Seoul, South Korea | AFP | Nuclear-armed North Korea wants good relations with the US but could consider a change of approach if Washington maintains its sanctions, leader Kim Jong Un warned in his New Year speech Tuesday after 12 months of diplomatic rapprochement. At a summit with US President …
Read More »Putin says still ‘open to dialogue’ with US
Moscow, Russia | AFP | Russian President Vladimir Putin has reassured his US counterpart Donald Trump that Moscow remains “open to dialogue” despite the year ending without the hoped-for warming of relations, the Kremlin said on Sunday. “Russian-US relations remain an important factor in order to guarantee strategic stability and …
Read More »Brazil embassy move to Jerusalem a question of ‘when’ not ‘if’: Netanyahu
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | AFP | Brazil will definitely move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, with only the date of the transfer to be decided, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday during a visit to Rio de Janeiro. “It’s not a question of ‘if’ but of ‘when’,” …
Read More »N. Korea’s Kim vows more summits with South next year: Seoul
Seoul, South Korea | AFP | North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to meet the South’s President Moon Jae-in “frequently” next year to discuss denuclearisation of the peninsula in a rare letter sent to Seoul, Moon’s office said Sunday. The leader of the isolated North met with Moon three …
Read More »Netanyahu hails ‘new era’ with Brazil
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | AFP | Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed what he said would be a “new era” in ties with “great power” Brazil ahead of meeting Friday with the Latin America’s country’s incoming far-right leader, Jair Bolsonaro. Netanyahu also stressed that he would press Bolsonaro on …
Read More »Netanyahu set for first trip by Israeli PM to Brazil
Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was to head Thursday on the first trip by an Israeli premier to Brazil, where he will attend the inauguration of incoming president Jair Bolsonaro. Netanyahu will also hold talks with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on the sidelines of …
Read More »Egypt voices support for protest-hit Sudan
Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Egypt’s foreign minister on Thursday voiced support for Sudan’s embattled government, as Khartoum grapples with demonstrations against price hikes in which a disputed number of protesters have been killed. Cairo’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and intelligence chief General Abbas Kamel arrived in Sudan’s capital on …
Read More »Eight-nation summit discusses DR Congo
Brazzaville, Congo | AFP | Eight nations in southern and central Africa met on Wednesday to discuss the situation in Democratic Republic of Congo, a country that has been a regional battleground twice in the last quarter-century. The one-day mini-summit was being staged in Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic …
Read More »UN hopes Congolese can ‘freely’ vote after delay
United Nations, United States | AFP | The United Nations Security Council on Saturday said it hoped a week-long delay in DR Congo’s election will allow Congolese “to express themselves freely” during the ballot. Presidential, legislative and provincial elections had been scheduled for Sunday in the vast, volatile African country, …
Read More »UN fails to reach deal on budget shortfall as US funding dips
United Nations, United States | AFP | United Nations member states failed to come up with a deal Friday to make up for a $220 million budget black hole left by the United States downsizing its contribution to peacekeeping operations, diplomats said. The United States had paid around 28 percent …
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