Petro Poroshenko says Moscow massing troops at border as Crimean court orders sailors detained for two months Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko has warned of the threat of “full-scale war” with Russia as tensions escalated between the two countries over the detention of Ukrainian navy vessels in the Kerch Strait. The ... Read More »
EU agrees ‘best possible’ Brexit deal, urges Britons to back May
European Union leaders finally sealed a Brexit deal on Sunday, saying the package agreed with Prime Minister Theresa May was the best Britain will get in a warning to the British parliament not to reject it. “Those who think that, by rejecting the deal, they would get a better deal, ... Read More »
Polish foreign ministry urges Russia to respect international law
The Polish foreign ministry has urged Russia to respect international law and condemned Moscow’s “aggressive actions” in the Sea of Azov. Amid escalated tensions between Russia and Ukraine, the foreign ministry in Warsaw called in a statement for restraint on both sides. The statement was issued after the Ukrainian navy ... Read More »
Turkey says Kerch Strait must remain open after Russia-Ukraine standoff
Turkey said on Monday it was worried by reports that Ukrainian ships had been fired on off the coast of Russia-annexed Crimea and said that shipping in the area should not be obstructed. Russia seized three Ukrainian naval ships in the Black Sea on Sunday after opening fire on them ... Read More »
Australia rejects U.N. migration pact, sticks with hardline asylum-seeker policy
Australia will not sign up to a United Nations migration agreement because it would compromise its hardline immigration policy and endanger national security, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Wednesday. Australia joins the United States, Israel and several Eastern European countries in rejecting the U.N. Global Compact for Migration, which ... Read More »
In rare coordinated move, Western envoys seek meeting on Xinjiang concerns
A group of 15 Western ambassadors in Beijing, spearheaded by Canada, are seeking a meeting with the top official in China’s restive, heavily Muslim Xinjiang region for an explanation of alleged rights abuses against ethnic Uighurs. The envoys are making their request in a letter to Chen Quanguo, Xinjiang’s Communist ... Read More »
Angela Merkel calls for creation of ‘real, true’ EU army
German chancellor’s call echoes Emmanuel Macron’s similar one last week Angela Merkel has called for the creation of a “real, true” European army, echoing a similar call by her French counterpart. The German chancellor’s backing for the force comes amid a spat with US president Donald Trump, who took offence ... Read More »
Britain agrees Brexit divorce deal with EU, May’s opponents vow to thwart it
Britain struck a draft divorce deal with the European Union after more than a year of talks, thrusting Prime Minister Theresa May into a perilous battle over Brexit that could shape her country’s prosperity for generations to come. While Brussels choreographs the first withdrawal of a sovereign state from the ... Read More »
Iran says armed forces will protect oil tankers after US called them ‘floating liabilities’
Remarks come after Trump administration revived all sanctions on country’s oil, shipping and banking industries Iran’s armed forces have pledged to protect Iranian oil tankers against possible threats after the US said the ships were a “floating liability” and should not be allowed to dock anywhere. Rear-Admiral Mahmoud Mousavi, a ... Read More »
Myanmar prepares for first Rohingya returnees, but U.N. warns against rushing
Myanmar officials said on Sunday the country was ready to receive more than 2,000 Rohingya Muslims sheltering in Bangladesh on Nov. 15, the first group from 5,000 people to be moved under a deal between the neighbors struck last month. But more than 20 individuals on a list of potential ... Read More »