18-02-2025 KYIV: Kyiv has not been invited to talks between the US and Russia aimed at ending the war in Ukraine, a senior Ukrainian government source has told media. The US special envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg had said Kyiv would be involved in Monday’s talks in Saudi Arabia, but …

18-02-2025 MUNICH: A series of US declarations rocked last week’s Munich Security Conference and caused discord among the European politicians in attendance. Now US and Russian officials are expected to meet in Saudi Arabia next week to begin negotiations on ending the war in Ukraine. However, Ukraine and European politicians …

17-02-2025 PARIS: European leaders will gather in France tomorrow for an emergency summit amid US efforts to agree a deal with Russia to end the war in Ukraine. Governments on the continent fear the White House could strike a deal which damages European security and will seek to present a …

17-02-2025 TAIPEI: The US State Department has removed a statement on its website that it does not support Taiwan independence, among changes that the island’s government praised on Sunday as supporting Taiwan. The fact sheet, opens new tab on Taiwan retains Washington’s opposition to unilateral change from either Taiwan or …

17-02-2025 SYDNEY: Australia will ban foreign investors from buying existing homes in the country for two years, its government said on Sunday, in an effort to boost under-pressure housing supply. “We’re banning foreign purchases of established dwellings from April 1, 2025, until March 31 2027,” treasurer Jim Chalmers said in …

17-02-2025 JERUSALEM/ WASHINGTON: Israel has received a shipment of heavy MK-84 bombs from the United States, after US President Donald Trump lifted a block imposed on the export of the munitions by the administration of predecessor Joe Biden, the defence ministry said on Sunday. The MK-84 is an unguided 2,000 …

17-02-2025 KYIV: Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for the creation of an “army of Europe” amid rising concern the US may no longer come to the continent’s aid. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, he said US Vice-President JD Vance had made it clear the old relationship between Europe …

17-02-2025 VIENNA: A stabbing in Austria that killed a 14-year-old boy and wounded five others was an Islamist attack, Austrian officials have said. The attack took place on Saturday at Villach, a town near the border with Italy and Slovenia. A 23-year-old Syrian asylum seeker was detained at the scene. …

17-02-2025 KINSHASA: Chaotic scenes have been unfolding in Bukavu in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo as the M23 rebel group continues its offensive in the region. On Saturday there were reports of sporadic gunfire and widespread looting in the city, including at a World Food Program depot, with residents sheltering …

17-02-2025 DAMASCUS: Mouldy half-finished food on bunk beds, discarded military uniforms and abandoned weapons, these are the remnants of an abrupt retreat from this base that once belonged to Iran and its affiliated groups in Syria. The scene tells a story of panic. The forces stationed here fled with little …