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 »
Nikki Haley accuses Russia of ‘cheating’ and helping North Korea avoid UN sanctions
The US ambassador to the UN says Russia can no longer be trusted Nikki Haley has accused Russia of “cheating” and helping North Korea skirt strict United Nations placed on them for their nuclear development activities. The US ambassador to the UN was speaking at a Security Council meeting when ... Read More »
Russia and Turkey agree to create buffer zone in Syria’s Idlib
Russian and Turkish troops are to enforce a new demilitarized zone in Syria’s Idlib region from which “radical” rebels will be required to withdraw by the middle of next month, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday after a meeting with his Turkish counterpart. Russia, the biggest outside backer of ... Read More »
Russian military plane disappears near Syria with 14 on board
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 »
Lebanese Ministry of Information