by Max DELANY and Jan FLEMR Agence France-Presse PRAGUE, Czech Republic (AFP) — Leaders from across Europe met Thursday in Prague for the inaugural summit of a new forum aimed at bringing the continent together in the face of Russia’s aggression, with Ukraine’s president urging more support for Kyiv. The first gathering of the “European Political Community” at the grand Prague Castle complex brought together a disparate grouping of 44 nations from the Caucasus in […]
Tag: summit
US, China top diplomats to meet on high tensions on Taiwan
by Shaun Tandon and Nicolas Revise Agence France Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — The top US and Chinese diplomats meet Friday in New York as soaring tensions show signs of easing, but Beijing issued a new warning against support for Taiwan. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi are set to meet on the sidelines of the annual United Nations summit, their first encounter since extensive talks in July […]
US, China top diplomats to meet on high tensions on Taiwan
by Shaun Tandon and Nicolas Revise Agence France-Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — The top US and Chinese diplomats meet Friday in New York as soaring tensions show signs of easing, but Beijing issued a new warning against support for Taiwan. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi are set to meet on the sidelines of the annual United Nations summit, their first encounter since extensive talks in July in […]
Israel PM: World must use force if Iran builds nuclear bomb
UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — The international community should use military force if Iran develops nuclear weapons, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid told the United Nations on Thursday, as he reiterated support for creation of a “peaceful” Palestinian state. Israel has been conducting an intense diplomatic offensive in recent months to try to persuade the United States and main European powers such as Britain, France and Germany not to renew the 2015 Iran nuclear […]
Blinken demands action on Putin at UN showdown on Ukraine
by Michael Mathes Agence France-Presse UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday demanded President Vladimir Putin be held to account as he faced Russia in a Security Council session in which the United Nations cataloged abuses in Ukraine. Pressure has swelled against Moscow as world leaders attend the UN General Assembly, but in the highly anticipated first encounter between the top Russian and US diplomats since the war […]
Global Fund raises $14.25 billion to end HIV, TB and malaria
by Issam AHMED Agence France-Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria raised $14.25 billion Wednesday at a donor conference led by US President Joe Biden, as decades of progress against the diseases are set back by Covid. It was the highest amount ever pledged for a multilateral health organization — but fell far short of the ambitious goal of $18 billion after the United Kingdom and […]
Israeli, Turkish leaders meet as tensions ease
UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday met for the first time in more than a decade with an Israeli prime minister, with Yair Lapid seeking his help on citizens held by Palestinian militants Hamas. The two leaders met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, a month after the countries announced the restoration of diplomatic ties following years of tensions. Lapid “brought up the issue of […]
Putin hails ‘new centres of power’ at summit with Asian leaders
Samarkand, Uzbekistan (AFP) Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed the growing influence of “new centres of power” on Friday at a summit with Asian leaders including China’s Xi Jinping. “The growing role of new centres of power who cooperate with each other… is becoming more and more clear,” Putin told the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in ex-Soviet Uzbekistan. “We are open to cooperation with the entire world,” Putin said. “Our policy is […]
China’s President Xi Jinping calls for ‘international order in a more just and rational direction’
Samarkand, Uzbekistan (AFP) China’s President Xi Jinping on Friday called for regional countries to reshape the international order at a summit in Uzbekistan touted as a challenge to Western global influence. Leaders should “work together to promote the development of the international order in a more just and rational direction”, Xi said at a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation including the leaders of Russia, Iran and central Asian countries. The SCO — made up […]
China’s Xi to meet Iran’s Raisi at regional summit
BEIJING, China (AFP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping will have his first face-to-face discussion with his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi on Friday, state media reported. The meeting comes days after the Europen Union warned that negotiations to bring Iran and the US back into a nuclear deal curbing Tehran’s nuclear program are in “stalemate”. China is one of the key members of the multilateral dialogue — alongside France, Germany, Britain, Russia and the United States […]
Biden says G7, NATO must ‘stay together’ against Russia’s war
ELMAU CASTLE, Germany (AFP) — US President Joe Biden on Sunday praised Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz for his leadership in the wake of Russia’s war against Ukraine and urged the West to stay united. “We have to stay together,” Biden told Scholz at a meeting ahead of the G7 summit in the German Alps. Russian President Vladimir Putin had been hoping “that somehow NATO and the G7 would splinter,” Biden said. “But we haven’t […]
World leaders seek united front for Ukraine as war rages on
by Hui Min Neo Agence France-Presse BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — World leaders including US President Joe Biden will seek to close ranks at back-to-back summits from Sunday on offering emphatic support to help Ukraine repel Russian invaders as the relentless war puts international unity to the test. In the face-to-face talks, the allies will take stock of the effectiveness of sanctions imposed so far against Vladimir Putin’s Russia, consider possible new military and financial aid […]





