed by the Israel-Gaza war, as an increasingly assertive Beijing is asked to help de-escalate the violence. At the top of the invite list to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) forum is Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, on his first trip to a major global power since the Ukraine invasion threw his regime […]
Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin expected in Beijing, more dependent than ever on China
By James Edgar and Oliver Hotham BEIJING, Oct 14, 2023 (AFP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin heads to China next week to meet his “dear friend” Xi Jinping, forging even closer ties in a key strategic relationship in which experts say Moscow is increasingly the junior partner. Beijing is hosting representatives of 130 countries on October 17-18 to mark a decade of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) — a key geopolitical project of President […]
US, Qatar to halt Iran access to $6bn fund after Hamas attack: report
WASHINGTON, Oct 12, 2023 (AFP) -WASHINGTON, Oct 12, 2023 (AFP) – The United States and Qatar officials have agreed to prevent Iran from using a $6 billion humanitarian assistance fund, following militant group Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel, a news report said Thursday. The money had been transferred to Iranian accounts in Qatar, in a US-Iran prisoner swap deal announced in recent weeks where five US detainees were also released by Iran. But The Washington […]
Netanyahu shows Blinken horrific pictures of babies killed by Hamas: PM office
JERUSALEM, Oct 12, 2023 (AFP) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Thursday showed visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken horrific pictures of babies he said were killed by Hamas militants in Israel over the weekend. The pictures were posted by the prime minister’s office on X, formerly Twitter. One picture showed a dead baby in a body bag while the other showed the charred remains of another infant. Israel is reeling under a deadly […]
President Biden vows ‘rock solid’ support, defense aid for Israel
By Maria DANILOVA WASHINGTON, Oct 7, 2023 (AFP) – The United States on Saturday condemned the attacks by “Hamas terrorists” against Israel and vowed to ensure the key US ally has the means to defend itself. President Joe Biden described the assault as “a terrible tragedy on a human level” and said he had spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to underline his support. “I told him the United States stands with the people […]
World in shock after attacks on Israel
Countries around the world have reacted to a wave of Palestinian attacks by land, sea and air that Israel says has claimed more than 600 lives. The statements by world leaders ranged from outright condemnation of the Palestinian attacks and strong support for Israel from Western nations, to support from some Middle Eastern countries. Many have called for a de-escalation of the conflict, after Israel launched air strikes and other military operations targeting Gaza that […]
Security Council to decide Monday on non-UN force for Haiti
UNITED NATIONS, United States, Oct 1, 2023 (AFP) – The UN Security Council will decide on Monday whether to endorse an international force to back Haiti’s police as they battle entrenched criminal gangs, according to a published agenda. For the past year, Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres have called for such a force to address the country’s spiraling security crisis. But given the challenges faced by past peacekeeping efforts in […]
Israel, Saudi moving towards ‘framework’ for deal: US
WASHINGTON, Sept 29, 2023 (AFP) – Israel and Saudi Arabia are moving towards the outline of a historic US-brokered deal to normalize relations after decades of hostility, the White House said on Friday. President Joe Biden is hoping to transform the Middle East — and score an election-year diplomatic victory — by securing recognition of the Jewish state by Saudi Arabia, the guardian of Islam’s two holiest sites. “All sides have hammered out, I think, […]
Philippines vows to remove future barriers at disputed reef
By Faith Brown and Cecil Morella MANILA, Sept 29, 2023 (AFP) – The Philippine Coast Guard vowed Friday to “do whatever it takes” to remove any more floating barriers installed by China at a disputed reef in the South China Sea. The remarks came after an aerial inspection of Scarborough Shoal on Thursday confirmed a 300 metre (328-yard) barrier that ignited the latest diplomatic row between Beijing and Manila had been taken away. AFP journalists […]





