Tag: WAR

If China wants Taiwan it should also take back land from Russia, president says

TAIPEI (Reuters) – If China’s claims on Taiwan are about territorial integrity then it should also take back land from Russia signed over by the last Chinese dynasty in the 19th century, Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said in an interview with Taiwanese media. China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control. Taiwan’s government rejects those claims, saying only the […]

Update: Russia will change nuclear doctrine due to West’s actions in Ukraine, official says

LONDON (Reuters) -Russia will make changes to its doctrine on the use of nuclear weapons in response to what it regards as Western escalation in the war in Ukraine, state media quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying on Sunday. The existing nuclear doctrine, set out in a decree by President Vladimir Putin in 2020, says Russia may use nuclear weapons in the event of a nuclear attack by an enemy or a conventional […]

Philippines says China ‘mischaracterised’ South China Sea resupply mission deal

  MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines’ foreign ministry accused China on Sunday of ‘mischaracterising’ an arrangement between them that allowed the unimpeded resupply of Filipino troops stationed on a beached naval vessel in the South China Sea. After repeated clashes in the disputed Second Thomas Shoal, the two countries reached a “provisional arrangement” earlier this month on resupply missions to soldiers stationed at the Sierra Madre, a naval vessel Manila deliberately grounded in 1999 to […]

Putin: U.S. missile plans in Germany could spark cold war-style crisis

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday warned the United States that if Washington deployed long-range missiles in Germany from 2026 then Russia would station similar missiles in striking distance of the West. The United States will start deploying long-range fire capabilities in Germany in 2026 in an effort to demonstrate its commitment to NATO and European defenсe, the United States and Germany said earlier this month. The United States’ “episodic deployments” are […]

‘Time for this war to end’: Biden pushes Israeli plan for Gaza truce

By Danny KEMP WASHINGTON, June 1, 2024 (AFP) – US President Joe Biden said Friday that Israel had offered a new roadmap towards a permanent peace in Gaza, urging Hamas to accept the surprise deal as it was “time for this war to end.” In his first major address outlining a solution to the conflict, Biden said the three-phase proposal starts with a six-week complete ceasefire that would see Israeli forces withdraw from all populated […]

G7 ‘ready to take measures’ over destabilisation by Iran

ROME, April 14, 2024 (AFP) – G7 leaders offered their full support for Israel on Sunday following an attack by Iran, and said they were ready to “take further measures” in response to “further destabilising initiatives”. In a statement following a video meeting, the leaders of the Group of Seven powers said they “unequivocally condemn in the strongest terms Iran’s direct and unprecedented attack against Israel”. “We express our full solidarity and support to Israel […]

Middle East, world cannot ‘afford more war’: UN chief

UNITED NATIONS, United States, April 14, 2024 (AFP) – United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned the international community Sunday against deeper descent into conflict, addressing the Security Council during a meeting over Iran’s weekend attack on Israel. “Neither the region nor the world can afford more war,” Guterres said. “The Middle East is on the brink,” he told the Security Council. “The people of the region are confronting a real danger of a devastating […]

Polish PM Tusk warns Europe has entered ‘pre-war era’

WARSAW, March 30, 2024 (AFP) – Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has warned of the “real” threat of conflict in Europe, saying that for the first time since the end of World War II the continent has entered a “pre-war era”. “War is no longer a concept from the past. It is real, and it started over two years ago. The most worrying thing at the moment is that literally any scenario is possible. We […]

Russia admits ‘state of war’ amid massive strikes on Ukraine

KYIV, Ukraine, March 22, 2024 (AFP) – Russia admitted two years into its invasion of Ukraine on Friday that it was “in a state of war,” as it launched a massive wave of missile and drone attacks on its neighbour’s territory. Russia fired almost 90 missiles and more than 60 Iranian-designed kamikaze drones, damaging dozens of energy facilities including power stations, in what Ukrainian officials said was an attempt to cripple the country’s electricity and […]

US retaliatory strikes hit Iran-linked targets in Syria, Iraq

By W.G. Dunlop and Aurélia End WASHINGTON, Feb 2, 2024 (AFP) – The US military launched retaliatory air strikes against Iranian forces and Tehran-backed militia groups in both Iraq and Syria on Friday, following a recent drone attack that killed three American soldiers at a remote base in Jordan. The extensive air attacks were ordered in response to the deaths of the soldiers last Sunday in a drone strike blamed by Washington on Iran-backed forces. […]

Efforts to pause Israel-Hamas war gain pace amid fierce fighting

By Adel Zaanoun with Beatrice Le Bohec in Jerusalem International efforts towards a new pause in the devastating Gaza war gathered pace Wednesday, as Israel bombarded the Palestinian territory during fierce fighting with Hamas militants. Hamas was reviewing a proposal for a six-week truce in its war with Israel, a source told AFP, after mediators gathered in Paris. While talks take place, the population of Gaza is starving to death due to constraints imposed on […]

Israel army warns Gaza war will continue throughout 2024

By Adel Zaanoun with Rosie Scammell in Jerusalem Unrelenting Israeli bombardment rocked Gaza on Monday, while an army spokesman warned the war on the besieged territory’s Hamas rulers will continue throughout 2024. Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant met troops inside Gaza on Monday, and vowed in a statement that “life will return to its course” for residents of border communities hit in Hamas’s October 7 attacks that triggered the war. In the southern Gaza Strip, […]