China and the United States clashed again this weekend on trade and security, accusing each other of destabilizing the region and potentially the world. Speaking on Sunday at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Asia’s premier defense summit, China’s Defence Minister Wei Fenghe warned the United States not to meddle in ... Read More »
Iran sees no prospect of negotiations with U.S.: foreign ministry
Iran sees no prospect of negotiations with the United States, a foreign ministry spokesman said on Tuesday, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump said a deal with Tehran on its nuclear program was possible. Washington withdrew last year from a 2015 international nuclear deal with Tehran, and is ratcheting ... Read More »
Donald Trump welcomes Japan’s offer of mediation with Iran
President acknowledges Shinzo Abe’s close links to Tehran and says US ‘would like to talk’ Donald Trump has said he would support Shinzo Abe’s efforts to act as a mediator between the US and Iran, amid reports that the Japanese prime minister will visit Tehran next month for talks with ... Read More »
EU elections: Tories and Labour savaged as voters take Brexit revenge
Brexit party humiliates Conservatives while remain voters desert Labour for Lib Dems An insurgent Brexit party and reinvigorated Liberal Democrats have delivered a harrowing night for the Conservatives and Labour at the European elections, prompting profound soul-searching at the top of both major parties. Nigel Farage’s Brexit party humiliated ... Read More »
Jarrah says Cabinet to conclude budget talks Friday
Minister of Information, Jamal Jarrah, indicated that the Cabinet will conclude the discussion of the 2019 state budget on Friday, in remarks made to reporters following a session for the government at the Grand Serail on Wednesday. “The discussion was calm, objective and bold; and there was no tension or ... Read More »
British PM May expected to announce on Friday that she will quit The Times
British Prime Minister Theresa May is expected on Friday to announce her departure from office, The Times reported, without citing a source. May will remain as prime minister while her successor is elected in a two-stage process under which two final candidates face a ballot of 125,000 Conservative Party members, ... Read More »
Cabinet and 2019 budget: Finally at the finish line
Hussein Dakroub| The Daily Star BEIRUT: The Cabinet will meet again Wednesday for a final reading of a draft austerity budget, two ministers said following Tuesday’s marathon session, the 17th in a series of meetings dedicated to examining the country’s 2019 fiscal plan. Wednesday’s session will be followed by a ... Read More »
UAE welcomes ‘Peace to Prosperity’ economic workshop hosted in Bahrain along with U.S.
The United Arab Emirates on Tuesday said it welcomed a June 25-26 “Peace to Prosperity” economic workshop hosted in Bahrain in cooperation with the United States. The Trump administration has cast the conference as an overture to its own plan for peace between Israel and the Palestinians. The UAE ... Read More »
Risk of nuclear war now highest since WW2, U.N. arms research chief says
The risk of nuclear weapons being used is at its highest since World War Two, a senior U.N. security expert said on Tuesday, calling it an “urgent” issue that the world should take more seriously. Renata Dwan, director of the U.N. Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), said all states with ... Read More »
Turkey insists on right to drill for energy reserves off Cyprus
Dispute likely to escalate after Nicosia said it would seek to arrest anyone caught drilling Tensions over energy resources in the eastern Mediterranean have risen sharply after Turkey said it would “exercise its sovereign rights” to drill off Cyprus in flagrant defiance of warnings from western allies. As the ... Read More »