Iran fired missiles at militants in Syria it blamed for an attack at a military parade in southwestern Iran last week, the Revolutionary Guards said on Monday in a statement published on Sepah News, the Guards’ official news site. Several militants were killed in the missile attack in the Albu ... Read More »
North Korea, South Korea begin removing landmines along fortified border
Troops from North and South Korea began removing some landmines along their heavily fortified border on Monday, the South’s defense ministry said, as part of a pact to reduce tension and build trust on the divided peninsula. Project details were agreed during last month’s summit in Pyongyang, the capital of ... Read More »
EU, China and Russia in move to sidestep US sanctions on Iran
Special Purpose Vehicle aims to keep Iran in 2015 nuclear deal with barter system The European Union, Iran, China and Russia have set out a plan to sidestep unilateral US sanctions designed to cripple the Iranian economy and force the Iranians to renegotiate the nuclear deal signed in 2015. European ... Read More »
‘Break the shell of mistrust’: Shinzo Abe willing to meet Kim Jong-un at summit
Summit could lower tensions between Tokyo and Pyongyang but Japanese PM still wants action on cold war abductions Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, has said he is willing to meet Kim Jong-un in a move that could lower simmering tensions between Tokyo and Pyongyang. But he insisted that any summit ... Read More »
Venezuela’s Maduro accuses Chile, Colombia, Mexico of helping drone attack
Venezuela’s socialist president Nicolas Maduro accused the right-wing governments of Chile, Colombia and Mexico on Monday of helping “terrorists” who tried to kill him during a drone attack in early August. The three countries refuted Venezuela’s accusations that they were linked to the attack, which used drones carrying explosives during ... Read More »
Russia sends angry message at Israel by offering Syrians upgraded anti-aircraft weaponry
Russia blames Israel for the downing of a military aircraft last week Moscow has announced it will supply advanced S-300 surface-to-air and jamming systems to Syria within the next two weeks. Speaking on Monday, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu claimed the move would “cool hotheads” in the region. But he also ... Read More »
U.S. approves $330 million military sale to Taiwan
The U.S. State Department has approved the sale to Taiwan of spare parts for F-16 fighter planes and other military aircraft worth up to $330 million, the Pentagon said on Monday. U.S. military sales to self-ruled Taiwan, which China claims as its territory, is an irritant in the relations between ... Read More »
Hong Kong bans pro-independence party for ‘security reasons’ in unprecedented blow to protest rights
Perception of growing influence from China has stoked tensions in recent years Hong Kong has taken the unprecedented step of banning a pro-independence party, invoking a colonial-era “national security” law for the first time since Britain handed over control of the territory to China in 1997. The Hong Kong National ... Read More »
Canada accuses Myanmar of genocide against Rohingya
Lower house of parliament endorses UN findings of crimes against humanity by military and calls for prosecution Canadian lawmakers have unanimously voted to declare Myanmar’s military actions against the Rohingya people a genocide. The House of Commons endorsed the findings of a UN fact-finding mission on Myanmar that found “crimes ... Read More »
Trump will slap 10% tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods — and they will go to 25% at year-end
President Donald Trump will impose 10 percent tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports, and those duties will rise to 25 percent at the end of the year. The action, announced by the Trump administration Monday, escalates a trade conflict between the world’s two largest economies. China has already ... Read More »