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UNITED NATIONS, United States, Sept 26, 2023 (AFP) – UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said Tuesday that the world was plunging into a new nuclear arms race and warned of the shadow of “annihilation” hanging over the world. With nuclear-armed nations expanding and modernizing their arsenals, the UN chief called for a revitalized push to reduce and eventually eliminate those weapons. “A worrisome new arms race is brewing. The number of nuclear weapons could rise […]
By Robbie COREY-BOULET RIYADH, Sept 26, 2023 (AFP) – Recent bullish statements by Saudi and Israeli leaders have fuelled speculation that a landmark normalisation deal is in the offing, despite daunting hurdles that have yet to be cleared. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Gulf kingdom’s de facto ruler, said in a rare interview last week with Fox News that talks were progressing and “every day we get closer” to a breakthrough that could […]
By Hossam EZZEDINE with Rosie SCAMMELL in Jerusalem RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories, Sept 26, 2023 (AFP) – Saudi Arabia on Tuesday sent its first delegation in three decades to the occupied West Bank to reassure Palestinians that it will defend their cause even as it forges closer ties with Israel. In a sign of the thaw, Israel’s Tourism Minister Haim Katz visited Riyadh on the same day, for the first such high-level public mission to the […]
NEW DELHI, Sept 26, 2023 (AFP) – Army chiefs and senior officers from 30 countries including the United States met in India Tuesday to discuss threats facing the Asia-Pacific region, in the face of concern at an increasingly assertive China. US Army chief Randy George said the region was “critically important”, speaking to reporters alongside his Indian counterpart Manoj Pande, and vowed to boost cooperation to “maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific”. Generals from Japan […]
WASHINGTON, Sept 25, 2023 (AFP) – President Joe Biden said the United States officially recognized the Pacific nations of Cook Islands and Niue Monday, as he hosted regional leaders in a bid to wrest influence from China. The announcement came at the start of a summit with the 18-member Pacific Islands Forum, where US officials said the president was announcing a more assertive American stance in the region. Biden said in statements that Washington recognized […]
BEIJING, Sept 25, 2023 (AFP) – North Korea will allow foreign nationals to enter the country from Monday, Chinese state media reported, after over three years of Covid-induced isolation. North Korea has been largely closed off from the outside world since early 2020, when it shut its borders in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, with even its own nationals prevented from entering. But it is this month showing signs of re-opening, with leader Kim Jong […]
MANILA, Sept 25, 2023 (AFP) – The Philippine Coast Guard said Monday it had removed a floating barrier at a disputed reef that was allegedly deployed to stop Filipinos accessing the traditional fishing ground. The statement was issued hours after Philippine National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano vowed to take “all appropriate actions” for the removal of barriers installed by the Chinese coast guard at Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea. A 300-metre (328-yard) long […]
MANILA, Sept 25, 2023 (AFP) – The Philippines vowed Monday to take “all appropriate actions” for the removal of floating barriers allegedly installed by the Chinese coast guard at a disputed reef to stop Filipinos accessing the traditional fishing ground. A 300-metre (328-yard) long floating barrier was found across the entrance of Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea last week during a routine resupply mission to Filipino fishermen plying the waters near the Chinese-controlled […]
TAIPEI, Sept 22, 2023 (AFP) – Taiwan’s defence minister said China’s recent military activities were “abnormal”, after a spike in incursions by Chinese warplanes around the island this week. China claims self-ruled Taiwan as its territory and has maintained it will seize it one day — by force, if necessary. Beijing performs near-daily aerial incursions around the island, and on Monday Taiwan’s defence ministry reported a “recent high” of 103 warplanes within a 24-hour window. […]
UNITED NATIONS, United States, Sept 22, 2023 (AFP) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday warned Iran at the United Nations of a “nuclear threat” in what his office quickly walked back as a slip of the tongue. The hawkish prime minister said that alarm over Tehran’s clerical leaders was driving Israel closer to the Arab world, with his government on the “cusp” of a historic breakthrough with Saudi Arabia. Netanyahu, who has repeatedly […]
HANOI, Sept 21, 2023 (AFP) – Japan’s Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko were welcomed Thursday in Hanoi by lines of flag-waving schoolchildren, as they began a visit marking the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two nations. The royal couple laid wreaths at the mausoleum of late president Ho Chi Minh, before heading to the former home — a traditional stilt house — of the revolutionary leader and feeding fish in a […]
HANGZHOU, China, Sept 22, 2023 (AFP) – Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad on Friday, and said the two leaders would unveil a new “strategic partnership”. Assad is on his first official trip to China in almost two decades as he seeks financial support to rebuild his devastated country, as well as rehabilitation for his regime from years of isolation over Syria’s civil war. He will attend the opening ceremony […]
