Seoul, South Korea (AFP) North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has sent his “warmest congratulations” to Chinese President Xi Jinping on securing a third term as head of China’s ruling Communist Party, state media reported Sunday. The unusually prompt report from Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency came after the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee elected Xi as its general secretary for another five-year term. “Please accept my warmest congratulations to you upon the glad […]
Tag: diplomacy
China lodges formal complaint with Britain over consulate clash
Beijing, China | AFP | China said Wednesday it has lodged a formal complaint with Britain over an altercation between its diplomats and a Hong Kong protester on the grounds of its Manchester consulate. British police have said a group of men came out of the consulate during a weekend demonstration, dragging one of the protesters inside the grounds and assaulting him. The incident has drawn widespread condemnation in Britain and triggered an international row […]
Australia reverses recognition of Jerusalem as Israeli capital
Sydney, Australia | AFP | Australia said Tuesday it would no longer recognise West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, reversing a contentious decision by the previous conservative government. Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the city’s status should be decided through peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians, and not through unilateral decisions. “We will not support an approach that undermines (a two-state solution), she said, adding: “Australia’s embassy has always been, and remains, in Tel Aviv”. A conservative […]
US and Saudi Arabia clash in public over oil cut, Russia
by Aurélia End Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States and Saudi Arabia traded bitter barbs Thursday over last week’s OPEC+ oil output cut, with Washington accusing Riyadh of knowingly boosting Russian interests. The Saudi-led OPEC+ cartel — which includes Russia — angered Washington by cutting production by two million barrels a day from November, adding further pressure on soaring crude prices. Saudi Arabia issued a rare press release on Thursday expressing […]
Russian president seeks escalation with Ukraine missile blitz: experts
Paris, France | AFP | by Adam PLOWRIGHT and Daphne BENOIT With Russia firing a hail of missiles into Ukraine on Monday and Belarus making fresh threats against Kyiv, President Vladimir Putin is seeking to escalate the nearly eight-month war and compensate for humiliating recent losses, Western analysts say. According to Ukrainian authorities, 41 out of 75 missiles were intercepted, but the remainder struck cities around the country, including the capital Kyiv and western Lviv […]
US, Philippines reinforce alliance with joint military drills
San Antonio, Philippines | AFP | by Mikhail FLORES US and Philippine marines stormed a beach near a disputed rocky outcrop in the South China Sea on Friday as part of joint military drills involving more than 3,500 troops. It is the first time the annual naval exercises have been held under Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, who has expressed strong support for the decades-old alliance, after rocky relations under his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte. But Marcos told US […]
North Korea fires two ballistic missiles, slams UN meet
by Sunghee Hwang Agence France-Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea fired two ballistic missiles Thursday, Seoul’s military said, as the UN Security Council met to discuss Pyongyang’s earlier, highly provocative launch of a missile over Japan. The launch is Pyongyang’s sixth in less than two weeks, and comes two days after it fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile over Japan, prompting Tokyo to issue a rare evacuation warning. South Korea’s military said it had […]
Russia space agency seeking to extend ISS participation past 2024: official
Washington, United States (AFP) Russia’s space agency is discussing with Moscow a continuation of its participation in the International Space Station past 2024, a Roscosmos official said Monday. Sergei Krikalev, head of Russia’s human space flight programs, told reporters that Roscosmos had started “to discuss extending our participation in ISS program with our government and hope to have permission to continue next year.” With ties between Russia and the West rupturing over the war in […]
Japan urges ‘stable’ China ties, 50 years after normalization
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan called Thursday for “constructive and stable” ties with China as the two sides marked 50 years since the normalization of relations, albeit with little public fanfare. Growing friction over China’s military might and regional saber-rattling has left ties between Beijing and Tokyo frosty, and there was no major diplomatic ceremony to mark the anniversary. Instead, messages from Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese President Xi Jinping were read out […]
US VP Harris lands in S. Korea after North’s missile tests
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — US Vice President Kamala Harris arrived in South Korea Thursday to strengthen Washington’s alliance with Seoul, a day after nuclear-armed North Korea tested more ballistic missiles. Harris, who landed at Osan airbase after a trip to Tokyo to attend the state funeral of assassinated former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, is due to meet South Korea’s President Yoon Suk-yeol. She is also set to visit the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone […]
US rolls out red carpet to Pacific Islands amid China inroads
by Shaun Tandon and Sebastian Smith Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Joe Biden’s administration on Wednesday rolled out the red carpet for Pacific Island leaders in the face of rising Chinese influence in the region and said it expected a united front, despite friction with one nation — the Solomon Islands. In a first-of-a-kind summit in Washington, the United States promised greater aid and diplomatic engagement on issues from maritime security to […]
As Ukraine war grinds on, Saudi influence grows
by Robbie COREY-BOULET and Haitham EL-TABEI Agence France-Presse RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Saudi Arabia’s unexpected role in brokering the release of foreign fighters detained in Ukraine was just the latest example of how the kingdom is seeking to bolster its international standing, diplomats and analysts say. It also enables Riyadh to argue that preserving ties with Moscow -– a source of tension with Washington, especially since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine -– can be a […]





