Hatzor Air Base, Israel | AFP | US and Israeli commanders overseeing a major joint air defence exercise spoke Thursday of preparing for evolving threats in the Middle East during the month-long drill. The Juniper Cobra exercise, held every two years since 2001, comes as Israel is increasingly concerned by …
Read More »Without US, 11 Asia-Pacific states to sign trade deal
Santiago, Chile | AFP | Eleven Asia-Pacific nations on Thursday are to sign a slimmed-down trade pact to lower tariffs just as US President Donald Trump seeks to raise them after withdrawing from the deal last year. The Trans-Pacific Partnership, which would have represented 40 percent of the global economy …
Read More »S. Korea’s Moon: ‘too early to be optimistic’ on North
Seoul, South Korea | AFP | South Korean President Moon Jae-in sounded a note of caution Wednesday over the North’s offer of denuclearisation talks, saying it was “too early to be optimistic”, even as US leader Donald Trump welcomed the development. President Trump welcomed Pyongyang’s breakthrough declaration — as relayed …
Read More »Tillerson heads to Africa, with China in his sights
Washington, United States | AFP | Washington’s top diplomat set off for Africa on Tuesday to tour countries that form a new theater for competition with America’s ambitious great power rival China. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s trip to Ethiopia, Kenya, Djibouti, Chad and Nigeria will take him to new …
Read More »Gambia apologises to Thailand for sex tourism slur
Banjul, Gambia | AFP | The Gambia Tuesday apologised to Thailand after its foreign minister said the Asian country was a haven for sex tourists, sparking a strongly worded protest from Bangkok. Hamat Bah said on state television in January that The Gambia, a sunny beach destination favoured by Western tourists …
Read More »Under scrutiny at home, Netanyahu cheered at US pro-Israel lobby
Washington, United States | AFP | Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu put aside his domestic legal woes on Tuesday to find a warm welcome in Washington at a meeting of the pro-Israeli lobby. On the home front the veteran Israeli right-winger faces an intensifying corruption probe that could see the 68-year-old forced …
Read More »UN offers to help advance North Korea talks
United Nations, United States | AFP | The United Nations on Tuesday welcomed plans for a summit between North and South Korean leaders and said it was ready to help advance talks on ending the crisis over Pyongyang’s drive to develop nuclear weapons. “Obviously, we are encouraged by these discussions,” said …
Read More »Weah tells Nigeria to prepare well for World Cup
Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Liberia’s President George Weah on Monday urged Nigeria to get their preparation right for the World Cup and avoid wranglings over cash that have plagued previous appearances. The former Monaco, Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan forward took office in January on a promise to turn …
Read More »S. Korea’s Moon to send special envoys to North on Monday
Seoul, South Korea | AFP | South Korean President Moon Jae-in will send a team of special envoys — including Seoul’s spy chief — to the North on Monday to push for talks between Washington and Pyongyang on nuclear weapons. The delegation, announced by Moon’s office on Sunday, is the …
Read More »Investigators probe deadly twin attacks in Ouagadougou
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso | AFP | Authorities in Burkina Faso were on Saturday hunting for clues about the masterminds behind Friday’s deadly twin attacks on the French embassy and the country’s military HQ. The coordinated attacks in Ouagadougou, which coincided with a meeting of regional anti-jihadist forces, underlined the struggle …
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