But links to Trump-Kim denuclearisation agreement not clear, claim analysts North Korea has made improvements to a nuclear research facility “at a rapid pace”, analysts have claimed after reviewing satellite images on the site. The development of infrastructure at the Yongbyon site included modifications to the cooling system of its ... Read More »
French President Emmanuel Macron, accused at home of straining France’s secular foundations by seeking to mend ties with the Catholic Church, had an unusually long and cordial meeting with Pope Francis on Tuesday.
They spoke for nearly an hour in the official papal library in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace, about twice as long as Francis usually spends with heads of state or government. A Vatican statement said the two discussed “protection of the environment, migration, and multilateral commitment to conflict prevention and resolution, ... Read More »
France and Germany will block May’s single market plan, says Spain
Madrid’s foreign minister says there will be no deal for goods access without free movement Theresa May’s plan to protect British industry by keeping the UK in a single market for goods without respecting the free movement of people after Brexit will be rejected by an “angry” France and Germany, ... Read More »
‘Dumb, stupid’ family separations harm children, says detention camp manager
Manager at camp close to US-Mexico border speaks out to decry Donald Trump’s ‘zero-tolerance’ immigration policy A senior manager at a child detention camp in Texas, close to the Mexican border, spoke out on Monday to decry Donald Trump’s zero-tolerance immigration policy that had been tearing migrant families apart as ... Read More »
Libya turmoil a hurdle for EU’s north Africa migration centre plan
Fighting for Libyan oil terminals highlights obstacles, ahead of emergency EU meeting on migration crisis Senior European diplomats have privately admitted that plans to stabilise Libya, on which the long-term hopes rest of an end Europe’s migration crisis, are badly off track. European leaders will meet on Sunday in a ... Read More »
Ukraine extends its Russian sanctions list
Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko has signed a decree to enact a recently adopted decision to expand sanctions on Russian companies and entities, Ukraine’s council of national security and defense said on Friday. It said 30 Russian legal entities and 14 individuals were added to the sanction list, taking it to ... Read More »
North Korea, China leaders agree to boost ‘strategic, tactical’ cooperation: KCNA
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed measures to bolster “strategic and tactical” cooperation between the two countries in a second meeting on Wednesday, the North’s state media said on Thursday. The meeting between Kim and Xi came on the North Korean leader’s second and ... Read More »
Asia stocks skid to four-month low as Trump raises stakes in China trade war
Asian stocks sank on Tuesday and Shanghai shares tumbled to near two-year lows as U.S. President Donald Trump threatened new tariffs on Chinese goods in an escalating tit-for-tat trade war between the world’s two biggest economies. U.S. and European equity markets looked set to follow Asia into the red. S&P ... Read More »
Germany’s Merkel to visit Beirut at end of June
BEIRUT: German Chancellor Angela Merkel will visit Lebanon for two days starting June 21, accompanied by a high-level delegation, a press release from the German Embassy in Beirut announced Friday. The chancellor is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri, President Michel Aoun and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. According ... Read More »
Kaliningrad photos appear to show Russia upgrading nuclear weapons bunker
Satellite images from Baltic outpost and World Cup venue are latest sign of Russian emphasis on nuclear arms Russia appears to have upgraded a nuclear weapons storage bunker in its Kaliningrad enclave, in the latest sign of Moscow’s increased emphasis on nuclear arms in its standoff with Nato, according to ... Read More »