US sources suggest Syrian anti-aircraft batteries inadvertently shot down the Russian Il-20 plane Russia’s defence ministry said early on Tuesday that one if its military aircraft with 14 people on board disappeared from radar screens over Syria. The ministry immediately pointed a finger at Israeli and French forces who, it ... Read More »
Poland says it will block any EU sanctions against Hungary
Poland, the biggest former communist country in the European Union, said it will oppose any sanctions imposed by the bloc on fellow member Hungary, accused of floating EU rules on democracy. “Every country has its sovereign right to make internal reforms it deems appropriate,” Poland’s foreign ministry said in a ... Read More »
Moscow ready to make steps to improve Russia-U.S. ties: Lavrov
Moscow is ready to do what it can to break the impasse in relations between Russia and the United States, and is taking seriously President Donald Trump’s willingness to forge a normal dialogue, though anti-Russia sentiment in the U.S. establishment was a hindrance, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said. “We are ... Read More »
Massive Russian war games kicks off, condemned as a rehearsal for ‘large-scale conflict’
CHINA has joined with Russia as the country launched its largest war games exercise since the height of the Cold War in a pointed message to the West. RUSSIA has been joined by China as the country conducts its biggest war games event in nearly 40 years. It is the ... Read More »
Juncker to call on EU to flex global muscle as U.S. retreats
The European Union should flex its potential strength as a world power as the United States under President Donald Trump pulls back from international engagement, EU chief executive Jean-Claude Juncker is expected to say on Wednesday. An EU official familiar with the European Commission president’s annual State of the Union ... Read More »
Typhoon Jebi: What makes Japan so good at responding to natural disasters?
‘There is an awareness among the entire population about what to do in the event of an impending disaster. And there is a respect for natural hazards’ The strongest typhoon to hit Japan in more than 25 years has left a trail of destruction across the country, shutting down a ... Read More »
China must release Uighur Muslims from alleged re-education camps ‘immediately’, UN says
Human rights experts received reports around a million Uighurs are held in what resembles a ‘massive internment camp that is shrouded in secrecy’ The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination issued its findings after a two-day review of China’s record, the first since 2009, earlier this month. China’s ... Read More »
Trump blames China for stalled North Korea talks and threatens to relaunch South Korea war games
‘The President can instantly start the joint exercises again with South Korea, and Japan, if he so chooses’ Donald Trump has accused China of scuppering peace talks with North Korea in retaliation for its ongoing trade dispute with the US, threatening to revisit war games with South Korea if sufficient ... Read More »
Brazil sends army to border as Venezuelans flee crisis at home
Brazil said it was sending armed forces to keep order near the Venezuelan border area, while Peru declared a health emergency, as a regional crisis sparked by thousands of Venezuelans fleeing economic collapse escalated on Tuesday. In Brazil, where residents rioted and attacked Venezuelan immigrants in a border town earlier ... Read More »
Macron says EU can no longer entrust its security to the US alone: ‘It’s up to us’
French president says defence cooperation should include all European countries, including Russia Emmanuel Macron has said Europe can no longer entrust its security to the US alone, during a speech setting out the roadmap for French diplomacy in the year to come. In front of an audience of French ambassadors ... Read More »