Breaking News, Latest Philippines Headlines, World, Entertainment, Politics, Weather & Video News
by Aurélia End and Ben Simon Agence France-Presse JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) — US President Joe Biden lands in the Middle East on Wednesday for a trip that will see Israeli leaders urge tougher action against Iran, before a delicate stop in Saudi Arabia. The 79-year-old president’s visit to Jeddah on Friday will be the focus of the tour, after Biden branded Saudi Arabia a “pariah” over the 2018 murder of dissident Saudi journalist and US […]
SUVA, Fiji (AFP) — The United States launched a major push into the Pacific Wednesday as it seeks to hold off China’s advances in the region, with Vice President Kamala Harris announcing the opening of new embassies in Tonga and Kiribati at a key regional summit. Washington will also appoint its first-ever envoy to the Pacific, Harris said as she pledged $600 million in funding for the region in her address to the Pacific Islands […]
by Gareth Browne Agence France-Presse RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories (AFP) — Ahead of Joe Biden’s first visit to Jerusalem as US president, Washington’s ambassador said his team will “pound tables” to press Israeli officials into making concessions to the Palestinians. But ambassador Thomas Nides was talking about ensuring Palestinians have access to economic benefits such as 4G internet, not throwing American diplomatic muscle into reviving a peace process moribund since 2014. Biden’s first Middle East tour […]
by Shaun Tandon Agence France-Presse BALI, Indonesia (AFP) — The top Russian and US envoys gathered on Friday for a Group of 20 foreign ministers meeting in Indonesia, with the host immediately telling them the Ukraine war must end and differences be resolved through negotiations. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov joined their colleagues for the start of day-long talks, with Washington seeking to gain support from the world’s top […]
BALI, Indonesia (AFP) — Australia will press China to end trade “blockages” Friday as the two nations seek to defrost icy relations with their first foreign ministers’ meeting since 2019. Foreign Minister Penny Wong said she aimed to “stabilize” relations when she meets with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi later in the day on the sidelines of a Group of 20 meeting in Bali, Indonesia. “We all know we have our differences. There are challenges […]
BALI, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesia called Friday for an end to the war in Ukraine as it led a Group of 20 meeting attended by Russia’s foreign minister. “It is our responsibility to end the war sooner than later and settle our differences at the negotiating table, not the battlefield,” Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said at the opening of the meeting in Bali. She said that the world was just recovering from the Covid-19 […]
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — The UN Security Council has failed in its response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Thursday, describing Moscow’s role as “morally bankrupt.” Ardern, who has long argued against the Security Council veto powers held by the five permanent members Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, reiterated her call for reform of the body. The UN’s “failure” over Ukraine was caused by Russia’s position […]
by Shaun Tandon Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will hold a rare meeting with China’s foreign minister seeking to contain tensions, but will shun his Russian counterpart at a conference in Bali this week, officials said Thursday. Blinken will arrive Thursday in the Indonesian resort island for talks of foreign ministers of the Group of 20, the club of major economies that still includes Russia — despite […]
WELLINGTON (AFP) – China accused New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Friday of making “wrong and thus regrettable” statements that were unhelpful for keeping the two countries’ relationship “on the right track”. Ardern attended the NATO leaders’ summit in Spain this week, saying in a speech Wednesday that China had become “more assertive and more willing to challenge international rules and norms”. The Chinese embassy in Wellington hit back Friday that it had taken […]
by Pierre-Henry Deshayes Agence France-Presse BARENTSBURG, Norway (AFP) — Russian flags flap in the stiff polar breeze, a bust of Lenin looms out of the snow and a vast slogan declares, “Communism is our goal!” No, this is not some time warp Soviet settlement lost in the Arctic wastes, but a corner of Norway where Moscow can — theoretically at least — mine, build, drill and fish what it likes. Welcome to Spitsbergen, the largest island […]
MANILA, Philippines (AFP) — The Philippines said on Thursday it has terminated talks with China for a joint energy project in the South China Sea after President Rodrigo Duterte ordered an end to negotiations. Manila signed an agreement with Beijing in 2018 to cooperate on oil and gas development as a way to benefit from the resources in the waterway while setting aside the territorial dispute. Duterte, who has taken a softer approach to […]
YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — The global food crisis sparked by the war in Ukraine will kill millions by leaving the hungriest more vulnerable to infectious diseases, potentially triggering the world’s next health catastrophe, the head of a major aid organization has warned. A Russian naval blockade of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports has stopped grain shipments from the world’s fourth-largest exporter of wheat and corn, raising the specter of shortages and hunger in low-income countries. The […]
